AP Language and Composition Vocabulary

AbstractRefers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images.

Ad HominemIn an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent’s ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning “against the man.”

Ad PopulumIn an argument, appeal “to the crowd” – popular stance

AdageA familiar proverb or wise saying

AllegoryA work that functions on a symbolic level. (Animal Farm would be an example.)

AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound, usually of a consonant, at the beginning of two or more words of a sentence or line of poetry: e.g., “The twisting trout twinkled below.”

Alliterative sentencesRepeating the same initial sound in two or more words of a sentence or line of poetry: e.g., Whitman’s line, “all summer in the sound of the sea.”

AllusionReference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing: e.g., “He met his Waterloo.”

Ambiguous languageMisleading words, lacks clarity

AnalogyThis is a comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship. The key is to discover the relationship between the first pair so you can choose the correct second pair: i.e., part-to-whole, opposites. In other words, it is the comparison between two different items.

AnalysisSeparation of a whole into its parts for individual study.

Analytical essayExamines, interprets, and explains the meaning and structure of a prose passage.

AnalyzeTo compare in order to rank items by importance or to provide reasons. Identify the important parts that make up the whole and determine how the parts are related to one another.

AnecdoteA story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point.

AntagonistCharacter or force in conflict with the main character or protagonist.

AntithesisA direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrase, or clauses for the purpose of contrast: e.g., “Sink or swim.”

AntonymsWords that mean the opposite: e.g., light is an antonym of dark.

AphorismA concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance.

ApostropheForm of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate. These are all addressed directly: e.g., “Milton! Thou shoulds’t be living at this hour.”

ArchetypeA detail, image, or character types that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response.

ArgumentA single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer.

AssonanceThe repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words: e.g., the words ”cry” and “side” have the same vowel sounds and so are said to be in assonance.

AssumptionsStatements or thoughts taken to be true without proof.

AttitudeThe relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience.

AudienceThose people who read or hear what a writer has written.

Author’s craftStylistic choices the author makes regarding such components as plot, characterization, structure, scenes, and dialogue to produce a desired effect.

Author’s perspectiveA way of looking at a subject or a work of literature. An author’s perspective can be influenced by background knowledge and experiences.

Author’s purposeThe reason why an author writes. Authors write to entertain, to inform or explain, to persuade or argue, or to express personal thoughts or feelings.

Author’s styleThe author’s manner of helping the reader understand his/her written work.

AutobiographyAn author’s account of his or her own life.

BalanceA situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work.

BiasFavoring (and often presenting) one side of an argument.

BiographyThe story of a person’s life written by another person.

CacophonyHard and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary work.

Cause and effectA relationship that exists when one event (the cause) brings about the other event (the effect),

CharacterPerson or animal who takes part in the action of a story, poem or play. It is the most important person or animal in the story, poem or play.

CharacterizationThe method an author uses to reveal or describe characters and their various personalities and motives.

ChronologicalWhen a story, poem, or play is arranged in order of events; correct time or sequence of occurrences.

Circular reasoningThis is a fallacy in argumentative writing when the writer has tried to justify a bias toward ability grouping simply by defining the term. Precisely why the writer prefers ability group remains unclear. Example: “I favor ability grouping because it separates students with different skills and interests.”

ClimaxThe highpoint of a story or a peak or suspense.

ColloquialThe use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. Huckleberry Finn is written in this tone.

ConceitA fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor.

ConcessionIn an argument, acknowledging the other side

ConflictConflict is a struggle between opposing forces.Two kinds of conflict:

a. external conflict: 1. with another person or 2. with a force of natureb. internal conflict: Character’s struggles to make a decision, take an action, or

overcome a feeling.

Connective tissueThose elements that help create coherence in a written piece.

ConnotationThe emotional meaning of a word in addition to its dictionary meaning.

ConsonanceThe repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect: e.g., “And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.” The “d” sound is the consonance. The “s” sound is also in consonance.

ContextThe social or cultural situation in which the spoken or written words occurs and is often used to refer to the material surrounding an unknown word.

Context cluesInformation from the surrounding text that helps identify a word or word group. These could be words, phrases, sentences, illustrations, syntax, typographic signals, definitions, examples, and restatements.

DeductionThe process of moving from a general rule to a specific example.

DenotationThe literal or dictionary meaning of a word.

DetailsAre the facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose.

DialogueConversation between characters in a story, poem, or play. Dialogue is set off by quotation marks. In a play, dialogue follows the name of the character; no quotation marks are used.

DictionIs a word choice intended to convey a certain effect. Types of diction are: Slang refers to a group of recently coined words often used in informal situations. Slang words often come and go quickly, passing in and out of usage within months or years. Colloquial expressions are nonstandard, often regional, ways of using language appropriate to informal or conversational speech and writing. The characteristic “ayah” of the Maine resident or the south word “y’all” are examples of colloquialisms. Jargon consists of words and expressions characteristic of a particular trade, profession, or pursuit. Some examples of nautical jargon from The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad are “cuddy,” taffrail,” mizzen,” and binnacle.” Dialect is a nonstandard subgroup of a language with its own vocabulary and grammatical features. Writers often use regional dialects or dialects that reveal a person’s economic or social class. Mark Twain makes use of dialect in the following passage from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. “Sho, there’s ticks-a-plenty. I could have a thousand of ‘em if I wanted to.”

DidacticWriting whose purpose is to instruct or teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns.

DissonanceHarsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds. DramaGenre or form of literature meant to be performed by actors before an audience. Drama tells its story through action and dialogue. Dramas are also known as plays.

Electronic sourcesResources for gathering information such as the Internet, television, radio, CD ROM encyclopedia, and so on.

Elements of styleWord choice, voice, sentence structure, and sentence length.

EllipsisIndicated by a series of three periods, this indicates that more material has been omitted from a given text. It could be a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or a whole section. Be wary of these; they can obscure the real meaning of the writing.

Environmental printAny print found in the physical environment such as street signs, billboards, labels, business signs.

EpicA long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation.

EpigraphThe use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Sue Mon Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees has one at the beginning of each chapter. The Sun Also Rises contains two epigraphs by Ernest Hemingway (epigram).

EpiphanyA moment of sudden revelation or insight.

EpitaphAn inscription on a tombstone or burial place.

EpithetA term used to point out a characteristic of a person. (Swift-footed Achilles). Can be abusive, or offensive but are not so by definition. (The Rock, Jake, “the Snake”.)

EulogyA formal speech praising a person who has died.

EuphemismThe more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “He went to his final reward” for “he died.” They are often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation. Pussyfooting with words has its place. But in your AP essays, resort to euphemisms only when you have a valid reason for doing so.

EuphonyThe pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work.

ExpositionIs that part of the story (usually the beginning) which explains the background and setting of the story; the characters are often introduced in the exposition.

Expository writing or nonfictionWriting or a reading selection that explains facts and ideas.

FablesA brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters.

FactSomething that can be proven to be true.

Falling actionAfter the climax or end of conflict. The falling action leads to the resolution.

Fiction:Writing that tells an imaginary story.

Figures of SpeechWords or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else. They always involve some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not meant to be taken literally, figurative language is used to produce images in a reader’s mind and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways. The most common examples used in both prose and poetry are simile, metaphor, and personification.

FlashbackThis is a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.

Frame deviceA story within a story. (Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales).

ForeshadowingA literary technique that uses hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.

FormThe shape or structure of a literary work.

Free versePoetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

GeneralizeTaking what is known and using it to make an inference about the nature of similar text. Generalizations lead to transferable understanding that can be supported by fact. They describe the characteristics of classes of categories of persons, places, living and non-living things, and events.

GenreTerms used to classify literary and informational words into categories (e.g., biography, mystery, historical fiction).

GistThe most central thought or idea in a text.

Graphic featuresFeatures that illustrate information in text such as graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, tables, etc.

Graphic organizerOrganizers that provide a visual representation of facts and concepts from a text and their relationships with an organized frame.

Hero/heroineCharacter whose actions are inspiring or noble. It can involve sacrifice, saving others, overcoming obstacles, or escaping danger.

Homily A sermon or moralistic lecture.

HubrisExcessive pride or arrogance that results in a downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy.

HyperboleThis is a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration: e.g., “The shot heard ‘round the world.” It may be used for either serious or comic effect.

IdiomA word used in a special way that may be different from the literal meaning: e.g., “You drive me crazy” or “Hit the deck.”

ImageA verb approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion.

ImageryThis consists of the words or phrases a writer used to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses. What do I see, hear, taste, smell, or feel? What effect is the author trying to convey with these images?

ImplicationA suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies without stating it directly. (Note; the author/sender implies; the reader/audience infers.)

InductionThe process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization.

InferTo understand something not directly stated in the text by using past experience and knowledge, considering the author’s purpose, and noting characterization in the text.

InferenceThe reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of indirect evidence and prior conclusions rather than direct evidence from the text.

Informational/expository textA form of written composition that has as its primary purpose explanation or the communication of details, facts, and discipline – or content-specific information (e.g., content area textbooks, encyclopedias, biographies).

Inductive reasoningDeriving general principles from particular factors or instances. (“Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals.”)

InspirationA possible action or motivation by the reader after reading a story, poem, or play.

InvectiveAn intensively vehement, highly emotional verbal attack.

Irony Irony occurs in three types. Verbal irony occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite. An example of verbal irony occurs in the statement, “It is easy to stop smoking. I’ve done it many times.” Situational irony occurs when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect – though often the twist is oddly appropriate: e.g., a deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub is ironic. Dramatic irony occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has different means from what he or she thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action: e.g., Oedipus curses the murderer of Laius, not realizing that he is himself the murderer and so is cursing himself.

JargonSpecialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession.

KenningA device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities, as in “ring-giver” for king and “whale-road” for ocean.

LegendA narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements.

LimerickLight verse consisting of five lines of regular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each consisting of three feet), rhyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet) rhyme.

Limited narratorA narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought or felt by that one character.

LitotesA type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite. (Describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, “It was not a pretty picture.)

Literary devices

Techniques used to convey or enhance an author’s message or voice: e.g., idiom, figurative language, exaggeration/hyperbole, dialogue, and imagery.

Literary licenseDeviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect.. (intentional sentence fragments, for example)

Literary/narrative genresCategories used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique, or content: e.g., novel, essay, short story, comedy, and epic.

Literary/narrative textText that describes action or events; usually includes a problem and resolution; usually, but not always fiction.

LogicA process of reasoning.

Logical fallacyA mistake in reasoning.

Main ideaThe central pint or purpose; central thought; the chief topic of a passage expressed or implied in a word or phrase; the topic sentence of a paragraph.

MalapropismThe mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar. (“The doctor wrote a subscription.”)

MaximA concise statement, often offering advice; an adage.

Mental imageryWords or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses allowing the reader to form mental pictures or images while reading.

MetaphorComparison of two unlike things not using “like” or “as”: e.g., “Time is money.”

MeterA poem’s rhythm.

MetonymyA figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea. (The pen is mightier than the sword.) Metonymy can simplify an idea: Mikayla has a good head (head has been substituted for brain).

MonologueA speech given by one character (Hamlet’s “To be or not to be …”)

MontageA quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea.

Mood

This is the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work. In literary criticism the term mood refers to the feelings that a poem or prose piece arouses in the reader. Mood, therefore, is technically different from tone, which refers to the author’s or speaker’s feelings about the subject.

MoralA brief and often simplistic lesson that a reader may infer from a work of literature.

MotifThe repetition or variations of an image or ideas in a work used to develop theme or characters.

MotivationA circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way or that determines the outcome of a situation or work.

MythA traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events.

NarrationThis is the telling of a story in writing or speaking.

NarrativeA story or narrated account.

NarratorThe writer of speaker who tells the story or describes the events in the story. (1st person or 3rd person or omniscient – see point of view also).

NonfictionWriting that tells a true story or explores an idea. Categories include autobiography, biography, and essay.

Non sequiturA statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before.

ObjectiveNon-fiction writing that relates information in an impersonal manner; without feelings or opinions.

Omniscient narratorA narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Onomatopoeia (imitative harmony)The use of words that mimic the sounds they describe: e.g., “hiss,” “buzz,” and “bang.” When onomatopoeia is used on an extended scale in a poem, it is called imitative harmony.

OpinionA person’s personal ideas about a subject. An opinion cannot be proven true or false.

Oral language structure

Spoken language has five linguistic systems. They include the phonological (sounds of language), the syntactic (order and grammar), the semantic (meanings), the pragmatic (social interactive), and lexicon (vocabulary).

Organizational featuresTools the author uses to organize ideas: e.g., captions and headings.

OxymoronAn image of contradictory terms (humankind, bittersweet, pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp).

PacingThe movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another.

ParableA story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson. (The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a fine example.)

ParadoxThis occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other. Although the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden truth: e.g., “Much madness is divinest sense.”

ParaphraseA restatement of a text in a different form or in different words, often for the purpose of clarity.

ParodyA comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original. It can be utterly mocking or gently humors; it depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style and content.

PastoralA work of literature dealing with ruraly life.

PathosThe aspects of a literary work that elicit pity from the audience. An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade.

PendanticA term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficulty and distant.

Periodic sentenceA sentence that presents its main clause at the end of the sentence for emphasis and sentence variety. Phrases, dependent clauses precede the main clause.

PersonaThe role or façade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader or other audience.

PersonificationA kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics: e.g., “The wind cried in the dark.”

Persuasive reading or writing

A technique the author uses to move the reader to his/her point of view. Writing that is meant to change the way a reader thinks or acts.

PlotIs the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or narrative.

Point of viewThe perspective from which a narrator tells the story. The three points of view are first, third person, and omniscient.1st person: I3rd person: he, sheomniscient: narrator relates, knows, and tells what each character feels and thinks.

PolysyndetonThis is the deliberate use of many conjunctions for special emphais – to highlight quantity or mass of detail or to create a flowing, continuous sentence pattern: e.g., “The meal was huge – my mother fixed okra and green beans and ham and apple pie and green pickled tomatoes and ambrosia salad and all manner of fine country food – but no matter how I tried, I could not consume it to her satisfaction.”

PredictTo foresee what might happen in a text based on a reader’s background knowledge or life experiences. Also, to make an educated guess about what is going to happen next.

Primary sourcesThe original source of resource information: e.g., newspaper, letter, encyclopedia, book.

Prior knowledgeThe knowledge that stems from previous experience. Note: prior knowledge is a key component of the schema theory or drawing from life experiences as part of reading comprehension.

ProblemAnother word for conflict found in a story, poem, or play. Propaganda techniquesMethods used in creating propaganda such as bandwagon, peer pressure, repetition, and testimonials/endorsements

ProsodyIs the study of sound and rhythm in poetry.

ProtagonistThis is the central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem.

PunThis is a play on words that are identical or similar in sounds but have sharply diverse meanings. Puns can have serious as well as humorous uses: e.g., when Mercutio is bleed to death in Romeo and Juliet, he says to his friends, “Ask me for tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.”

Questioning strategies

In these strategies a reader may ask questions about a text before, during, and after reading and then searches for answers: e.g., Questions Answer Response (QAR), Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review (SQ3R).

Reductio ad AbsurdumThe Latin for “to reduce to the absurd.” This is a technique useful in creating a comic effect (See Twain’s “At the Funeral” and is also an argumentative technique. It is considered a rhetorical fallacy, because it reduces an argument to an either/or choice.

Rising actionThis is the central part of a story during which various problems arise, leading up to the climax.

RepetitionThis is the deliberate use of any element of language more than once --- sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern.

ResolutionThis is the satisfying end of a play or story – that part in which the problem/conflict is solved.

RhetoricRefers to the entire process of written communication. Rhetorical strategies and devices are those tools that enable a writer to present ideas to an audience effectively. The language of a work and its style; words, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway an audience.

Rhetorical questionA question that does not expect an explicitly answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or the audience. Ernest Dawson asks, “Where are they now, the day of wine and roses?”

RhymeThis is the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrase that appear close to each other in a poem. End rhyme occurs at the end of lines; internal rhyme, within a line. Slant rhyme is approximate rhyme. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes.

RhythmThe ordered occurrence of sound in poetry.

RomanticA term describing a character or literary work that reflects the characteristics of Romanticism, the literary movement beginning in the 18th century that stressed emotion, imagination, and individualism.

SarcasmThis is the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it: e.g., “As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, ‘Look at that coordination.’”

Satire

A mode of writing based on ridicule that criticizes the foibles and follies of society without necessarily offering a solution. (Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a satire that exposes humankind’s condition.)

ScapegoatA person or group that bears the blame for another.

SceneA real or fictional episode; a division of an act in a play.

SchemaThe accumulated knowledge drawn from life experiences that a person has to help understand concepts, roles, emotions, and events.

SequenceThe arrangement or ordering of information, content, or ideas: e.g., chronological, easy to difficult, part to whole.

SettingThis is the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place.

Shift or turnThis refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader.

SimileThis is a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words “like” or “as.” It is a definitely stated comparison in which the poet says one thing is like another: e.g., “The warrior fought like a lion.”

SkimTo read or glance through quickly.

SlangIn AP essays, avoid everyday slang or street talk in your essay: chill, pig out, dissed, bummed, etc.

SolicismNonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules.

Sound devicesThese are stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound. Some examples of sound devices are rhyme (two words having the same sound, assonance (repetition of similar vowel sounds), consonance (repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words), alliteration (words beginning with the same consonant sound), and onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning).

StanzaA unit of poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem.

StichomythiaThis is dialogue in which the ending and beginning of each line echo each other, taking on a new meaning with each new line, as in the following example from “Hamlet:

Hamlet: No mother, what’s the matter?Queen: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.Hamlet: Mother, you have my father much offended.Queen: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.Hamlet: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.

Story elementsThe critical parts of a story include character, setting, plot, conflict/problem, resolution.

Stream of consciousnessA style of writing in which flow of thoughts in the human mind.

StructureThis is the framework or organization of a literary selection. For example, the structure of fiction is usually determined by plot and by chapter division; the structure of drama depends upon its division into acts and scenes; the structure of an essay depends upon the organization of ideas; the structure of poetry is determined by its rhyme scheme and stanzaic form.

StyleThis is the writer’s characteristic manner of employing language.

SubjectivePerson’s personal ideas about a subject. An opinion cannot be proven true or false.

SubplotMinor collection of events in a novel or drama that have some connection with the main plot and should, (1) comment on, (2) complicate/defeat, or (3) support the main plot.

SummarizeTo determine what is important in the text, condense this information, and put it into the students’ own words. To restate briefly the most important parts of a piece of writing in your own words.

SummaryTo determine what is important in the text, condense this information, and put it into the students’ own words.

Surprise endingConclusion that is unexpected. Plot twist changes the outcome of the story.

SurrealismAn artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control.

SuspenseIs a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a story or play.

SyllogismThe format of a form argument that consists of major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

Symbol

This is any object, person, place, or action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value: e.g., the land turtle in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath suggests or reflects the toughness and resilience of the migrant workers.

Synesthesia or synathesiaDescribing one kind of sensation in terms of another. (“A loud color,” “a sweet sound”)

SyntaxGrammatical structure of prose and poetry.

Synecdoche (a type of metonymy)This is a form of metaphor. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to signify the whole: e.g., “All hands on deck.” Also, the reverse whereby the whole can represent a part, is synecdoche: e.g., “Canada played the United States in the Olympic hockey finals.” Another form of synecdoche involves the container representing the thing being contained: e.g., “The pot is boiling.” In one last form of synecdoche, the material from which an object is made stands for the object itself: e.g., “The quarterback tossed the pigskin.” In metonymy, the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated: e.g., “I love Shakespeare.” Also, “eighteen-wheeler” is a substitute for a truck or “sail” is for a ship.

SynthesisAn essay in which you use sources to argue your point of view on a given issue. AP Test

TautologyNeedless repetition which adds no meaning or understanding. (“widow woman,” “free gift”)

ThemeThis is the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied. The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make interferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied. An example of a theme on the subject of pride might be that pride often precedes a fall.

Tone (writer)This is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience3, and it is conveyed through the author’s choice of words and detail. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.

TragedyA work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction.TrilogyA work in three parts, each of which is a complete work in itself.

TriteOverused and hackneyed.

Turning pointThe point in a work in which a very significant change occurs.

Understatement (meiosis, litotes)This is the opposite of hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is: e.g., “I could probably manage to survive on a salary of two million dollars per year.”

UsageThe customary way language or its elements are used.

ViewpointThe author’s opinion on a particular subject.

VernacularThe everyday speech of a particular country or region, often involving nonstandard usage.

VoiceCan refer to two different areas of writing. One refers to the relationship between a subject and verb (active and passive). The second refers to the total “sound” of a writer’s style. OR The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker.ZegumaThis is the use of a verb that has two different meanings with objects that complement both meanings: e.g., “He stole both her car and her heart that fateful night.”

Grammatical Terms to Know for Mr. FarlandAdverb

Antecedent

Appositive

Articles

Clause

Comparative

Coordinating conjunction

Dangling modifier

Dependent clause

Direct object

Gerund

Helping verb

Infinitive phrase

Modifier

Predicate

Predicate Adjective

Prepositional phrase

Pronouns

Proper noun

Subordinating conjunction

Superlative