Summer Vocab List Flashcards
Abstract Language
Describes ideas and qualities - not observed things.
Passive Voice
When the subject recieves the action
The ball was hit by the player
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action.
The boy grabbed his books
Ad hominem
“against the man”
when a writer attacks the opponents, not their arguments
Allusion
An indirect referense
Ambiguity
An event that can be interpreted in mulitple ways
Analogy
Comparison to a directly parallel case
Anaphora
Repetition of a word/phrase at the beginning of sentences
Anecdote
A breif, amusing recounting of a relevant episode
Annotation
explanatory notes added to a text
Antecedent
A word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun
If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it”
Antithesis
two opposite or contrasting words/phrases
Aphorism
A terse statement that expresses general truth
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
Apostrophe
A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent/imaginary person
Appositive
A word/words placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning
Bob, the lumber yard worker spoke with Judy, an accountant
Argumentation
To prove your idea is valid by presenting good reasoning
Colloquial
Ordinary, or familiar type of convo
Concrete Language
Language describing specific/observed things
Diction
Word choice/style
formal, informal, ornate, plain
Emotional appeal -Pathos
appeal to an audiences emotions
Ethical Appeal -Ethos
to persuade the audience to respect/ believe you
Didactic
describes literature that teaches a specific lesson/moral
Euphenism
An agreeable or less offensive substitue for unpleasant words
“Physically challenged” not “crippled”
Genre
Major category into which literary work fits
autobiography, biography, diares, criticism, essays, journals, political, scientific, nature
Homily
“sermon” - serious talk, speech/lecture involving morals
Hyperbole
An exaggeration - mostly comedies to create irony
Imagery
words that paint a picture
Invective
Emotionally violent, or verbal attacks
loose or non-periodic
sentence
A sentence in which the main idea is first, followed by phrases/clauses
A loose, informal, relaxed style
I arrived at the San Diego Airport after a long, bumpy ride and multiple delays.
Irony
When the oppossite of what you expect to happen does
Verbal Irony
When you say somthing and mean the opposite
being forced to run a mile in 8 minutes, and calling it a walk in the park
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that the main character doesn’t
When the audience in horror movies knows who the killer is, but the victims don’t
Situational Irony
When something in the plot turns out funny
Sneaking into a movie theatre, and then figuring out kids were admitted for free
Litotes (little teel)
A form of understatement
opposite of hyperbole
It’s not that bad, i just have a little brain tumor
Metonymy
Changed label/substitute name
When the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated
the president declared vs the white house declared
Parallelism
“beside one another”
gramatical/ rhetorical framing or words/phrases to give structural similarity
Style
- the evaluation of the sum of choices an author makes with literary devices
- Comparing an author to similar authors by style
synecdoche
A figure of speech in which the part of something is used to represent a whole
calling a boat a sail
calling a car wheels
Syntax
Syn (together) +
tax (arrangement)
The actual way words/sentences are placed today in writing
