Anecdote
short simple narrative of an incident, often used for humor or to make a point
Argumentation
writing that tries to prove a point or idea by reasoned arguments; persuasive is a form
Allegory
extended narrative of incident in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities in which second meaning is underneath story
Annotation
explanatory notes added to text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data
Antithesis
presentation of 2 contrasting images. Ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. Ex- to be or to not to be
Rhetoric
art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially figure of speech and compositional techniques
Colloquialism
word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing but is often inappropriate in formal writing. ex- y’all
Connotation
words suggesting implied meaning in readers mind
Consonance
Repetition of identical consonant sounds within 2 or more words in close proximity. Ex- boot/beat/best or compound word like fulfill
Caricature
Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of persons appearance or facet of personality
Coherence
Quality of a piece of writing in which all parts contribute to development of central idea/theme or organizing principle
Aphorism
Short, often witty statement of a principle or truth about life. Ex- early bird gets the worm
Apostrophe
Usually in poetry, the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction
Cacophony
Also called dissonance. Hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose. Opposite of euphony
Enumeration
Rhetorical device used for listing details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step by step. Is a type of amplification or division in which subject is further distributed into components or parts. Ex - don’t copy into notes… just read it
Analogy
Comparison in which idea or thing is compared to another living thing that is quite different from it. Aims to explain idea or thing to something familiar
Parallelism
Use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same;similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter. Ex- like father, like son
Allusion
Brief and indirect reference to person, place, thing , or historical, culture, literary, and political significance. Doesn’t describe in detail and writer expects reader to know the reference
Metonymy
Figure is speech that replaces the name of thing with something else closely associated. Don’t confuse with metaphors as don’t create comparisons.
Anaphora
Deliberate repition of first part of a sentence in order to achieve an effect
Epistrophe
Same word returns at the end of each sentence or clause
Asyndeton
Used to intentionally eliminate conjunctions yet maintain grammatical accuracy
Polysydeton
Makes use of coordinating conjunctions which are used to join successful words phrases and clauses in such a way that these conjunctions are even used when they might have been omitted
Synecdoche
Part of something represents the whole or a whole to represent a part. Similar to metonymy
Tone
Attitude of writer toward subject of audience
Process Analysis
Step be step breakdown of the phases of a process. To convey each phase of thinking
Syntax
Set of rules in a language. In English how we choose to arrange our words
Warrant
Glue that holds argument together. Links evidence to claim.