AICE English Language study guide

Asyndeton (Asyndetic List) -Repetition

The deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of words or phrases, which can create a sense of urgency or emphasis.

Example: “Jane’s days became a blur of meaningless events: wake up, brush teeth, make the coffee, get the mail, fix dinner, watch TV. It was hard to keep depression at bay. “

Polysyndeton (Polysyndetic List) -Repetition

The use of several conjunctions in close succession, often slowing down the rhythm of the sentence to emphasize meaning or create a specific effect.

Example: “Let the white folks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets and books and -mostly- mostly- let them have their whiteness”

Polyptoton- Repetition

A figure of speech that involves the repetition of words derived from the same root.

Example: The Greeks are strong and skillful to their strength, fierce to their skill and to their fierceness valiant.

Anadiplosis- Syntax

The repetition of a word or words in successive clauses in such a way that the second clause starts with the same word which marks the end of the previous clause

Example: “When I give, I give myself.“

Chiasmus- Syntax

The second clause reverses the structure of the first clause, creating a mirrored effect.

Example: “Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.”

Syntax

The way words are put together from phrases, clauses, and sentences. Sentence structure.

Hyperbaton- Syntax

Anastrophe- Syntax

A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing

Parallelism- Syntax

The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Example: I enjoy reading, writing, and watching tv.

Alliteration- Sounds

The repetition of the same letter or sound within a group of words

The beautiful bouquet blossomed in the bright sun

Assonance- Sounds

The repetition of the same vowel sound within a group of words

Hear the mellow wedding bells

Consonance- Sounds

The repetition of the same consonant sounds within a group of words

He stood in the road and cried

Euphony- Sounds

The combining of words that sound pleasant together

Cacophony- Sounds

The combining of words that sound unpleasant together

Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! The furious Bandersnatch!

Anaphora

The regular repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases grammatical structure, or ideas.

Life is short, life is fragile, life is precious

Epistrophe

The repetitions of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Ethos

Appeal the character, credibility, and moral values a group or individual possesses

Pathos

Appeal to emotion

Logos

Appeal to statistics and facts

Patterns of 3

APRICOT

PEACEL

Pathetic Fallacy

Where human-like qualities or emotions are given to inanimate objects in nature.

The sad flowers wilted in the dark room

Tone

Reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject matter or audience of a literary work

Nostalgic

Mood

Emotions you feel while reading

Happy

Voice

Register

The level of formality in a piece of writing

Formal, informal, semi-formal

Context

The background or details surrounding an event that occurs in literature

Steam of Consciousness

Perspective

Purpose

Reason a text was written

To inform, persuade, entertain, etc.

Diction

Word choice. It is directly related to the connotation of the word.

Connotation

The implied meaning or association suggested by a word.

Blue is seen as sadness

Denotation

Defined as the literal meaning of a word.

She was cold

Juxtaposition/ Contrast

Literary device that implies comparison or contrast

Better late than never

Dysphemism

When someone uses a negative term in place of a neutral or positive term

He is as dead as a door nail

Euphemism

A word or term that makes another word or term less harsh

She is big-boned

Punctuation

Parts of Speech

Modal Verbs

A verb that expresses necessity or possibility

Can, must, would, etc.

Truncated Sentences

A sentence cut short – missing words

People get sick all the time. I do

Conditional Sentences

Natural language sentence that express one thing as contingent to something else

I would have helped you if I had known you were in trouble

If I see you later, I will say hello

Parenthetical Sentences

A phrase that is not essential to a sentence

Timothy, who lives on Main St, goes to church regularly

Conventions

Metaphor

Comparing two unlike objects without the use of “like” or “as”

Money is the life blood of society, but charity is the soul

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that is stretched throughout a passage

You are a snake! Everything you hiss out of your mouth is a lie. You frighten children, and you have no spine.”

Anthropomorphism

Human characteristics and behaviors to a god, animal, or object

Winnie the Pooh

Fallacies

Mistaken beliefs based on unsound arguments.

Kairos

Identifies a critical moment to perform an action for maximum effect.

Motif

A symbolic image or idea that appears frequently in a story

Theme

The central idea or topic of a passage

Antiphrasis

Ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to general meaning

Yes, I killed him. Pretty, isn't it?

Symbolism

An image or object that stands for something else

White is seen as pure.

Greek Gods

Allusion

A reference to something else

She's a good swimmer, but she is no Ariel.

Zoomorphism

Animal characteristics assigned to humans

Baby, I am preying on you tonight / hunt you down eat you alive

Adverbs

A word or phrase that modifies a verb, adjective, or whole sentence.

Very

Lazily

Hypophora

When the speaker/writer asks/poses a question and immediately follows it up with an answer.

Who could have done such a terrible thing? The answer is Calvin.