Ethos
A rhetorical technique that appeals to an audience’s ethics by establishing credibility
Example: A doctor telling you they are qualified to deliver an opinion on treatment that is good for you.
Pathos
A rhetorical technique that appeals to an audience by evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.
Example: A teenager convincing his parents to buy him a new car by saying that if they cared about his safety, they would buy it.
Logos
A rhetorical technique that appeals to an audience by using data like statistics or common sense to prove a point
Example: A chart being shown by a presenter of a statistic.
Loaded Language
Words charged with an underlying meaning or implication.
Example: “How dare you!” - Greta Thunberg
Elevated Language
Formal words or phrases used to sound “intelligent”
\n
Example: “My pleasure!”
Parallelism
The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences, and even ideas
Example: “Easy come, easy go!”
Repetition
The repeating of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Example: “Be bold. Be brief. Be gone.”
Tone
An author’s attitude towards his or her audience
Shown through the author’s use of DIDLS (Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, Syntax)
Diction
The choice and use of words or phrases in speech or writing
Metaphor
A figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that is not literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.
Example: Her eyes were diamonds.
Allusion
A reference to a person, place, or event, within a literary work.
Example: When Mary Shelley mentions other texts, like “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” in Frankenstein.
Simile
A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind using like or as to make a description more vivid
Example: She was walking as slow as a sloth.
Conflict
A literary device characterized by a struggle between two opposing forces
Example: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self, etc
Foil Character
A secondary character whose situation often parallels that of a main character
Example: Victor Frankenstein and the creature, the creature being the foil character
Symbolism
A literary device that uses symbols to represent something beyond the simple meaning
Example: Doves symbolizing peace
Epiphany
A sudden realization or moment of clarity that changes a character’s perception or world view
Example: On his death bead, Victor Frankenstein has an epiphany, realizing that knowledge is not worth sacrificing everything for.
First Person Point of View
Narrator is a character in the story, referred to as “I”
Third Person Limited Point of View
The narrator reveals the thoughts of only one character, referring to that character as “he” or “she.”
Third Person Omniscient Point of View
Narrator knows all about the story’s events and reveals the thoughts of all characters
Imagery
Usually, these words or phrases are used to create a picture in the reader’s mind through the use of language.
Appeals to our five senses (touch, taste, sight, sound, smell).
It creates the setting, establishes mood, or describes characters.
Direct Characterization
The author directly shares the character’s traits to the audience
Example: A character’s physical traits like blue eyes being shared
Indirect Characterization
Definition: The author provides clues about a character based on what a character says and does.
This is shown through STEAL (Speech, Thoughts, Effects on Others, Actions, Looks)
Example: A character’s response to a specific situation
Personification
A figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings as if it were human
Example: “The sun was smiling down at me this morning”.
Alliteration
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Example: “Every breath you take, and every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you.”