Key Terms

Purpose

The author's intention or objective in a text

Modal verb

A helping verb used with other verbs to show ideas such as ability or obligation or possibility. They include can, must, will, should, e.g. I can speak French, but I should study even harder.

Hypophora

A rhetorical term for the strategy in which a speaker raises a question and then immediately answers it.

Epiphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

Imperative

Gives a command; the subject is understood to be "you"

Polysyndeton

The use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural

Neologism

A new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

Rhetorical question

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Assonance

The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement

Colloquialism

Word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing

List of three

Three words, clauses or sentences given together in order to create a memorable impact

Jargon

The specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession

Metaphor

A figure or speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common

Symbol

Anything that stands for or represents something else

Anecdote

A very short story that is significant to the topic at hand; usually adding personal knowledge or experience to the topic

Juxtaposition

Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast

Stream of consciousness

A literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur.

Dialogue

Conversation between characters

Direct speech

The actual words that are said by someone; written inside quotation marks

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Simile

A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as"

Allusion

A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional

Imagery

vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text

tone

a writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.

form

type of writing, relates to the shape and overall presentation of a text

genre

type of writing

structure

the way a text is organized and ordered. It can relate to both the whole text and the features of the text

point of view

the perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information

first person point of view

told from the viewpoint of one of the characters using the pronouns "I" and We"

second person point of view

the narrator addresses the reader directly using the pronoun "you"

third person point of view

someone on the outside is looking in and telling the story as he/she see it unfold (talks about what he, she, and they do, think, and say)

Lexicon

A specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place

lexical field

the way that certain words in a text relate to or seem to be about the same thing or idea

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

high diction

sophisticated or educated language that includes abstract nouns or complex figures of speech and demands greater intellectual effort from the audience

low diction

simpler, less cultivated language which uses literal nouns and less grammatical complexity than high diction

register

the formality or informality of the language used in a particular situation

syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

Connotation

The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry.

Denotation

the direct, literal, dictionary meaning of a word