written authorial choices & grammatical devices

ib language & literature term set 1

alliteration (peter piper picked)

words starting with the same sound

auxiliary verbs

helping verbs; auxiliary verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, have, do, & modal verbs: may, shall, will, should, could, can, must

assonance

repetition of a vowel sound

anaphora (every second, every minute, every day)

repetition caused by words/phrases that start the same

allusion

referencing something outside of the text

colloquialism (“yer a wizard”)

informal language/ slang

connotation

idea or feeling evoked in addition to literal meaning

denotation

literal meaning of a word

ethos

appeals to ethics (may also refer to credibility)

euphemism (downsizing)

mild/ indirect word choice around something sensitive

figurative language

communicates a message different from the literal meaning

foreshadowing

hinting towards a future event

gerund

a verb in the “-ing” form used as a noun (ex. i love running)

grammar/moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive

facts, opinions, questions; orders, advice; wishes

hyperbole

exaggerated statement

imagery

description that appeals to the senses

irony

language that conveys the opposite of the message

dramatic irony

the audience has more information than the characters

cosmic irony

situational irony: gods or fate toy with the characters

juxtaposition

two things placed closed together for contrast

logos

appeal to logic (ex. using statistics and data)

lexical cluster (semantic field)

words that are connected to each other and relating to one thing, think: word family

metaphor

direct comparison of two unlike things

simile

comparison using “like” or “as”

syntax

grammar rules about the arrangement of words in sentences

oxymoron (deafening silence)

pairing two words that are opposites

pathos

appeal to emotion

paradox

illogical-appearing statement that requires further investigation to understand

personification

things w human characteristics

symbolism

object/ idea that has a deeper meaning

anthropomorphism

giving animals/ objects human emotion

anecdote

short, personal story that illustrates a point

omniscient narrator

knows everything

limited narrator

only knows one perspective

modality (ex. high modality, modal verbs)

level of certainty in the text (ex. high: will, or low: may), impacts audience understanding of the argument