Non-fiction Unit

Types of non-fiction, figurative language, rhetorical devices

Types of non-fictions

• Descriptive: provides information & concrete details to allow readers to imagine a subject

• Narrative: real stories

• Argumentative: uses logic and rhetoric to convince a reader

• Literary: analysis of a piece of literature

• Expository: explanations of subjects

• Persuasive: uses emotional appeals to convince a reader

Parts of non-fiction works

• Thesis

• methods of Proof

• Rhetorical devices

• figures of speech

• Tone

Methods of Proof

• historical references

• literary references

• pop culture references

• verifiable facts

• appeals to authority

• illustrations using contrast

• personal opinion

• attempts to “bond” with the reader

Repetition

the deliberate reusing of key word / phrase to emphasize the significance of an idea

Parallelism

the use of common grammatical structure to convey equality in significance of the presented ideas

Climax

the type of parallelism where each segment becomes increasingly more significant, used to draw focus on the last term

balance

the use of common grammatical structures in a sentence that is physically cut in two halves, to emphasize the two terms’ equal significance

antithesis

the type of balance where two equal halves contain contrasting ideas

Chiasmus

the type of balance where the second half of a sentence is an inversion of word order in the first half, used to draw attention while appearing clever

Position

the use of anticipatory punctuations to draw visual prominence to a word or phrase

Polysyndeton

the deliberate and repeated use of coordinating conjunctions to create a sense of excess or variety

Asyndeton

the deliberate omission of coordinating conjunctions to diminish the sense of volume or significance

cliche

a phrase,e expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty

pun

deliberate confusion of words based upon similarity of sound

simile

direct comparison using “like” or “as”

metaphor

comparison without using “like” or “as”

allusion

reference to persons / objects / stories from a cultural tradition

understatement

diction that makes a fact seem less significant to create the reverse effect & verbal irony

wit

a form of intellectual humor

alliteration

the repetition of the initial sound in the beginning of the word

onomatopoeia

the use of words which takes their meaning by their sound

assonance

recurrent vowel sounds

hyperbole

obvious overstatement or gross exaggeration

imagery

the use of descriptive words to form a mental image in the reader’s mind. Categories are:

• visual

• aural

• olfactoory

• gustatory

• tactile

personification

giving human attributes to things or ideas

paradox

a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that, when investigated or explained, may prove to obe well founded or true

rhetorical question

a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer

oxymoron

a phrase uniting two contradictory terms

consonance

the repetition of internal consonant sounds in a series of words

invective

the use of profanity for shock value

verbal irony

the use of words to mean something different from what the person actually says

situational irony

a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

dramatic irony

the situation where the audience of a work becomes aware of something that some characters in the work are not aware of