Your assignment will randomly pull terms from this glossary.
Alliteration
This is the repetition of initial consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.
Allusion
This is the reference to a person, place, or event from history, literature, or religion with which a
reader is likely to be familiar.
Analogy
This is a comparison based on a similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar.
Argument
This involves one or more reasons presented by a speaker or a writer to lead the audience or reader to
a conclusion on an issue.
Argument
This is a statement that seeks to convince readers of something, addresses a problem, and takes a
position.
Assonance
This is the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed
syllables.
Author's Purpose
This is the reason for creating written work.
Categorical Claim
This is a blanket statement about something. It is used to as a strategy to convince readers of the truth
of the writer's position. It is called a __________ claim.
Central Argument
This is the dominant and controlling argument.
Central Idea
The key point made in a written passage; the chief topic.
Central Message
This is the theme of a passage, story, novel, poem, or drama that readers can apply to life.
Chronological Order
This is the arrangement of events in the order in which they occur.
Citation
This is the notation of a source used for a paper.
Cite
This is to quote as an authority or as an example: to mention as support, illustration, or proof.
Claim
When an author makes a ____, (s)he is stating something which might or might not be true. It must
be argued.
Clarify
This is to clear up or to make information more understandable: to explain.
Connotation
This refers to the feelings and associations that go beyond the dictionary definition of a word.
Context
This is the framework of meaning which surrounds a specific word, sentence, idea, or passage.
Context Analysis
This is a method of breaking down the meaning of a word (or phrase) by working with the text or
passage in which the word is used.
Context Clues
These are in the text surrounding a word and give hints for the meaning of the word.
Controlling
the author's opinion or the perspective he/she wants to convey expressed through the thesis statement
for an essay, or through a topic sentence within an individual paragraph
Definition
Usually found in a dictionary, this tells you the meaning of a word or phrase.
Denotation
The literal definition of a word is also called its ______.
Detail
This is a piece of information that is used to support a main idea.
Diction
This is the writer's choice of words, including the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words,
and the vividness of the language.
Directions
These are the instructions that tell how to do something.
Drama
This is a play, written to be performed by actors.
Draw Conclusions
This is when you use pieces of information on a subject to base your opinion or make a decision.
You draw a ________.
End Rhyme
This is the repetition of similar sounds that comes at the ends of lines of poetry.
Event
This word means anything that happens to or is done by a character in a story.
Evidence
This is information that supports a thought or belief.
Explicit Directions
Directions that are clearly stated are also called ______.
Fact
This is a statement that can be proved to be true or false. It is not an opinion.
Figurative Language
This goes beyond the literal meanings of words to create special effects or feelings.
Formal Language
This kind of language usually has longer sentences and a greater variety of words than everyday
speech. Slang, contractions, and jargon are avoided.
Implied Meaning
This is a suggested, but not stated, definition.
In-text Citation
This phrase refers to the documentation of information within the body of a paper: when you provide
information about the source within your paper.
Infer
This is to get a conclusion from the facts or context; to figure out what is being implied by reading
between the lines.
Inference
This is reading between the lines. It is taking something that you read and putting it together with
something that you already know to make sense of what you read. You make an _____.
Informal Language
This is what people use in everyday speech. It usually consists of fairly short sentences and simple
vocabulary. It is called _______ speech or language.
Informational Text
This is a type of real-world writing that presents material that is necessary or valuable to the reader.
Jargon
This refers to the language of a specialized type, usually dealing with a narrow area of study or
knowledge. It has a slightly negative connotation, and can imply that the language is mere word play.
Literal
This is an exact word-for-word meaning, without exaggeration.
Literal Meaning
This is the ordinary, usual, or exact meaning of words, phrases, or passages. No figurative language
or interpretation is involved.
Literary Narrative
This is a collection of events that tells a story, which may be true or not, placed in a particular order
and recounted through either telling or writing.
Literary Summary
A _____ summary is a synopsis of the events, characters, and ideas in a work of literature.
Logical Order
This refers to the way that ideas and details are arranged in a piece of writing.
Main Idea
This is the central and most important idea of a reading passage or presentation.
Multiple Meaning
This is when one word has more than one definition.
Non-Literal
This is when the meaning is NOT exact or word for word. It is figurative and it requires
interpretation.
Opinion
This is an expression of an author's personal belief. It is not something that can be proved to be true
or false.
Order Of Importance
This is used when details are organized by degree of impact.
Organization
In writing, this is the process of ordering, structuring and presenting information. It is the writing
method which measures logical sequencing of ideas, details, or events.
Paragraph
This is a section in a piece of writing that discusses a particular point or topic. It always begins with a
new line, usually with indentation.
Paraphrase
This is the restatement of a written work in one's own words that keeps the basic meaning of the
original work.
Perspective
This is a writer's or speaker's point of view about a particular subject, and is often influenced by their
beliefs or by events in their lives.
Persuade
This is to convince.
Persuasive Appeal
This is a type of writing or speech that attempts to convince a reader to think or act in a particular
manner.
Persuasive Techniques
These are techniques used to convince. They include repetition, sentence variety, understatement,
and overstatement.
Persuasive Text
This type of text attempts to convince a reader to adopt a particular opinion or course of action.
Phrase
This is a group of words used as a single part of speech.
Poem
This is an arrangement of words in verse. It sometimes rhymes, and expresses facts, emotions, or
ideas in a style more concentrated, imaginative and powerful than that of ordinary speech.
Point Of View
This is the perspective from which a story is told. It is the way the author lets the readers see and
hear the story; who tells the story.
Purpose
This is an author's intention, reason, or drive for writing the piece.
Question And Answer
This is a way to organize paragraph or composition structure in which the author poses a question
then answers it.
Quote
If you repeat the words someone else has said or written, you ______ them.
Refine
This is to make improvements to a piece of writing.
Rhetorical Strategy
This is a plan an author uses to effectively deliver the intended message in written work.
Rhyme
This is the repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words.
Scheme
The regular pattern of rhyme found at the ends of lines in poems is called the rhyme _______.
Sequence
This is the order in which things are told in a story.
Sequencing
This is arranging things in order so they can be numbered or related in a connected series.
Sequential Order
This is the chronological, or time, order of events in a reading passage.
Series
This is a list of three or more items, usually separated by commas.
Stanza
This is a group of related lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph in a story.
Structure
This refers to a writer's arrangement or overall design of a literary work. It is the way words,
sentences, and paragraphs are organized to create a complete work.
Style
This is the way an author expresses ideas through the use of kinds of words, literary devices, and
sentence structure.
Summarize
This is to state briefly.
Support
to strengthen or prove an argument or idea by providing facts, details, examples and other
information
Support
This means to strengthen your ideas and opinions with examples, facts, or details.
Supporting Evidence
These are the facts or details that back up a main idea, theme, or thesis.
Supporting Sentence
A _____ sentence helps to clarify, describe, explain, or enhance the main idea of a paragraph.
Technical Writing
This is writing that communicates specific information about a particular subject, craft, or
occupation.
Theme
This is the message, usually about life or society, that an author wishes to convey through a literary
work.
Thesis
In expository writing, this is the main point or central idea that a writer states and then endeavors to
prove valid by means of a systematic argument.
Thesis Statement
This is the way in which the main idea of a literary work is expressed, usually as a generalization that
is supported with concrete evidence.
Tone
This is the attitude that an author takes toward the audience, the subject, or a character.
Universal Theme
This is the central message of a story, poem, novel, or play that many readers can apply to their own
experiences, or to those of all people.
Viewpoint
This is a writer's opinion or standpoint on an issue.
Word Choice
This is another way of saying "diction." This can help reveal a) the tone of the work, b) connotations
of meaning, and/or c) his style of writing.
Word Choice
This is the author's or speaker's craft or style. It might be formal, informal, or even slang. Diction is a
synonym.