Writer's Inc (Simple Cards #2)

Question 1

facts

Answer 1

details that can be proven

Question 2

statistics

Answer 2

significant numerical information about a chosen topic

Question 3

examples

Answer 3

individual samples that illustrate a main point

Question 4

anecdotes

Answer 4

brief stories or “slices of life” that help you make your point; they can illustrate a point more personally than a matter-of-fact listing of details

Question 5

quotations

Answer 5

words from another person that you repeat exactly in your writing

Question 6

reasons

Answer 6

statements that justify ideas or actions, expand motives, and answer the “Why?” question

Question 7

explanations

Answer 7

statements that make things clearer and answer the “How?” question

Question 8

summaries

Answer 8

statements that give a shorter version of something said, written, or done

Question 9

comparisons

Answer 9

statements that show how two topics are similar and/or different

Question 10

definitions

Answer 10

statements that provide the meaning of unfamiliar terms

Question 11

analyses

Answer 11

statements that break down a complete whole into its major parts

Question 12

classification

Answer 12

An effective method for explaining a complex term or concept; to classify, you break a topic down into categories and subcategories to help readers better understand it.

Question 13

order of location

Answer 13

A method effective for organizing a description. It provides unity by arranging details in a logical way–left to right, right to left, top to bottom, and so on.

Question 14

chronological (time) order

Answer 14

A method effective for sharing a story or explaining a process. Information is organized according to what happens first, second, third, and so on.

Question 15

illustration (general to specific)

Answer 15

a method of organization in which a general idea (the topic sentence) is stated and followed with specific details, facts, and examples that clarify or support the idea

Question 16

climax (specific to general)

Answer 16

a method of organization in which specific details lead up to an important summary statement

Question 17

cause-and-effect organization

Answer 17

a method that helps show the relationship between events and their results; a piece organized this way can begin with a general statement about the effect and follow with specific causes, or it can begin with the cause and follow with specific effects

Question 18

organizing by comparison

Answer 18

a method of organization that helps show the similarities or differences (or both) between two subjects

Question 19

interrogative sentence

Answer 19

a sentence that asks a question

Question 20

imperative sentence

Answer 20

a sentence that makes commands or requests

Question 21

exclamatory sentence

Answer 21

a sentence that communicates strong emotion

Question 22

conditional sentence

Answer 22

sentences that express one thing contingent on something else, e.g. “If it rains, the picnic will be cancelled”.

Question 23

contingent (adjective)

Answer 23

(1) dependent on or conditioned by something else

(2) likely but not certain to happen

Question 24

contingent (noun)

Answer 24

a representative group

Question 25

primer style

Answer 25

a style of writing that contains too many short sentences, one right after the other, thus resembling a grade school textbook

Question 26

allusion

Answer 26

a reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event

Question 27

analogy

Answer 27

a comparison of ideas or objects that are completely different but that are alike in one important way

Question 28

antithesis

Answer 28

the use of opposite ideas to emphasize a point

Question 29

colloquialism

Answer 29

a common word or phrase suitable for ordinary, everyday conversation but not for formal speech or writing

Question 30

exaggeration

Answer 30

an overstatement or stretching of the truth to emphasize a point

Question 31

flashback

Answer 31

a technique in which a writer interrupts a story to go back and explain an earlier time or event for the purpose of making something in the present more clear

Question 32

foreshadowing

Answer 32

hints or clues about what will happen next in a story

Question 33

hyperbole

Answer 33

exaggeration used to emphasize a point

Question 34

irony

Answer 34

an expression in which the author says one thing but means just the opposite (e.g. But then I was lucky enough to come down with the disease of the moment in the Hamptons, which was Lyme disease. [obviously, the author does not feel he was lucky])

Question 35

juxtaposition

Answer 35

putting two words or ideas close together to create a contrasting of ideas or an ironic meaning

Question 36

local color

Answer 36

the use of details that are common in a certain place

Question 37

metaphor

Answer 37

a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison (e.g. Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.)

Question 38

overstatement

Answer 38

an exaggeration or a stretching of the truth

Question 39

oxymoron

Answer 39

the connection of two words with opposite meanings (e.g. controlled chaos, war for peace, black light)

Question 40

paradox

Answer 40

a true statement that says two opposite things

Question 41

parallelism

Answer 41

the act of repeating similar grammatical structures (words, phrases, or sentences) to give writing rhythm (e.g. All this waste happens before ANY lid is popped, ANY can is opened, or ANY seal is broken.)

Question 42

personification

Answer 42

a figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing is given human characteristics

Question 43

pun

Answer 43

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings (e.g. The duck said to the bartender, “Put it on my bill.”)

Question 44

sensory details

Answer 44

details that are experienced through the senses; they help readers see, feel, smell, taste, and hear what is being described

Question 45

simile

Answer 45

a figure of speech that compares two things using like or as (e.g. They had hands like claws, and their knees were twisted like the old thorn trees.)

Question 46

slang

Answer 46

informal words or phrases used by a particular group of people

Question 47

symbol

Answer 47

a concrete object used to represent an idea

Question 48

synecdoche

Answer 48

using part of something to represent the whole (e.g. Idle hands are the devil’s playground. [hands represent the person])

Question 49

understatement

Answer 49

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is

Question 50

stir-crazy

Answer 50

slang. : distraught because of prolonged confinement