| A | B |
|---|
| absolute | a word free from limitations or qualifications (best, all, unique, perfect) |
| adage | a familiar proverb or wise saying |
| ad hominem argument | an argument attacking an individual’s character rather than his or her position on an issue |
| allegory | a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words |
| allusion | a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize |
| analogy | a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
| anaphora | the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences |
| anecdote | a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event |
| antecedent | the word, phrase or clause to which a pronoun refers |
| antithesis | a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced |
| aphorism | – a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction |
| archetype | a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response |
| argument | a statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work |
| asyndeton | a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions |
| balanced sentence | a sentence in which words, phrases or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast |
| bathos | insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity |
| chiasmus | a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (“Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary.) |
| cliche | an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off |
| climax | the point of highest interest in a literary work |
| colloquialism | informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing |
| complex sentence | a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause |
| compound sentence | a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions |
| conceit | a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor |
| concrete details | details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events |
| connotation | the implied or associative meaning of a word |
| cumulative sentence | a sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases |
| declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a statement or declaration |
| deductive reasoning | 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.) |
| denotation | the literal meaning of a word |
| dialect | a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region |
| dialogue | conversation between two or more people |
| diction | the word choices made by a writer |
| didactic | having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing |
| dilemma | a situation that requires a person to decide between two equally attractive or equally unattractive alternatives |
| dissonance | harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds |
