Terms : Hide Images
| 10006260667 | Allegory | A narrative in which the characters, behavior, and even the setting demonstrate multiple levels of meaning and significance. | 0 | |
| 10006260668 | Alliteration | The sequential repetition of a similar initial sound, usually applied to consonants, usually in closely proximate stressed syllables. | 1 | |
| 10006260669 | Allusion | A literary, historical, religious, or mythological reference. | 2 | |
| 10006260670 | Anaphora | The regular repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases of clauses. (to cause a particular effect) | 3 | |
| 10006261392 | Antithesis | The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, grammatical structure, or ideas. | 4 | |
| 10006262184 | Aphorism | A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. | 5 | |
| 10006262185 | Apostrophe | An address or invocation to something inanimate. | 6 | |
| 10006263392 | Ethos | In rhetoric, the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator. | 7 | |
| 10006263393 | Logos | Appeals to the use of reason and logic. | 8 | |
| 10006263394 | Pathos | The element in literature that simulates pity or sorrow. In argument or persuasion, it tends to be the evocation of pity from the audience. | 9 | |
| 10006263891 | Assonance | Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words. | 10 | |
| 10006313178 | Asyndeton | A syntactical structure in which conjunctions are omitted in a series, usually producing more rapid prose. | 11 | |
| 10006320001 | Attitude | The sense expressed by the tone of voice or the mood of a piece of writing; the author's feelings toward his/her subject, characters, events, theme, or even audience. | 12 | |
| 10006320002 | Bathos | An abrupt transition in style from the exalted to the commonplace, producing a ludicrous effect. | 13 | |
| 10006321515 | Begging the question | An argumentative ploy where the arguer sidesteps the question or the conflict, evading or ignoring the real question. | 14 | |
| 10006321516 | Canon | That which has been accepted as authentic. | 15 | |
| 10006321517 | Chiasmus | A figure of speech and generally a syntactical structure wherein the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second. | 16 | |
| 10006323328 | Claim | In argumentation, an assertion of something as fact. | 17 | |
| 10006323329 | Colloquial | A term identifying the diction of the common, ordinary folks, especially in a specific region or area. | 18 | |
| 10006324077 | Comparison and Contrast | A mode of discourse in which two or more things are compared, contrasted, or both. | 19 | |
| 10006324078 | Conceit | A comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature, in particular an extended metaphor within a poem. | 20 | |
| 10006324079 | Connotation | The implied, suggested, or underlying meaning of a word or phrase. | 21 | |
| 10006325544 | Consonance | The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels. | 22 | |
| 10006325545 | Convention | An accepted manner, model, or tradition. | 23 | |
| 10006325546 | Critique | An assessment or analysis of something, such as a passage of writing, for the purpose of determining what it is, what its limitations are, and how it conforms to the standard of the genre. | 24 | |
| 10006328210 | Deductive reasoning/Deduction | The method of argument in which specific statements and conclusions are drawn from general principles: movement from the general to the specific. | 25 | |
| 10006328211 | Dialect | The language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group. | 26 | |
| 10006328212 | Diction | The specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose, or effect. | 27 | |
| 10006328905 | Didactic | Writing or speech with an instructive purpose or lesson. Often associated with a dry, pompous presentation, regardless of its innate value to the audience. | 28 | |
| 10006328906 | Elegy | A poem or prose work that laments or meditates upon the death of a person or persons. Sometimes will end with words of consolation. Laments. | 29 | |
| 10006328907 | Epistrophe | In rhetoric, the repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences. | 30 | |
| 10006329598 | Epitaph | Writing in praise of a dead person, most often inscribed upon a headstone. | 31 | |
| 10006339920 | Eulogy | A speech or written passage in praise of a person; an oration in honor of a deceased person. Praises. | 32 | |
| 10006339921 | Euphemism | An indirect, kinder, or less harsh or hurtful way of expressing unpleasant information. | 33 | |
| 10006340728 | Exposition | Writing that explains its own meaning or purpose. | 34 | |
| 10006340729 | Extended metaphor | A series of comparisons within a piece of writing. If they consistently involve one concept, it is also known as a conceit. | 35 | |
| 10006342465 | Figurative | With levels of meaning expressed through figures of speech, such as personification, metaphors, hyperboles, irony, oxymorons, litotes, etc. | 36 | |
| 10006343034 | Flashback | An earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narration. | 37 | |
| 10006343961 | Genre | A type or class of literature, such as epic, biography, science-fiction, etc. | 38 | |
| 10006343962 | Homily | A sermon, but more contemporary uses include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual life. | 39 | |
| 10006343963 | Hyperbole | Overstatement characterized by exaggerated language, usually to make a point or draw attention. | 40 | |
| 10006343964 | Imagery | Broadly defined, any sensory detail or evocation in a work; more narrowly, the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object. Involves any or all the five senses. Generally used in conjunction with other figures of speech. | 41 | |
| 10006345025 | Inductive Reasoning/Induction | The method of reasoning or argument in which general statements and conclusions are drawn from specific principals: movement from the specific to the general. Used commonly in scientific study. | 42 | |
| 10006345783 | Inference | A conclusion or proposition arrived at by considering facts, observations, or some other specific data. | 43 | |
| 10006345784 | Irony | The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. The intended meaning is often the opposite of what is stated, often implying light sarcasm. Often used to create humor. Three major types: verbal, situational, and dramatic. | 44 | |
| 10006346444 | Isocolon | Parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure but also in length. | 45 | |
| 10006346445 | Jargon | Specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group. | 46 | |
| 10006346446 | Juxtaposition | The location of one thing adjacent to another to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose. | 47 | |
| 10006347297 | Litote | Figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by conscious development. | 48 | |
| 10006349620 | Loose (cumulative) sentence | A long sentence that starts with its main clause, which is followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases. | 49 | |
| 10006349621 | Metaphor | One thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting a likeness or analogy. Without "like" or "as". | 50 | |
| 10006349622 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something. | 51 | |
| 10006351042 | Mode of Discourse | The way in which information is presented in written or spoken form. Greeks identified four: narration, description, exposition (cause and effect, process analysis, compare and contrast), and argumentation. Contemporary thought includes personal observation, narrative reflection, etc. | 52 | |
| 10006351043 | Mood | A feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator's attitude and point of view. A "feeling" that establishes the atmosphere in a work of literature or other discourse. | 53 | |
| 10006352348 | Narrative | A mode of discourse that tells a story of some sort. Based on sequences of connected events, usually presented in a straightforward, chronological framework. | 54 | |
| 10006352349 | Onomatopoeia | A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes. | 55 | |
| 10006352353 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements. | 56 | |
| 10006353167 | Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory but is probably true. | 57 | |
| 10006353168 | Parallel structure | The use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts. In prose, this is the recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show their ideas equal in importance. | 58 | |
| 10006359817 | Periodic sentence | A long sentence in which the main clause is not completed until the end. | 59 | |
| 10006360931 | Personification | Treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by endowing it with human features or qualities. | 60 | |
| 10006361864 | Point of view | The relation in which a narrator/author stands to a subject of discourse. | 61 | |
| 10006361865 | Prose | The ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, in contrast to verse and poetry. | 62 | |
| 10006362432 | Realism | Attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail. | 63 | |
| 10006362433 | Rebuttal/Refutation | Argument technique wherein opposing arguments are anticipated and countered. | 64 | |
| 10006362977 | Rhetoric | The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking. All types of writing may seek to persuade. | 65 | |
| 10006362978 | Rhetorical question | A question that is asked simply for the sake of stylistic effect and is not expected to be answered. | 66 | |
| 10006363868 | Sarcasm | A form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually critical. Can be light and joking or harsh, caustic, and cruel. | 67 | |
| 10006363869 | Satire | A literary work that holds up human failings to ridicule and censure. | 68 | |
| 10006363870 | Simile | A direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, usually using the words "like" or "as" to draw the connection. | 69 | |
| 10006365095 | Style | The manner in which a writer combines and arranges words, shapes ideas, and utilizes syntax and structure. | 70 | |
| 10006365096 | Symbolism | The use of a person, place, thing, event, or pattern that figuratively represents something else. | 71 | |
| 10006366462 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole. | 72 | |
| 10006366463 | Syntax | The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. Also sentence structure and how it influences the way the reader receives a particular piece of writing. Important in establishing tone and attitude. (see loose sentence, parallel structure, and periodic sentence) | 73 | |
| 10006366464 | Theme | The central or dominant idea of focus of a work; the statement a passage makes about its subject. | 74 | |
| 10006366465 | Tone | The attitude the narrator/writer takes toward a subject and theme; the tenor of a piece of writing based on particular stylistic devices employed by the writer. (reflects author's attitude) | 75 | |
| 10006367025 | Voice | The acknowledged or unacknowledged source of the words of the story; the speaker or narrator's particular "take" on an idea based on particular passage and how all the elements of the style of the piece come together to express his/her feelings. | 76 | |
| 10006367026 | Zeugma | A grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is appleid to two or more nouns without being repeated. Often used for comedic effect. | 77 |
