English Terms

Front 1

The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.

Back 1

alliteration

Front 2

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.

Back 2

allusion

Front 3

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

Back 3

anaphora

Front 4

A short account of an interesting event.

Back 4

anecdote

Front 5

Explanatory or critical notes added to a text.

Back 5

annotation

Front 6

The noun to which a later pronoun refers.

Back 6

antecedent

Front 7

The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.

Back 7

antimetabole

Front 8

Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.

Back 8

antithesis

Front 9

A short, astute statement of a general truth.

Back 9

aphorism

Front 10

The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.

Back 10

archaic diction

Front 11

A statement put forth and supported by evidence.

Back 11

argument

Front 12

A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.

Back 12

Aristotelian triangle

Front 13

An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.

Back 13

assertion

Front 14

A belief or statement taken for granted without proof.

Back 14

assumption

Front 15

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.

Back 15

asyndeton

Front 16

One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.

Back 16

audience

Front 17

A reliable, respected source -- someone with knowledge.

Back 17

authority

Front 18

Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.

Back 18

bias

Front 19

An informal or conversational use of language.

Back 19

colloquial

Front 20

Shared beliefs, values, or positions.

Back 20

common ground

Front 21

A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.

Back 21

concession

Front 22

That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning.

Back 22

connotation

Front 23

Words, events or circumstances that help determine meaning.

Back 23

context

Front 24

A challenge to a position; an opposing argument.

Back 24

counterargument

Front 25

An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.

Back 25

cumulative sentence

Front 26

Reasoning from general to specific.

Back 26

deduction

Front 27

The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.

Back 27

denotation

Front 28

Word choice.

Back 28

diction

Front 29

A brief witty statement.

Back 29

epigram

Front 30

A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Back 30

ethos

Front 31

Urging, or strongly encouraging.

Back 31

hortatory

Front 32

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.

Back 32

hyperbole

Front 33

Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).

Back 33

imagery

Front 34

Reasoning from specific to general.

Back 34

induction

Front 35

A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.

Back 35

inversion

Front 36

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.

Back 36

irony

Front 37

Placement of two things side by side for emphasis.

Back 37

juxtaposition

Front 38

A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Back 38

logos

Front 39

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.

Back 39

oxymoron

Front 40

A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.

Back 40

paradox

Front 41

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

Back 41

parallelism

Front 42

A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.

Back 42

parody

Front 43

A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Back 43

pathos

Front 44

A sentence that builds toward and ends with the main clause.

Back 44

periodic sentence

Front 45

An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.

Back 45

polemic

Front 46

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.

Back 46

polysyndeton

Front 47

Two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major [...] and its subject from the minor [...]

Back 47

premise

Front 48

One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.

Back 48

purpose

Front 49

To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.

Back 49

refute

Front 50

The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."

Back 50

rhetoric

Front 51

An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but is actually against it.

Back 51

satire

Front 52

A term used for the author, of the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.

Back 52

speaker

Front 53

The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.

Back 53

style

Front 54

A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise.

Back 54

syllogism

Front 55

Sentence structure.

Back 55

syntax

Front 56

Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.

Back 56

synthesize

Front 57

The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.

Back 57

tone

Front 58

The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.

Back 58

thesis

Front 59

Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech

Back 59

trope

Front 60

A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs -- often in different, sometimes incongruent ways -- two or more words in a sentence.

Back 60

zeugma