Terms : Hide Images
| 13524188598 | Allegory | an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story. Often times concepts like death and love are represented by people. | 0 | |
| 13524188599 | Analogy | Comparison of two similar but different things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship | 1 | |
| 13524188600 | Anaphora | Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row | 2 | |
| 13524188601 | Anecdote | a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point | 3 | |
| 13524188602 | Antithesis | the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (Dickens). | 4 | |
| 13524188603 | Aphorism | a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life | 5 | |
| 13524188604 | Apostrophe | usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction | 6 | |
| 13524188605 | Asyndeton | Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence | 7 | |
| 13524188606 | Caricature | Used in satire. Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality. | 8 | |
| 13524188607 | Colloquialism | a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing | 9 | |
| 13524188608 | Concrete Language | Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities | 10 | |
| 13524188609 | Deduction | the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example | 11 | |
| 13524188610 | Diction | word choice | 12 | |
| 13524188611 | Didactic | writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach | 13 | |
| 13524188612 | Epigraph | the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme | 14 | |
| 13524188613 | Epistrophe | repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect | 15 | |
| 13524188614 | Euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable | 16 | |
| 13524188615 | Extended Metaphor | a sustained comparison throughout a text | 17 | |
| 13524188616 | Generalization | When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. Sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some | 18 | |
| 13524188617 | Hubris | the excessive pride of ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom, eventually causing his or her downfall. | 19 | |
| 13524188618 | Induction | the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization | 20 | |
| 13524188619 | Inference | a conclusion one can draw from the presented details | 21 | |
| 13524188620 | Invective | a verbally abusive attack | 22 | |
| 13524188621 | Inversion | reversing the customary (subject first, then verb, then complement) order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question | 23 | |
| 13524188622 | Irony | a situation or statement in which the actual outcome or meaning is opposite to what was expected | 24 | |
| 13524188623 | Jargon | The special language of a profession or group. | 25 | |
| 13524188624 | Logical Fallacy | a mistake in reasoning | 26 | |
| 13524188625 | Metonymy | a figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated | 27 | |
| 13524188626 | Motif | reoccurring theme or idea in a piece of writing. | 28 | |
| 13524188627 | Objectivity | an impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer's attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story. | 29 | |
| 13524188628 | Oversimplification | When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument | 30 | |
| 13524188629 | Parable | a short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory | 31 | |
| 13524188630 | Paradox | a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning | 32 | |
| 13524188631 | Parallelism | the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form | 33 | |
| 13524188632 | Parody | a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements. | 34 | |
| 13524188633 | Pedantic | a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant | 35 | |
| 13524188634 | First person narrator | a narrator, referred to as "I," who is a character in the story and relates the actions through his or her own perspective, also revealing his or her own thoughts | 36 | |
| 13524188635 | Stream of Consciousness | like a first person narrator, but instead placing the reader inside the character's head, making the reader privy to the continuous, chaotic flow of disconnected, half-formed thoughts and impressions in the character's mind | 37 | |
| 13524188636 | Omniscient | third person narrator, who is able to see into each character's mind and understands all the action's of the character | 38 | |
| 13524188637 | Limited Omniscient | a third person narrator who reports the thoughts of only one character and generally only what that one character sees | 39 | |
| 13524188638 | Objective narration | a third person narrator who only reports what would be visible to a camera; thoughts and feelings are only revealed if a character speaks of them | 40 | |
| 13524188639 | Polysyndeton | Sentence which uses and or another conjunction (with no commas) to separate the items in a series | 41 | |
| 13524188640 | Rhetoric | the art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse | 42 | |
| 13524188641 | 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. | 43 | |
| 13524188642 | Satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Makes fun of problems in society. | 44 | |
| 13524188643 | Syllogism | A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. It is the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion | 45 | |
| 13524188644 | Symbolism | anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as representative of a higher and more complex significance. A rose represents love. | 46 | |
| 13524188645 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole. "Today Washington announced new gun reform laws." | 47 | |
| 13524188646 | Syntax | the grammatical structure of a sentence | 48 | |
| 13524188647 | Tone | attitude of writing | 49 | |
| 13524188648 | Understatement/ Meiosis | the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. | 50 | |
| 13524188649 | Semantics | the meaning behind a word or sentence | 51 | |
| 13524188650 | Ethos | using ethics to persuade | 52 | |
| 13524188651 | Pathos | persuasion by emotional appeals, an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion. | 53 | |
| 13524188652 | Logos | using logic to persuade | 54 | |
| 13524188653 | Double Entendre | A word or phrase that may have more than one interpretation, usually sexual | 55 | |
| 13524188654 | Litotes | understatement for rhetorical effect, using a negative to say the positive | 56 | |
| 13524188655 | Sarcasm | a form of humor that is marked by mocking with irony | 57 | |
| 13524188656 | Caricature | A form of satire. Exaggerating characteristics of a person, event, etc that creates an easily identifiable visual | 58 | |
| 13524188657 | Pun | a play on words | 59 | |
| 13524188658 | Abstract | language that describes concepts rather than images | 60 | |
| 13524188659 | Ad Hominem | in an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than one the person's ideas. | 61 | |
| 13524188660 | Argumentation | writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point. | 62 | |
| 13524188661 | Coherance | Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea | 63 | |
| 13524188662 | Consonance | repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity | 64 | |
| 13524188663 | Conundrum | a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun | 65 | |
| 13524188664 | Discourse | spoken or written language, there are four modes: description, exposition, narration, and persuasion | 66 | |
| 13524188665 | Dissonance | harsh or grating sounds that do not go together | 67 | |
| 13524188666 | Dramatic Irony | When the reader is aware of an inconsistency in a character's perception of a situation and the truth of that situation. The reader knows more than the characters. | 68 | |
| 13524188667 | Euphony | a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose | 69 | |
| 13524188668 | Explication | The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text | 70 | |
| 13524188669 | Exposition | the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot | 71 | |
| 13524188670 | Figurative Language | saying something other than what is literally meant for effect using devices such as similes and metaphors. | 72 | |
| 13524188671 | Logic | the process of reasoning | 73 | |
| 13524188672 | Lyrical | Songlike. Often used to express emotion in poetry. | 74 | |
| 13524188673 | Mood | Similar to tone, primary emotional attitude of a work | 75 | |
| 13524188674 | Non-sequitor | Latin for "does not follow". When one statement doesn't logically follow another | 76 | |
| 13524188675 | Pacing | the movement of a literary piece | 77 | |
| 13524188676 | Persuasion | A form of argumentation | 78 | |
| 13524188677 | Red Herring | When a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue | 79 | |
| 13524188678 | Reductio ad Absurdum | Latin for "to reduce to the absurd" | 80 | |
| 13524188679 | Rhetorical modes | exposition, description, narration, argumentation | 81 | |
| 13524188680 | Straw Man | when a writer argues against a claim that is universally considered weak | 82 | |
| 13524188681 | Style | an author's diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style | 83 | |
| 13524188682 | Thesis | the main idea of a piece of writing | 84 | |
| 13524188683 | Transition | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next | 85 | |
| 13524188684 | Voice | the sound of a writer's style | 86 | |
| 13524188685 | Scare Tactic | Using fear to persuade | 87 | |
| 13524188686 | Either-Or Choice | a fallacy that reduced a choice down to just two | 88 | |
| 13524188687 | Slippery Slope | describing an argument where the author exaggerates the future consequences of an action. If you fail this test, you will fail high school and not go to college..." | 89 | |
| 13524188688 | Sentimental Appeals | arguments that appeal to emotions | 90 | |
| 13524188689 | Bandwagon appeals | arguments that urge people to follow the same path as everyone else | 91 | |
| 13524188690 | Appeals to false authority | argument that draws on the authority of a widely respected person | 92 | |
| 13524188691 | Gerund | A noun formed from a verb (such as the '-ing' form of an English verb when used as a noun) | 93 | |
| 13524188692 | simple sentence | A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause | 94 | |
| 13524188693 | Compound Sentence | Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction (I went to the store, and I bought candy.) | 95 | |
| 13524188694 | Complex Sentence | A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause | 96 | |
| 13524188695 | Verb | A word that expresses action, a state of being or feeling, or a relation between two things | 97 | |
| 13524188696 | Antecedent | A word, phrase, or clause to which a following pronoun refers. "The glass fell on the floor. It broke. | 98 | |
| 13524188697 | Linking Verb | A state-of-being verb, "is", "are" Connects the noun to the verb. | 99 | |
| 13524188698 | Moral Equivilance | argument that suggests that serious wrong doings don't differ from minor offenses | 100 | |
| 13524188699 | Hasty generalization | making an inference drawn from insufficient evidence, using stereotypes to argue a point | 101 | |
| 13524188700 | Faulty Causality. Also: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc | the fallacious assumption that because two events happened in sequence that the first event caused the second. | 102 | |
| 13524188701 | Begging the Question | circular reasoning | 103 | |
| 13524188702 | Equivocation | half-truth Arguing both sides of an argument. | 104 | |
| 13524188703 | Faulty Analogy | form of argument where inaccurate comparisons are being made | 105 | |
| 13524188704 | Soliloquy | Seen in Shakespeare's plays. A longer speech that indicates the speaker's thoughts and emotions. | 106 | |
| 13524188705 | Aside | Seen in Shakespeare's plays. A short speech directed to the audience to provide insight or direction. | 107 | |
| 13524188706 | Shakespearean Sonnet | A type of lyrical poem that uses a specific rhyme scheme and form. | 108 | |
| 13524188707 | Quatrain | Four lines of poetry | 109 | |
| 13524188708 | Rhyming Couplet | Two lines of rhyming poetry found at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet | 110 | |
| 13524188709 | Iambic Pentameter | Two feet of poetry with five syllables per foot | 111 |
