| A | B |
|---|
| periodic setntence | places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements |
| loose sentence | The main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units (phrases and clauses). Many loose sentences create a conversational tone |
| antithesis | a balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses |
| asyndeton | commas used with no conjuctions to separate a series of words |
| polysyndeton | sentence which uses "and" or other conjuction (with no commas) to separate the items in a series |
| chiasmus | arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of XYYX |
| negative-positive | sentence that begins by stating what is not true, then ends by stating what is true |
| tricolon | sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses |
| antimetabole | repetition of words, in clauses, in reverse grammatical order |
| convoluted structure | the main clause is split in two; subordinate material is between (this tends to place emphasis on subordinate material) |
| centered structure | the main clause occupies the middle position with subordinate material on either end |
| epanalepsis | repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occured at the beginning of the clause |
| anadiplosis | repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause |
| epistrophe | repetition of the same words at the ends of successive clauses |
| punctuation | use of periods, commas, dashes, semicolons, colons, or other marks in order to control the pace or effect of a work of prose or poetry |
| ad hominem | a fallacy in which the attact in on the person rather than his ideas (Latin meaning: "against the man") |
| aphorism | a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life |
| annotation | explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data |
| anecdote | a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point |
| 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 |
