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| 3120812339 | analogy | A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging. | 0 | |
| 3120812340 | anecdote | A story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point. | 1 | |
| 3120818090 | argument | a form of communication that relies on reason and evidence to discover truth; author's intention is to lead the reader/audience to conviction, or agreement with the author's claim and/or suggested course of action. | 2 | |
| 3120831566 | deductive reasoning | reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) | 3 | |
| 3120836839 | inductive reasoning | deriving general principles from particular facts or instances. Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four legged creatures | 4 | |
| 3120842266 | persuasion | a form of communication (written, visual or verbal) that, in comparison with argument, is more aggressively designed to lead an audience from conviction to action; relies on reason and other appropriate techniques. Persuasion may resort to propaganda to manipulate an audience; however, writers and speakers of integrity should use argument whether logical, emotional, or ethical- that are honest and fair. | 5 | |
| 3120863942 | syllogism | from the Greek From the Greek for "reckoning together," a syllogism (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is 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. A frequently cited example proceeds as follows: major premise: All men are mortal. minor premise: Socrates is a man. conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is a mortal. A syllogism's conclusion is valid only if each of the two premises is valid. Syllogisms may also present the specific idea first ("Socrates") and the general second ("all men"). Adapted from V. Stevenson, Patrick Henry High School, and Abrams' Glossary of Literary Terms | 6 | |
| 3120869869 | colloquial | Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English. | 7 | |
| 3120872559 | connotation | An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning | 8 | |
| 3120874762 | denotation | The dictionary definition of a word | 9 | |
| 3120876211 | dialect | A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. | 10 | |
| 3120878904 | diction | Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. FOR AP EXAMSyou should be able to describe the uthors diction and understand how it compliments his purpose (along with imagery syntax, literary devices, etc) | 11 | |
| 3120880266 | didactic | From the Greek, didactic literally means "teaching." Didactic words have the primary aim of teaching or instructing,especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles. | 12 | |
| 3120886374 | invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. | 13 | |
| 3120887658 | pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. | 14 | |
| 3120889340 | sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or convey contempt From the Greek meaning "to tear flesh," sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic (that is, intended to ridicule). When well done, sarcasm can be witty and insightful; when poorly done, it is simply cruel. | 15 | |
| 3120891298 | semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another. | 16 | |
| 3120894246 | tone | Similar to mood, tone describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author's tone. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, somber, etc. | 17 | |
| 3120896444 | undertone | An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece. Under a cheery surface, for example, a work may have threatening undertones. William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" from the Songs of Innocence has a grim undertone. | 18 |
