Name: _____________________________
Date: __________________ Period: _____
Vocabulary for Writing Composition
Basics: Grammar
1. Nouns: A word that denotes a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns answer the questions who & what
2. Abstract Nouns: denotes an abstract or intangible concept, such as envy or joy; concepts that cannot be seen,
smelled, touched, heard, or tasted.
3. Proper Nouns: A noun that is used to denote a particular person, place, or thing and is always capitalized
4. Concrete Nouns: Nouns that use the 5 senses; they can be seen, touched, heard, smelled, or tasted.
Examples: butterfly, student, desk, sand, garbage, steak
5. Pronouns: A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence.
I You Me It Them They She He His Hers Theirs Our Yours
6. Interrogative Pronouns: are used to form questions
Who What Where How When
7. Relative Pronouns: introduce subordinate clauses
[a dependent clause that begins a with subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun]
8. Subordinate clauses: after, of, than, where, although, that, in order that, whereas, as, once, though, wherever,
because, provided that, unless, whether, before, rather than, until, while, even if, since,
when, why, even though, so that, whenever.
9. Relative Pronouns: that, whoever, which, whomever, who, whom, whose, whosoever
10. Antecedent: The noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to.
Mrs. Orr is an extremely strange teacher; she is always doing the unexpected.
11. Verbs: Also known as the predicate denotes action, or a state of being in a sentence
12. State of Being: Forms to the verb "be" used as helping verbs – is, am, are, was, were, been, being
13. Linking Verbs: connect the subject of a sentence with words or groups of words that identify or describe it.
as, am, are, was, were, being, been, seem, appear, become, remain, smell, taste, feel, look, sound
14. Helping Verbs: Also known as auxiliary verbs; it is a verb that comes before the main verb in a sentence.
Together the helping verb and the main verb form a verb phrase. More than one helping verb
can be used in a sentence.
15. Adjectives: a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may precede nouns, or they may
appear after a form of the reflexive verb to be: am, are, is, was, were, etc.
16. Articles: A, AN, THE. They precede a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence; acts as a "neon" light indicating a noun
will follow.
17. Proper Adjectives: Proper nouns that are used to modify or describe another noun. Examples: Christmas
dinner, Thanksgiving parade, Mexican dinner.
18. Adverbs: modifies (describes) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Many, but not all, end in 'ly'.
19. Prepositions: "Prep, prep, prep, prep, prepositions... talks about a thing and it's position!" A preposition is
anything a frog can do to a log. Works in combination with a noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence
to create phrases that convey a spatial, temporal, or directional meaning. Prepositions commonly convey the
following relationships: agency (by); comparison (like, as . . . as); direction (to, toward, through); place (at, by,
on); possession (of); purpose (for); source (from, out of); and time (at, before, on).
aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, around, as, at, atop, before, behind,
below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, despite, down, during, for, from, in, inside, into, like,
near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, regarding, round, since, than, through, throughout,
till, to, toward, under, unlike, until, up, upon, with, within, without
20. Interjections: a word added to a sentence to convey emotion; not grammatically related to any other part
of the sentence. STOP! WAIT! NO! HEY!
21. Conjunctions: a word that joins two independent clauses or sentences together. A word that joins two
words or ideas together. FANBOYS= FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR, YET, SO
Phrases & Clauses
22. Phrase: is a small group of words that adds meaning to a word. It is not a sentence because it is not a complete
idea with a subject and a predicate.
23. Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun (called
the object of the preposition).
24. Infinitive Phrase: "To" plus a verb
25. Appositives: are placed next to other nouns and pronouns and give extra or identifying information
about them.
Ex: My dog, Ariel, is an Australian shepherd.
26. Appositives of more than one word are called Appositive phrases.
Ex: His fiancé, a civil engineer, was transferred
An appositive should be set off with commas unless it is necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
Ex: Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most recent to be made into film.
27. Participles & Participial Phrases: Are verb forms that can work as adjectives. End with -ed, -ing, -en. Participial
phrases contain a participle and include all complements and modifiers. A participial phrase that begins a
sentence is usually followed by a comma.
Ex: Frightened by the horror movie, Mike and Leroy turned on all the lights in the house.
28. Gerund & Gerund Phrase: A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an -ing word, and will include other
modifiers and/or objects. Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject
complements, or objects in the sentence. Don't mistake a gerund phrase for a present participle phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an -ing word. The
difference is that a gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present participle phrase describes
another word in the sentence.
29. A Dependent Clause: is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete
thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence
30. Fragment: are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become
disconnected from the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined
sentence.
31. An Independent Clause [IC] has a subject and verb and makes a complete thought. It can stand on its own. It is
a simple sentence. Ex: The dog whimpered.
TYPES OF SENTENCES & FORMULAS
31. SIMPLE [ IC ] = SUBJECT + VERB
32. COMPOUND IC ; IC
IC ,conj IC
Example: Mrs. Orr is giving us too much information; it is giving me a headache.
Example: English is not my best sentence, but Mrs. Orr does her best to make it fun.
33. Complex IC , DC OR DC , IC
34. COMPOUND – COMPLEX: A sentence with two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent
clause.
Example: "For in the end, freedom is a personal and lonely battle; and one faces down fears of today so that
those of tomorrow might be engaged." (Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens, 1983)
Genres of Writing
35. Descriptive: Detailed sensory perception of a person, place or thing.
36. Narrative: A writing that recounts an event, an anecdote, an experience, or an event.
37. Persuasive: A persuasive essay is a short commentary designed to persuade your audience; use of pathos helps
persuade.
38. Argumentative: A writing that convinces others through reasoning; explanations of aspects of a particular
subject, or advocating a specific opinion on a subject or issue.
39: Uses Logos - the appeal to the head using logic, numbers, explanations, and facts. Through Logos, a writer aims
at a person's intellect. The idea is that if you are logical, you will understand.
40. Pathos is the appeal to the heart, emotions, sympathy, passions, or sentimentality.
41. Another form of writing is the use of Ethos, which is the appeal to the conscience, ethics, morals standards,
values, and principles.
42. Rhetoric: Persuasive speech or writing; speech or writing that communicates its point persuasively.
43. Expository: Used to inform or explain information to a reader. There are many different forms of expository
essays that a writer can use.
44. Process Analysis: Explain how to do something or how something happens; the evaluation of any process
45. Exemplification: Provides examples or cases in point. Provides facts, statistics, personal experiences, or
interview quotation that help to achieve the purpose of the essay.
46. Comparison & Contrast: Discusses similarities and differences of a topic
47. Division & Classification: Divides a whole into parts, or sorts related items into categories. Used in science or
history essays.
48. Definition: Provides the meaning of terms that are used. Take note of who your audience is and ask, "Does
your essay focus on any abstract, specialized, or new terms that need further explanation so the reader
understands the main point?" Do any important words in the essay have many meanings and needs to be
clarified?
49. Cause & Effect: Analysis of something that happens and describes the consequences of a string of events,
examining past events or their outcomes. Is the purpose to inform, speculate, or argue about why an identifiable
fact happens the way it does?
Elements of Literature
50. Allusion: A reference to something real or fictional, to someone, some event, or something in the Bible,
history, literature, or any phase of culture.
51. Irony: An expression, often humorous or sarcastic, that exposes perversity or absurdity.
Ex: The fish story
52. Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms. Faithless devotion; Searing cold; Deafening silence; Jumbo shrimp;
Act naturally; Peacekeeping missile; Larger half
53. Paradox: Reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory.
Example: Red wine is paradoxically good and bad for us.
54. Symbolism: Using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Example: The bird of night owl is a symbol of death
55. Parody: A humorous exaggerated imitation, or travesty. The film Airplane A parody of the 1970's era disaster
film; Austin Powers A parody of the James Bond spy movies
56. Sarcasm: A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic
language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule. Remember: There's no sarcasm in
the classroom
57. Satire: Literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of
correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. One of the most interesting features of satire is that it is
almost universally believed to be a persuasive writing form. In actuality, it appears that most written satire
actually fools most of its readers, so that, far from being persuasive, it is often not even understood.
Examples of Satire would be Saturday Night Live and George Orwell's novel Animal Farm
58. Themes: Linking devices that hold a text together structurally, e.g. the battle between good and evil: the general
idea or insight about life a writer wishes to express. All the elements of literary terms contribute to theme.
A simple theme can often be stated in a single sentence.
Examples: Good things come to those who wait; Home is where the heart is; Love conquers evil
59. Counterpoint: Contrasting ideas – Black / White; Good / Bad; Darkness/light
60. Imagery: Language that evokes one or all of the five senses. Seeing hearing tasting smelling touching.
61. Metaphor & Simile: Non-literal, imaginative substitutions in which, for instance, a tree becomes a metaphor for
family or springtime is rebirth. Simile compares two different items or ideas using "like" or "as"
62. Characterization: The method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes:
(1) showing the character's appearance
(2) displaying the character's actions
(3) revealing the character's thoughts
(4) letting the character speak
(5) getting the reactions of others
63. FRAMING STRATEGIES – Introduction & Conclusion
64. Narrator: Usually first or third person, "tells" the story or events
65. Style - tone – voice: Gut reactions are useful here. Examine your own responses. What is it that makes you
respond as you do? Are you the author's intended audience? If not, who is? The attitude a writer takes towards
a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.
66. Analogy: The comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship
between the first so you can choose the correct second pair.
67. Foreshadowing: The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
68. Flashback: Action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better
understanding.
69. HyPeRbOLe: Exaggeration or overstatement.
Ex: "I told my a million times you need to takes notes.
70. Personification: Giving human qualities to animals or objects
Ex: A smiling moon and a jovial sun kept calling to me!
71. ________________________: The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without
__________________________________ used in __________________________.
72. Idea and Content: are in a sense the heart of the writing. Everything that is said comes back to idea and
content. The two keys are clarity and details. Making a topic clear and manageable is so important! Details
can make or break any piece of writing. Ideas and content focus on clear writing that presents details in an
interesting, fresh manner.
73. Organization: Making a paper easy for the reader to understand. Outlining & Brainstorming
74. Word Choice: Word choice is a trait that shows the power of language. Sometimes students seem so caught up
in their ideas, organization, and grammar that word choice may take a backseat.
N2SSWTSW— NO TWO SENTENCES START WITH THE SAME WORD
75. Voice: Shows strong sense of audience, topic and purpose. Topic comes alive, is engaging, exciting, honest,
humorous, lively. Writer is aware of the reader. Writer uses figurative language to create images for the reader.
76. Sentence fluency: is a trait based solely on the ear. Students need to tune their ears to the rhythm cadence that
can be accomplished with sentence fluency. Using the natural flow of poetry can add clarity to this trait.
Focusing on variety in sentences can help attain fluency.
77. CONVENTIONS: Editing and revising component or writing. Often this trait is taught throughout the six traits
of the writing process. Many people would say that this trait is the most time consuming of the six because of
its depth and importance.