Nonfiction Prose Vocabulary

Examples of Nonfiction

Essays, Speeches, Articles and Opinion Pieces, Memoir and Autobiographical Excerpts, Interviews and Personal Narratives

Examples of Stylistic Devices

Diction, Imagery, Detail, Syntax and Figurative Language

Examples of Content Devices

Setting, point

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the six senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and movement) to create vivid mental pictures.

Visual Imagery

Allows readers to see what the author describes and relate what they see in their mind — sizes, shapes, colors, etc.

Olfactory Imagery

Appeals to the readers sense of smell

Auditory Imagery

Pertains to the sounds we hear in our mind as we read

Gustatory Imagery

Appeals to the readers sense of taste

Tactile Imagery

Deals with images that represent touch, hardness, softness, wetness, heat and cold

Kinesthetic Imagery

Deals with images that represent movement or tension in the body

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence to create meaning and effect. It includes sentence structure, punctuation, and word order

Sentence Length

• short, abrupt

• medium sentence

• long, flowing

Juxtaposition

ideas, words, or phrases that are places close together in the same sentence for contrast

Repetition

words, sounds, or ideas that are repeated to create emphasis

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Rhetorical Question

a sentence that asks a question but expect no answer

Semicolon ;

gives equal weight to two or more sentences resulting in a balance of parallel ideas

Colon :

sets the expectation that important, closely related information will follow; used when listing one or more ideas; adds a layer of formality

Figurative Language

Figures of speech that go beyond the literal and use language to achieve a more powerful effect.

Simile

A comparison of two things that uses “like,” “than,” or “as”

Metaphor

The comparison of one thing to another that does not use the terms “like” or “as” or “than”

Personification

Endows animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects with human form

Allusion

A reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, mythology, or some other branch of culture

Oxymoron

The association of two contrary terms that are places next to each other

Hyperbole

An excessive exaggeration

Onomatopoeia

When the sound of a word is related to its meaning

Sibilance

A figure of speech where strong “s” and “sh” sounds are created deliberately to produce a hissing sound

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words