| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Fable | A legendary story of supernatural happenings, a narration intended to enforce a useful truth; especially : one in which animals speak and act like human beings |
| Legend | a story coming down from the past; especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable |
| Synonym | one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses |
| Atlas | a bound collection of maps often including illustrations, informative tables, or textual matter |
| Bias | an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment, influence in an unfair way |
| Biography | an account of the series of events making up a person's life, an account of the series of events making up a person's life |
| Compound Word | A compound word is made when two words are joined to form a new word. |
| Contraction | a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds |
| Fairy Tale | an interesting but highly implausible story |
| Main Idea | what a piece of writing is mainly about |
| Prefix | an affix that added in front of the word |
| Suffix | an affix that is added at the end of the word |
| Antonym | two words that express opposing concepts |
| Plot | a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal) |
| Point of view | "eyes" through which the story is told |
| Root Word | the base component of a term which gives it a meaning that may be modified by other components |
| Science Fiction | a genre, elements of fiction and fantasy with scientific fact. science-fiction stories are set in the future |
| Setting | arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted |
| Syllable | a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme, a vowel or a group of letters containing one vowel sound |
| Tall Tale | highly exaggerated story with humor |
| Acronym | Technique for remembering names, phrases, or steps by using the first letter of each word to form a new, memorableword |
| Anecdote | short account of an incident (especially a biographical one) |
| Anthology | A collection of extracts from the writings of various authors. |
| Aphorism | A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. |
| Autobiography | a biography of yourself, n. The story of one's life written by himself. |
| Bibliography | a list of writings with time and place of publication (such as the writings of a single author or the works referred to in preparing a document etc.) |
| Caption | brief description accompanying an illustration |
| Context | the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event |
| Excerpt | a passage selected from a larger work |
| Foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot |
| Homonym | two words are homonyms if they are pronounced or spelled the same way but have different meanings |
| Memoir | an account of the author's personal experiences |
| Multisyllabic | Multi-syllabic words in English consisting of one or more syllable with a lax vowel and ending with a syllable containing a tense vowel are highly predictable. |
| Persuade | cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action |
| Poet | a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry) |
| Problem | a source of difficulty |
| Solution | the successful action of solving a problem |
| Purpose | what something is used for |
| Rhythm | Pattern of sound and silence in music. |
| Rising Action | Action that leads to turning point |
| Satire | A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attemmpt to bring about a change. |
| Stanza | A group of rimed lines, usually forming one of a series of similar divisions in a poem. |
| Syllogism | logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument |
| Venn Diagram | a diagram that uses circles to represent set theory |
| Annotated Bibliography | An annotated bibliography gives an account of the research that has been done on a given topic. Like any bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a concise summary of each source and some assessment of its value or relevance. |
| Footnote | a printed note placed below the text on a printed page, a printed note placed below the text on a printed page |
| Metaphor | a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles |
| Summary | a briefstatement that presents the main points in a concise form |
| Root Word | (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed, the base component of a term which gives it a meaning that may be modified by other components |
| Alliteration | the repitition of sounds, most often consonat sounds, at the begining of words. Alliteration gives emphasis to words. |
| Assonance | the repitition of some or similar vowel sounds in stressed syables that end with different consonant sounds |
| Assumption | the act of assuming or taking for granted |
| Chronological | Order of events over time |
| Consonance | the repitition of consonant sounds before and after different vowels |
| Exaggeration | making to seem more important than it really is |
| Exposition | a systematic interpretation or explanation (usually written) of a specific topic |
| Falling Action | the falling action (or resolution) is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications |
| Field Guide | a guidebook describing natural objects of some type that might be encountered in the field |
| Flash Back | a scene that interrupts a action of a work to show a previous event |
| Irony | incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs |
| Literary Device | efers to specific aspects of literature, in the sense of its universal function as an art form which expresses ideas through language, which we can recognize, identify, interpret and/or analyze. Literary devices collectively comprise the art form’s components; the means by which authors create meaning through language, and by which readers gain understanding of and appreciation for their works. They also provide a conceptual framework for comparing individual literary works to others, both within and across genres. Both literary elements and literary techniques can rightly be called literary devices. |
| Literary Element | includes all the elements in a story: plot, rising action, falling action, problem, solution, setting, ect. |
| Memorandum | a written proposal or reminder |
| Narrate | To tell a story. |
| Parable | a short moral story (often with animal characters) |
| Persuasive | tending or intended or having the power to induce action or belief |
| Primary Source Historical | Original documentation |
| Document | writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature) |
| Pun | a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things |
| Quote | a passage or expression that is quoted or cited |
| Reference | the act of referring or consulting |
| Scene | a situation treated as an observable object |
| Secondary Source | review summarizes or discusses research conducted by others. Not first hand data. Scholarly books |
| Word Play | playing on words or speech sounds |
| Allusion | a referance in a work of literatre to a character, place, or situation from history or from another work of literature, music, or art. |
| Characterization | a graphic or vivid verbal description |
| Extended Metaphor | The comparison between two things is continued beyond the first point of comparison. This extends and deepens a description. |
| Homophone | two words are homophones if they are pronounced the same way but differ in meaning or spelling or both (e.g. bare and bear) |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| Archetype | an original model on which something is patterned |
| Iambic Pentameter | A metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambic feet per line. (an iamb, or iambic foot, consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.) |
| Omniscient | all-knowing |
| Paradox | a situation or statement that seems to be impossible or contradicting, but is nevertheless true, either literally or figuratively |
| Pathetic Fallacy | The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example angry clouds; a cruel wind. |
| Sonnet | a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme |
| Stereotype | a distorted, exaggerated, or oversimplified image applied to a category of people |
| Symbolism | the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning, The use of words, places, people, or objects to mean something beyond their literal meaning. |
| Symbolize | represent or identify by using a symbol |
| Third Person | narrator is outside the action and refers to characters as he or she |
| Antithesis | exact opposite |
| Metonymy | substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in 'they counted heads') |
| Scansion | The analysis of a poem's meter. This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then based on the pattern of the stresses dividing the line into feet. |
| Synecdoche | substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa |
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