Cambridge AS Terms Week 1

Acronym

A word formed from the initial letters of two or more successive words (e.g. UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

Active voice

Where the subject of a verb is performing the action involved (e.g. She won the race).

Adjective

A word that modifies a noun.

Adjunct

An optional or less-important part of a clause or sentence (e.g. on the floor in the sentence I dropped the glass on the floor).

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same letter or sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely related words.

Allusion

Reference to another text, often indirectly.

Analogy

A comparison of two things which have some element of similarity, often used to clarify an issue or idea.

Anaphora

Deliberate repetition of words for rhetorical effect.

Anaphoric reference

Where a word refers back to an earlier part of a text for its meaning.

Antonym

A word with the opposite meaning to another word.

Archaism

A word which is no longer in everyday use, or has lost a particular meaning in current usage.

Aspect

A form of the verb which explains its relation to time, indicating whether an action is completed or incomplete.

Audience

The readers and/or listeners of a text.

Author

The producer of a text.

Autobiography

The story of the writer's life told from his or her point of view.

Biography

An account of someone's life told by a third person narrator.

Cataphoric reference

Where a word refers to a later part of a text for its meaning.

Clause

Part of a sentence, containing (at least) a subject and a verb phrase.

Cohesion

Strategies used by a writer or speaker to ensure that a text is structured for clarity and connection.

Colloquial

The casual conversation of everyday language.

Compounding

Forming a word from two or more units that are themselves words (e.g. whiteboard from white and board).

Conjunction

A linking word in a sentence, often to join two clauses.

Connotation

The range of associated meanings brought to mind by a particular word.

Context

The situation in which a text is produced, including social, cultural, and political aspects.

Contraction

The omission of letters to make things less formal.

Coordination

Connecting two or more independent clauses through the use of coordinating conjunctions.

Deixis

Language whose meaning is determined by contextual factors (e.g. this, that, now, you).

Denotation

The primary meaning of a word, not including its connotations.

Derivation

Creating a new word from an existing word, often with a prefix or suffix.

Dialectical structure

A three-part argument moving from thesis to antithesis to synthesis.

Dialogue

Interchange between two or more speakers.

Direct speech

The use of the exact words spoken by a speaker/character.

Discourse

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a single sentence.

Discourse markers

Words or phrases that mark boundaries between topics.

Discursive

A style in which facts and opinions are explored to develop an argument.

Ellipsis

The intentional omission of a word or sentence for reasons of economy or effect.

Emotive

Arousing intense feelings or emotions.

Epiphora

The repetition of the same letter or sounds at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

Eponym

The name of something that is also the name of someone credited with inventing or discovering it.