Non-fiction Terminology

analogy

• expository technique that compares unlike things.

• Usually something abstract and difficult being compared with something concrete and easier to grasp. -purpose is to make difficult concept easier to understand

anecdote

Short narrative episode that is included to introduce a subject or to make a point.

argumentation (Persuasion)

form of prose in which the writer's purpose is to influence the reader to agree to their side in a debatable issue.

cause and effect

shows how one event leads to another

chronological

organized according to time in order of occurrence

climactic order

(may be a sentence, paragraph, or essay)
The most important or most dramatic item in a series is placed at the end

coherence

Principle of writing that asserts that :

• parts of an essay must relate to each other clearly and logically

• differs from unity (each part relating to central theme)

deductive reasoning

method of exposition in which the writer applies a known/established generalization to a single/specific situation, believing that the first will explain the second.
general --> specific

descending order (paragraph or essay)

most important/dramatic item in a series is placed at the beginning

description

form of prose in which the writer's purpose is to portray various qualities of a person, place object, or scene.
makes reader sense everything and brings subject to life

details

particular points/characteristics of a whole thing/idea

essay

a prose composition, brief enough to be read in one sitting, in which a writer presents view on a particular topic

examples

specific instances that illustrates an idea

exposition

form of prose in which the writer's purpose is to explain through the presentation of ideas focusing on a particular topic.

facts

things that actually exist, occurred, or known by observation/experience

fallacy

A flaw/weakness in the logic of a particular argument. writer might make a generalization that is faulty due to no room for exceptions

familiar essay

Personal, casual, informal essay in which the writer shares their views on an everyday concern.

formal essay

an essay which is characterized by a seriousness of tone, careful , logical organization to persuade or inform.

humour

element, device, or technique that causes laughter or amusement

Inductive Reasoning

expository technique in which the writer examines specific evidence and draws from it a generalization.

• Opposite of deductive reasoning

• specific --> general

narration

form of prose in which the writer's purpose is to tell a story or relate an event. May be true, imaginary, or combination.

• main characteristic is that is depicts a series of events

• (usually chronological order)

Persona

Mask or identity a writer adopts and presents as the suggested speaker in a particular work.

purpose

the controlling reason behind a work; what the selection attempts to achieve

rhetoric

art of expressing ideas effectively. Rhetoric embraces the rules of good writing and speaking, but goes beyond mere correctness to being concerned with such areas as word choice, arrangement of ideas, paragraphing, and organization.

spatial order (locating details in space)

presenting details in an order that makes their location clear. Descriptive details are arranged in relation to one another with the help of expressions such as down, between, next to.

reasons

logical arguments to prove, support, or explain a point

statistics

units of numerical information

style

overall texture of a literary work; the particular manner in which the ideas have been expressed.
- comprised of many elements like diction, imagery, figurative language, sentence structure, tone, and organization

thesis

main idea, position or view of the essay writer, the hypothesis at the heart of the writer's work.
- could be explicitly or implicit

tone

implied attitude of the writer towards the subject matter and audience.

• differs from mood -( mood describes more generally the emotional feeling)

topic sentence

sentence that contains the main idea of the paragraph in which it occurs. Usually placed at the start of a paragraph.
- developed by remaining sentences in paragraph

transitions

in writing, words or phrases that link ideas, sentences, or paragraphs, making it easier for the reader to understand how ideas relate.

unity

basic principle of writing which maintains that each part of a work should relate to a single purpose.

wit

the ability to perceive and express in an ingeniously humorous manner the relationship between seemingly incongruous or disparate things.

devices of words?

• Alliteration - connotation - Oxymoron

• transitional expression - pronoun reference

• parallel constructions - appositive construction

Sentence structure devices?

• sentence fragment - ellipsis - periodic sentence

• Inverted sentence - balanced sentence - antithesis

• chiasmus - repetition

Devices of wit

• Epigram - euphemism - hyperbole - understatement

• litotes - pun - paradox - irony - verbal irony

• juxtaposition

Devices of knowledge and imagination

• allusion - rhetorical question - motif - imagery

• onomatopoeia - comparative devices - simile -metaphor - personification - symbol - metonymy -synecdoche