English Style, Rhetorical Devices, and Sentence Structures

Style

The choices a writer makes regarding words, phrases, and sentences. Examples: Narrative (storytelling), expository (explaining), descriptive (describing details), persuasive (convincing).

Figurative language

Words or phrases used non-literally to make a stronger, more vivid effect. Example: Personification, Simile, Idioms, etc.

Genre

Academic analytic paper, a composition that introduces the subject, states thesis, provides ample points in support of the thesis, backs each point with examples, reasons, illustrations, and details; and then offers a conclusion that reinforces the thesis for the audience of other historians. Examples: Fiction, Pop, Classical, Mystery, Film.

Simple sentence

Single independent clause, can have a compound subject, verb, or both. Example: Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson struggled to save the Union.

Compound sentence

Two clauses that could both exist as simple subjects if the conjunction connecting them was removed. Example: Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union, and Andrew Johnson assisted him.

Complex sentence

Has two clauses, one independent clause and one subordinate to main clause (depends on independent clause to make sense). Example: After the temperature dropped, the road started to get slippery.

Compound-complex sentence

Has the defining features of both a compound sentence and a complex sentence. Example: When the leaders of the confederacy insisted that the rights of the states were more important than the maintenance of the union, Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the union and persevered, and Andrew Johnson assisted him.

Loose sentence

A basic sentence with details added immediately at the end of the basic sentence elements. Example: Abraham Lincoln wept, fearing that the Union would not survive if the southern states seceded.

Periodic sentence

Additional details added either before basic sentences or in the middle of them. Example: Alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts about his beloved country, dejected but not broken in spirit, Abraham Lincoln wept.

Parallelism

When a passage, a paragraph, or a sentence contains two or more ideas that are fulfilling a similar function. Example: In these moments, Rivka discovers the bitter truth about her husband's hidden life.

Parallelism of words

Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions benefit a person's heart and lungs, muscles and nerves, and joints and cartilage.

Parallelism of phrases

Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions help a person breathe more effectively, move with less discomfort, and avoid injury.

Parallelism of clauses

Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics is the most efficient exercise class, that body-pump participants show greater gains in stamina than participants in comparable exercise programs, and that body-pump aerobics is less expensive in terms of equipment and training needed to lead or take classes.

Zeugma

A figure in which more than one item in a sentence is governed by a single word, usually a verb. Example: She broke his car and his heart.

Clause

A group of words with a subject and verb. Example: She ran.

Noun phrases

A noun preceded by modifiers. Examples: The big red ball, My new car.

Diction

Word choice, style of speech. Example: In a public health class where research is important, you'd produce a researched, documented position paper about the benefits of recreational sports.

General words

These are at the top of the ladder, abstract words. Example: Transportation, Justice.

Specific words

Bottom of the ladder of abstraction, concrete words. Example: 2001 green Subaru Forester, the offender's five-year probation sentence for shoplifting.

Formal words

Used for research papers or more serious documents/assignments, do not use contractions when it is not necessary. Example: Have not, is not, would have.

Informal words

Used when writing less serious documents such as an email or letter to a friend. Example: Haven't, isn't, would've.

Antecedent

The word a pronoun refers to. Example: People, A person, Jeff.

Latinate words

Multisyllabic construction, roots derived from Latin + prefix that qualifies the meaning of root. Example: Participating, magnanimous, interrogate, maximize.

Anglo-Saxon words

Monosyllabic construction, simpler/more direct. Example: Playing, kind, ask, grow.

Schemes

Any artful variation from the typical arrangement of words in a sentence. Ex. Appositive, Ellipsis, Asyndeton, Alliteration.

Tropes

Any artful variation from the typical or expected way a word or idea is expressed. Ex. Simile, Synecdoche, Metonymy.

Antithesis

Parallelism is used to juxtapose words, phrases, or clauses that contrast. Ex. 'Love is the antithesis of selfishness.'

Antimetabole

Words are repeated in different grammatical forms. Ex. 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.'

Parenthesis

One of two ways to break a sentence apart, can be dashes, parentheses, etc. Ex. 'Sports nights at the school always bring out the would-be jocks-who would expect any different?'

Appositive

The construction in which two coordinating elements are set side by side, and the second explains or modifies the first. Ex. 'Joe Weider, a pioneer in personal weight training, would marvel at the facilities open to today's student athletes.'

Ellipsis

Any omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of the passage. Ex. 'In a hockey power play, if you pass the puck to the wing, and he to you, then you can close in on the goal.'

Asyndeton

An omission of conjunctions between related clauses. Ex. 'I skated, I shot, I scored, I cheered-what a glorious moment of sport.'

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of two or more adjacent words. Ex. 'A workout partner is finally a kind, reliable, right-minded helper.'

Anaphoria

Repetition of the same group of words at the beginning of successive clauses. Ex. 'Exercise builds stamina in young children; exercise builds stamina in teenagers and young adults.'

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same group of words at the end of successive clauses. Ex. 'To become a top-notch player, I thought like an athlete, I trained like an athlete.'

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. Ex. 'Mental preparation leads to training; training builds muscle tone and coordination.'

Climax

Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing number of importance. Ex. 'Excellent athletes need to be respectful of themselves, their teammates, their schools, and their communities.'

Synecdoche

A part of something is used to refer to the whole. Ex. 'We decided we could rearrange the gym equipment if everyone would lend a hand.'

Metonymy

An entity is referred to by one of its attributes. Ex. 'The central office announced today new regulations for sports night.'

Periphrasis

A descriptive word or phrase is used to refer to a proper name. Ex. 'The New York Rangers and the New York Islanders vie to be the best hockey team in the Big Apple.'

Anthimeria

One part of a speech, usually a verb, substitutes for another, usually a noun. Ex. 'When the little leaguers lost the championship, they needed just to have a good cry.'

Mnemonic devices

Memory aids or techniques that help people remember complex or lengthy information. Ex. 'HOMES- The Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior.'

House analogy

Associating parts of one speech with locations in one's home. Ex. 'The introduction of a person's speech is like the entryway to their home.'