Words and Their Use

Question 1

word choice

Answer 1

diction

Question 2

the ordering of words for a sentence; describes sentence structure

Answer 2

syntax

Question 3

manner of expression; describes how author uses language to get his or her point across (e.g. pedantic, scientific, emotive)

Answer 3

style

Question 4

attitude, mood, or sentiments revealed by the style; describes how author seems to be feeling (e.g. optimistic, ironic, playful

Answer 4

tone

Question 5

stance revealed by the style and tone of the writing; expresses author’s position on topic discussed; could be as simple as “1st person narrator”

Answer 5

point of view

Question 6

art of speaking or writing effectively; stylistic devices used to appeal successfully to a specific audience; persuasive in nature

Answer 6

rhetoric

Question 7

speech or writing that departs from literal meaning to achieve a special effect or meaning

Answer 7

figurative language

Question 8

a classical appeal to reason and logic; provides objective evidence, hard facts, statistics, or logical strategies (like cause and effect) to back up a claim

Answer 8

logos

Question 9

a classical appeal to speaker’s credibility; whether author is to be believed on basis of character and expertise; ethics

Answer 9

ethos

Question 10

classical appeal to emotions, values, or desires of the audience; root of what means suffering from inferiority

Answer 10

pathos

Question 11

figurative language used to convey a sensory (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory) perception; synonymous with figurative language

Answer 11

imagery

Question 12

overstatement or exaggeration; use of figurative language that significantly exaggerates the facts for effect; often employed for comic effect

Answer 12

hyperbole

Question 13

figurative language that presents the facts in a way that makes them appear much less significant than they really are; almost always used for comic effect

Answer 13

understatement

Question 14

comparison between two unlike objects, in which the two parts are connected with a term such as like or as

Answer 14

simile

Question 15

a simile without a connecting term such as like or as

Answer 15

metaphor

Question 16

a metaphor that lasts for longer than just one phrase or sentence

Answer 16

extended metaphor

Question 17

word that represents something other than itself; meant to conjure up an another object or element

Answer 17

symbol

Question 18

a word’s primary or literal significance

Answer 18

denotation

Question 19

refers to the vast range of other meanings that a word suggests; context and author’s intent helps determine the appropriate version

Answer 19

connotation

Question 20

an apparent contradiction of terms; almost always involve only brief phrases

Answer 20

oxymoron

Question 21

an apparent contradiction of ideas or statements; involves situations in longer phrases

Answer 21

paradox

Question 22

figurative device in which inanimate objects or concepts are given human qualities

Answer 22

personification

Question 23

specific type of personification wherein animals are given human qualities (think of Aesop’s fables)

Answer 23

anthropomorphism

Question 24

a question whose answer is obvious; types of questions that don’t need to be answered and usually aren’t; attempt to prove something without actually presenting an argument; sometimes used as form of irony

Answer 24

rhetorical question

Question 25

language that is overly rhetorical (pompous) especially when considered in context; often used by pedantic people (ostentatious learning users)

Answer 25

bombast

Question 26

a play on words; plays on the multiple meanings of a word or replaces one word with another that is similar in sound but very different in meaning; almost always used for comedic effect

Answer 26

pun

Question 27

use of figurative language where one term is substituted for another term with which it is associated

Answer 27

metonymy

Question 28

form of metonymy that's restricted to cases where a part is used to signify the whole

Answer 28

synecdoche

Question 29

a general idea contained in a text; either stated explicitly or only suggested; idea that is developed throughout the text

Answer 29

theme

Question 30

a concise, forcefully expressive statement of an opinion or a general truth

Answer 30

aphorism

Question 31

the unintentional use of a word that resemble the word intended but has a very different meaning

Answer 31

malapropism

Question 32

talking around a subject or talking around a word

Answer 32

circumlocution

Question 33

word or words that are used to avoid employing an unpleasant or offensive term

Answer 33

euphemism

Question 34

the process of stating something but meaning the opposite of what is stated

Answer 34

verbal irony

Question 35

a set of circumstances that wind up the opposite of how the reader would expect them to turn out or how the characters had planned

Answer 35

irony

Question 36

verbal irony used with the intent to injure

Answer 36

sarcasm

Question 37

a situation that runs contrary to what was expected

Answer 37

situational irony

Question 38

when something is portrayed in a way that's deliberately distorted to achieve comic effect; a critique of what is being mocked; a social or political criticism that relies heavily on irony, sarcasm, and often humor

Answer 38

satire

Question 39

imitation for comic effect

Answer 39

parody

Question 40

sharp ridicule of the behavior or character of a person or institution

Answer 40

lampoon

Question 41

a ludicrous exaggeration of the defects of persons or things

Answer 41

caricature