Part 2 - #31-60 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Atmosphere
The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the authors choice of objects that are described. Even such elements as a description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere. Frequently atmosphere foreshadows events. Perhaps it can create mood.
Asyndeton
A syntactical structure (see “syntax”) in which conjunctions are omitted in a series, usually producing more rapid prose. For example: “Veni, vedi, vici” “I came, I saw, I conquered” (a latin phrase, supposedly spoken by julius caesar)
Audience
The person or people who listen to a spoken text or read a written one and are capable of responding to it.
Bias
Any belief, ideology, value, or prejudice that inhibits impartial judgement is a bias.
Chiasmus
A figure of speech and a syntatical wherein the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second. For example: “he thinks I am but a fool. A fool, perhaps I am.”
Claim
An assertion stated as a fact. In other words, although a claim may be stated as a truth, that truth is not supported by evidence.
Classification
The sorting out of elements into classes or groups, or the separation of something into its parts. Connected to “division.” Classification and division are used when a writer wants to break something down into its elements or groups a number of things in order to analyze them.
Clause
Clausea grammatical unit that contains a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an Independent clause. The point that you want to consider is the question of what or why the author subordinates one element to the other. You should also become aware of making effective use of subordination in your own writing.
Cliché
An old, tired expression that writers should avoid “like the plague,” which is an example of cliché
Coherence
A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaningof the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible. Words, phrases, clauses within the sentence: and sentences, paragraphs, and chapters of larger pieces of writing are the units that, by their progressive and logical arrangement, make for coherence.
Colloquial/colloquialism
The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.
Complex sentence
A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Compound sentence
A sentence with two or more independent clauses.
Compound-complex sentence
A sentence with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Conceit
A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. A conceit displays intellectual cleverness as a result of the unusual comparison being made.
Conclusion
The close of an essay, which should bring the writers point home in a few sentences or a paragraph. Good conclusions do more than repeat a thesis, but they may refer to facts, ideas, and even the opening anecdote.
Conjunction
A word or phrase that joins words, phrases, clauses, ideas. Three types of conjunctions grace the english language: coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions.
Connotation
The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. Connotations may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes.
Context
In writing, context implies the circumstance in which an event occurs. To put writing in context means to examine it in relation to the circumstances present at its time of composition or to examine it in light of the events relevent to its subject or topic. Context may also be used to indicate the placement of a par within a larger setting. For example, a word in context refers to the meaning of the word in a particular sentence, paragraph, or text. Also called “milieu” in literary analysis or historical documents, meaning the surroundings or environment that somebody lives in or is influenced by.
Controlling idea
An idea that provides the common thread that ties a text together. A controlling idea may be expressed as a thesis, as a topic sentence, or as an extended metaphor or image.
Critique
An assessment an analysis of something, such as a passage of writing, for the purpose of determining what the peice of writing is, what its limitations are, and how it conforms to the standard of the genre.
Deductive reasoning
Reasoning that begins woth a general principle and concludes with a specific instance that demonstrates that general principle.
Definition
Explanation of the nature of a word, thing, or idea. Definition attemps to make us understand something we already knew–in a novel or new way. When nancy mairs discussed “being a cripple,” she is using a label others try not to use, and she redefines what ot means.
Denotation
The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.