Repetition of First Consonant Sounds Alliteration
- repetition of first consonant sounds--alliteration
- a word that refers to ideas, generalities--abstract
- a reference to a generally familiar person, place, or thing--allusion
- repetition of a word, or group of words, at the beginning of successive clauses--anaphora
- a balancing act of two opposites--antithesis
- a noun that repeats the meaning of and stands after the first noun--appositive
- repetition of vowel sounds--assonance
- the use of commas to separate words in a series--asyndeton
- extreme exaggeration--hyperbole
- feelings and emotions aroused by a word--connotation
- a word that links two ideas--conjunction
- words for specific things--concrete
- the probability of one word appearing in context with another--ambiguity
- the repetition of key terms in a sentence forming the pattern ABBA--chiasmus
- the use of “and” to separate words in a series--polysyndeton
- attitude of the writer towards the subject, audience, and himself--tone
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd person and omniscient author—point of view
- a question not requiring an answer—rhetorical question
- to give the qualities of a person to a thing--personification
- to go off topic--digression
- a thing which represents an idea--symbol
- a comparison without like or as--metaphor
- a sentence with two independent clauses--compound
- a question--interrogative
- a verb--predicate
- a monologue--soliloquy
- a command--imperative
- a phrase with a subject and a verb--clause
- to drop an unnecessary word--ellipsis
- two contradictory words used together--oxymoron
- a comparison using like or as--simile
- to describe
- a sentence with one subject and one verb--simple
- using unnecessarily large words to impress--pedantic
- a sentence with a subordinate clause--complex
- the structure of the sentence--syntax
- a sentence with a subject and a verb at the end—periodic sentence
- a command--imperative
- the proper us of educated words--erudite
- a turning away from the audience to address an imaginary or absent person--apostrophe
- a noun that stands for a thing it is closely associated with--metonomy
- a noun that names a part of the whole for which it stands--synecdoche
- three statements consisting of a major and minor premise and a conclusion--syllogism
- a sentence in which the verb comes before the subject--inversion
- a part of a sentence--fragment
- two or more parts of a sentence or sentences in which the syntactic structure is the same--parallelism
- to state less than the truth about—understatement
- an expression in which the words have more than a literal meaning—figure of speech
- a clause which is dependent on another--subordinate
- a break in the rhythm or normal progression of a sentence—interrupted movement
- the use of words to create pictures--imagery
- a phrase repeated so much it has lost its vitality--cliche
- a brief story often used as evidence in an argument--anecdote
- word choice--diction
- the study of word origins--etymology
- telling a story in time order—chronological narration
- words used in everyday language--colloquialisms
- the use of exaggeration and humor in criticism of human nature and having the intent of change--satire
- a statement which contradicts itself--paradox
- saying the opposite of what is meant in order to insult--sarcasm
- to reason from general to specific--deduction
- the extent to which the writer’s personality is expressed in his words--voice
- the use of syllogism in drawing general conclusions from specifics--induction
- a general term which means a comparison of two ideas—figure of speech
- exaggerated imitation--parody
- exposition, narration, description, argumentation—rhetorical modes
- the art of using language effectively for the writer’s purpose--rhetoric
- the noun to which the pronoun or relative pronoun refers--antecedent
- manner in which a writer says what he wants--style
- the incorrect use of an “ing” form of a verb—dangling participle
- having two or more interpretations--ambiguity
- to describe a place from one area to the next—spatial description
- artistic representation which evokes pity or compassion--pathos
- the study of what is right and what is wrong--ethics
- having to do with public speaking--oratorical