Terms : Hide Images
| 5829063042 | allusion | A reference to some famous literary work, historical figure, or event. For example, to say that a friend "has the patience of Job" means that he is as enduring as the Biblical figure of that name. | 0 | |
| 5829063043 | antithesis | The use of parallel structure to call attention to contrasts or opposites: some like it hot; some like it cold; Brutus: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar | 1 | |
| 5829063044 | argumentation | The writer's attempt to convince his reader to agree with him. It is based upon appeals to reason, evidence proving the argument, and sometimes emotion to persuade. Some attempt to merely prove a point, but others go beyond proving to inciting the reader to action. At the heart lies a debatable issue. | 2 | |
| 5829063045 | coherence | The principle of clarity and logical adherence to a topic that binds together all parts of a composition. | 3 | |
| 5829063046 | diction | Word choice. Determined by the audience and occasion of their writing. | 4 | |
| 5829063047 | emphasis (emphatic force, emphatic strength) | A rhetorical principle that requires stress to be given to important elements in an essay at the expense of less important elements. | 5 | |
| 5829063048 | figurative language | Said of a word or expression used in a nonliteral way. For example. The expression "to go the last mile" may have nothing at all to do with geographical distance, but may mean to complete an unfinished task or job. | 6 | |
| 5829063049 | hyperbole | A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. | 7 | |
| 5829063050 | image/imagery | A phrase or expression that evokes a picture or describes a scene. An image may be either literal, in which case it is a realistic attempt to depict with words what something looks like, or figurative, in which case the expression is used that likens the thing described to something else (e.g., "My love is like a red, red rose."). | 8 | |
| 5829063051 | irony | The use of language in such a way that apparent meaning contrasts sharply with the real meaning. One famous example (in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar) is Antony's description of Brutus as "an honorable man." Since Brutus was one of Caesar's assassins, Antony meant just the opposite. A softer form of sarcasm and shares with it the same contrast between apparent and real meaning. | 9 | |
| 5829063052 | verbal irony | The words literally state the opposite of the writer's (or speaker's) true meaning. | 10 | |
| 5829063053 | situational irony | Events turn out the opposite of what was expected. What the characters and readers think ought to happen is what does happen. | 11 | |
| 5829063054 | dramatic irony | Facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work. Irony is used for many reasons, but frequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor. | 12 | |
| 5829063055 | juxtaposition (contrast) | The arrangement of two or more ideas, phrases, words, etc. side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development. | 13 | |
| 5829063056 | metaphor | A figurative image that implies the similarity between things otherwise dissimilar, as when the poet Robert Frost states "I have been acquainted with the night," meaning that he has survived despair. | 14 | |
| 5829063057 | mood | The pervading impression made on the feelings of the reader. Can be gloomy, sad, joyful, bitter, frightening, and so forth. | 15 | |
| 5829063058 | oxymoron " | From the Greek for "pointedly foolish," a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. Simple examples include "jumbo shrimp" and "cruel kindness. | 16 | |
| 5829063059 | pacing | The speed at which a piece of writing moves along. | 17 | |
| 5829063060 | 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. The first scene of Macbeth, for example, closes with the witches' cryptic remark "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." | 18 | |
| 5829063061 | parallelism | The principle of coherent writing requiring that coordinating elements be given the same grammatical form, as in Daniel Webster's dictum, "I was born an American; I will live an American; I will die an American." In other words, it's use of similar grammatical structures or forms for pleasing effect | 19 | |
| 5829063062 | parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. Can distort or exaggerate distinctive features of the original. As ridicule, it mimics the work by repeating and borrowing words, phrases, or characteristics in order to illuminate weaknesses in the original. | 20 | |
| 5829063063 | personification | Attributing human qualities to objects, abstractions, or animals: "Tis beauty calls and glory leads the way." | 21 | |
| 5829063064 | point of view | The perspective from which a piece of writing is developed. In nonfiction the it is usually the author's. In fiction it can be first- or third-person point of view. In the first-person, the author becomes part of the narration and refers to himself as "I." In the third-person the narrator simply observes the action of the story. Third-person narrative is either omniscient (when the narrator knows everything about all of the characters) or limited (when the narrator knows only those things that might be apparent to a sensitive observer.) | 22 | |
| 5829063065 | repetition | By repeating words or ideas, the persuasive writer emphasizes their importance and lodges them firmly in the minds of the audience. | 23 | |
| 5829063066 | rhetoric | The art of using persuasive language. The art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective; the specific features of texts, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners in a situation. | 24 | |
| 5829063067 | simile | A figure of speech which, like the metaphor, implies a similarity between things otherwise dissimilar. Uses like, as, than. | 25 | |
| 5829063068 | Juvenalian satire . | sharp and biting satire | 26 | |
| 5829063069 | style | The way a writer writes. The expression of an author's individuality through the use of words, sentence patterns, and selection of details Any of the choices writers make while writing—about diction, sentence length, structure, rhythm, and figures of speech—that make their work sound like them. | 27 | |
| 5829063070 | ad hominem argument | An argument that attacks the integrity or character of an opponent rather than the merits of an issue. Latin for "to the man." It is also informally known as "mud-slinging." | 28 | |
| 5829063071 | alliteration | The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables. | 29 | |
| 5829063072 | analogy | - comparison that attempts to explain one idea or thing by likening it to another for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. | 30 | |
| 5829063073 | antimetabole | The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast. | 31 | |
| 5829063074 | anecdote | A brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience's attention or to support a generalization or claim. | 32 | |
| 5829063075 | appeal to ethos | appeal to ethics | 33 | |
| 5829063076 | appeal to logos | appeal to logic | 34 | |
| 5829063077 | appeal to pathos | appeal to emotion, an appeal to feelings rather than to strict reason; a legitimate ploy in an argument as long as it is not excessively or exclusively used. | 35 | |
| 5829063078 | causal relationship (cause-and-effect relationship) | The relationship expressing, "If X is the cause, then Y is the effect," or "If Y is the effect, then X caused it"—for example, "If the state builds larger highways, then traffic congestion will just get worse because more people will move to the newly accessible regions," or "If students plagiarize their papers, it must be because the Internet offers them such a wide array of materials from which to copy." | 36 | |
| 5829063079 | colloquialism | a word or expression acceptable in informal usage but inappropriate in formal discourse. A given word may have a standard as well a colloquial meaning. Bug, for example, is standard when used to refer to an insect; when used to designate a virus, i.e. "She's at home recovering from a bug," the word is a colloquialism. | 37 | |
| 5829063080 | connotation | the implication of emotional overtones of a word rather than its literal meaning. Lion, used in a literal sense, denotes a beast (see denotation). But to say that Winston Churchill had "the heart of a lion" is to use the connotative or implied meaning of lion. | 38 | |
| 5829063081 | denotation | The specific and literal meaning of the word as found in the dictionary. Opposite of connotation. | 39 | |
| 5829063082 | euphemism | From the Greek word for "good speech," a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. May be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement. Saying "earthly remains" rather than "corpse" is an example of euphemism. | 40 | |
| 5829063083 | generalization | a statement that asserts some broad truth based upon a knowledge of specific cases. | 41 | |
| 5829063084 | logical fallacy | Errors in reasoning used by speakers or writers, sometimes in order to dupe their audiences. Most logical fallacies are based on insufficient evidence ("All redheads are passionate lovers"); or irrelevant information ("Don't let him do the surgery; he cheats on his wife"); or faulty logic ("If you don't quit smoking, you'll die of lung cancer"). | 42 | |
| 5829063085 | Horatian satire | gentle and smiling satire | 43 | |
| 5829063086 | qualification | The act of limiting an argument through qualifying expressions, such as few, it is possible, rarely, most, perhaps, often. | 44 | |
| 5829063087 | red herring | A side issue introduced into an argument in order to distract from the main argument. It is a common device of politicians: "Abortion may be a woman's individual right, but have you considered the danger of the many germ-infested abortion clinics?" Here the side issue of the dirty clinics clouds the ethical issue of the right or wrong of having an abortion. | 45 | |
| 5829063088 | sarcasm | From the Greek meaning "to tear flesh," involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. | 46 | |
| 5829063089 | satire | Often an attack on a person. Also the use of wit and humor in order to ridicule society's weaknesses so as to correct them. In literature, two types of satire have been recognized | 47 | |
| 5829063090 | slanting | The characteristic of selecting facts, words, or emphasis to achieve a preconceived intent: Favorable intent: "Although the Senator looks bored, when it comes time to vote he is on the right side of the issue." Unfavorable intent: "The Senator may vote on the right side of the issues, but he always looks bored." | 48 | |
| 5829063092 | tone | In every writing, the reflection of the writer's attitude toward subject and audience. Can be personal, formal or informal, objective or subjective. | 49 | |
| 5829063093 | understatement (also called litotes (LAHY tuh teez)) | A way of deliberately representing something as less than it is in order to stress its magnitude. | 50 | |
| 5829063094 | voice | The presence or the sound of self chosen by the author. Most good writing sounds like someone delivering a message. The aim in a good student writing is to sound natural. Of course, the itwill be affected by the audience and occasion for writing. Voice is closely related to style. | 51 | |
| 5829063095 | ad populem argument | A fallacious argument that appeals to the passions and prejudices of a group rather than its reason. An appeal for instance, to support an issue because it's the "American Way" is an ad populem argument. | 52 | |
| 5829063096 | allegory | The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The symbolic meaning usually deals with moral truth or generalization about human existence. | 53 | |
| 5829063097 | anaphora | the repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses | 54 | |
| 5829063098 | 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.) Can be a memorable summation of the author's point. "Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise." Alice Walker | 55 | |
| 5829063099 | apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, "Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee." | 56 | |
| 5829063100 | claim | The ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point, backed up by support, of an argument. | 57 | |
| 5829063101 | cliché | A stale image or expression, and the bane of good expository writing. "White as a ghost" | 58 | |
| 5829063102 | comparison/contrast | A rhetorical mode used to develop essays that systematically match two items for similarities and differences. | 59 | |
| 5829063103 | complex sentence | A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. | 60 | |
| 5829063104 | concrete | Said of words or terms denoting objects or conditions that are palpable, visible, or otherwise evident to the senses. Concrete is the opposite of abstract. | 61 | |
| 5829063105 | epistrophe | The repetition of the same word or group of wards at the ends of successive clauses. | 62 | |
| 5829063106 | evidence | The logical bases or supports for an assertion or idea. | 63 | |
| 5829063107 | genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. | 64 | |
| 5829063108 | inversion | The reversal of the normal order of words in a sentence to achieve some desired effect, usually emphasis. Inversion is a technique long used in poetry, although most modern poets shun it as too artificial. For examples of inversion, see Shakespeare's "That Time of Year" (Sonnet 73). | 65 | |
| 5829063109 | loose sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. If a period were placed at the end of the independent clause, the clause would be a complete sentence. A work containing many of these often seems informal, relaxed, and conversational. | 66 | |
| 5829063110 | metonymy (mi-TAWN-a-me) | A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. A news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "the President declared" is using metonymy. | 67 | |
| 5829063111 | periodic sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. This independent clause is preceded by a phrase of clause that cannot stand alone. For example: "Ecstatic with my AP scores, I let out a loud shout of joy!" The effect is to add emphasis and structural variety. | 68 | |
| 5829063112 | rhetorical question | A question posed with no expectation of receiving an answer. This device is often used in public speaking in order to launch or further discussion: "Do you know what one of the greatest pains is? One of the greatest pains in human nature is the pain of a new idea." | 69 | |
| 5829063113 | synecdoche (suh-NEK-duh-kee) | A part of something used to refer to the whole—for example, "50 head of cattle" referring to 50 complete animals | 70 | |
| 5829063114 | syntax | The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences. Requires correct grammar as well as effective sentence patters, including unity, coherence, and emphasis. | 71 | |
| 5829063115 | transition | Words, phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs that indicate connections between the writer's ideas. Provide landmarks to guide the reader from one idea to the next so that the reader will not get lost. | 72 | |
| 5829063116 | unity | The characteristic of having all parts contribute to the overall effect. In writing, an essay or paragraph is described as having this when all sentences develop one idea. The worst enemy is irrelevant material. A good rule is to delete all sentences that do not advance or prove the thesis (in an essay) or the topic sentence (in a paragraph). | 73 |
