IB English 11 Flashcards

Ad Hominem

A personal attack rather than arguing against the idea or issue.

Allusion

A reference to a person, place, or event in history or another literary work.

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.

Analogy

A comparison between two things for explanation or clarification.

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

Anastrophe

The inversion of the usual order of words or clauses.

Anecdote

A personal story or example used within a larger work to make a point.

Anticlimactic

When an expectation is created, but something happens to diminish or frustrate that expectation.

Antithesis

Placing contrasting ideas side by side, often using parallel structure.

Antecedent

The noun a pronoun refers to.

Appeal to Tradition

An argument that claims something should continue because it has always been done that way.

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions between a series of clauses.

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.

Bandwagon

An argument that suggests that because everyone is doing something, you should too.

Chiasmus

The repetition of grammatical structures in reverse order in successive phrases or clauses.

Clause

The basic building block of a sentence, which can be independent or dependent.

Climatic

The arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing importance.

Colloquialism

Phrases used in informal conversation, often associated with specific regions.

Concede

To acknowledge or accept something as true or valid.

Connotation / Denotation

Connotation refers to the implied meaning of a word; denotation is its literal definition.

Dash

A punctuation mark (—) used to separate a word or phrase after an independent clause or to set off a parenthetical remark.

Epigraph

A short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme.

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses.

Euphemism

A milder or indirect word or expression used in place of one considered too harsh or blunt.

Ethos Appeal

Using the speaker’s credibility, authority, and trustworthiness to support an argument.

Hyperbole

The use of exaggerated language for emphasis or effect.

Imagery

Words that create pictures for the reader.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality; types include verbal, situational, or dramatic irony.

Isocolon

A series of similarly structured elements, all of the same length.

Jargon

Specialized language used by a particular profession or group.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two items (ideas, words, phrases) next to each other.

Logos Appeal

Using logical evidence to support an argument.

Loose sentence

A sentence where the main idea comes first, followed by subordinate clauses.

Meiosis

The deliberate understatement of something.

Metaphor

Referring to one thing as another, implying a comparison.

Oxymoron

Placing two opposing terms directly next to each other; a compressed paradox.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement that contains a measure of truth.

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a particular writer, artist, or genre, usually for comic effect.

Pathos Appeal

Using emotion to support an argument.

Periodic sentence

A sentence in which subordinate clauses come first, with the main idea concluding the sentence.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to something nonhuman.

Phrase

A group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence.

Polyptoton

Repeating the same root word in different forms.

Polysyndeton

A superabundance of conjunctions.

Preposition

Shows relationships among words in a sentence, often illustrating location, direction, amount, or manner.

Pun

A joke that plays on the different meanings of a word or on words that sound alike.

Refute

To prove something wrong by argument or evidence.

Rhetorical Question

Asking a question for the purpose of asserting or denying something, not to elicit an answer.

Sentence Variety

The length of a sentence can increase or decrease engagement with the text.