Terms : Hide Images
| 30808397 | abstract | refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images | |
| 30808398 | ad hominem | in an arguement, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. latin: "against the man" | |
| 30808399 | allegory | a work that functions on a symbolic level | |
| 30808400 | alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds | |
| 30808401 | allusion | a reference contained in a work | |
| 30808402 | analogy | a comparison between two different items | |
| 30808403 | anecdote | a story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illistrate a point | |
| 30808404 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun | |
| 30808405 | antithesis | the presentation of two contrasting images; the most mature form of balance | |
| 30808406 | argument | a single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer | |
| 30808407 | attitude | the relationship an author has toward his/her subject, and/or his/her audience | |
| 30808408 | balance | a situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences, paragraphs, or sections of a longer work | |
| 30808409 | cacophony | harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary work | |
| 30808410 | character | those who carry out the action of the plot in literature; ex: minor, major, static, dynamic | |
| 30808411 | colloquial | the use of slang in writing; used to create local color and to provide an informal tone | |
| 30808412 | comic relief | the inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event | |
| 30808413 | conflict | a clash between opposing forces in a literary work; ex: man vs man, man vs nature, man vs self | |
| 30808414 | connective tissue | elements that help create coherence in a written piece; ex: repeated words, transitions, conjunctions | |
| 30808415 | connotation | the interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning; can be positive, negative, or neutral | |
| 30808416 | deduction | the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example | |
| 30808417 | denotation | the literal or dictionary meaning of a word | |
| 30808418 | dialect | the recreation of regional spoken language | |
| 30808419 | diction | the author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning | |
| 30808420 | didactic | writing whose purpose is to instruct or teach; usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns | |
| 30808421 | discourse | a discussion on a specific topic; written or spoken | |
| 30808422 | ellipsis | ... ; indicates that some material has been omitted from the text | |
| 30808423 | epigraph | the use of a quotation at the begining of a work that hints at its theme | |
| 30808424 | euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable | |
| 30808425 | euphony | the pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work | |
| 30808426 | exposition | background information presented in a literary work | |
| 30808427 | extended metaphor | a sustained comparison, developed throughout a piece of writing; also called a conceit | |
| 30808428 | figurative language | the body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one; ex: metaphor, simile, symbol, hyberbole... | |
| 30808429 | flashback | a device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, or episodes | |
| 30808430 | form | the shape or structure of a literary work | |
| 30808431 | hyperbole | extreme exaggeration, often humorous or ironic | |
| 30808432 | image | a verbal approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion | |
| 30808433 | imagery | language or descriptions that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) | |
| 30808434 | induction | the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization | |
| 30808435 | inference | a conclusion one can draw from the presented details | |
| 30808436 | invective | a verbally abusive attack | |
| 30808437 | irony | an unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen | |
| 30808438 | logic | the process of reasoning | |
| 30808439 | logical fallacy | a mistake in reasoning | |
| 30808440 | metaphor | a direct comparison between dissimilar things; does not use "like" or "as" | |
| 30808441 | metonymy | a figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea or concept; ex: the pen is mighter than the sword | |
| 30808442 | monologue | a speech given by one character | |
| 30808443 | motif | a recurring subject, symbol, theme, idea, etc in a literary work. | |
| 30808444 | narrator | the speaker of a literary work | |
| 30808445 | onomatopoeia | words that sound like the sound they represent; ex: hiss, gurgle, pop | |
| 30808446 | oxymoron | an image of contradictory terms; ex: jumbo shrimp, bitter-sweet | |
| 30808447 | pacing | the movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another | |
| 30808448 | parable | a story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson | |
| 30808449 | parody | a comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original; depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style and content | |
| 30808450 | pathos | an appeal to emotions of the audience, can be used to persuade | |
| 30808451 | pedantic | writing that borders on lecturing, it's scholarly and academic, difficult and distant, prone to narrow-mindedness | |
| 30808452 | periodic sentence | presents its main clause at the end of the sentence for emphasis and sentence variety; oreo cookie | |
| 30808453 | personification | the assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts | |
| 30808454 | persuasion | a type of argument that has as its goal an action on the part of the audience | |
| 30808455 | plot | a sequence of events in a literary work | |
| 30808456 | point of view | the method of narration in a literary work; 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person | |
| 30808457 | pun | a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but have different meanings; often has a comic effect | |
| 30808458 | reductio ad absurdum | latin: "to reduce to the absurd"; prove oneself by contradicting oneself; used for comic effect | |
| 30808459 | rhetoric | refers to the entire process of written communication; used by writers to present ideas effectively to an audience | |
| 30808460 | rhetorical question | one that does not expect an explicit answer; used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience | |
| 30808461 | sarcasm | a comic technique that ridicules through caustic language; affects attitude and tone; writer employs language, irony, and wit to mock or scorn | |
| 30808462 | satire | a mode of writing based on ridicule, that criticizes the follies of society without necessarily offering a solution; ex: eat babies | |
| 30808463 | setting | the time and place of a literary work | |
| 30808464 | simile | an indirect comparison using "like" or "as" | |
| 30808465 | stage directions | the specific instructions a playwright includes conserning sets, characterization, delivery, etc | |
| 30808466 | stanza | a unit of a poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem | |
| 30808467 | structure | the organization and form of the work | |
| 30808468 | style | the unique way an author presents his/her ideas; diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute | |
| 30808469 | summary | reducing the original text into its essential parts | |
| 30808470 | syllogism | the format of a formal arguement that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion | |
| 30808471 | symbol | something in a literary work that stands for something else | |
| 30808472 | synecdoche | a figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole; ex: all hands on deck | |
| 30808473 | syntax | the grammatical structure of prose and poetry | |
| 30808474 | synthesis | locating a number of sources and integrating them into the development and support of a writer's thesis/claim | |
| 30808475 | theme | the underlying ideas the author illustrates through characterization, motifs, language, plot, etc | |
| 30808476 | thesis | the main idea of a piece of writing; presents the author's assertion or claim | |
| 30808477 | tone | the author's attitude toward his/her subject | |
| 30808478 | transitions | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph | |
| 30808479 | understatement | the opposite of exaggeration; technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended | |
| 30808480 | voice | 1. relationship between a sentence's subject and verb 2. total "sound" of a writers style; can be passive or active |
