Chapter 3 Vocab

Front 1

plain style (plain language)

Back 1

a style of writing that places value on simplicity, directness, and clarity

Front 2

voice

Back 2

a term that describes a verb’s ability to show whether the subject of a sentence acts or is acted upon

Front 3

phrasal verb

Back 3

a verb that combines with one or more prepositions to deliver its meaning

Front 4

pronouns

Back 4

words that replace or refer to nouns

Front 5

ambiguity

Back 5

a term that describes an obscure or inexact meaning

Front 6

jargon

Back 6

a term that describes (1) the specialized terminology of a technical field or (2) outdated, unnecessary words used in a business context

Front 7

buzzwords

Back 7

fashionable, technical or computer jargon

Front 8

clichés

Back 8

overused, tires expressions that have lost their ability to communicate effectively

Front 9

slang

Back 9

coined word or existing words that are informal and have meanings specific to particular groups or localities

Front 10

acronym

Back 10

a pronounceable word formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g. NATO)

Front 11

emoticon

Back 11

a symbol consisting of a sequence of keystrokes that produce a sideways image of a face conveying any one of a range of emotions

Front 12

concrete nouns

Back 12

things knowable through the senses

Front 13

abstract nouns

Back 13

things not knowable through the senses

Front 14

idiom

Back 14

a word or phrase that has a meaning different from its literal meaning

Front 15

analogy

Back 15

an explanation of the unfamiliar in familiar terms

Front 16

verbs

Back 16

actions, occurrences, or states of being

Front 17

nouns

Back 17

words that name people, places, things, and abstract concepts

Front 18

noun conversions/nominalizations

Back 18

verbs that have been converted into nouns with the addition of -ment or -tion endings

Front 19

redundancies

Back 19

unplanned repetitions

Front 20

active voice

Back 20

writing style in which the grammatical subject of a sentence perform the actions

Front 21

passive voice

Back 21

style in which the grammatical subject of a sentence is acted upon

Front 22

prepositional phrase

Back 22

a phrase beginning with a preposition and functioning as a modifier

Front 23

expletive construction

Back 23

a phrase such as there is/are or it is/was at the beginning of a clause, delaying the introduction of the subject

Front 24

tone

Back 24

the implied attitude of the author to the reader, as reflected by word choice.

Front 25

denotation

Back 25

a word’s literal or dictionary definition

Front 26

connotation

Back 26

a word’s implied or associative meaning, often colored by emotion

Front 27

formality

Back 27

the level of writing; whether the writer is using the appropriate register based on an observance of the rules and conventions of writing

Front 28

personal style

Back 28

a style of writing that seems warm and friendly base on its use of first-and second-person pronouns

Front 29

impersonal style

Back 29

a style of writing that seems objective and reached based on its use of third-person pronouns

Front 30

you-attutide

Back 30

a writing style that focuses on the reader rather than the writer

Front 31

we-attitude

Back 31

a writing style that focuses on the shared goals and values of the writer and reader(s)

Front 32

salutation

Back 32

a greeting at the beginning of a letter (e.g. “Dear Ms. Gill”)