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Analogy
A comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is more familiar; it is typically more extensive and elaborate than a simile or metaphor
The structure of an atom is like a solar system. The nucleus is the sun and electrons are the planets revolving around their sun....
Analogy
Anecdote
A short account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical
The TV show How I Met Your Mother has a narrator that recounts his anecdotes of the events that occurred with his friends and future wife.
Anecdote
Anticlimax
A rhetorical device which can be defined as a disappointing situation or a sudden transition in discourse from an important idea to a ludicrous or trivial one.
Everyone was excited to hear Beyonce in concert; she ended up losing her voice the night before the concert and all of it was lip-synched.
Anticlimax
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which some absent or nonexistent person or thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding.
"Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity me, crush sensation and memory; let me become as nought; but if not, depart, depart, and leave me in darkness."
Apostrophe
Cause and Effect
The examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon
Essay topics such as "How did the incumbent mayor lose the election?" or "What causes obesity?" are well suited to cause and effect exposition.
Cause and Effect
Colloquial Expression
Words and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing
"Jack was bummed out about his chemistry grade." vs. "Jack was upset about his chemistry grade."
Colloquial Expression
Expository Writing
Writing that explains or analyzes
Analysis papers, letters, press releases, etc.
Expository Writing
Irony
A figure of speech where the intended meaning of the words is the opposite of their usual meaning.
A psychic fair is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
situational irony
The mom asked her son to do his chores. He replied, "Sure, I'm SOOO excited."
Verbal irony
"Go ask his name: if he be married. My grave is like to be my wedding bed."
dramatic irony
Parody
A literary composition which imitates the characteristic style of a serious work or writer and uses its features to treat trivial, nonsensical material in an attempt at humor or satire
The Scary Movie series parodies all horror, slasher, and mystery genres.
Parody
Pedantry
A display of narrow-minded and trivial scholarship or arbitrary adherence to rules and forms; it is an excessive concern with minor details
Evan's father insisted that his clothes be hung in his closet all facing the same direction, color-coded, and arranged by shade from dark to light.
Pedantry
Point of View
The way in which something is viewed or considered by a writer or speaker; in fiction, it is the relationship assumed between the teller of the story and the characters in it, usually demonstrated by the author's use of either first or third person
First-Person: I thought to myself, Will Barbara say yes to my proposal?
Point of View
Rhetoric
The art of using words effectively in writing or speaking so as to influence or persuade
Referring to the U.S. White House as the President's "playground" would be a tactic of rhetoric used by a person in opposition to the President to persuade citizens that the President is incapable or incompetent and uses his power inappropriately.
Rhetoric
Rhetorical Question
A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point, no answer being expected
"Robert, is this any way to speak to your mother?"
Rhetorical Question
Satire
A literary work in which vices, abuses, absurdities, etc. are held up to ridicule and contempt; use of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. to expose vices, abuses, etc.
NBC's Saturday Night Live critiques politics and the national media through humor.
Satire
Tone
The attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience that is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.
"Damn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell."
Tone
Note
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