Terms : Hide Images
| 9884973415 | Cumulative (Loose) Sentence | begins with a main clause that is followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause. These phrases or clauses add information to the main or independent clause. | 0 | |
| 9884973416 | Periodic Sentence | a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense. |  | 1 |
| 9884973417 | Litotes/Understatement | a figure of speech in which a negative statement is used to affirm a positive statement. | 2 | |
| 9884973418 | Warrant | expresses the assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience. | 3 | |
| 9884973419 | Ethos | an appeal to ethics and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. | 4 | |
| 9884973420 | Pathos | an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. | 5 | |
| 9884973421 | Logos | an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason. | 6 | |
| 9884973422 | Concession | an acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. | 7 | |
| 9884973423 | Syllogism | A logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion. |  | 8 |
| 9884973424 | Major premise | contains the term that is the predicate of the conclusion. |  | 9 |
| 9884973425 | Minor premise | contains the term that is the subject of the conclusion. | | 10 |
| 9884973426 | Induction | a logical process wherein you reason from particulars to universal, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization. | 11 | |
| 9884973427 | Deduction | a logical process wherein you reach a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise). | 12 | |
| 9884973428 | Equivocation | a fallacy of argument in which a lie is given the appearance of truth, or in which the truth is misrepresented in deceptive language. | 13 | |
| 9884973429 | Refutation | a denial of the validity of an opposing argument. | 14 | |
| 9884973430 | Diction | a speaker's choice of words. Analysis of diction looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker's message. | 15 | |
| 9884973431 | Simile | a figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using words like, as, or as though. |  | 16 |
| 9884973432 | Metaphor | figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using like or as. | 17 | |
| 9884973433 | Anaphora | the intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect. |  | 18 |
| 9884973434 | Rhetoric | it is the art of finding ways of persuading an audience. | 19 | |
| 9884973435 | Rhetorical Triangle | speaker-subject-audience |  | 20 |
| 9884973436 | Allusion | brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) to to a work of art. | 21 | |
| 9884973437 | Hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point. | 22 | |
| 9884973438 | Personification | attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea. | 23 | |
| 9884973439 | Asyndeton | omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. | 24 | |
| 9884973440 | Polysyndeton | the deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses or words. |  | 25 |
| 9884973441 | Parallelism | similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. | 26 | |
| 9884973442 | Antithesis | opposition, or contrast or ideas or words in a parallel construction. | 27 | |
| 9884973443 | Enumeration | to mention separately as if in counting; name one by one; specify, as in list |  | 28 |
| 9884973444 | Rhetorical Question | Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer. Ex.) Are you stupid? | 29 | |
| 9884973445 | Chiasmus | the reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases. Ex.) He went to the country, the country went to him. |  | 30 |
| 9884973446 | Rebuttal | In the Toulon model, a rebuttal gives voice to possible objections. |  | 31 |
| 9884973447 | Fallacy of Argument | a flaw in the structure of an argument that renders its conclusion invalid or suspect. |  | 32 |
| 9884973448 | Bandwagon Appeal | a fallacy of argument in which a course of action is recommended on the grounds that everyone else is following it. | 33 | |
| 9884973449 | Begging the Question | a fallacy of argument in which a claim is based on the very grounds that are in doubt or dispute. | 34 | |
| 9884973450 | Anecdote | a brief story used to illustrate a point or claim. |  | 35 |
| 9884973451 | Modes of Disclosure | Exposition- illustrates a point Narration- tells a story Description- creates a sensory image Argumentation- takes a position on an issue and defends it. | 36 | |
| 9884973452 | Example | a specific event, person, or detail of an idea cited and/or developed to support or illustrate a thesis or topic. | 37 | |
| 9884973453 | Contrast/ Comparison | a method of presenting similarities and differences between or among at least two persons, places, things, ideas, etc. may be organized by: Subject by subject Point by point Combination | 38 | |
| 9884973454 | Cause and Effect | establishes a relationship: B is the result of A. | 39 | |
| 9884973455 | Classification | separates items into major categories and details the characteristics of each group is placed within the category. | 40 | |
| 9884973456 | Process | simply "how to" do something is done. It can have one of two purposes. It can either give instructions or inform the reader about how something is done. | 41 | |
| 9884973457 | Definition | identifies the class to which a specific term belongs and those characteristics which make it different from all the other items in that class. | 42 | |
| 9884973458 | Narration | is nothing more than storytelling. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. | 43 | |
| 9884973459 | Description | writing that appeals to the senses. It can be objective, which is scientific or clinical, or it can be impressionistic, which tries to involve the reader's emotions or feelings. | 44 | |
| 9884973460 | Dogmatism` | a fallacy of argument in which a claim is supported on the grounds that it's the only conclusion acceptable within a given community. | 45 | |
| 9884973461 | False Dilemma or Dichotomy | a fallacy of argument in which a complicated issue is misrepresented as offering only two possible alternatives, one of which is often made to seem vastly preferable to the other. | 46 | |
| 9884973462 | False authority | a fallacy of argument in which a claim is based on the expertise of someone who lacks appropriate credentials. | 47 | |
| 9884973463 | Faulty causality | a fallacy of argument making the unwarranted assumption that because one event follows another, the first event causes the second. Also called post hoc, ergo propter hoc, this forms the basis of many superstitions. | 48 | |
| 9884973464 | Hasty generalization | a fallacy of argument in which an inference is drawn from insufficient data. | 49 | |
| 9884973465 | Non sequitor | a fallacy of argument in which claims, reasons, or warrants fail to connect logically; one point doesn't follow from another. | 50 | |
| 9884973485 | Allegory | The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself. | 51 | |
| 9884973486 | Alliteration | The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells"). |  | 52 |
| 9884973487 | Allusion | A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. | 53 | |
| 9884973488 | Ambiguity | The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. |  | 54 |
| 9884973489 | Analogy | A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. | 55 | |
| 9884973490 | Antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. | 56 | |
| 9884973491 | Antithesis | the opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite. |  | 57 |
| 9884973492 | Aphorism | A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) | 58 | |
| 9884973493 | Apostrophe | A prayer like figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. | 59 | |
| 9884973494 | Atmosphere | The emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. | 60 | |
| 9884973495 | Caricature | a verbal description, the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics. | 61 | |
| 9884973496 | Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. | 62 | |
| 9884973497 | Colloquial/Colloquialism | The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. | 63 | |
| 9884973498 | Literary Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects; displays intellectual cleverness through unusual comparisons that make good sense | 64 | |
| 9884973499 | Connotation | The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. | 65 | |
| 9884973500 | Denotation | The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. | 66 | |
| 9884973501 | Diction | Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. | 67 | |
| 9884973502 | Didactic | From the Greek, didactic literally means "teaching." | 68 | |
| 9884973503 | Euphemism | From the Greek for "good speech," euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept - POLITICALLY CORRECT | 69 | |
| 9884973504 | Extended Metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. | 70 | |
| 9884973505 | Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid | 71 | |
| 9884973506 | Figure of speech | A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Figures of speech include apotrophe hyperbole irony metaphor oxymoron paradox personification simile syneddoche understatement | 72 | |
| 9884973507 | Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. | 73 | |
| 9884973508 | Homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | 74 | |
| 9884973509 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. (The literal Greek meaning is "overshoot.") | 75 | |
| 9884973510 | Imagery | The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. | 76 | |
| 9884973511 | Inference/infer | To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. | 77 | |
| 9884973512 | Invective | an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. | 78 | |
| 9884973513 | Irony/ironic | The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. | 79 | |
| 9884973514 | Loose sentence/non-periodic sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. | 80 | |
| 9884973515 | Metaphor | A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. | 81 | |
| 9884973516 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. | 82 | |
| 9884973517 | Mood | The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. | 83 | |
| 9884973518 | Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events. | 84 | |
| 9884973519 | onomatopoeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. | 85 | |
| 9884973520 | Oxymoron | Oxymoron is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. | 86 | |
| 9884973521 | Paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. | 87 | |
| 9884973522 | Parallelism | the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc. | 88 | |
| 9884973523 | Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. | 89 | |
| 9884973524 | Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish (language that might be described as "show-offy"; using big words for the sake of using big words). | 90 | |
| 9884973525 | Periodic sentence | The opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. | 91 | |
| 9884973526 | Personification | A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. | 92 | |
| 9884973527 | Point of view | In literature, the perspective from which a story is told. | 93 | |
| 9884973528 | Prose | written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure. | 94 | |
| 9884973529 | Repetition | The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. | 95 | |
| 9884973530 | Rhetoric | From the Greek for "orator," this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively. | 96 | |
| 9884973531 | Sarcasm | Involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. | 97 | |
| 9884973532 | Satire | A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. | 98 | |
| 9884973533 | Subordinate clause | Like all clauses, this word group contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, this clause cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought. | 99 | |
| 9884973534 | Syllogism | A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first one called "major" and the second called "minor") that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. | 100 | |
| 9884973535 | Symbol/symbolism | Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else. | 101 | |
| 9884973536 | Syntax | The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. | 102 | |
| 9884973537 | Theme | The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. | 103 | |
| 9884973538 | Thesis | The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position. | 104 | |
| 9884973539 | Tone | Describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. | 105 | |
| 9884973540 | Transition | A word or phrase that links different ideas. Used especially, although not exclusively, in expository and argumentative writing, effectively signal a shift from one idea to another. | 106 | |
| 9884973541 | Understatement | the ironic minimalizing of fact; presents something as less significant than it is. | 107 | |
| 9884973542 | Wit | in modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. | 108 | |
| 9884973543 | Slippery Slope | This is the failure to provide evidence to support a claim that one event will lead to a catastrophic chain of events. | 109 | |
| 9884973544 | straw man | When a writer argues against a claim that nobody actually holds or is universally considered weak. | 110 | |
| 9884973545 | Ethos | An appeal to credibility. The writer is seeking to convince you that he or she has the background, history, skills, and/or expertise to speak on the issue. | 111 | |
| 9884973546 | Juxtaposition | Making on idea more dramatic by placing it next to its opposite. | 112 | |
| 9884973547 | Logos | An appeal to reason. | 113 | |
| 9884973548 | Pathos | An appeal to emotion. | 114 | |
| 9884973549 | Rhetorical Question | A question whose answer is assumed. | 115 | |
| 9884973550 | Simile | A critical figure of speech in an argument when what is unknown is compared to something that is known using the word "like," "as," or "than" in order to better perceive its importance. | 116 | |
| 9884973551 | rhetorical appeal | the persuasive devices by which a writer tries to sway an audience's attention and response to any given work. See logos, ethos, and pathos. | 117 | |
| 9884973552 | descriptive detail | When an essay uses this phrase, look for the writer's sensory description. | 118 | |
| 9884973553 | devices | The figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other stylistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic effect. | 119 | |
| 9884973554 | narrative devices | This term describes the tools of the storyteller (also used in nonfiction), such as ordering events so that they build to a climactic moment or withholding information until a crucial or appropriate moment when revealing it creates a desired effect. On the essay portion of the exam, this term may also apply to biographical and autobiographical writing. | 120 | |
| 9884973555 | narrative techniques | The style of telling the "story," even if the passage is nonfiction. Concentrate on the order of events and on their detail in evaluating a writer's technique. | 121 | |
| 9884973556 | Ad hominem argument | An argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position on an issue | 122 | |
| 9884973557 | Anaphora | Figure of repetition that occurs when the first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases; repetition of the initial words over successive phrases or clauses | 123 | |
| 9884973558 | Anecdote | A brief story that illustrates or makes a point | 124 | |
| 9884973559 | Appeal to authority | A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution. | 125 | |
| 9884973560 | Argumentation | one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way. | 126 | |
| 9884973561 | Assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity | 127 | |
| 9884973562 | Asyndeton | A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction). | 128 | |
| 9884973563 | tone | A speaker's, author's, or character's disposition toward or opinion of a subject. | 129 | |
| 9884973564 | audience | One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed. | 130 | |
| 9884973565 | Balanced sentence | A sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast | 131 | |
| 9884973566 | Begging the question | Often called circular reasoning, __ occurs when the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim. | 132 | |
| 9884973466 | understatement | "I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye | 133 | |
| 9884973467 | parallelism | "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy | 134 | |
| 9884973468 | allusion | The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora's box of crimes. | 135 | |
| 9884973469 | hyperbole | "I'll love you, dear, I'll love you/Till China and Africa meet,/And the river jumps over the mountain" | 136 | |
| 9884973470 | aphorism | "Having nothing, nothing can he lose." | 137 | |
| 9884973471 | metonymy | "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Act I | 138 | |
| 9884973472 | invective | "I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels | 139 | |
| 9884973473 | antithesis | "To err is human; to forgive divine." Alexander Pope "An Essay on Criticism" | 140 | |
| 9884973474 | euphemism | "I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs." William Shakespeare Othello | 141 | |
| 9884973475 | periodic sentence | In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued. | 142 | |
| 9884973476 | paradox | "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." -Gandhi | 143 | |
| 9884973477 | alliteration | "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead." | 144 | |
| 9884973478 | chiasmus | "he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling" | 145 | |
| 9884973479 | oxymoron | "Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. / Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, / That I shall say good night till it be morrow." | 146 | |
| 9884973480 | personification | "Pearl Button swung on the little gate in front of the House of Boxes. It was the early afternoon of a sunshiny day with little winds playing hide-and-seek in it." | 147 | |
| 9884973481 | onomatopoeia | "He saw nothing and heard nothing but he could feel his heart pounding and then he heard the clack on stone and the leaping, dropping clicks of a small rock falling." | 148 | |
| 9884973482 | inverted syntax | "Patience you must have, my young padawan." | 149 | |
| 9884973483 | spatial description | "In my pantry, coffee, tea powder, and sugar have been kept in the top shelf. Flour, canned food, and dry pasta are on the second shelf." | 150 |
