11710127793 | Ad Hominem | Attacking a speaker's character instead of to their argument. (Latin for against the man). This common logical fallacy draws attention away from the real issues. Example: Don't vote for William Smith. He has been married three times. | ![]() | 0 |
11712160300 | Ad Populum fallacy | Basing a claim on popular opinion. Attempting to persuade by arguing our position is reasonable because so many other people are doing it or agree with it. An appeal to the prejudices of the masses. | 1 | |
11710127740 | Allegory | Using elements symbolically. An extended narrative in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and the writer intends a second meaning beneath the surface. The underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric. in Animal Farm, George Orwell creates an allegory in order to criticize totalitarianism and the abuse of power. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is a religious allegory. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is another allegory—the island represents the world. | ![]() | 2 |
11710127806 | Alliteration | Repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginnings of words that are close to one another; for example, "beautiful blossoms blooming between the bushes" | ![]() | 3 |
11710127842 | Allusion | A reference to something (e.g., a book, a movie, an historical event) that is presumed to be well known to the audience. Many writing have allusions to works by Shakespeare. | 4 | |
11712367218 | Ambivalent | Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone. A work can have an ambivalent tone. | 5 | |
11710127794 | Anachronism | A person, scene, event or other element that fails to correspond with the appropriate time or era. an event, object, custom, person, or thing that is out of order in time; some anachronisms are unintentional, such as when an actor performing Shakespeare forgets to take off his watch; others are deliberately used to achieve a humorous or satiric effect, such as the sustained anachronism of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court | ![]() | 6 |
11710127795 | Analogy | a comparison of two similar but different things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship, such as comparing the work of a heart to that of a pump | 7 | |
11710127767 | Anaphora | Anaphora is the Greek term meaing exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. Repetition of word, phrase, or clause repeated at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. Used by MLK in I Have a Dream Speech. Also by Charles Dickens' in Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . | ![]() | 8 |
11710127811 | Anecdote | A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. | ![]() | 9 |
11710127742 | Antithesis | Opposition or contrast of ideas through parallelism. | ![]() | 10 |
11711471706 | Appeal | A writer can make appeals to readers' needs; sense of tradition; ethics; emotions; logic/reason; authority; shared values. | 11 | |
11712179599 | Appeal to Tradition fallacy | Argument in which a speaker asserts that the status quo is better than any new idea or approach. The arguer suggests a course of action that is correct "because we've always done it this way." Example: We arrange desks in a classroom in orderly rows. Any other way has not been proven effective. | 12 | |
11710127743 | Aphorism | A short witty statement of a principle or life truth. Early to bed and early to rise help make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. -Ben Franklin | ![]() | 13 |
11710127780 | Apologia | A written or spoken defense of one's beliefs and actions. | ![]() | 14 |
11710127744 | Apostrophe | Usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction "Oh, Captain, my Captain, our fearful trip is done..." | ![]() | 15 |
11710127745 | Argumentation | Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation. | 16 | |
11710127746 | Assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds between different consonants, such as in neigh/fade. | 17 | |
11710127747 | Authority | Support for an argument that is based on recognized experts in the field. | 18 | |
11710127865 | Autonomos | Independent, self-governing, not under the control of something or someone else. | ![]() | 19 |
11712169945 | Bandwagon Effect Fallacy | This fallacy is similar to Ad Populum, but relies on popularity or trendiness. The error in logic is obvious. Just because it is popular, it isn't necessarily correct. | 20 | |
11712134710 | Begging the question fallacy | When a speaker presumes certain things are facts when they have not yet been proven to be truthful. It lacks evidence. Example: Required courses such as freshman English are a waste of time. They should not be required. | 21 | |
11711543125 | Bias | A particular preference or point of view that is personal, rather than scientific. Can be prejudiced. | 22 | |
11710127748 | Burlesque | broad parody; whereas a parody will imitate and exaggerate a specific work, such as Romeo and Juliet, a burlesque will take an entire style or form, such as myths, and exaggerate it into ridiculousness | 23 | |
11710127754 | Cacophony | Harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony. | 24 | |
11710127755 | Caricature | Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality. | 25 | |
11711924211 | Cause and Effect | A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another | 26 | |
11711931221 | Characterize | To describe the character and qualities of someone or something | 27 | |
11710127823 | Chiasmus | A type of parallelism in which elements are reversed. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." A rhetorical device in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. 'Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.'. | ![]() | 28 |
11711926325 | Cite | Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source. | 29 | |
11711934453 | Claim | To make an assertion of something you intend to prove. | 30 | |
11711342507 | Claim of Fact | When you make a claim of fact, you are stating something is true and you want your audience to believe you. A fact can be verified in a variety of ways: • It is published in credible references; • It can be known by experience or observation; • It is measurable or quantifiable. | 31 | |
11711366975 | Claim of Value | A claim of value argues that something is good or bad. When you make a claim of value you are making a judgment or evaluation. The value can be aesthetics (what is pleasing, beautiful, artistic) or morality (what is moral, right, good). | 32 | |
11711385835 | Claim of Policy | A claim asserting that specific courses of action should be instituted as solutions to problems. Not everyone will agree that your proposal is correct, so you need to support your claim with evidence (data, examples, testimony) and appeals to values. | 33 | |
11711938364 | Clarify | To draw distinctions, to make more evident, to lessen confusion. | 34 | |
11710127749 | Colloquial/Colloquialism | The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing that might be inappropriate in formal writing | ![]() | 35 |
11710127756 | Classicism | The principles and styles admired in the classics of Greek and Roman literature, such as objectivity, sensibility, restraint, and formality. | 36 | |
11711780555 | Cliché | Phrase or expression that has been used so often that it has lost its value. They are repeated because they express a truth or a shared value, but to use clichés is a often a lazy shortcut. | 37 | |
11710127757 | Coherence | Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle. | 38 | |
11711759178 | Colloquial expressions | The use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. These elements of vernacular can help one to bond with an audience. A memoir full of colloquial expressions has an honest feel to it. A scholarly treatise would not include casual language. | 39 | |
11711971801 | Compare and contrast | Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items or situations. To show how things are alike and how they are different. | 40 | |
11711811580 | Concrete versus abstract language | Concrete language refers to real objects that we can sense or measure. Abstract language refers to things that are hard to define, or that can be defined in more than one way. | 41 | |
11710127822 | Consecrate | Make or declare (something, typically a church) sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose. | ![]() | 42 |
11710127750 | Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor; an elaborate figure of speech in which two seemingly dissimilar things or situations are compared | ![]() | 43 |
11710127751 | Connotation | Implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader's mind. Connotations have positive or negative associations and can change over time. Connotations are culturally anchored. | 44 | |
11710127752 | Consonance | The repetition of identical consonant sounds. | 45 | |
11710127753 | Conundrum | A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem. | 46 | |
11710127846 | Coup de Grace | The "death blow"--the culminating event in a bad situation. | ![]() | 47 |
11710127786 | Denotation | Literal meaning of a word as defined. An authors' use of the precise right word for the passage can be key to clarity. Knowing a wide variety of words and their meanings is critical to being able to understand complex prose passages. | 48 | |
11719794629 | Denouement | An outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot | 49 | |
11710127787 | Description | The picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of discourse | 50 | |
11711981693 | Develop | Elaborate or expand | 51 | |
11710127788 | Diction | Word choice, an element of style; also called syntax. Author's choice of words for connotation, denotation and overall style and voice. One of the main reasons readers do not understand a passage is that they do not know the vocabulary in the text. | 52 | |
11710127796 | Didactic | Having an instructive purpose; intending to convey information to teach a lesson usually in a dry, pompous manner. | ![]() | 53 |
11710127785 | Digression | The use of material unrelated to the subject of a work. | ![]() | 54 |
11710127790 | Discourse | spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion | 55 | |
11710127791 | Dissonance | harsh or grating sounds that do not go together | 56 | |
11710127814 | Dogmatic | Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true. | ![]() | 57 |
11712098771 | Doubtful Cause. | When you erroneously argue that one event caused another. | 58 | |
11711985546 | Dramatize | To give a story to a situation by adding vivid details, such as imagery, figurative language | 59 | |
11710127855 | Ego | According to Freud, the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle. | 60 | |
11711989168 | Elaborate | To explain in greater detail. | 61 | |
11711993375 | Emphasize | To give special attention to something, to stress | 62 | |
11719757307 | Epigraph | A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme. | 63 | |
11711995278 | Establish | To set a foundation for, to base a claim on an observation. | 64 | |
11710127792 | Ellipsis | The omission of a word or several words. | ![]() | 65 |
11710127854 | Eminent | Famous, outstanding, distinguished. | 66 | |
11711507983 | Emotive language | words used deliberately to create an emotional impact. Emotive language can be abusive, if the writer manipulates emotions for false claims or to gain power or control. Emotional appeals are very common in advertising, in political speeches, and in persuasive texts. | 67 | |
11711826884 | Equivocation | The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication. If you run into equivocal language, pay attention to both or all potential meanings of the words. Equivocation can be an avoidance technique. | 68 | |
11711027773 | Ethos | The trustworthiness or credibility of the writer. | 69 | |
11710127758 | Euphemism | Indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. "passed away" instead of "died." A danger with euphemisms is that they're evasive, abstract, and too ambiguous for clear communication. Euphemisms can be used to cover up a truth. | 70 | |
11710127781 | Epigram | A brief witty statement; a concise, witty saying in poetry or prose that either stands alone or is part of a larger work; it may also refer to a short poem of this type | ![]() | 71 |
11710127782 | Euphony | a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony. | 72 | |
11711999939 | Evaluate | To assess in value or quality. | 73 | |
11711892224 | Evocative | Calling forth a vivid image or impression. | 74 | |
11712003759 | Exemplify | To illustrate by being an example of. | 75 | |
11710127783 | Exemplum | a brief tale used in medieval times to illustrate a sermon or to teach a lesson | 76 | |
11710127837 | Exhort | Strongly encourage or urge someone to do something. | ![]() | 77 |
11711847609 | Explicit | definite, clearly stated. Opposite of implicit. | 78 | |
11710127784 | Exposition | the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse | 79 | |
11712335551 | Extended metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. The ultimate extended metaphor is allegory, which layers two narratives, a literal version with a figurative version. | 80 | |
11711425273 | Factual Evidence | Types of Factual Evidence: Examples, Hypothetical Examples, Statistics, Expert Opinion Evaluating Factual Evidence: • Is it up-to-date? • Is it sufficient; is it enough? • Is it relevant? • Is it consistent with the audience's experience? Evaluating Statistics: • Are the statistics from a reliable source? Is the source objective or associated with a particular group or point of view that would create bias? • Are the terms clearly defined? • Are comparisons valid? Are you comparing things that can be compared? • Has any pertinent information been omitted? | 81 | |
11710127797 | Fallacy | An incorrect belief or supposition based on faulty data, defective evidence, or false information. | ![]() | 82 |
11712114236 | False Dilemma | A common logical fallacy where the writer bases an argument on only two alternatives when others are possible. Also called Either-Or Fallacy. Example: America. Love it or leave it. | 83 | |
11712078725 | Faulty Use of Authority | A common logical fallacy. The writer relies on "authorities" who are not convincing sources. The writer justifies his claim by citing testimony or opinions of experts and fails to acknowledge disagreements among experts or otherwise misrepresents the trustworthiness of sources. Example: Kobe Bryant believes that kids who watch too much television are not as smart as kids who play outside. | 84 | |
11712188594 | Faulty Emotional Appeals Fallacy | When the writer seeks sensational or sentimental reactions in the audience; bases an argument on feelings (especially pity or fear), to draw attention away from the real issues or to conceal another purpose. Example: If you don't study at least an hour every night, you won't get into college and you won't have a successful life. | 85 | |
11710127848 | Faux Pas | A social misstep or inappropriate action. | 86 | |
11710127800 | Figures of speech | expressions, such as similes, metaphors, and personifications, that make imaginative, rather than literal, comparisons or associations. Can be used to get readers to see things in a new way. | 87 | |
11710127831 | First-person narrator | a narrator, referred to as "I," who is a character in the story and relates the actions through his or her own perspective, also revealing his or her own thoughts | 88 | |
11710127801 | Folklore | traditional stories, songs, dances, and customs that are preserved among a people; folklore usually precedes literature, being passed down orally from generation to generation until recorded by scholars | 89 | |
11710127802 | Foreshadowing | the use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in the work | 90 | |
11710127866 | Genre | a type of literary work, such as a novel or poem; there are also subgenres, such as science fiction or sonnet, within the larger genres | 91 | |
11712195808 | Guilt by Association fallacy | Argument in which a speaker suggests that something is wrong with another speaker's claims by associating those claims with someone the audience finds objectionable; also called the bad company fallacy. Relies on prejudice instead of thought. | 92 | |
11710127863 | Hamartia | A character's error in judgment that contributes to one's downfall. | 93 | |
11712075642 | Hasty Generalization | A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence. | 94 | |
11710127759 | Homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | ![]() | 95 |
11710127803 | Hubris | Excessive pride that often brings about one's fall; the excessive pride or ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom, eventually causing his or her downfall | ![]() | 96 |
11710127804 | Humor | anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, humor meant a person's temperament | 97 | |
11710127805 | Hyperbole | Deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis. Hyperbole gets us to look more closely at what is actually true by giving us a sharp contrast. | 98 | |
11712033426 | Hypothesis | A testable prediction, often implied by a theory | 99 | |
11710127857 | Id | Literally the "It"--our base impulses, driven by selfishness and greed, for example. | 100 | |
11711774010 | Idiom | Colloquial metaphors and are typically particular to a region. Two examples are: "Hotter 'n a fly on a griddle" or "Time to hit the hay." | 101 | |
11710127858 | idyll | a short descriptive narrative, usually a poem, about an idealized country life; also called a pastoral | 102 | |
11712009454 | Illustrate | clarify by giving an example of. Use anecdote to examples. | 103 | |
11710127859 | imagery | Writing that appeal to the senses and evoke a vicarious experience for the reader, often creating empathy for the characters Types of imagery include: • Visual: what we can see • Auditory: what we can hear • Tactile: what we can touch • Olfactory: what we can smell • Gustatory: what we can taste • Kinesthetic: sense of movement • Organic: internal sense of being (well or ill) | 104 | |
11710127853 | Imminent | About to happen. | 105 | |
11711840490 | Implicit | Implied or understood though unexpressed. The "answer" is not directly found in the text but must be inferred or interpreted based on clues. Opposite of Explicit. | 106 | |
11710127840 | Independent Clause | A complete sentence. | 107 | |
11712018885 | Indicate | To be a signal of; to state or express. | 108 | |
11710127760 | Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. | ![]() | 109 |
11710127820 | Innuendo | An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one. | ![]() | 110 |
11710127860 | Interior monologue | writing that records the conversation that occurs inside a character's head | 111 | |
11710127861 | Inversion | reversing the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question: "Are you going to the store?"; often, it is used ineffectively in poetry, making it sound artificial and stilted: "To the hounds she rode, with her flags behind her streaming" | 112 | |
11710127862 | Irony | A situation or statement in which the actual outcome or meaning is opposite to what was expected. Can be used to lead the reader to see the truth. | 113 | |
11712022604 | Itemize | To list one by one. | 114 | |
11710127812 | Jargon | Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group. | ![]() | 115 |
11710127834 | Limited omniscient narrator | a third-person narrator who reports the thoughts of only one character and generally only what that one character sees | 116 | |
11710127807 | Litotes | A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. | ![]() | 117 |
11711586718 | Loaded Words | Words which are slanted for or against the subject. Can be insulting. | 118 | |
11711752054 | Logical fallacy | potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument | 119 | |
11711039127 | Logos | Using reason and logic to persuade. | 120 | |
11711495743 | Maslow's Needs | Physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, human beings are motivated in their behavior based on their response to whether or not certain basic needs have been met. Maslow arranged his list of needs in a hierarchy. | 121 | |
11710127762 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which one thing is referred to as another; for example, "my love is a fragile flower." Metaphors imply a comparison between two unlike things that help us see them in a new or more meaningful way. Metaphors can be direct or indirect. Similes are also metaphors, but use the words "like" or "as" in making the comparison. | 122 | |
11712342231 | Metaphysical Conceit | An elaborate, intellectually ingenious metaphor (often extended) that shows the writer's realm of knowledge. Often used in metaphysical poetry. | 123 | |
11710127761 | Metonymy | A metaphor that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated, such as using "the crown" to refer to a monarch. | ![]() | 124 |
11710127763 | Mode | the method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written | 125 | |
11710127764 | Mood | Similar to tone, mood is the primary emotional attitude of the setting or overall work. | 126 | |
11710127765 | Motif | Main theme or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; a repeated pattern or idea | 127 | |
11710127766 | Myth | One story in a system of narratives set in a complete imaginary world that once served to explain the origin of life, religious beliefs, and the forces of nature as supernatural occurrences | 128 | |
11710127867 | Narration | The telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse. To narrate is to recount events or a story. | 129 | |
11710127868 | Naturalism | A literary movement that grew out of realism in France, the United States, and England in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries; it portrays humans as having no free will, being driven by the natural forces of heredity, environment, and animalistic urges over which they have no control | 130 | |
11712153558 | Non Sequiter fallacy | A deductive error occurring when conclusions do not follow from the premises that precede them. In Latin, this means does not follow. An arguer is guilty of non sequitur when he states: "Ms. Reed is our new math teacher. She's young and should be good." | 131 | |
11712029497 | Observe | To see; to notice. | 132 | |
11710127835 | Objective narrator | a third-person narrator who only reports what would be visible to a camera; thoughts and feelings are only revealed if a character speaks them | 133 | |
11711443991 | Opinion | A personal view, attitude, or appraisal. Made by experts, witnesses, qualified observers. Evaluating Opinions: • Is the source credible or otherwise qualified to give the opinion? • Does the source harbor any obvious biases? • Can the source's opinion be verified by fact? | 134 | |
11710127810 | Non Sequitur | A statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before. | ![]() | 135 |
11710127869 | Objectivity | An impersonal presentation of events and characters | 136 | |
11710127833 | Omniscient narrator | a third-person narrator, referred to as "he," "she," or "they," who is able to see into each character's mind and understands all the action | 137 | |
11710127870 | Onomatopeia | the use of words that sound like what they mean, such as h i s s and b o o m | 138 | |
11710127864 | Orwellian | The manipulation of language and ideas to control and obstruct the truth. | 139 | |
11710127871 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as "wise fool." Juxtaposing two things apparently contradictory that still reinforce one idea. For example, jumbo shrimp, deafening silence. | 140 | |
11710127809 | Parable | a short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory | 141 | |
11710127808 | Paradox | A statement or idea that seems contradictory but is in fact true. a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning, as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau: "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude." | ![]() | 142 |
11712036183 | Paraphrase | To restate in other words, often easier to understand or summarized words. | 143 | |
11711053928 | Pathos | Appeals to emotion or the emotional quality of the work. | 144 | |
11710127845 | Parallelism | Rhetorical technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form. Can be sued for emphasis. | 145 | |
11710127844 | Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements | ![]() | 146 |
11710127768 | Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish | ![]() | 147 |
11710127826 | Periodic Sentence | A sentence in which the subject and verb come toward the end of the sentence. A sentence that is not grammatically complete until its last phrase, such as, "Despite Glenn's hatred of his sister's laziness and noisy eating habits, he still cared for her." | 148 | |
11710127815 | Pernicious | Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way. | ![]() | 149 |
11710127827 | Persona | a fictional voice that a writer adopts to tell a story, determined by subject matter and audience, e.g., Mark Twain | 150 | |
11710127828 | Personification | The attribution of human qualities to a nonhuman or an inanimate object. | 151 | |
11710127829 | Persuasion | a form of argumentation language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion to convince someone else to believe something or to do something | 152 | |
11711802007 | Picturesque language | Language that appeals to the senses. Description or imagery. | 153 | |
11712093949 | Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | Doubtful Cause. This fallacy is Latin for "after which therefore because of which," meaning that it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier. One may loosely summarize this fallacy by saying that correlation does not imply causation. | 154 | |
11710127830 | Point of view | the perspective from which a story is presented; common points of view include the following | 155 | |
11712043926 | Predict | Give an expected result. To suggest the result of an action or policy (or any idea that may evolve or change) | 156 | |
11712053758 | Propose | To suggest a plan or a solution to a problem. | 157 | |
11710127769 | Prose | one of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms. | ![]() | 158 |
11711854683 | Propaganda | information, often of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. Rhetoric used to persuade a mass audience, to convince them of a political, religious, or other ideology. Propaganda differs from other mass persuasive messages in that it is associated with a particular agenda. In Orwell's 1984, Hate Week and the Two Minutes Hate activities are major components of the Party's propaganda machine, as each works against rational thought and further turns Oceania's citizens into "bleating sheep." | 159 | |
11711876734 | Propaganda Techniques | • Appeal to fear: Fear is one of the most effective methods of controlling others. • Appeal to authority: People can be reluctant to oppose authority. Often people blindly follow authority. • Unwarranted emotional appeals: Even unrestrained joy (the mania of a crowd) can persuade and make people lose their reason. • Bandwagon technique: Everyone else is doing it; why not you, too? • Glittering generalities: Using abstract and undefined language to the extent that people want to believe it. Examples: freedom, glory. • Obtain disapproval: Citizens band together to hate or stand against a common enemy. • Stereotyping: It is much easier to disapprove of a group if we believe everyone in the group is the same. • Scapegoating: Find a person or a group to blame it all on. • Slogans: A motto or phrase that is mindlessly repeated and has no particular meaning, but can bring people together in a common bond. | 160 | |
11710127836 | Protagonist | the main character of a literary work | 161 | |
11711836541 | Pun | A play on words making use of double meaning | 162 | |
11712175421 | Red Herring Fallacy | when a speaker introduces an irrelevant issue or piece of evidence to divert attention from the subject of the speech. | 163 | |
11710127873 | Regionalism | an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot | 164 | |
11710127872 | Realism | a nineteenth-century literary movement in Europe and the United States that stressed accuracy in the portrayal of life, focusing on characters with whom middle-class readers could easily identify; it is in direct contrast with romanticism | 165 | |
11712056990 | Rebuff | to reject bluntly | 166 | |
11712060356 | Refute | To prove incorrect. | 167 | |
11711904254 | Repitition | Repeating a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect | 168 | |
11710127874 | Rhetoric | the art of using language effectively; involves (1) writer's purpose, (2) his or her consideration of the audience, (3) the exploration of the subject, (4) arrangement and organization of the ideas, (5) style and tone of expression, and (6) form | 169 | |
11710127875 | Rhetorical modes | exposition, description, narration, argumentation | 170 | |
11710127876 | Romanticism | a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement that began in the eighteenth century as a reaction to neoclassicism; the focal points of the movement are imagination, emotion, and freedom, stressing subjectivity, individuality, the love and worship of nature, and a fascination with the past | 171 | |
11710127839 | Sarcasm | Caustic, bitter language--iterally means "to tear the flesh." harsh and personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony | 172 | |
11710127843 | Satire | A work that pokes fun human vices and follies in order to call attention to a larger problem. | ![]() | 173 |
11710127770 | Semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words. | ![]() | 174 |
11710127799 | Simile | A metaphor that uses like, as, or as if to make a direct comparison between two essentially different objects, actions, or qualities; for example, "the sky looked like an artist's canvas." | 175 | |
11712123874 | Slippery slope fallacy | A logical fallacy that assumes once an action begins it will lead, undeterred, to an eventual and inevitable conclusion. This is a cause-and-effect error that relies on simplistic, erroneous connections. Example: If students study sex education in high school, they will become sexually promiscuous. | 176 | |
11711575370 | Slanted Language | leads the audience away from valid arguments by emphasizing words that carry strong positive or negative connotations. Uses loaded words. | 177 | |
11711792745 | Slogan | A phrase or statement meant to represent an idea, a movement, a campaign or an organization. In Animal Farm, Orwell warns against the danger of slogans that are mindlessly repeated by the masses which sound like the bleating of sheep. | 178 | |
11710127773 | Speaker | the voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona | 179 | |
11712143412 | Straw Man fallacy | A statement that refutes a claim that was never made. It is diversionary tactic in which the writer attacks a view similar to, but not the same as, his opponent's view. | 180 | |
11710127832 | Stream of consciousness narrator | like a first-person narrator, but instead placing the reader inside the character's head, making the reader privy to the continuous, chaotic flow of disconnected, half-formed thoughts and impressions in the character's mind | 181 | |
11710127775 | Style | an author's characteristic manner of expression | 182 | |
11712065738 | Support | Back up with details. To give reasons and examples for a statement of fact or a claim. | 183 | |
11710127771 | Syllogism | A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. | ![]() | 184 |
11710127772 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using "boards" to mean a stage or "wheels" to mean a car | ![]() | 185 |
11710127774 | Stereotype | a character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality | 186 | |
11712276334 | Style | The choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work. One way to think of style is as the voice of the writer. Examples of style include: • authoritative: the voice is commanding and knowing • emotive: the voice evokes emotion • didactic: the voice is preachy, insistent • objective: the voice is uncommitted, without judgment • ornate: the voice is pretentious, flowery, or ostentatious • plain: the voice is simple, straightforward, to the point • scholarly: the voice is learned and authoritative, erudite • scientific: the voice is precise and relies on the language of science | 187 | |
11710127776 | Subjectivity | a personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions | 188 | |
11710127856 | Superego | According to Freud, that facet of the psyche that represents the internalized ideals and values of one's parents and society | 189 | |
11710127777 | Suspension of disbelief | the demand made that the reader accept the incidents recounted in the literary works | 190 | |
11710127778 | Symbolism | the use of symbols or anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as representative of a higher and more complex significance | 191 | |
11710127779 | Synesthesia | When one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another. | ![]() | 192 |
11710127789 | Syntax | The arrangement of words and phrases. for example, short, simple sentences seem more urgent and less reflective than more ornate sentence types. | 193 | |
11710127819 | Tacit | Understood or implied without being stated. | ![]() | 194 |
11710127813 | Taciturn | Not talking much, reserved; silent, holding back in conversation. | 195 | |
11710127877 | Theme | The central idea or "message" of a literary work | 196 | |
11710127878 | Tone | The characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters, subject, and audience. Pay attention to not only what a character or speaker does, but also to what he or she says. Sometimes we know more than the character does (dramatic irony) and this impacts our understanding of tone. A tone can shift in a work. | 197 | |
11712268422 | Tone shift | A change in the tone of a work. If the tone changes suddenly, for example, it can signal an epiphany or some change in a speaker's or narrator's thinking. Tone shifts are critical markers in a passage. | 198 | |
11712360568 | Understatement | the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. | 199 | |
11710127879 | Unity | quality of a piece of writing; see also coherence | 200 | |
11719730784 | Verisimilitude | The appearance of being true or real. Details can add this quality. | 201 | |
11710127817 | Voracious | Craving or consuming large quantities of food. | ![]() | 202 |
11710127880 | Voice | the way a written work conveys an author's attitude | 203 | |
11710127818 | Zealous | Having or showing zeal. | ![]() | 204 |
AP English Language and Composition Set KP Flashcards
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