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8477980234Cumulative (Loose) Sentencebegins 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
8477980235Periodic Sentencea sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense.1
8477980238Ethosan appeal to ethics and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader.2
8477980239Pathosan appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response.3
8477980240Logosan appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason.4
8477980242SyllogismA logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion.5
8477980243Major premisecontains the term that is the predicate of the conclusion.6
8477980244Minor premisecontains the term that is the subject of the conclusion.7
8477980245Inductiona logical process wherein you reason from particulars to universal, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization.8
8477980246Deductiona logical process wherein you reach a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise).9
8477980249Dictiona speaker's choice of words. Analysis of diction looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker's message.10
8477980250Similea figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using words like, as, or as though.11
8477980251Metaphorfigure of speech that compares two unlike things without using like or as.12
8477980252Anaphorathe intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect.13
8477980253Rhetoricit is the art of finding ways of persuading an audience.14
8477980254Rhetorical Trianglespeaker-subject-audience15
8477980255Allusionbrief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) to to a work of art.16
8477980256Hyperboledeliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point.17
8477980257Personificationattribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.18
8477980260Parallelismsimilarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.19
8477980261Antithesisopposition, or contrast or ideas or words in a parallel construction.20
8477980263Rhetorical QuestionFigure 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?21
8477980265RebuttalIn the Toulon model, a rebuttal gives voice to possible objections.22
8477980268Begging the Questiona fallacy of argument in which a claim is based on the very grounds that are in doubt or dispute.23
8477980269Anecdotea brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.24
8477980271Examplea specific event, person, or detail of an idea cited and/or developed to support or illustrate a thesis or topic.25
8477980272Contrast/ Comparisona 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 Combination26
8477980273Cause and Effectestablishes a relationship: B is the result of A.27
8477980277Narrationis nothing more than storytelling. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end.28
8477980285AllegoryThe 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.29
8477980286AlliterationThe repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells").30
8477980287AllusionA direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.31
8477980289AnalogyA similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.32
8477980291Antithesisthe opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite.33
8477980292AphorismA 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.)34
8477980296ClauseA grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.35
8477980297Colloquial/ColloquialismThe use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.36
8477980299ConnotationThe non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.37
8477980300DenotationThe strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.38
8477980301DictionRelated to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.39
8477980303EuphemismFrom the Greek for "good speech," euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept - POLITICALLY CORRECT40
8477980304Extended MetaphorA metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.41
8477980305Figurative LanguageWriting or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid42
8477980306Figure of speechA device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Figures of speech include apotrophe hyperbole irony metaphor oxymoron paradox personification simile syneddoche understatement43
8477980307GenreThe major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama.44
8477980309HyperboleA figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. (The literal Greek meaning is "overshoot.")45
8477980310ImageryThe sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions.46
8477980311Inference/inferTo draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.47
8477980314Loose sentence/non-periodic sentenceA type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.48
8477980315MetaphorA figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity.49
8477980317MoodThe prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.50
8477980318NarrativeThe telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.51
8477980321ParadoxA statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.52
8477980322Parallelismthe use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.53
8477980325Periodic sentenceThe opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.54
8477980326PersonificationA figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.55
8477980327Point of viewIn literature, the perspective from which a story is told.56
8477980329RepetitionThe duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.57
8477980330RhetoricFrom the Greek for "orator," this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.58
8477980333Subordinate clauseLike 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.59
8477980334SyllogismA 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.60
8477980335Symbol/symbolismGenerally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.61
8477980336SyntaxThe way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.62
8477980337ThemeThe central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.63
8477980338ThesisThe sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.64
8477980339ToneDescribes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.65
8477980340TransitionA 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.66
8477980341Understatementthe ironic minimalizing of fact; presents something as less significant than it is.67
8477980343Slippery SlopeThis is the failure to provide evidence to support a claim that one event will lead to a catastrophic chain of events.68
8477980346JuxtapositionMaking on idea more dramatic by placing it next to its opposite.69
8477980351rhetorical appealthe persuasive devices by which a writer tries to sway an audience's attention and response to any given work. See logos, ethos, and pathos.70
8477980353devicesThe figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other stylistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic effect.71
8477980354narrative devicesThis 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.72
8477980355narrative techniquesThe 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.73
8477980360Argumentationone 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.74
8477980363toneA speaker's, author's, or character's disposition toward or opinion of a subject.75
8477980364audienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.76
8477980365Balanced sentenceA sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast77
8477980367understatement"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 Rye78
8477980368parallelism"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy79
8477980369allusionThe rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora's box of crimes.80
8477980370hyperbole"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you/Till China and Africa meet,/And the river jumps over the mountain"81
8477980374antithesis"To err is human; to forgive divine." Alexander Pope "An Essay on Criticism"82
8477980376periodic sentenceIn spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued.83
8477980377paradox"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." -Gandhi84
8477980378alliteration"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."85
8477980381personification"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."86
8477980382onomatopoeia"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."87
8477980383inverted syntax"Patience you must have, my young padawan."88

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