Terms : Hide Images
| 2886084119 | Abstract | refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images ( ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). | 0 | |
| 2886087683 | Ad Hominem | In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man." | 1 | |
| 2886088700 | Allegory | A work that functions on a symbolic level | 2 | |
| 2886091902 | Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds | 3 | |
| 2886094841 | Allusion | A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. | 4 | |
| 2886098872 | Analogy | A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based | 5 | |
| 2886105104 | Anecdote | A story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point. | 6 | |
| 2886109170 | Antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. | 7 | |
| 2886115143 | Antecedent Example | The AP language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences. A question from the 2001 AP test as an example follows: "But it is the grandeur of all truth which can occupy a very high place in human interests that it is never absolutely novel to the meanest of minds; it exists eternally, by way of germ of latent principle, in the lowest as in the highest, needing to be developed but never to be planted." | 8 | |
| 2886120033 | Antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas. Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure. | 9 | |
| 2886122536 | Argument | A single assertion or series of assertions presented and defended by the writer. | 10 | |
| 2886124547 | Attitude | The relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience | 11 | |
| 2886129097 | Balance | A situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work. | 12 | |
| 2886132735 | Cacophy | Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of literary work. Sounds can be sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious. | 13 | |
| 2886143482 | Character | Those who carry out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types. | 14 | |
| 2886155898 | Colloquial | The use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. | 15 | |
| 2886174204 | 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. | 16 | |
| 2886349450 | Conflict | A clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. god; man vs. self. | 17 | |
| 2886368148 | Connective Tissue | Those elements that help create coherence in a written piece. | 18 | |
| 2886370764 | Connotation | The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal. | 19 | |
| 2886376178 | Deduction | The process of moving from a general rule to a specific examples. | 20 | |
| 2886528620 | Denotation | The literal or dictionary meaning of a word. | 21 | |
| 2886529970 | Dialect | The re-creation of regional spoken language, such as a Southern _______. | 22 | |
| 2886533331 | Diction | The author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. | 23 | |
| 2886536706 | Didactic | Writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. Usually formal and focus on more or ethical concerns. | 24 | |
| 2886541743 | Discourse | A discussion on a specific topic. | 25 | |
| 2886543781 | Ellipsis | An indication by a series of three periods that some material has been omitted from a given text. Be wary; it could obscure the real meaning of a piece of writing. | 26 | |
| 2886548638 | Epigraph | The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at the theme. | 27 | |
| 2886553536 | Euphemism | A more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. It can also be used to obscure the reality of the situation. | 28 | |
| 2886559521 | Euphony | Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words. | 29 | |
| 2886565091 | Exposition | Background information presented in a literary work. | 30 | |
| 2886566456 | Extended Metaphor | A sustained comparison throughout a piece of writing, often referred to as a conceit. | 31 | |
| 2886570503 | Figurative Language | The body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. Examples: metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, hyperbole, etc. | 32 | |
| 2886574579 | Flashback | A device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, or episodes | 33 | |
| 2886576350 | Form | The shape or structure of a literary work. | 34 | |
| 2886578557 | Hyperbole | Extreme exaggeration, often humorous, it can also be ironic; the opposite of understatement. | 35 | |
| 2886582087 | Image | A verbal approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion. | 36 | |
| 2888665577 | Imagery | The total effect of related sensory images in a work of literature. | 37 | |
| 2888668027 | Induction | The process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization. | 38 | |
| 2888671082 | Inference | A conclusion one can draw from the presented details. | 39 | |
| 2888672928 | Invective | A verbally abusive attack. | 40 | |
| 2888674518 | Irony | An unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen. It involves dialog and situation and can be intentional or unplanned. Dramatic versions centers around the ignorance of those involved; whereas the audience is aware of the circumstance. | 41 | |
| 2892448439 | Logic | The use of careful reasoning that follows the formulas of standard classical critical thinking patterns such as deduction, induction, and reasoning by analogy. | 42 | |
| 2892451291 | Logical Fallacy | A mistake in reasoning | 43 | |
| 2892451973 | Metaphor | a direct comparison between dissimilar things. Ex: Your eyes are stars. | 44 | |
| 2892455108 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea. Ex: The pen is mightier than the sword | 45 | |
| 2892458244 | Monologue | A speech given by one character | 46 | |
| 2892459191 | Motif | The repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work used to develop theme or characters. | 47 | |
| 2892461092 | Narrator | The speaker of a literary work. | 48 | |
| 2892461779 | Onomatopoeia | Words that sound like the sound they represent. Ex: hiss, buzz, gurgle | 49 | |
| 2892463714 | Oxymoron | An image of contradictory term. Ex: bitter-sweet, jumbo shrimp | 50 | |
| 2892471285 | Pacing | The movement of a literary piece from one point or section to another. | 51 | |
| 2892472499 | Parable | A story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson. | 52 | |
| 2892474103 | Parody | A comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original. It can be utterly mocking or gently humorous. It depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style and content. | 53 | |
| 2892479288 | Pathos | An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade. | 54 | |
| 2892484558 | Pedantic | A term used to describe writing that borders lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant. | 55 | |
| 2892489672 | Periodic Sentence | Presents its main clause at the end of the sentence for emphasis and sentence variety. | 56 | |
| 2892499168 | Personification | The assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts. | 57 | |
| 2892504774 | Plot | A sequence of events in a literary work. | 58 | |
| 2892505881 | Point of View | The method of narration in a literary work. | 59 | |
| 2892506970 | Pun | A play on words that often has a comic effect. Associated with wit and cleverness. | 60 | |
| 2892509033 | Reductio ad Absurdum | The Latin for "to reduce to the absurd." This technique is useful in creating a comic effect and is also an argumentative technique. | 61 | |
| 2892514278 | Rhetoric | Refers to the entire process of written communication. Effective writing or speaking. | 62 | |
| 2892519267 | Rhetorical Question | One that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or the audience. | 63 | |
| 2892522554 | Sarcasm | A comic technique that ridicules through caustic language. Tone and attitude may both be described as this in a given text if the writer employs language, irony, and wit to mock or scorn. | 64 | |
| 2892526626 | Satire | A mode of writing based on ridicule, that criticizes the foibles and follies of society without necessarily offering a solution. | 65 | |
| 2892550126 | Simile | An indirect comparison that uses the word like or as to link the differing items in the comparison. | 66 | |
| 2892671962 | Stanza | A unit of a poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem. | 67 | |
| 2892675649 | Structure | The organization and form of a work | 68 | |
| 2892676648 | Style | The unique way an author presents his ideas. Diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to a particular style. | 69 | |
| 2892679491 | Summary | Reducing the original text to its essential parts. | 70 | |
| 2892680543 | Syllogism | The format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. | 71 | |
| 2892682506 | Symbol | Something in a literary work that stands for something else. | 72 | |
| 2892683630 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. Ex: All hands on deck. | 73 | |
| 2892686730 | Syntax | The grammatical structure of prose and poetry. | 74 | |
| 2892687833 | Synthesis | Locating a number of sources and integrating them into the development and support of a writer's thesis/claim. | 75 | |
| 2892690330 | Theme | The underlying ideas the author illustrates through characterization, motifs, language, plot, etc. | 76 | |
| 2892693009 | Thesis | Simply, the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author's assertion or claim | 77 | |
| 2892694798 | Tone | The author's attitude toward his subject. | 78 | |
| 2892696232 | Transition | A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. | 79 | |
| 2892698526 | Understatement | The opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. | 80 | |
| 2892701420 | Voice | Can refer to two different areas of writing. The first refers to the relationship between a sentences subject and verb (passive vs. active). The second refers to the total "sound" of a writer's style. | 81 | |
| 3057604522 | Parallel structure | repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. | 82 |
