 | Term | Definition |
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abstract |
designating qualities or characteristics apart from specific objects or events; it is the opposite of concrete |
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allegory |
a narrative, either in verse or prose, in which character, action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of a story. The underlying meaning usually has a moral, social, religious, or political significance, and the characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, hope, greed, and so on. |
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alliteration |
the repetition of initial identical consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in successive or closely associated syllables, especially stressed syllables. |
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allusion |
a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficitious, or to a work of art |
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analogy |
a process of reasoning that assumes if two subjects share a number of specific observable qualities then they may be expected to share qualities that have not beenobserved; the process of drawing a comparison between two things based on a partial similarity of like features |
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anaphora |
one of the devices of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences |
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anastrophe |
the inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence |
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antecedent |
the word to which a pronoun refers |
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anticipating audience response |
a rhetprocal technique often used to convince an audience is that of anticipating and stating the arguments that one's opponent is likely to give and then answering these arguemnts even before the opponent had a chance to voice them |
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antithesis |
a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas, as in "Man proposes, God disposes"; a balancing of one term against another for emphasis |
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aphorism |
a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words |
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apostrophe |
a figure of speech in which someone (usually, bu not always absent), some abstract quality, or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present |
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attitude |
closely linked with the tone of a piece; can also be the underlying feeling behind a tone |
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call to action |
writing that urges people to action or promotes change |
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characterization |
the techniques a writer uses to create and reveal fictional personalities in a work of literature, by describing the character's appearance, actions, thoughts, and feelings |
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chiasmus |
a type of balance in which the second part is balanced against the first but with the part reversed |
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classification |
a method of sorting, grouping, collecting, and analyzing things by categories based on features shared by al members of a class or group |
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division |
a method of breaking down an entire whole into separate parts or sorting a group of items into nonoverlapping categories |
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cliché |
a time worn expression that through overuse has lost its power to evoke concrete images |
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coinage |
a word or phrase made, invented, or fabricated |
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colloquial expressions |
words or phrases characteristic or appropriate ot ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing |
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comparison/contrast |
a rhetorical technique for pointing out similarities or differences |
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compound/complex sentence |
a sentence that contains two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause |
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conceit |
an elaborate and surprising figure of speech comparing two very dissimilar things; usually involves intellectual cleverness and ingenuity |
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concrete |
pertains to actual things, instances, or experiences; opposite of abstract |
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defensive/offensive |
a method of argumentation in which the speaker or writer defends her own views and /or attacks the view of others |
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definition |
a method for specifying the basic nature of anyphenomenon, idea, or thing |
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denotation |
the specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional colorationor associations |
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connotation |
the emotional implications the words may carry, as distinguished from their denotative meanings |
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diction |
the choice of words in a work of literature and an element of style important to the work's effectiveness |
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doublespeak |
in general language, used to distort and manipulate rather than to communicate |
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downplaying/intensifying |
methods of drawing attention and diverting attention |
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ellipsis |
the omossion of a word or words necessary for complete construction, but understood in the context |
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emotional appeal |
exploiting the readers' feelings of pity or fear to make a case; this fallacy draws solely on the readers' pathos and not on logic |
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ethical appeal |
the most subtle and often the most powerful becuase it comes from the character and reputation. not words |
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ethnocentricity |
the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own group and culture |
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euphemism |
the substitution of an inoffensive, indirect, or agreeable expression for a word or phrase perceived as socially unacceptable of unnecessarily harsh |
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exposition |
writing that seeks to clarify, expkain, or inform using one or several of the following methods: process analysis, definition, classification and division, comparision and contrast, and cause-and-effect analysis |
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figurative language |
the use of words outside their literal or usual meanings, used to add freshness and suggest associations and comparisons that create effective images; includes elements of speech such as hyperbole, irony, metaphor, personification, and simile |
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hyperbole |
a figure of speech in which conscious exaggeration is used without the intent of literal persuasion |
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imagery |
the use of language to cnvey sensory experience, most often through the creation of pictorial images through figurative language |
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idiom |
a use of words, a grammatic construction peculiar ot a given language, or an expresion taht cannot be translated literally into a second language |
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irony |
a mode of speech in whcih words express a meaning opposite to teh intended meaning |
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jargon |
usually refers to a specialized language providing a shorthand method of quick communication between in the same field; often used to disguise the inner working of a particular trade or profession from public scrutiny |
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juxtapose |
placing two (sometimes completely different) ideas side by side or close together; |
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lending credence |
lend opponent some credit for ideas; can persuade audience that she is fair; strengthens argument |
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litotes |
a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite |
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logical fallcies |
methods of pseudoreasoning that may occur accidentally or may be intentionally contrived to lend plausibility to an unsound argument; include: a shift in definition, ad hominem, begging the question, false analogy, non equitur, red herring, slippery slope, straw man |
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ad hominem |
an attack against the character of the person instead of the issue |
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non sequitur |
the introduction of irrelevant evidence to support a claim |
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red herring |
use fo an irrelevant point to divert attention from the real issue |
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slippery slope |
failure to provide evidence showing that one event will lead to a chain of events of a catastrophe nature |
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logical reasoning |
the idea that there are principles governing correct or reliable inferences |
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loose sentence |
a sentence grammaticaly ocmplete at some point (or points) before the end; opposite of periodic sentence |
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lyrical drama |
a term used for a dramatic poem in which the form of drama is used to expres lyric themes (author's own emotions or ideas of life) instead of relying on a story as the basis of the action |
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metaphor |
a figure of speech involving an implied comparison |
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metonymy |
a figure of speech characterized by the subsitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself |
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mood |
the overall atmosphere of a work |
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motif |
recurrent images, words, objects, phrases, or actions that tend to unify the work |
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narration |
the story of events and/or experiences that tells what happened |
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onomatopoeia |
the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning |
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oxymoron |
a self-contradictory combination of words or smaller verbal units; usually noun-noun, adjective-adjective, adjective-noun, adverb-adverb, or adverb-verb |
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paradox |
a phrase or statement that while seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true |
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parallelism |
the arrangement of parts of a sentence, sentences, paragraphs, and larger units of cmposition that one element of equal importance with another is similarly developed and phrased |
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periodic sentence |
a sentence not grammatically complete before its end; opposite of a loose sentence |
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personification |
attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things |
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point of view |
a term used in the analsis and criticism of fiction to describe the wayin which the reader is presented with the materials of the story or, regarded from another angle, the vantage point from which the author presents the actions of the story |
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polysyndeton |
the repetition of conjections in close succession for rhetorical effect |
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process analysis |
a method of clarifying the nature of something by explaining how its works in separate, easy-to-understand steps |
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repetition |
a rhetorical device reiterating a word or phrase, or rewording the same idea, to secure emphasis |
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rhetorical question |
asked solely to produce an effect and not to elicit a reply |
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rhetorical strategies |
strategies used to produce an effect |
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satire |
a technique that ridicules both people and societal institutions, using iron wit, and exaggeration |
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simile |
a figure of speech involving a comparision using like or as |
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simple sentence |
a complete sentence that is neither compound nor complex |
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spin (redefining) |
redefines |
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style |
the author's characteristic manner of expression; includes: the types of words used, their placement, and distinctive features of tone, imagery, figurative, language, sound, and rhythm |
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syllogism |
a formula for presenting an argument logicaly |
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sumbol |
something concrete (such as an object, person, place, or event) that stands for or represents something abstract (such as sn idea, quality, concept, or sondition) |
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synecdoche |
a type of figurative language in which the whole is used for the part of the part used for the whole |
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syntax |
the pattern or structure of the word order in a sentence or phrase: the study of grammatical structure |
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tone |
the voice the writer has chosen to project to relate ot readers |
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voice |
the implied personality the author chooses to adopt |
