Name: ______
Date: ______Period: _____
Vocabulary for Writing Composition
Basics: Grammar
1. ______: A word that denotes a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, they
answer the questions who and what.
2. ______: Denotes an intangible (not physical in nature) concept, such as
envy or joy, and are concepts that cannot be seen, smelled, touched, heard, or tasted.
3. ______: Used to denote a particular person, place, or thing and is always
______. Examples: ______
4. ______: Use the 5 senses; they can be seen, touched, heard, smelled, or
tasted. Example:butterfly, student, desk, sand, garbage, steak
5. ______: A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence.
I,you,me,it,them,they,she,he,his,hers,theirs,our,yours
6. ______: are used to form questions.
Who, What, Where, How, When
7. ______: introduce subordinate clauses. [a dependent clause that begins a
with______or a ______]
8. ______: after, of, than, where, although, that, in order that,
whereas, as, once, though, wherever, because, provided that, unless, whether, before,
rather than, until, while, even if, since,when, why, even though, so that, whenever.
9. ______: that, whoever, which, whomever, who, whom,
whose, whosoever.
10. ______: The noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to.
Mrs. Orr is an extremely strange teacher; she is always doing the unexpected.
11. ______: Also known as the ______, denotes action,
or a state of being in a sentence
12. ______: Forms of the verb "be" used as helping verbs – is, am, are, was,
were, been, being.
13. ______: connect the subject of a sentence with words or groups of words
thatidentify or describe it – as, am, are, was, were, being, been, seem, appear, become,
remain, smell, taste, feel, look, sound.
14. ______: Also known as auxiliary verbs, it is a verb that comes before the main
verb in a sentence. Together the______and the main verb form a verb phrase.
More than one ______can be used in a sentence.
15. ______: a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. They
may precede nouns, or they may appear after a form of the reflexive verbto be: am, are, is, was,
were, etc.
16. ______: A, AN, THE. They precede a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence; a
"neon" light indicating a noun will follow.
17. ______: Proper nouns that are used to modify or describe another noun.
Examples: Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving parade, Mexican dinner.
18. ______: modifies (describes) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Many, but
not all, end in 'ly'.
19. ______: Anything a frog can do to a log. Works in combination with a noun or
pronoun and other words in the sentence to create phrases that convey a spatial, temporal, or
directional meaning. They commonly convey the following relationships: agency (by);
comparison (like, as . . . as); direction (to, toward, through); place (at, by, on); possession (of);
purpose (for); source (from, out of); and time (at, before, on).
aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, around, as, at, atop,
before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, despite, down, during, for,
from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, regarding,
round, since, than, through, throughout,till, to, toward, under, unlike, until, up, upon,
with, within, without
20. ______: a word added to a sentence to convey emotion; not grammatically
related to any other part of the sentence. STOP! WAIT! NO! HEY!
21. ______: a word that joins two independent clauses or sentences together.
A word that joins two words or ideas together.
______= FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR,YET, SO
Phrases & Clauses
22. ______: is a small group of words that adds meaning to a word. It is not a
sentence because it is not a complete idea with a subject and a predicate.
23. ______: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a
noun or pronoun (called the object of the ______).
24. ______: "To" plus a verb
25. ______: are placed next to other nouns and pronouns and give extra or
identifying information about them.
Ex: My dog, Ariel, is an Australian shepherd.
26. ______of more than one word are called ______phrases.
Ex: His fiancé, a civil engineer, was transferred.
They should be set off with commas unless it is necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
Ex: Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most recent to
be made into film.
27. ______Are verb forms that can work as
adjectives. End with-ed,-ing,-en.These phrases contain a ______and
include all complements and modifiers. A ______that begins a
sentence is usually followed by a comma.
Ex: Frightened by the horror movie,Mike and Leroy turned on all the lights in the house.
28. ______: will begin with a an -ing word, and will
include other modifiers and/or objects. They always function as nouns, so they will be subjects,
subject complements, or objects in the sentence. Don't mistake them for a present participle
phrase. Theyare easy to confuse because they both begin with an -ing word. The
difference is that a ______phrase will alwaysfunction as a noun while
apresent participle phrasedescribes another word inthe sentence.
29. A ______[ ]: is a group of words that contains a subject and a
verb butdoes not express a complete thought. A ______cannot be a sentence.
A ______[ ]: is a group of words that contains a subject and a
verb and expresses a complete thought. Ex: The dog whimpered.
30. ______: are incomplete sentences. Usually, they are pieces of
sentences that have becomedisconnected from the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation
may be needed for the newly combined sentence.
TYPES OF SENTENCES & FORMULAS
31. ______: IC = SUBJECT + VERB
32. ______:IC ; IC OR IC ,conj IC
Example: Mrs. Orr is giving us too much information; it is giving me a headache.
Example: English is not my best sentence, but Mrs. Orr does her best to make it fun.
33. ______:IC , DC OR DC , IC
34. ______- ______: A sentence with two or more independent
clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Example: "For in the end, freedom is a personal and lonely battle; and one faces down fears
of today so that those of tomorrow might be engaged." (Alice Walker, In Search
of Our Mothers' Gardens, 1983)
Genres of Writing
35. ______: Detailed sensory perception of a person, place or thing.
36. ______: A writing that recounts an event, an anecdote, an
experience, or an event.
37. ______: An essay that is a short commentary designed to
persuade your audience; use of pathos helps persuade.
38. ______: A writing that convinces others through reasoning;
explanations of aspects of a particular subject, or advocating a specific opinion on a subject
or issue.
39: ______: the appeal to the head using logic, numbers, explanations,
and facts. A writer aims at a person's intellect. The idea is that if you are logical, you will
understand.
40. ______: is the appeal to the heart, emotions, sympathy, passions,
or sentimentality.
41. Another formof writing is the useof ______, which is the appeal to
the conscience, ethics, morals standards, values, and principles.
42. ______: Persuasive speech or writing; speech or writing that
communicates its point persuasively.
43. ______: Used to inform or explain information to a reader. There
are many different forms that a writer can use.
44. ______: Explains how to do something or how something
happens; the evaluationof any process.
45. ______: Provides examples or cases in point. Provides facts,
statistics, personal experiences, or interview quotation that help to achieve the purpose of
the essay.
46. ______: Discusses similarities and differences of
a topic.
47. ______: Divides a whole into parts, or sorts
related items into categories. Used in science or history essays.
48. ______: Provides the meaning of terms that are used. Take note of who
your audience is and ask, "Does your essay focus on any abstract, specialized, or new terms
that need further explanation so the reader understands the main point?" Do any important
words in the essay have many meanings and needs to beclarified?
49. ______: Analysis of something that happens and
describes the consequences of a string of events, examining past events or their outcomes. Is
the purpose to inform, speculate, or argue about why an identifiablefact happens the way it
does?
Elements of Literature
50. ______: A reference to something real or fictional, to someone,
some event, or something in the Bible, history, literature, or any phase of culture.
51. ______: An expression, often humorous or sarcastic, that exposes
perversity or absurdity.
52. ______: A contradiction in terms. Examples: Faithless
devotion; Searing cold; Deafening silence; Jumbo shrimp; Act naturally; Peacekeeping
missile; Larger half.
53. ______: Reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory.
Example: Red wine is paradoxically good and bad for us.
54. ______: Using an object or action that means something more than its
literal meaning.
Example: The bird of night owl. {death}
55. ______: A humorous exaggerated imitation, or travesty (the treatment
of a noble and dignified subject in an inappropriately trivial manner). The film Airplaneis a
parody of the 1970's era disaster film; Austin Powers is a parody of theJamesBond spy
movies.
56. ______: A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound. A form of
wit(intelligent humor) that is marked by the use of this language and is intended to make its
victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.
57. ______: Literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or
weakness, often with the intent ofcorrecting, or changing, the subject of the attack.
One of the most interesting features is that it isalmost universally believed to be a persuasive
writing form. In actuality, it appears that most written ______actually
fools most of its readers, so that, far from being persuasive, it is often not even understood.
Examples: Saturday Night Live and George Orwell's novel Animal Farm
58. ______: Linking devices that hold a text together structurally, e.g. the
battle between good and evil: the general idea or insight about life a writer wishes to
express. All the elements of literary terms contribute to this element.A simple
______can often be stated in a single sentence.
Examples: Good things come tothose who wait; Home is where the heart is; Love
conquers evil
59. ______: Contrasting ideas – Black / White; Good / Bad; Darkness/light
60. ______: Language that evokes one or all of the five senses – Seeing
hearing tasting smelling touching.
61. ______: Non-literal, imaginative substitutions
in which, for instance, a tree becomes a ______for family or springtime
is rebirth. ______compares two different items or ideas using "like" or "as".
62. ______: The method used by a writer to develop a character. The
method includes:
(1) showing the character's appearance
(2) displaying the character's actions
(3) revealing the character's thoughts
(4) letting the character speak
(5) getting the reactions of others
63. ______: Introduction & Conclusion
64. ______: Usually first or third person, "tells" the story or events.
65. ______- ______– ______: Gut reactions are useful
here. Examine your own responses. What is it that makes you respond as you do? Are you
the author's intended audience? If not, who is? The attitude a writer takes towards
a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn,
objective.
66. ______: The comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship.
The key is to ascertain (determine) the relationshipbetween the first so you can choose the
correct second pair. ______and ______are
examples of ______.
67. ______: The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in
literature.
68. ______: Action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an
earlier time, which is necessary to better understanding.
69. ______: Exaggeration or overstatement.
Ex: "I told my students a million times you need to takes notes.
70. ______: Giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Ex: A smiling moon and a jovial sun kept calling to me!
71. ______: The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without
______used in ______.
6 Traits in Writing
72. ______and ______: are, in a sense, the heart of the writing.
Everything that is said comes back to ______and ______.
The two keys are clarity and details. Making a topic clear and manageable is so important!
Detailscan make or break any piece of writing. They focus on clear writing that presents
details in an interesting, fresh manner.
73. ______: Making a paper easy for the reader to understand. Outlining
and brainstorming help this trait.
74. ______: a trait that shows the power of language. Sometimes students
seem so caught upin their ideas, organization, and grammar that this trait may take a
backseat.
______— NO TWO SENTENCES STARTWITH THESAME WORD
75. ______: Shows strong sense of audience, topic and purpose. Topic
comes alive, is engaging, exciting, honest, humorous, lively. Writer is aware of the reader.
Writer uses figurative language to create images for the reader.
76. ______: is a trait based solely on the ear. Students need to tune
their ears to the rhythm cadence thatcan be accomplished with ______.
Using the natural flow of poetry can add clarity to this trait. Focusing on variety in
sentences can help attain fluency.
77. ______: Editing and revising component or writing. Often this trait
is taught throughout the six traitsof the writing process. Many people would say that this
trait is the most time consuming of the six because of its depth and importance.
Addition Notes: