- A speech or writing intended to convince by establishing truth
- Argumentation
- An author’s choice of words based on their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.
- *Diction
- A brief work of nonfiction that offers an opinion on a subject
- Essay
- A category of literature
- Genre
- A comparison between unlike things that serves as a unifying element
throughout a series of sentences or a whole piece.
- *Extended metaphor
- A dramatic device in which a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud, in words
meant to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters.
- Aside
- A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically
different but have something in common
- *Metaphor
- A group of related words that has both a subject and a predicate
- Clause
- A long narrative that tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero or heroine
- *Epic
- A metrical line of five feet or units, each made up of an unstressed then a
stressed syllable. F
- Iambic pentameter
- A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent who is endowed with
great strength or ability
- Hero/Heroine
- A phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say.
- *Idiom
- A phrase that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Infinitive phrases
- Adjectival phrase
- A phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
- Adverbial phrase
- A play; a form of literature that is intended to be performed
before an audience.
- Drama/Dramatic literature
- A poem in verse form that tells a story
- Ballad
- A quotation on the title page of a book or a motto heading a section of a work,
suggesting what the theme or central idea will be.
- Epigraph
- A short narrative handed down through oral tradition, with various tellers and groups
modifying it, so that it acquired cumulative authorship
- *Folktale
- A short, simple story that teaches a lesson
- Fable
- A single image or comparison that extends throughout a literary work and
shapes its meaning.
- Controlling image
- A statement that seems to contradict itself, but, in fact, reveals some element of truth.
- *Paradox
- A story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or generalization
about life;
- *Allegory
- A story written for, or told to, children that includes elements of magic and magical
folk such as fairies, elves, or goblins.
- Fairy tale
- A traditional story passed down through generations that explains why the world is the
way it is.
- Myth
- A trite or stereotyped phrase or expression. A hackneyed theme, plot, or situation in
fiction or drama.
- Cliché
- A verb form that ends in –ing and is used as a noun
- Gerund
- A verb form that is usually introduced by to
- Infinitive
- A word that describes somebody or something
- Adjective
- A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb
- Adverb
- A word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.
- *Palindrome
- A work or performance that is done on the spur of the moment, without
conscious preparation or preliminary drafts or rehearsals
- Improvisation
- A writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur in a story.
- *Foreshadowing
- Allusion A reference in literature, or in visual or performing arts, to a familiar person, place,
thing, or event.
- Allusion
- An adjective or phrase used to express the characteristic of a person or thing in poetry
- *Epithet
- An extended work of fiction
- Novel
- An image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs
frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke profound
emotions.
- Archetype
- An intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect.
- *Hyperbole
- between two or more people that advances the action, is consistent with
the character of the speakers, and serves to give relief from passages essentially descriptive or
expository.
- Dialogue
- Fictional writing in story, dramatic, or poetic form.
- Imaginative/Literary text
- Formal, extended expression of thought on a subject, either spoken or written
- Discourse
- Imaginative works of prose, primarily the novel and the short story.
- Fiction
- In ancient Greece, the groups of dancers and singers who participated in religious
festivals and dramatic performances. In poetry, the refrain.
- Chorus
- In informational or expository writing, the most important thought or overall
position.
- Main idea
- In narration, the struggle between the opposing forces that moves the plot forward.
- Conflict
- In poetry, the recurrence of a rhythmic pattern.
- *Meter
- In the plot of a story, the action that occurs after the climax.
- Falling action
- Language that communicates ideas beyond the ordinary or literal
meaning of the words
- Figurative language
- Language used in a certain profession or by a particular group of people.
- *Jargon
- literal or dictionary definition of a word.
- Denotation
- Literary device used to create a special effect or feeling, often by making
some type of comparison
- Figure of speech
- One of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation
or spelling.
- *Homophone
- One of two or more words spelled alike but different in meaning and derivation
or pronunciation
- Homograph
- One of two or more words spelled and pronounced alike but different in meaning.
- *Homonym
- particular variety of language spoken in one place by a distinct group of people.
- Dialect
- person who takes part in the action of a story, novel, or a play.
- Character
- Pertaining to spoken words.
- Oral
- Presents a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence
- Independent clause
- Replace or delete words, phrases, and sentences that sound awkward or confusing, and
correct errors in spelling, usage, mechanics, and grammar.
- Edit
- Rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry
- *Internal rhyme
- Speech sound beginning with one vowel sound and moving to another vowel sound
within the same syllable.
- Diphthong
- The ability to read, write, speak, and understand words.
- Literacy
- The attitudes and feelings associated with a word. These associations can
be negative or positive, and have an important influence on style and meaning.
- Connotation
- The contrast between expectation and reality
- *Irony
- The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader.
- *Mood
- The high point, or turning point, in a story—usually the most intense point near the
end of a story.
- Climax
- The lesson taught in a work such as a fable; a simple type of theme
- *Moral
- The method a writer uses to develop characters.
There are four basic methods: (a) a writer may describe a character’s physical appearance;
(b) a character’s nature may be revealed through his/her own speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions;
(c) the spee - Characterization/Character development
- The part of the syllable that precedes the vowel.
- Onset
- The person or voice telling the story.
- Narrator
- The process by which a writer uses words to create a picture of a scene, an event,
or a character
- Description
- The repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words
- Consonance
- The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words
- Alliteration
- The repetition of vowel sounds without the repetition of consonants.
- Assonance
- The study of the structure and features of a language
- Grammar
- The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning,
- *Onomatopoeia
- Two rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter
- *Heroic couplet
- Two successive letters that make a single sound.
- Digraph
- word recognition, rapid decoding, and checking for meaning.
- Fluency
- word that is the class name of something: a person, place, thing, or idea
- Noun
- Words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences for the reader.
- *Image/Imagery
- Words having a common linguistic origin.
- Cognates
- Writing about real people, places, and events.
- Nonfiction
- writing in narrative or non-narrative form that is
intended to inform.
- Informational/Expository text
- Writing that is intended to make clear or to explain something
using one or more of the following methods: identification, definition, classification, illustration,
comparison, and analysis.
- Exposition/Expository text
- Writing that relates an event or a series of events; a story
- Narration
- written to inform, explain, or persuade that does not use
narrative structure to achieve its purpose.
- Non-narrative nonfiction
