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Abstract LanguageLanguage describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specificthings, people, or places.Active voice The subject of the sentence performs the action.Ad HominemIn an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent'sideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."Adage A folk saying with a lessonAllegoryA story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and eventsrepresent qualities or concepts.Allegory A work that functions on a symbolic levelAlliterationThe repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peckof pickled peppers."AllusionAn indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to befamiliar.Ambiguity An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.AnalogyA literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison. It is assumedthat what applies to the parallel situation also applies to the originalcircumstance. In other words, it is the comparison between two different items.Anaphorarepetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or moresentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make thewriter's point more coherent.Anecdote A story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point.AnnotationExplanatory notes added to a text to explain, clarify, or prompt further thought;can also cite sources or give bibliographical data.Antecedent The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.AntithesisTwo opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, withparallel structure.Aphorisma terse saying embodying a general truth or astute observation, expresses ageneral truth or moral principleEx: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (LordActon).ApostropheA figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarityor emotional intensity.AppositiveA word or group or words placed beside a noun or noun substitute tosupplement its meaning.ArgumentA single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by thewriter

ArgumentationThe purpose of this rhetorical mode is to prove the validity of an idea, or pointof view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument thatthoroughly convince the reader.Assonance Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximityAsyndetonCommas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The partsare emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence. X,Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z.Attitude/Tonethe relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.AuthorityArguments that draw on recognized experts or persons with highly relevantexperience.Backing Support or evidence for a claim in an argumentBalancea situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether insentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work.Balanced sentenceOne in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equalweights on a scale.Bathos a ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.Begging the QuestionOften called circular reasoning; occurs when the believability of the evidencedepends on the believability of the claim.Cacophony Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary word.Causal RelationshipWriter asserts that one thing results from another. To show how one thingproduces or brings about another is often relevant in establishing a logicalargument.Character those who carry out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, anddynamic are the types.ChiasmusArrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. It is often shortand summarizes a main idea.ClassicismArt or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticksto traditional themes and structures.Clause A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.Clichéa trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing apopular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, andimpact by long overuseColloquialcharacteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather thanformal speech or writing; informal.ColloquialismSlang in writing, used often to create local color and to provide an informaltone.

Comic Relief The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragicelements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event.Complex sentence Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.Compound sentence Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.Compound-complexsentenceContains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.Conceit the use of such metaphors as a literary characteristic, esp. in poetry.Concrete LanguageLanguage that describes specific, observable things, peoples or places, rather than ideas or qualities.Conflicta clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; manvs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self Connotationthe interpretive level or a word based on its associated images rather than itsliteral meaning.ConsonanceRepetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity,especially at the end of wordsCumulativeSentence which begins with the main idea and then expands on that idea witha series of details or other particularsDeclarative sentence States an ideaDeconstructionA critical approach that debunks single definitions of meaning based on theinstability of language. It "is not a dismantling of a structure of a text, but ademonstration that it has already dismantled itself."Deduction The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example.Denotation the literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.Dependent clausean idea cannot stand alone in a sentence even though it has a subject and averbDescriptionThe purpose of this rhetorical mode is to re- create, invent, or visually presenta person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that beingdescribed. Sometimes an author engages all five senses.Dialecta variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the samelanguage by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its useby a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.Dictionthe author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well asmeaningDidacticA term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specificlesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.Direct Object the object that receives the direct action of the verbDramatic Irony Facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but