Terms : Hide Images
| 4498467408 | Alliteration | repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words/syllables Ex. Sally sells seashells. | 0 | |
| 4498473562 | Allusion | indirect reference to another text or historic event Ex. You're this day and age's Thomas Edison. | 1 | |
| 4498477627 | Analogy | extended comparison between two dissimilar things Ex. How my mother finds out what we're doing is similar to that of a detective trying to solve a crime. | 2 | |
| 4498479707 | anaphora | repetition of words at beginning of successive clauses Ex. I am strong. I am able. I am Christian. | 3 | |
| 4498483695 | Anecdote | short account of an interesting event Ex. It was finally here: my final exam for Spanish 2. I was excited and anxious at the same time, these two personalities dueling it out with each other as I slide into my chair and glance at the first question. With full confidence, I scrutinized each and every question, reading it carefully and going over it in my head before writing down a definite answer. When I finally finished the back page, I set my pen down and felt like doing a victory lap around the library. I had done it. I felt confident that I had done well. | 4 | |
| 4498486046 | Annotation | explanatory/critical notes added to a text Ex. I printed out the article and annotated to better understand and collect evidence from the text. | 5 | |
| 4498488551 | Antecedent | noun to which a later pronoun refers Ex. Christian---he | 6 | |
| 4498490416 | Antimetabole | repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen contrast Ex. Fair is foul and foul is fair. | 7 | |
| 4498496553 | Antithesis | parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas Ex. Love is ideal, marriage is the deal. | 8 | |
| 4498500617 | Aphorism | short statement of general truth Ex. Actions speak louder than words. | 9 | |
| 4498503321 | Appositive | word/phrase that renames noun or pronoun Ex. Christian, the least athletic Gossett family member, doesn't like sports. | 10 | |
| 4498507140 | Archaic diction | use of words common to earlier period of time Ex. Thus, the war had begun. | 11 | |
| 4498508820 | Argument | a statement put forth and supported by evidence Ex. My sister should've taken out the trash because she does it every other Thursday, and I took it out last week. | 12 | |
| 4498511606 | Aristotelian triangle | diagram which represents rhetorical situation as relationship among speaker, subject, and audience | 13 | |
| 4498516547 | Assertion | emphatic statement/declaration; if evidence supports an assertion, it'll become an argument Ex. Morgan should take out the trash. | 14 | |
| 4498522765 | Assumption | belief/statement accepted with evidence Ex. I believe that Morgan will do fine at college. | 15 | |
| 4498526040 | Asyndeton | leaving out conjunctions between words/phrases/clauses Ex. | 16 | |
| 4498537460 | Attitude | speaker's feelings on a subject Ex. The author's attitude towards drinking and driving is that they despise it and think it to be reckless and endangering. | 17 | |
| 4498544169 | Audience | listener or readership; those to whom the piece is addressed to Ex. The audience for this article are people who are interested in finding out more about the "Ghostbusters" reboot. | 18 | |
| 4498549050 | Authority | reliable/respectful source Ex. If someone is doing a paper on a disease, a doctor would be a reliable source to talk to. | 19 | |
| 4498571327 | Bias | prejudice toward one side of an issue Ex. I am bias towards abortion because I believe that in most cases, a baby should be created and not destroyed. | 20 | |
| 4498573647 | Cite | identifying a line of text that originates from an outside source Ex. "78% of Americans own a car" (Keller). | 21 | |
| 4498585330 | Claim | assertion supported by evidence Ex. Drunk driving is dangerous. According to the CDC, "9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impared driving crashes". | 22 | |
| 4498588286 | Close reading | careful reading to be attentive towards organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocab and other literary elements Ex. The writing in "How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else" by Michael Gates Gill was rather simplistic yet felt elegant. This writing style may reflect the two phases of Gates Gill's life. | 23 | |
| 4498619910 | Colloquialism | informal/controversial use of language Ex. | 24 | |
| 4498639299 | Common ground | shared beliefs/values/positions Ex. | 25 | |
| 4498640609 | Complex sentence | sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause Ex. After the bell rings, I'll go home and watch television. | 26 | |
| 4498651214 | Concession | reluctant acknowledgment Ex. | 27 | |
| 4498652939 | Connotation | the feeling that comes off from a word Ex. This is definitely the most delicious taco I have ever had! Definitely implies that the person speaking really loves the taco, the word "definitely" implying that the taste of the taco is definite. | 28 | |
| 4498667534 | Context | words/events/circumstances to help determine a meaning Ex. | 29 | |
| 4498715199 | Coordination | grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through coordinating conjuctions (such as, but, or, and) Ex. | 30 | |
| 4498723351 | Counterargument | challenge to a position Ex. | 31 | |
| 4558347526 | Cumulative sentence | an independent clause followed by a subordinate clause or phrases that supply additional detail Ex. | 32 | |
| 4558352479 | Declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a statement Ex. Texting while driving is a hazardous and reckless activity that should be against the law. | 33 | |
| 4558354835 | Deduction | reasoning from general to specific Ex. | 34 | |
| 4558355472 | Denotation | literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition Ex. According to Merriam-Webster, a polygraph is "a test done with a lie detector to see if someone is telling the truth". Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polygraph?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld | 35 | |
| 4558362770 | Diction | word choice Ex. The writer's diction suggests that they are against teens having sex before marriage, using words like "preposterous" and "abominable". | 36 | |
| 4558367650 | Documentation | bibliographic information about sources used in a piece of writing Ex. I have to present documentation in order to receive a passport. | 37 | |
| 4558374013 | Elegiac | mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone Ex. | 38 | |
| 4558374946 | Epigram | brief, witty statement Ex. | 39 | |
| 4558376607 | Ethos | Greek term referring to one person's character; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals Ex. If someone's child might want to do something, the child might tell their parent that they would be the coolest parent, improving upon their character. | 40 | |
| 4558382086 | Figurative language | use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect Ex. | 41 | |
| 4558385837 | Figure of speech | expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning Ex. | 42 | |
| 4558388107 | Hyperbole | exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis Ex. Those shrimp are ginormous! | 43 | |
| 4558393554 | Imagery | vivid use of language that evokes a reader's five senses Ex. The feeling of the taco was rough and rather scaly, while its smell contained perfectly grilled meat and freshly cut cheddar cheese. The golden shell crunched loudly, the combination of meat, cheese, sour cream, and taco shell dancing around rhythmically in my mouth. | 44 | |
| 4558402637 | Imperative sentence | sentence that requests/commands Ex. | 45 | |
| 4558406761 | Induction | reasoning from specific to general Ex. | 46 | |
| 4558408580 | Inversion | sentence in which the verb precedes the subject Ex. Jump as high as you can, Sally! | 47 | |
| 4558413511 | Irony | a contradiction between what's said and what's meant; incongruity between action/result Ex. A firefighter's house burning down. | 48 | |
| 4558417126 | Juxtaposition | placement of two things side by side for emphasis Ex. | 49 | |
| 4558417176 | Logos | Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals Ex. "In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers." (distraction.gov) | 50 | |
| 4558430638 | Metaphor | figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison Ex. | 51 | |
| 4558435292 | Metonymy | use of an aspect of something to represent the whole Ex. | 52 | |
| 4558436664 | Occasion | aspect of context; cause/reason for writing Ex. The occasion of this article is to tell its audience of the events that happened in a foreign country. | 53 | |
| 4559547720 | Oxymoron | figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms Ex. That joke was seriously funny, Joe! | 54 | |
| 4559549203 | Paradox | statement that seems contradictory but is actually true Ex. If you want to achieve your dreams, you must be awake. | 55 | |
| 4559553042 | Parallelism | repetition of similar grammatical/syntactical patterns Ex. | 56 | |
| 4559555495 | Parody | piece that imitates/exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect/ridicule Ex. The "Scary Movie" franchise can be classified as a parody due to the films' use of making fun of the usual tropes seen in many horror films. | 57 | |
| 4559563756 | Pathos | Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals Ex. Child: "Mom, can I got to a party?" Mother: "No." Child: "Please, mom? I'm going to be bored all night because I have nothing to do, and then everyone will be talking about it, and they'll make fun of me because I wasn't allowed to go." | 58 | |
| 4559565921 | Persona | speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing Ex. | 59 | |
| 4559569739 | Personification | assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects Ex. The tree stared at me as I ran by. | 60 | |
| 4559572171 | Polemic | argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion Ex. | 61 | |
| 4561409327 | Polysyndeton | deliberate use of a series of conjunctions Ex. | 62 | |
| 4561410644 | Premise | major, minor two parts of a syllogism; concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise. Ex. Major premise: All plants need chlorophyll. Minor premise: All flowers are plants. | 63 | |
| 4561415756 | Propaganda | negative term of writing used to sway opinion rather than present information Ex. "Build a Victory Garden to help our soldiers beat Adolf Hitler!" | 64 | |
| 4561417803 | Purpose | one's intention or objective in a piece of writing Ex. The purpose the writer had for writing about drunk driving was to present his side of the issue with statistics and experts supporting his stance to sway the reader to side with him. | 65 | |
| 4561418354 | Refute | discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument Ex. Speaker One: "Tobacco is harmful and should be illegal." Speaker Two: "There are minimal risks by using tobacco." Speaker One: "Tobacco has been proven to cause gum disease and lung cancer." | 66 | |
| 4558370091 | Rhetoric | study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion" Ex. | 67 | |
| 4580179542 | Rhetorical modes | patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, calssification and division, process analysis, and argumentation Ex. | 68 | |
| 4580186836 | Rhetorical question | question asked more to produce effect than an answer Ex. Is there life out there amongst the stars? | 69 | |
| 4580196521 | Rhetorical triangle | diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the realtionship among the speaker, subject, and audience Ex. | 70 | |
| 4580199305 | Satire | an ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to aruge for something, but actually argues against it Ex. | 71 | |
| 4580203581 | Scheme | pattern of words/sentence construction used for rhetorical effect Ex. | 72 | |
| 4580211702 | Sentence patterns | arrangement of independent/dependent clauses into known sentence constructions-such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex Ex. The dog is brown, and it has floppy ears. The dog is brown. It has floppy ears. | 73 | |
| 4580213233 | Sentence variety | use of a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect Ex. "Sally, I need you to clean the house. Pleae clean the house. Clean. The. House." | 74 | |
| 4580215588 | Simile | figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things Ex. The girl's dress shone as bright as the hot sun in July. | 75 | |
| 4580219570 | Simple sentence | statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause Ex. Michael went to the mall Saturday. | 76 | |
| 4580224170 | Source | book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information Ex. If I was writing a story about the effects of heroin, I would probably use an article from WebMD or from a respected scientist. | 77 | |
| 4580225612 | Speaker | term used for the author, speaker, or person whose perspective (real/imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing Ex. The speaker was George W. Bush. | 78 | |
| 4580235745 | Straw man | logical fallacy that involves creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position. Ex. Speaker One: "Vegetables are great." Speaker Two: "I like beef better." Speaker One: "Oh, so you enjoy eating animals? Cannibal!" | 79 | |
| 4580237395 | Style | distinctive quality of speech/writing created by selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech Ex. | 80 | |
| 4580240981 | Subject | in rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing Ex. The subject of the 9/11 speech was to address the events of 9/11 and reinstill hope in heartbroken Americans. | 81 | |
| 4580242339 | Subordinate clause | created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause Ex. | 82 | |
| 4580244735 | Subordination | dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence Ex. | 83 | |
| 4580246780 | Syllogism | form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major/minor premise Ex. All these books are new. These books are from that store. In conclusion, these books are new. | 84 | |
| 4580247861 | Syntax | sentence structure Ex. "I love pizza." The syntax is simplistic. | 85 | |
| 4580249855 | Synthesize | combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex Ex. I studied extra hard in order to pass the test. | 86 | |
| 4580251009 | Thesis | central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer Ex. A thesis would be that drunk driving is bad. | 87 | |
| 4580252981 | Thesis statement | statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit Ex. A thesis statement for a paper about WWI being deadly could mention that there was mustard gas, tanks and machine guns. | 88 | |
| 4580254675 | Tone | speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience Ex. The tone is calm, professional and a bit contradicting. | 89 | |
| 4580255894 | Topic sentence | sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis Ex. There are quite a few reasons on why the 2016 "Ghostbusters" should be praised more. | 90 | |
| 4580261054 | Trope | artful diction (word choice); use of language in nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech Ex. | 91 | |
| 4580264323 | Understatement | lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect Ex. To say that my father's fall off a ladder was scary to me is an understatement because I was almost fearful that he wasn't going to be fine. | 92 | |
| 4580265765 | Voice | in grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice); in rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style/tone of writing Ex. The voice is very passive and understanding. | 93 | |
| 4580270130 | Zeugma | construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs-often in different, sometimes incongruent ways-two or more words in a sentence Ex. The new member of the family was welcomed in open arms and hearts. | 94 |
