Literary and Grammatical Terms

Allusion: A reference to something well-known. Different types include:
- Biblical: Relating to the Bible.
- Classical: Relating to Greek or Roman myths.
- Historical: Referring to real past events.
- Literary: Referencing another book or poem.
- Artistic: Related to art, music, or paintings.
Analogy: A comparison that explains something by showing how it is similar to something else.
Apostrophe: A figure of speech in which the speaker talks directly to an idea, object, or absent person that cannot respond.
Hyperbole: An extreme exaggeration used for effect.
Imagery: Language that appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.
Metaphor: A comparison where one thing is said to be another, highlighting similarities between them.

Mood: The feeling or atmosphere created by a text, which can be described as sad, tense, hopeful, etc.
Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory but reveals an underlying truth.
Personification: Attributing human traits to non-human things or abstract concepts.
Symbol / Symbolism: An object that represents something else, often carrying a deeper meaning.

Alliteration: The repetition of the same starting sound in words that are close together.
Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of lines or sentences.
Antimetabole / Chiasmus: The repetition of words in reverse order. Example:
- “Ask not what your country can do for you…”
Antithesis: Placing two opposing ideas in close proximity for contrast.

Ethos: An appeal to credibility or trustworthiness.
Logos: An appeal to reason or logic, involving facts, statistics, or logical reasoning.
Pathos: An appeal to the audience's emotions, evoking feelings and empathy.

Comma splice: Incorrectly joining two full sentences with only a comma.
Faulty parallelism: A list that does not maintain grammatical parallel structure.
Passive voice: The subject of the sentence receives the action rather than performing it, typically resulting in weak writing.
Run-on sentence: Two or more sentences improperly connected without punctuation.
Sentence fragment: An incomplete sentence that does not express a complete thought.
Unclear pronoun reference: When it is not clear what a pronoun is referring to.
Verb tense shift: An unwarranted change in verb tense within the text.

Comma ( , ): Used to separate items or ideas; creates pauses in a sentence.
Colon ( : ): Introduces a list, explanation, or example that follows.
Semicolon ( ; ): Joins two closely related full sentences, indicating a stronger connection than a period would.