all APLAC terms

Narration

The telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse

Objectivity

An impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer’s attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective personal involvement in a story. Hard news journalism is frequently prized for its ____, although even fictional stories can be told without a writer rendering personal judgement.

Oversimplification

When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument

Oxymoron

A figure of speech comprised of contradictory words or phrases such as “wise fool,” “bitter-sweet” “pretty ugly” “jumbo shrimp” “cold fire”

Pacing

The movement of a literary piece from one point or section to another

Parable

A short tale that reaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory

Paradox

A statement that seems to contradict itself but turns out to have a rational meaning

Parallelism

the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form. Parallel structure may be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a row to describe the same noun or verb; it may take the form of two or more of the same type of phrases (prepositional, participial, gerund, appositive) that modify the same noun or verb; it may also take the form of two or more subordinate clauses that modify the same noun or verb. Or, parallel structure may be a complex bend of singe-word, phrase, and clause parallelism all in the same sentence.

Example (from Churchill): "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields."

Parody

A work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements.

It can be utterly mocking or gently humorous. It depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style and content.

Pathetic Appeal; Pathos

When a writer tries to persuade the audience by appealing to their emotions. The aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience. An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade. Over-emotionalism can be the result of an excess of pathos.

Pedantic

A term that refers to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant.

Persuasion

a form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion.

Regionalism

an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot

Repetition

A word used two or more times in close proximity

Rhetorical modes

Exposition, description, narration and argumentation

Rhetorical question

one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.

Sarcasm

Harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Satire doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). Satire targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.

Speaker

the voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona

Stereo type

a character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality; a conventional patter, expression or idea.

Style

an author's characteristic manner of expression - his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style

Subjectivity

a personal presentation of evens and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions

Abstract

Refers to the language that describes concepts rather than concrete images ( ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things people or places). The observable or “physical” is usually described in concrete language.

Allegory

an extended narrative in prose or verb in which characters events and settings represent abstract qualities, and in which the writer intends the second meaning to be both beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social or satiric.

Anecdote

A short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

Annotation

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data

Antithesis

The presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be…” ”Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country….”

Aphorism

A short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life: “Early bird gets the worm.”

Apostrophe

usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction.

Argumentation

writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation.

Cacophony; Dissonance

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.

Caricature

Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality.

Colloquialism

A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y’all, ain’t)

Coherence; Unity

Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme or organizing principle

Concrete Language

Language that describes specific, observable things, people or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

Connotation

Implied or suggested meaning of a word because of it’s association in the reader’s mind.

Consonance

Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong

Conundrum

A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or a difficult problem

Deduction

the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

Denotation

Literal meaning of a word as it is defined

Description

the picturing of words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell and touch; one of the four modes of discourse

Diction

word choice, an element of style; Diction creates tone, attitude and style, as well as meaning. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang.

Didactic

Writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. Didactic writing may be fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Discourse

Spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration and persuasion.

Emotional Appeal; Pathos

When a writer appeals to readers’ emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument.

Epigraph

The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Hemingway begins The Sun Also Rises with two epigraphs. One of them is “You are all a lost generation” by Gertrude Stein.

Ethical Appeal; Ethos

When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeal, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience’s confidence.

Euphemism

A more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “He went to his final reward” is a common euphemism for “he died.” Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation.

Euphony

A succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony

Example

An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern. Arguing by example is considered reliable if examples are demonstrable true of factual as well as relevant.

Explication

The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. Explication usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Exposition

The immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse

Generalization

When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example of asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. Sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some.

Genre

A type of literary works, such as a novel or poem; there are also sub genders, such as science fiction or sonnet, within larger genres.

Humor

Anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the renaissance, humor meant a person’s temperament

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis (EX: he was so hungry he could have eaten a horse.)

Image

A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the senses. An image is always a concrete representation.

Imagery

Words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture.

Induction

The process that moves from a given series of specifics to generalization.

Inference

A conclusion one can draw from the presented details.

Invective

A verbally abusive attack.

Inversion

Reversing the customary (subject first, then verb then compliment) order of elements in a sentence or a phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question: “Are you going to the store?” Usually, the element that appears first is emphasized more than the subject

Jargon

The special language of a profession or group. The term jargon usually has pejorative Associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious and unintelligible to outsiders. The writings of the lawyer and the literary critic are both susceptible to jargon.

Logical appeal; logos

When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts and reasons. The process of reasoning.

Lyrical

Song like; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.

Mode

The method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written.

Mood

Similar to tone, mood is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere). Syntax is also a determiner of mood because of sentence strength, length and complexity affect pacing.