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Definition
the word choices made by a writer the word choice an author uses(diction can be described as: formal, semi-formal,
ornate, informal, technical, etc.) |
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Definition
language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor,
imagery, etc. |
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Definition
| the art of presenting ideas in a clear, effective, and persuasive manner |
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Definition
| literary techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of expression |
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Definition
| the arrangement or framework of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work |
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Definition
the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work
(when analyzing style, one may consider diction, figurative language, sentence structure, etc.) |
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Definition
| the manner in which words are arranged into sentences |
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Definition
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Definition
| the primary position taken by a writer or speaker |
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Definition
| the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience |
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Definition
| a word free from limitations or qualifications (“best,” “all”, “unique,” “perfect”) |
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Term
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Definition
an argument attacking an individual’s character rather than his or her
position on an issue |
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Definition
| a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions |
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Definition
a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes
the reader will recognize |
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Definition
| a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
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Term
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Definition
repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
(Richard D. Bury: “In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to
come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace.”) |
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Definition
| a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event |
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Definition
A figure of reasoning in which one asks and then immediately answers one's
own rhetorical questions (or raises and then settles imaginary objections). Reasoning aloud. |
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Definition
| a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced |
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Term
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Definition
a concise, statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using
rhyme or balance |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by reason and logic,
and asserts a position, belief or conclusion |
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Term
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Definition
Repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants,
in the stressed syllables of adjacent words. Ex: The sergeant asked him to bomb the lawn with
hotpots. |
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Term
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Definition
a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions
(“They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.”) |
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Term
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Definition
a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other
to emphasize a contrast (George Orwell: “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt
thought.”) |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by its analysis of why
something happens, in contrast to Process, which describes how something happens. Often links
situations and events in time, with causes preceding events. Ex: the cause of a war and its effects
on a national economy |
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Definition
a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally
reversed (“Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary.”) |
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by division,
which is the process of breaking a whole into parts, and classification, which is the often
subsequent process of sorting individual items into categories. |
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Term
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Definition
generally, the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing
importance, often in parallel structure (“The concerto was applauded at the house of Baron von
Schnooty, it was praised highly at court, it was voted best concerto of the year by the Academy, it
was considered by Mozart the highlight of his career, and it has become known today as the best
concerto in the world.”) |
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Definition
| informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by, in its
narrowest sense, how two or more things are similar (compare) and/or how two or more things
are different (contrast). |
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Term
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Definition
| a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause |
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Term
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Definition
a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined
by one or more conjunctions |
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Term
| Compound-Complex Sentence |
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Definition
a sentence with two or more principal clauses and one or more
subordinate clauses |
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Definition
| details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events |
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Definition
the implied or associative meaning of a word (slender vs. skinny; cheap vs.
thrifty) |
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Term
| Cumulative Sentence (Loose Sentence) |
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Definition
a sentence in which the main independent clause is
elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases (Jonathan Swift, A Modest
Proposal: “I have been assured by a very knowing American friend of my acquaintance in
London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and
wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will
equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.”) |
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Definition
| a sentence that makes a statement or declaration |
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Term
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Definition
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.) |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which strives to inform the audience on what a
term means and how it is different from other terms in its class. |
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Term
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Definition
| the literal meaning of a word |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by physical descriptions of
a person, place or thing. It is a pattern that relies on the five senses to inform it. |
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Term
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Definition
a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often
associated with a particular geographical region (“Y’all” = Southern dialect) |
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Definition
| having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing |
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Term
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Definition
| harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds |
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Term
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Definition
the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced
from the context (“Some people prefer cats; others, dogs.”) |
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Term
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Definition
| a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying |
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Term
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Definition
a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading of a chapter or
other section of a work |
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Term
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Definition
| the persuasive appeal of one’s character, or credibility |
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Term
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Definition
| an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant |
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Term
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Definition
a sentence expressing strong feeling, usually punctuated with an
exclamation mark |
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Term
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Definition
a pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by using one or more
particular cases, or examples, to illustrate or explain a general point or an abstract concept. |
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Term
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Definition
| intentional exaggeration to create an effect |
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Term
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Definition
an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of
the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect (“fly on the wall”, “cut to the chase”,
etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
| the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses |
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Term
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Definition
| a sentence that gives a command |
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Term
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Definition
deriving general principles from particular facts or instances (“Every cat I
have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals.) |
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Term
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Definition
| a conclusion on draws (infers) based on premises or evidence |
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Term
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Definition
| a sentence that asks a question |
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Term
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Definition
| an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack |
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Term
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Definition
a sentence constructed so that the predicate comes before the subject (ex: In the
woods I am walking.) |
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Term
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Definition
the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between
what is expected and what actually occurs (situational, verbal, dramatic) |
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Term
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Definition
| the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession |
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Term
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Definition
| placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast |
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Term
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Definition
a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite
(describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, “It was not a pretty picture.”) |
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Term
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Definition
| appeal to reason or logic |
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Term
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Definition
the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar
(“The doctor wrote a subscription.”) |
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Definition
| a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage |
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Term
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Definition
| a direct comparison of two different things |
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Term
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Definition
substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it
(“The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting].) |
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Definition
| the emotional atmosphere of a work |
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Term
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Definition
| a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works |
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Term
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Definition
is a dominant pattern of writing or speaking which strives to tell a story by
presenting events in an orderly, logical sequence. Conventionally utilizes the first or third person
perspective. |
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Term
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Definition
an inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, “does not
follow”) |
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Term
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Definition
an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth (“Whoever
loses his life, shall find it.”) |
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Term
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Definition
using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the
same level of importance |
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Term
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Definition
a humorous imitation of a serious work (Weird Al Yankovich’s songs, and the Scary
Movie series are examples) |
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Term
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Definition
a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to quality or
explain |
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Term
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Definition
| the quality in a work that prompts the reader to feel pity |
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Term
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Definition
often used to describe a writing style, characterized by an excessive display of
learning or scholarship, characterized by being narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously
learned |
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Term
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Definition
endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or
characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural
(John Henry Newman: “And to set forth the right standard, and to train according to it, and to
help forward all students towards it according to their various capacities, this I conceive to be the
business of a University.”) |
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Term
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Definition
| a question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer |
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Term
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Definition
| harsh, cutting language or tone intended to ridicule |
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Term
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Definition
the use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions
(Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, The Simpsons, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
an artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words (anaphora, anastrophe,
antithesis are some examples of schemes) |
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Term
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Definition
having, containing, or producing the sound of or a sound resembling that of the s or
the sh in sash. "And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain." |
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Term
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Definition
| a comparison of two things using “like,” “as,” or other specifically comparative words |
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Term
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Definition
| a sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause |
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Term
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Definition
a technique characterized by the continuous unedited flow of
conscious experience through the mind recorded on paper. Often used in “interior monologue,”
when the reader is privy to a character or narrator’s thoughts. |
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Term
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Definition
a construction in which one word is used in two different senses (“After he threw the
ball, he threw a fit.”) |
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Term
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Definition
a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise
and a minor premise (“All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.”) |
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Term
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Definition
using one part of an object to represent the entire object (for example, referring to a
car simply as “wheels”) |
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Term
| Synesthesia (or synaesthesia) |
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Definition
describing one kind of sensation in terms of another (“a loud
color,” “a sweet sound”) |
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Term
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Definition
needless repetition which adds no meaning or understanding (“Widow woman”,
“free gift”) |
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Term
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Definition
an artful deviation from the ordinary or principal signification of a word (hyberbole,
metaphor, and personification are some examples of tropes) |
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Term
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Definition
| the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it |
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Term
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Definition
the everyday speech of a particular country or region, often involving nonstandard
usage. |
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Term
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Definition
the words in one phrase or clause are replicated, exactly or closely, in reverse
grammatical order in the next phrase or clause. "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what
your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." -- John F. Kennedy,
Inaugural Address "I, too, was born in the slum. But just because you're born in the slum does
not mean the slum is born in you, and you can rise above it if your mind is made up." -- Jesse
Jackson, 1984 Democratic National Convention Address |
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Term
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Definition
the repetition of initial consonant letters (or sounds) in two or more different words
across successive sentences, clauses, or phrases "I think a need a bigger box." -- Taco Bell
Commercial |
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Term
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Definition
TWO words that are ordinarily contradictory; a TWO WORD paradox; two words
with contrary or apparently contradictory meanings occurring next to each other, and, which,
nonetheless, evoke some measure of truth open secret, larger half, clearly confused, act
naturally, alone together, Hell's Angels, found missing, deafening silence, seriously funny,
pretty ugly, almost exactly, unbiased opinion |
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Term
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Definition
Using words to imitate sounds
Examples
“Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard.” –The Highwayman
“Plop, plop, fizz, fizz oh what a relief it is” -Alka-Seltzer
“Snap, Crackle, Pop” –Rice Krispies |
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Term
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Definition
Isocolon- repeating words and sounds in phrases the same length
Etymology: The word derives from the Greek isos, equal + kolon, member.
Ex. “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.” –
Charles V |
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Term
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Definition
Repetition of a single word, but with a different meaning each time
Way to Remember: My Aunt Ana’s class is trying…very trying.
Examples
If we don’t hang together, we’ll hang separately. –Ben Franklin
If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm. –Vince Lombardi
Put out the light, then put out the light. –Othello |
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Term
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Definition
Repeating of the same word or phrase at the ends of successive clauses
Way to Remember: Epistrophe has an ‘e’ that repeats at the end. Examples
Hourly joys be still upon you! Juno sings her blessings upon you! –The Tempest
What though the field be lost? All is not lost… -Paradise Lost
The government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. –Gettysburg Address |
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Term
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Definition
The use of words alike in sound but different in meaning. Basically, paronomasia
is just fancy term for a pun.
Example –
“What is most like a bee in May?
“Well, let me think, perhaps –” you say.
Bravo! You're guessing well today!”
~Lewis Carroll
(“Perhaps” is the word most like “maybe” - or “May Bee”) |
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Term
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Definition
| the use of an unnecessarily long or roundabout form of expression |
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