| A | B |
|---|
| Acerbic | bitter or sharp in tone, taste, or manner. |
| Admiring | showing warm approval or appreciation of somebody or something. |
| Allegory | objects/events representing others through entire piece of literature |
| Alliteration | Repetition of first syllable through multiple words |
| Amusing | causing somebody to smile or laugh or be amused, often in a subdued way. |
| Analogy | Comparison of two objects in multiple ways or four objects in one way |
| Anaphora | the use of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses, sentences, lines, or verses, usually for emphasis or rhetorical effect. |
| Antanaclasis | Repetition of the same word in the same sentence or in very close proximity but with two different meanings - homonyms. |
| Antimetabole | identical or near repetition of words, phrases, or clauses in reverse order of the next phrase, word, or clause. |
| Antithesis | two opposite statements wherein one contradicts the other |
| Aphorism | Original short phrase - musing on life |
| Apologetic | offering an excuse or apology for a wrongdoing or to acknowledge a fault, failure, or shortcoming. |
| Apostrophe | Direct speech to an inanimate object |
| Appositive | a word or phrase placed in relation to the expression it modifies to identify or supplement the first expression. |
| Argument | Author's claim; what the author is proving |
| Assonance | Repetition of the vowel sound in multiple words |
| Asyndenton | Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. |
| Atmosphere | Establishing mood through setting |
| Audience | to whom the author is writing |
| Authoritative | convincing, reliable, backed by evidence, and showing deep knowledge. |
| Author's purpose | Reason the author is writing/ speaker is speaking |
| Autobiography | the author’s writing about his/her entire life, at least up to the point of writing. |
| Biography | a writing about a person’s entire life but written by another person. |
| Cacophony | harsh, discordant sounds |
| Candid | honest and open in relationships with others; honest or direct in a way that people find either refreshing or distasteful |
| Cataloging | the listing of supporting examples or facts |
| Claim | What the author believes/is trying to prove |
| Commentary | the writer’s discussion of how the proof backs up the thesis |
| Compound sentence | contains coordination with a coordinating conjunction, a correlative conjunction, or a conjunctive adverb. |
| Concluding sentence | the last sentence of a body paragraph |
| Concrete detail | the proof of the essay |
| Conjunctive adverb | Used to combine two independent clauses with a semi-colon. |
| Connotation | Meaning beyond the dictionary definition |
| Consonance | Repetition of consonant sound throughout multiple words - not just at end or beginning of the words |
| Contemptuous | feeling, expressing, or demonstrating a strong dislike or utter lack of respect for somebody or something. |
| Coordinating conjunctions | For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So |
| Coordination | the combining of phrases in a sentence using conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs. |
| Correlative conjunctions | not only . . . but, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, just as . . . so also |
| Critical | giving comments or judgments; |
| Cumulative sentence | begins with a standard sentence pattern (S + V (+ O)) and adds multiple details after it. The details can take the form of subordinate clauses or different kinds of phrases |
| Declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a statement. |
| Denotation | Dictionary Definition |
| Diction | word or phrase choice |
| Didactic | containing a political or moral message |
| Disgusted | Feeling horrified and expressing disapproval of something |
| Emotional appeal | Using feelings to convince the reader - not pathos |
| Epizeuxis | repetition of a word with no other words in between. |
| Essay | a writing in which the author states his/her opinion on a topic |
| Et al | and all the others |
| Ethos | Petition to the speaker's ability |
| Euphemism | a softer or kinder way of stating a harsh truth or unkind statement |
| Exasperated | angry and frustrated after repeated annoyance from another person or persons. |
| Exclamatory sentence | a sentence that expresses a strong feeling or emotion; it usually ends with an exclamation mark. |
| Extended metaphor | One comparison used multiple times throughout a work |
| Eyecatcher | the first line of an essay, intended to grab the reader’s attention |
| Figurative language | Language used in a non-literal way |
| Finalthought | the last sentence of an essay intended to leave the reader thinking |
| Foreshadowing | Hint of what is to happen |
| General statement | generalized sentences in an essay that relate to the topic |
| Genial | Having a kind and good natured disposition or manner. |
| Hopeful | showing belief in a more positive outcome for the future |
| Hortativesentence | a sentence that exhorts, advises, or calls to action. |
| Hyperbole | Extreme exaggeration |
| Ibid | the same information as listed above |
| Imagery | Sensory details |
| Imperativesentence | Sentence used to command, enjoin, implore, or entreat. |
| Informative | providing useful information through a broad approach without too much bias. |
| Interrogative | a sentence that asks a question - usually ends with a question mark. |
| Inverted sentence | In this type of sentence the verb is before the subject (VS(+O)). |
| Ironic | deliberately stating the opposite of the truth, usually with the intention or result of being amusing. |
| Irony | Contrast of what is and what appears to be |
| Judgmental | authoritative and often having critical opinions |
| Logical appeal | Using evidence to convince the reader; not ethos |
| Memoir | an autobiographical writing about one event or one series of related events in a person’s live. |
| Metaphor | Comparison of two or more objects without like, as, than, or resembles |
| Metonymy | Term subbed for another; "White House" for the president or the presidency |
| Mocking | Imitating somebody in a way that is intended to make that person appear silly or ridiculous. |
| Modifier | any word or phrase that adds to and/or changes another word. |
| Mood | Overall atmosphere of the work |
| Motif | Recurring theme, idea, or character |
| Nature Writing | An essay or collection of essays in which the writer uses firsthand observations to explore the mysteries of the human relationship with nature. |
| Negation | adding nullifiers to make a positive statement into a negative one |
| Nostalgic | a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past, or the past in general |
| Onomatopoeia | Sounds in word form: buzz; swoosh, slap |
| Optimistic | tending to take a hopeful and positive view of future outcomes. |
| Oxymoron | Two opposite phrases combined to one idea - jumbo shrimp |
| Paradox | Statements that seem to contradict themselves but are nevertheless true. |
| Parallel Structure | words in a sentences written exactly with the same grammatical structure. |
| Parallelism | two or more clauses with the same syntactical structure |
| Pathos | Emotional appeals |
| Pedantic | unimaginative and emphasizing minutiae to show knowledge; ostentatiously shows knowledge but of the little, picky sort. |
| Periodic sentence | begins with multiple details and holds the pattern of the standard sentence until the end. |
| Personification | Comparison giving human or animalistic qualities to inanimate objects |
| Polysyndenton | the deliberate use of a series of conjunctions |
| Proverb | a short well-known saying that expresses an obvious truth and often offers advice. |
| Pugnacious | inclined to fight or be aggressive; confrontational and willing to fight for a belief. |
| Puritanism | started in the sixteenth century as a movement to reform the Church of England |
| Purpose | the reason the author is writing |
| Regretful | expressing distress or sorrow, particularly over actions that are beyond your control to repair. |
| Respectful | showing appropriate deference to further reference and an attitude of admiration |
| Reverential | feeling or expressing deep respect or awe |
| Rhetorical triangle | Logos, Pathos, Ethos |
| Rhetoric | Art of using language to communicate effectively |
| Righteous | Morally good or correct, especially according to standards set by religion OR when a person has a right to feel angry. |
| Romanticism | Around the beginning of the 19th century, this movement sprang up in both Europe and America as a reaction to everything that had come before it: the rationalism of the 18th century Age of Reason and, especially in America, the strict doctrines of Puritanism. |
| Sarcastic | characterized by words that mean the opposite of what they seem to say and are intended to mock or deride. |
| Satire | Using wit to imitate; ridicule |
| Satiric | uses humor to criticize people or things and make them seem silly. |
| Sermon | a talk on a religious or moral subject given by a member of the clergy as part of a religious service. |
| Setting | Time and place of the action |
| Solemn | serious and significant without humor; (reserved for an important occasion. |
| Style | the way the author writes – combines diction and syntax |
| Symbolism | Comparison where an object represents an idea |
| Synecdoche | Part for the whole; the crown spoke = the king spoke |
| Serious | quiet, thoughtful, not laughing or making jokes very often, and always being sensible |
| Syntax | sentence structure |
| Thesis | the author’s main statement in an essay |
| Tone | Author's attitude for a subject reflected in diction |
| Topic sentence | the first sentence in a paragraph that dives direction to the paragraph |
| Transcendentalism | An American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson. |
| Understatement | deliberately stated as less for dramatic impact |
| Witty | using words in an apt, clever, and amusing way; strikingly clever, stylish, or original in design or execution. |
| Worshipful | showing great love and admiration for someone or something. |
