TDA Author's Craft and Style

Question 1

In a TDA response, analyzing an author's word choice (diction) primarily helps the reader understand what?

Accepted Answer

The author's purpose and tone

Answer

Analyzing diction reveals the author's deliberate language choices that convey tone, mood, and purpose.

Question 2

Which literary device involves giving human qualities to non-human objects or ideas?

Accepted Answer

Personification

Answer

Personification attributes human characteristics to non-human things, creating a vivid and relatable image.

Question 3

When a TDA prompt asks you to analyze 'author's craft,' what should you focus on?

Accepted Answer

Specific techniques the author uses to convey meaning

Answer

Author's craft refers to intentional writing techniques—such as figurative language, structure, and syntax—that shape meaning.

Question 4

What is the effect of using short, choppy sentences in a passage?

Accepted Answer

Creates urgency, tension, or abruptness

Answer

Short, fragmented sentences can create a sense of urgency, panic, or sharp emphasis in a text.

Question 5

An author uses a metaphor comparing life to a roller coaster. In a TDA response, how should you analyze this?

Accepted Answer

Explain what the comparison suggests about life's highs and lows and how it supports the author's message

Answer

Effective TDA analysis names the device, explains the comparison, and connects it to the author's larger argument or theme.

TDA - Text Dependent Analysis Practice Test