Terms : Hide Images
| 4117108850 | Abstract | refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images. | 0 | |
| 4117108851 | Ad Hominem | In an argument, an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man." | 1 | |
| 4117108852 | Allegory | a work that functions on a symbolic level. | 2 | |
| 4117108853 | Alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." | 3 | |
| 4117108854 | Allusion | a reference contained in a work. | 4 | |
| 4117108855 | Analogy | a literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison. It is assumed that what applies to the parallel situation also applies to the original circumstance. In other words, it is the comparison between two different items. | 5 | |
| 4117108856 | Anecdote | a story of brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point. | 6 | |
| 4117108857 | Antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. The AP English Language and Composition exam often expects you to identify this in a passage. | 7 | |
| 4117108858 | Antithesis | the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraph. "To be or not to be. . ." "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country . . ." | 8 | |
| 4117108859 | Argument | a single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer. | 9 | |
| 4117108860 | Attitude | the relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience. | 10 | |
| 4117108861 | Balance | a situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work. | 11 | |
| 4117108862 | Cacophony | harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary work. | 12 | |
| 4117108863 | Character | those who carry out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types of these. | 13 | |
| 4117108864 | Colloquial | the use of slang in writing often to create local color and to provide an informal one. 'Huckleberry Finn' is written in this style. | 14 | |
| 4117108865 | Comic Relief | the illusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event. | 15 | |
| 4117108866 | Conflict | a clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. god; man vs. self. | 16 | |
| 4117108867 | Connective Tissue | those elements that help create coherence in a written piece. (see ch.8) | 17 | |
| 4117108868 | Connotation | the interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning. | 18 | |
| 4117108869 | Deduction | the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example. | 19 | |
| 4117108870 | Denotation | the literal or dictionary meaning of a word. | 20 | |
| 4117108871 | Dialect | the re-creation of a regional spoken language such as a Southern dialect. Zora Neale Hurston uses this in such works as 'Their Eye Were Watching God.' | 21 | |
| 4117108872 | Diction | the author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. | 22 | |
| 4117108873 | Didactic | writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. This work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. | 23 | |
| 4117108874 | Discourse | a discussion on a specific topic. | 24 | |
| 4117108875 | Ellipsis | an indication by a series of three periods that some material has been omitted from a given text. It could be a word, a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph, or a whole section. Be wary of this; it could obscure the real meaning of the piece of writing. | 25 | |
| 4117108876 | Epigraph | the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Hemingway begins 'The Sun Also Rises' with two of these. One of them is "You are all a lost generation" by Gertrude Stein. | 26 | |
| 4117108877 | Euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. "He went to his final reward" is a common _____ for "he died." These are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses "collateral damage" to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation. | 27 | |
| 4117108878 | Euphony | the pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work. | 28 | |
| 4117108879 | Exposition | background information presented in a literary work. | 29 | |
| 4117108880 | Extended Metaphor | a sustained comparison, often referred to as a conceit. This is developed throughout a piece of writing. | 30 | |
| 4117108881 | Figurative Language | the body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. It includes metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, and hyperbole, etc. | 31 | |
| 4117108882 | Flashback | a device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, or episodes. | 32 | |
| 4117108883 | Form | the shape or structure of a literary work. | 33 | |
| 4117108884 | Hyperbole | extreme exaggeration, often humorous, it can also be ironic; the opposite of understatement. | 34 | |
| 4117108885 | Image | a verbal approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion. | 35 | |
| 4117108886 | Imagery | the total effect of related sensory images in a work of literature. | 36 | |
| 4117108887 | Induction | the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization. | 37 | |
| 4117108888 | Inference | a conclusion one can draw from the presented details. | 38 | |
| 4117108889 | Invective | a verbally abusive attack. | 39 | |
| 4117108890 | Irony | an unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen. It involves dialog and situation and can be intentional or unplanned. Dramatic centers around the ignorance of those involved; whereas, the audience is aware of the circumstances. | 40 | |
| 4117108891 | Logic | the process of reasoning. | 41 | |
| 4117108892 | Logical Fallacy | a mistake in reasoning. (see ch.9 for specific examples) | 42 | |
| 4117108893 | Metaphor | a direct comparison between dissimilar things. "Your eyes are stars" is an example. | 43 | |
| 4117108894 | Metonymy | a figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea (The pen is mightier than the sword). | 44 | |
| 4117108895 | Monologue | a speech given by one character (Hamlet's "To be or not to be . . ."). | 45 | |
| 4117108896 | Motif | the repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work used to develop theme or characters. | 46 | |
| 4117108897 | Narrator | the speaker of a literary work. | 47 | |
| 4117108898 | Onomatopoeia | words that sound like the sound they represent (hiss, giggle, pop). | 48 | |
| 4117108899 | Oxymoron | an image of contradictory term (bittersweet, pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp). | 49 | |
| 4117108900 | Pacing | the movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another. | 50 | |
| 4117108901 | Parable | a story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral. ('The Pearl' by John Steinbeck is a fine example.) | 51 | |
| 4117108902 | Parody | a comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original. It can be utterly mocking or gently humorous. It depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style. | 52 | |
| 4117108903 | Pathos | the aspects of a literary work that elicit pity from the audience. An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade. | 53 | |
| 4117108904 | Pedantic | a term used to describe writing that orders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant. | 54 | |
| 4117108905 | Periodic Sentence | presents its main clause at the end of the sentence for emphasis and sentence variety. Phrases and/or dependent clauses precede the main clause. | 55 | |
| 4117108906 | Personification | the assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts. (Wordsworth personifies "the sea that bares her bosom to the moon" in the poem "London 1802.") | 56 | |
| 4117108907 | Persuasion | a type of argument that has as its goal an action on the part of the audience. | 57 | |
| 4117108908 | Plot | a sequence of events in a literary work. | 58 | |
| 4117108909 | Point of View | the method of narration in a literary work. | 59 | |
| 4117108910 | Pun | a play on words that often has a comic effect. Associated with wit and cleverness. A writer who speaks of the "grave topic of American funerals" may be employing an intentional or unintentional one. | 60 | |
| 4117108911 | Reductio ad Absurdum | the Latin for "to reduce to the absurd." This is a technique useful in creating a comic effect (see Twain's "At the Funeral") and is also an argumentative technique. It is considered a rhetorical fallacy, because it reduces an argument to an either/or choice. | 61 | |
| 4117108912 | Rhetoric | refers to the entire process of written communication. These strategies and devices are those tools that enable a writer to present ideas to an audience effectively. | 62 | |
| 4117108913 | Rhetorical Question | one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience. (Francois Villon [in translation] asks, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?") | 63 | |
| 4117108914 | Sarcasm | a comic technique that ridicules through caustic language. Tone and attitude may both be described as sarcastic in a given text if the writer employs language, irony, and wit to mock or scorn. | 64 | |
| 4117108915 | Satire | a mode of writing based on ridicule, that criticizes the foibles and follies of society without necessarily offering a solution. (Jonathon Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels' is a great satire that exposes mankind's condition.) | 65 | |
| 4117108916 | Setting | the time and place of a literary work. | 66 | |
| 4117108917 | Similie | an indirect comparison that uses the word 'like' or 'as' to link the differing items in the comparison. ("Your eyes are like stars.") | 67 | |
| 4117108918 | Stage Directions | the specific instructions a playwright includes concerning sets, characterization, delivery, etc. | 68 | |
| 4117108919 | Stanza | a unit of a poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem. | 69 | |
| 4117108920 | Structure | the organization and form of a work. | 70 | |
| 4117108921 | Style | the unique way an author presents his ideas, Diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contributes to a particular style. | 71 | |
| 4117108922 | Summary | reducing the original text to its essential parts. | 72 | |
| 4117108923 | Syllogism | the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. | 73 | |
| 4117108924 | Symbol | something in a literary work that stands for something else. (Plato has the light of the sun symbolize truth in "The Allegory of the Cave.") | 74 | |
| 4117108925 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. ("All hands on deck" is an example.) | 75 | |
| 4117108926 | Syntax | the grammatical structure of prose and poetry. | 76 | |
| 4117108927 | Synthesis | locating a number of sources and integrating them into the development and support of a writer's thesis/claim. | 77 | |
| 4117108928 | Theme | the underlying ideas the author illustrates through characterization, motifs, language, plot, etc. | 78 | |
| 4117108929 | Thesis | simply, the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author's assertion or claim. The effectiveness of a presentation is often based on how well the writer presents, develops, and supports the thesis. | 79 | |
| 4117108930 | Tone | the author's attitude toward his subject. | 80 | |
| 4117108931 | Transition | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. See the list of transition in Chapter 9. | 81 | |
| 4117108932 | Understatement | the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or say less than intended. | 82 | |
| 4117108933 | Voice | can refer to two different areas of writing. The first refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active voice and passive voice). The second refers to the total "sound" of a writer's style. | 83 | |
| 4117112242 | False Analogy- | In this fallacy, the arguer is comparing situations that are different and cannot accurately be compared. Ex: If we can put a man on the moon, we should be able to eliminate poverty. | 84 | |
| 4117113625 | Post hoc ergo proctor hoc | In this fallacy, the arguer uses the fact that one thing happened before another as evidence that the first thing caused the second thing. Ex: The quality of education in our schools has been declining for years. Clearly, our teachers aren't doing their jobs. | 85 | |
| 4117114556 | Bandwagon- | In this fallacy, the arguer appeals to the sheer number of persons who agree with the belief or to the popularity of the belief as evidence that it is true. Ex: Because a majority of Americans believe in UFO's, they must exist! That many people can't be wrong! | 86 | |
| 4117114557 | Faulty Appeal to Authority | In this fallacy, the arguer appeals to an authority whose area of expertise is irrelevant to the issue at hand, or appeals to a person who is famous but not an expert. Ex: Madonna is against animal testing. So animal testing is probably an unethical practice. | 87 | |
| 4117119594 | Appeals to Pity- | In this fallacy, the arguer tries to get you to accept his view on the grounds that he will be harmed if you don't. Ex: Please don't give me a homework card! If you do, my parents will beat me | 88 | |
| 4117120954 | Appeals to force/fear | In this fallacy, the arguer tries to get you to accept his view on the grounds that you will be harmed if you don't. He attempts to motivate you from a position of fear rather than to logically persuade you. Ex: So you're an animal rights activist. I'd consider changing my views if I were you because most of us here on the prairies are beef farmers and we don't care too much for your kind. | 89 | |
| 4117122543 | Circular Reasoning | In this fallacy, the arguer supports the conclusion simply by restating it as a premise or by leaving out a key premise. It never actually answers a question. Ex: Women should not be permitted to join men's clubs because they are for men only. | 90 | |
| 4117123904 | False Correlation | When the premise of an argument supports a particular conclusion, but then a different, often vaguely related conclusion is drawn, this fallacy occurs. The arguer is basically missing the point. Ex: Crimes of theft and robbery have been increasing at an alarming rate. The conclusion is obvious: we must reinstate the death penalty immediately. | 91 | |
| 4117123905 | Hasty Generalization | Any argument that draws a generalization based on a small or unrepresentative sample size is this type of fallacy. EX: You can't speak French; I can't; = no one at Seton can speak French. | 92 | |
| 4117125532 | Slippery Slope | In this fallacy, the arguer creates fear by saying if one thing is permitted, a whole host of the most extreme cases will occur. EX: "...[I]f once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination | 93 | |
| 4117126544 | False Dilemma | This is a fallacy in which the arguer claims that there are only two options, and one is unacceptable so we must accept the other. However in actuality there are other alternatives. Ex: Vote for me or die. | 94 |
