AP LANGUAGE &
COMPOSITION
Fall 2015 Terms
Synecdoche
Definition: a figure of speech that employs the use of a
part for the whole, or the whole for the part
Examples:
 Jack bought a new set of wheels.
 The Confederates have eyes in Lincoln's government.
Colloquial
Definition: the characteristic of writing that seeks the
effect of informal spoken language as distinct from
formal or literary English
Example:
 "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll
probably want to know is where I was born, and what
my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents
were occupied and all before they had me, and all
that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel
like going into it, if you want to know the truth." (The
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Litotes
Definition: a figure of understatement in which an
affirmative is expressed by a negation of the contrary
or opposite
Examples:
 A few unannounced quizzes are not inconceivable.
 I'm not forgetful that you served me well.–John Milton
Metonymy
Definition: a figure of speech in which one word or
phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely
associated
Examples:
 Wall Street welcomes the reduction in interest rates.
 In Shakespeare's time, the crown was anti-Catholic.
Paradox
Definition: an assertion seemingly opposed to common
sense because it contains a contradiction, but that
may yet have some truth in it
Examples:
 “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the
young.”—George Bernard Shaw
 “I can resist anything but temptation .”— Oscar Wilde
 “Great fiction is a kind of lie that tells the truth, but it's
impossible to lie about lies and end up with anything
besides more lies. “(Laura Miller, “Why We Haven’t
Seen a Great 9/11 Novel, Salon.com, 14 Sept. 2011)
Euphemism
Definition: the use of a word or phrase that is less direct,
but that is also less distasteful or less offensive than
another
Examples:
 She missed class because her grandmother passed
away last week.
 Many people are opposed to the government’s using
enhanced interrogation techniques on prisoners.
Hyperbole
Definition: an extravagant exaggeration of fact, used
either for serious or comic effect
Examples:
 Ten thousand oceans cannot wash away my guilt.
 "I have seen this river so wide it had only one bank.“—
Mark Twain
Allusion
Definition: a brief or casual reference to a famous
person, historical event, place, or work of art
Examples:
 Since my elementary-school days, math has always
been my Achilles heel.
 "I have met my Waterloo," the mountain climber said
after returning from a failed attempt to conquer
Everest.
Irony
Definition: an expression of something which is contrary
to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but
mean another
Examples:
 "What a beautiful day," Maxine said, opening her
umbrella.
 “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.”—Marc Antony in
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Apostrophe
Definition: a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or
personified abstraction absent or present
Examples:
 “For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel.
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him.”—
Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
 “Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,”—John
Donne
Ethos
Definition: Appeal attempts to persuade
by calling attention to the writer’s/ speaker’s
character. Ethos does not concern the
veracity of the argument, only its appeal.
Examples:
I am a husband, a father, and a taxpayer.
I’ve served faithfully for 20 years on the
school board. I deserve your vote for city
council.
“I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an
unjust law is no law at all.’” –MLK, “Letter
from Birmingham Jail”
Damning with Faint Praise
 Definition: The argument "attacks" a position by complimenting
or praising the opponent or the opponent's argument. However,
the praise is misdirected or unenthusiastic. Some common forms
of faint praise might include calling an opponent's position "well
intentioned," "a fine ideal," or "based on legitimate concerns."
They might include saying that the opponent "makes some good
points," or "shouldn't be blamed."
 From an early episode of Frasier:
Frasier: Niles, you're a good brother and a credit to the psychiatric
profession.
Niles: You're a good brother too.
 That’s an interesting outfit you are wearing.
Deductive Reasoning
 Definition: Deductive reasoning draws specific conclusions from general
principles or premises. Unlike inductive reasoning, which always involves
uncertainty, the conclusions from deductive inference are certain
provided the premises are true. Scientists use inductive reasoning to
formulate hypothesis and theories, and deductive reasoning when
applying them to specific situations.
 Examples:
 If there are a red ball and a blue ball in a bag, and each color ball is
drawn one-half of the time, we come to believe that each color ball
has a one-half probability of being drawn at any one time.
 If you work hard, then you will succeed, and if you succeed, then you
therefore, if you work hard, you
will be happy.
will be happy;
False Analogy
 Definition: A false analogy occurs when the two
objects or events being compared are relevantly
dissimilar.
 Examples:
 Guns are like hammers – they’re both tools with metal
parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would
be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers – so
restrictions on purchasing guns are equally ridiculous.
 Education cannot prepare men and women for
marriage. Trying to educate them for marriage is like
trying to teach them to swim without allowing them to go
into the water. It can’t be done.
Inductive Reasoning
 Definition: Inductive reasoning, or induction, is reasoning from a
specific case or cases and deriving a general rule. It draws
inferences or conclusions from observations. Scientists use inductive
reasoning to formulate hypothesis and theories, and deductive
reasoning when applying them to specific situations.
 Examples:
 All known planets travel about the sun in ellipitical orbits; therefore, all
planets travel about the sun in ellipitical orbits.
 Johnny has chocolate smeared on his face and hands and crumbs on his
shirt, and he is the only one in the kitchen standing next to the open cookie
jar. Conclusion: Johnny has been eating cookies out of the cookie jar.
Logos
 Definition: Logos is appeal based on logic or
reason. This can be achieved through facts,
statistics, logical analogies, expert testimony,
definitions, etc.
 Examples:
 Notably, since stabilizing in mid-2009, real household
spending in the United States has grown in the range of 1
to 2 percent at annual rates, a relatively modest pace.
Households' caution is understandable. Importantly, the
painfully slow recovery in the labor market has restrained
growth in labor income, raised uncertainty about job
security and prospects, and damped confidence.
Pathos
 Definition: Pathos is appeal based on emotion, usually using
emotionally loaded or connotative language, vivid
descriptions, and narration of emotional events.
 Examples:
 "Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts
are broken -– and yet, our hearts also have reason for
fullness.” President Obama in his eulogy for the Tuscon
shooting victims
 “Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered
up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural
medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with
all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human
conscience and the air of national opinion before it can
be cured.” MLK, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Syllogism
 Definition: A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a
major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
 Example:
 -All humans are mortal .(major premise)
-I am a human. (minor premise)
-Therefore, I am mortal. (conclusion)
 -All dogs are mammals. (major premise)
-All golden retrievers are dogs. (minor premise)
-Therefore, all golden retrievers are mammals. (conclusion)
Argument ad hominem
 Definition: Attacking the opponent rather than the opponent’s argument.
 Examples:
 "You can't believe Jack when he says the proposed policy
would help the economy. He doesn't even have a job.”
 ”They [British voters] know their Premier to be a neurotic,
dysfunctional mediocrity; an insecure Stalinist who worships
power but cannot take a decision; a moral and political
coward who tries to fill the vacuum at the heart of his
leadership with blustering rhetoric and adolescent
bullying.”
Non sequitur fallacy – “does not
follow”
 Definition: A fallacy in which a conclusion does not follow logically
from what preceded it. Drawing a conclusion from irrelevant
evidence.
 Examples:
 If you loved me, you’d buy me a car.
 We can't figure out how any natural process could account for the
complexity of the human cell or the bacterial flagellum or a donkey's eye
or some other complex biological entity; therefore, an intelligent designer
must have put these parts together in the cell.
Either/Or Fallacy
Definition: Also known as false dilemma fallacy, this is a
fallacy in argument that occurs when someone is
asked to choose between two options when there are
clearly other alternatives
Examples:
 My country right or wrong.
 You either support the war or you support the terrorists.
Sweeping Generalization
Fallacy
Definition: a fallacy which applies a general statement too
broadly or uses some statement in an all-inclusive way without
allowing for any exceptions, such as a stereotype
Example:
 That fraternity got in trouble for hazing; all fraternities need to
be banned for hazing.
 The apples on the top of the box look good. The entire box of
apples must be good.
Post Hoc, Ergo Prompter Hoc
Fallacy
a fallacy which infers a causal connection. In
other words, just because one event happened
before another doesn’t mean it caused the second
event to happen.
Definition:
Examples:
 Most people die after being given last rites;
therefore, priests kill people when they administer
last rites.
 The baseball slugger didn’t wear his lucky socks,
which caused him to go 0 for 4 and make two
fielding errors.
Argument Ad Populum
Definition: The fallacy of attempting to win popular assent to a
conclusion by arousing the feeling and enthusiasms of the
multitude.
Examples:
 True patriots will buy only Chevrolets!
 Taking the words “under God” out of the Pledge of
Allegiance violates our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Slippery Slope Fallacy
a fallacy in which the arguer asserts that if we take
even one step onto the "slippery slope," we will end up
sliding all the way to the bottom without being able to
stop
Definition:
Examples:
 First we'll ban assault rifles, then handguns, then rifles,
then shotguns, then, eventually,�BB guns and finally
squirt guns...and snowballs. (this one also includes
reductio ad absurdum—taking it to the point of absurd)
 Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we
don't respect life, we are likely to be more and more
tolerant of violent acts like rape and murder.
Begging the Question
Fallacy
an argument which asks the reader
to simply accept the conclusion without
providing real evidence
Definition:
Examples:
 It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being
escape suffering through death.
 Paranormal phenomena exist because I have had
experiences that can only be described as paranormal.
Circular Reasoning
an attempt to support a statement by
simply repeating the statement in different or
stronger terms. In this fallacy, the reason given is
nothing more than a restatement of the
conclusion that poses as the reason for the
conclusion
Definition:
Examples:
 Richardson is the most successful mayor the town
has ever had because he's the best mayor of our
history.
 President Reagan was a great communicator
because he had the knack of talking effectively
to the people.
Straw Man Fallacy
an argument where the opponent's
position is misrepresented and, instead of
attacking the opponents position, the
misrepresentation is attacked.
Definition:
Examples:
 We should have conscription. People don't
want to enter the military because they find it
an inconvenience.
 Supporting the Patriot Act is advocating the
destruction of the civil rights of all Americans.
Hasty Generalization Fallacy
Definition: this fallacy is the opposite of a sweeping
generalization as it infers a general rule from a specific case,
jumping to a bold conclusion based on a limited sample of
evidence
Examples:
 The old man who lives next door yelled at me for walking
through his lawn; he’s just a grouchy, mean old man.
 You can't speak French. I can't speak French. Petey Burch
can't speak French. I must therefore conclude that French is
too difficult a language to learn.
Equivocation Fallacy
when a key word or phrase in an
argument is used with more than one
meaning. It is an illegitimate switching of
the meaning of a term during the
reasoning.
Definition:
Examples:
 A feather is light. Therefore, a feather cannot be dark.
 I don’t approve of political jokes. I’ve seen too many of them
get elected.
Polysyndeton
Definition: sentence style that uses many conjunctions to slow
the rhythm or to suggest the continuity of the experience
Examples:
 "He pulled the blue plastic tarp off of him and folded it and
carried it out to the grocery cart and packed it and came
back with their plates and some cornmeal cakes in a plastic
bag and a plastic bottle of syrup."
(Cormac McCarthy, The Road)
 "Let the whitefolks have their money and power and
segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and
lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly--mostly--let them
have their whiteness.“ (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings,)
Anaphora
Definition: a repetition of the same word or group of words at
the beginnings of successive clauses
Example:
 "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed
a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had
was a coat, a hat and a gun.“ (Raymond Chandler,
Farewell, My Lovely)
 "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she
walks into mine.“ (Rick Blaine in Casablanca)
Loose (Cumulative) Sentence
Definition: A
type of sentence in which the main idea
(independent clause) comes first, followed by
dependent grammatical units such as phrases
and clauses. If a period were placed at the end
of the independent clause, the clause would be
a complete sentence. The effect can be to
make a work seem informal, relaxed, and
conversational.
Examples:
 The hotel has greatly expanded its customer base through the
addition of a fitness spa, extensive advertising, and weekend specials.
 He was willing to pay slightly higher taxes for the privilege of living in
Canada, considering the free health care, the cheap tuition fees, the
low crime rate, and the comprehensive social programs.
Periodic Sentence
The opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents
its central meaning in a main clause at the end. This
independent clause is preceded by phrases or clauses that
cannot stand alone. The effect of a periodic sentence is to
add emphasis, structural variety, and to build suspense.
Definition:
Examples:
 After a long, bumpy flight and multiple delays, I
arrived at the San Diego airport.
 "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and
though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.“
(The King James Bible, I Corinthians 13)
Zeugma
the (often faulty) ellipsis of a verb or a noun
used to join two or more parts of a sentence.
The meaning is mostly parallel
Definition:
Examples:
 Lust conquered shame, boldness
fear, madness reason.
 As Virgil guided Dante through
Inferno, the Sibyl Aeneas Avernus.
 Alexander conquered the world; I,
Minneapolis.
Tricolon
three parallel elements of the same
length occurring in a series
Definition:
Examples:
 "You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of
death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe.“ (The
Wizard of Oz, 1939)
 "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me
and I learn."
(attributed to Benjamin Franklin)
Apposition
placing side by side two
coordinate elements, the second of
which serves as an explanation or
renaming of the first
Definition:
Examples:
 "This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow
like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens…”
(The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald)
 "Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, grew lean while he assailed
the seasons.“ (E.A. Robinson, "Miniver Cheevy")
Parallel Structure
a similarity of grammatical structure in a
pair or series of related words, phrases, or
clauses
Definition:
Examples:
 "It is by logic we prove, but by intuition we
discover.” (Leonardo da Vinci)
 "Humanity has advanced, when it has
advanced, not because it has been sober,
responsible, and cautious, but because it
has been playful, rebellious, and
immature.” (Tom Robbins, author)
Asyndeton
Definition: the deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series
of related clauses
Examples:
 “Veni, vidi, vici.” (I came, I saw, I
conquered) (Julius Caesar)
 “Dogs, undistinguishable in mire.
Horses, scarcely better; splashed to
their very blinkers. Foot passengers,
jostling one another’s umbrellas in a
general infection of ill-temper…”
(from Bleak House, Charles Dickens)
Syllepsis
a kind of zeugma in which the clauses,
which are usually added as a pun, do not
stick to the sentence grammatically and
ideologically. You can remember it as a
union of incongruous elements. Syllepsis is
mostly used to lend a comic or a satiric
effect.
Definition:
Examples:
 “He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his
men.” (from The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien)
 Cecily: “Oh, flowers are as common here, Miss Fairfax, as people
are in London.” (from The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar
Wilde)
 The ink, like our pig, keeps running out of the pen.
Periphrasis
Definition: substitution of a descriptive word or phrase
for a proper name or of a proper name for a quality
associated with the name.
Examples:
 “The big man upstairs hears your prayers.“
 “They do not escape Jim Crow; they merely
encounter another, not less deadly variety.“ (James
Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name,)
Imagery
: lively descriptions which
appeal to the five senses.
Definition
Example:
 “The dog stood up and growled like a lion, stiff-standing hackles,
teeth uncovered as he lashed up his fury for the charge”
(Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God)
 "When the others went swimming my son said he was going in,
too. He pulled his dripping trunks from the line where they had
hung all through the shower and wrung them out. Languidly, and
with no thought of going in, I watched him, his hard little body,
skinny and bare, saw him wince slightly as he pulled up around his
vitals the small, soggy, icy garment. As he buckled the swollen
belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death. (E.B. White, "Once
More to the Lake," 1941)
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which one
thing is compared to another by
being spoken of as though it were
that thing
Definition:
Examples:
 The question of federal aid to parochial schools is a bramble
patch.
 David was a lion in battle.
Oxymoron
Definition: a figure of speech in which
contradictory terms or ideas are
combined
Examples:
 "O brawling love! O loving hate! / O
anything of nothing first create! / O heavy
lightness, serious vanity! / Misshapen
chaos of well-seeming forms! / Feather of
lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!"
(Romeo, Act One from Romeo and
Juliet)
 Jumbo shrimp
Paralipsis
Definition: drawing attention to something by pretending to pass over it.
Examples:
 Mark Antony’s famous Friends, Romans,
Countrymen speech – “Let the commons hear this
testament,/Which (pardon me) I do not mean to
read,/And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s
wounds…/have patience, gentle friends; I must not
read it./It is not meet you know how Caesar lov’d
you…/Tis good you know not that you are his heirs.”
 "The music, the service at the feast,
The noble gifts for the great and small,
The rich adornment of Theseus's palace . . .
All these things I do not mention now."
(Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale," The Canterbury Tales)
Personification
a figure of speech in which an
inanimate object or abstract concept is
endowed with human attributes.
Definition:
Examples:
 “And indeed there will be time/for the yellow smoke that slides
along the street,/Rubbing its back upon the window panes.” (T.S.
Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock”)
 “A tree whose hungry mouth is prest/Against the earth’s sweetflowing breast."
(Joyce Kilmer, “Trees”)
Simile
an explicit comparison of two
things, usually with the word “as” or
“like”
Definition:
Examples:
 He had a posture like a question mark.
 Like an arrow, the prosecutor went directly to the
point.
Symbol
Definition: a person, place, action, or thing that
represents something other than itself.
Examples:
 The rose bush outside the prison in The Scarlet Letter
 The conch shell in Lord of the Flies
Alliteration
Definition: the repetition of initial or medial consonants in two or
more adjacent words
Examples:
 “A sable, silent, solemn forest stood.” (James Thomson, “The
Castle of Indolence”)
 “Already American vessels had been searched, seized, and
sunk.” (JFK, Profiles in Courage)
Assonance
Definition: the repetition of similar vowel sounds in the stressed
syllables of adjacent words.
Examples:
 “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the
distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels
name Lenore-Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the
angels name Lenore.“ (“The Raven” by Edgar
Allan Poe)
“Whales in the wake like capes and Alps.” (from
“Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait”, Dylan
Thomas)
Anadiplosis
repetition of the last word of one clause
at the beginning of the following clause.
Definition:
Examples:
“The laughter had to be gross or it would turn
to sobs, and to sob would be to realize, and
to realize would be to despair. “ John
Howard Griffin
“Don’t you surrender! Suffering breeds
character; character breeds faith; in the end
faith will not disappoint. ..” Jesse Jackson
Antanaclasis
Definition: using the same word in two different meanings
– repetition of a word in two different senses.
Examples:
“If we don’t hang together, we will hang separately.”
Ben Franklin
“Although we’re apart, you’re still a part of me.” from
“On Blueberry Hill”
Anthithesis
Definition: the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel
structure
Examples:
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong
“Our knowledge separates as well as it unites; our orders
disintegrate as well as bind; our art brings us together and sets
us apart.” J. Robert Oppenheimer
Chiasmus
Definition: reversal or crossing of grammatical structures in
successive phrases or clauses
Examples:
 "You forget what you want to remember, and
you remember what you want to forget."
(Cormac McCarthy, The Road, 2006)
 “People the world over have always been
more impressed by the power of our example
than by the example of our power.” –Bill
Clinton, 2008 DNC (this has anadiplosis, too!)
Ellipsis
Definition: deliberate omission of a word or words which are
readily implied by the context.
Examples:
“Rape is the sexual sin of the mob, adultery of the bourgeoisie,
and incest of the aristocracy.” –John Updike
“The Master’s degree is awarded by seventy-four departments,
and the Ph.D. by sixty.” Student example
Epistrophe
Definition: repetition of the same word or group of words at the
end of successive cluases, the opposite of anaphora
“I’ll have my bond! Speak not
against my bond!/I have sworn an oath
that I will have my bond!” Shylock in The
Merchant of Venice, III.iii.3-4.
Examples:
“…We cannot learn from one another
until we stop shouting at one another.”
Richard Nixon
Epanalepsis
repetition at the end of a clause of
the word that occurred at the beginning.
Definition:
Examples:
“Blood hath brought blood, and blows
have answer’d blows:/Strength match’d
with strength, and power confronted
with power.” King John, II.i.329-30.
“Possessing what we still were unpossessed
by,/Possessed by what we now no more
possessed.” –Robert Frost
Inverted Syntax
Definition: reversing the normal word order of a sentence
Examples:
“Never was seen so black a day as this:” Romeo and
Juliet, V.iv
“Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do
you?” Yoda from Star Wars
Rhetorical Question
a question asked for rhetorical
effect to emphasize a point, no answer
being expected
Definition:
Examples:
“Robert, is this any way to speak to your
mother?”
“…Was I an Irishman on that day that I
boldly withstood our pride? or on the
day that I hung down my head and
wept in shame and silence over the
humiliation of Great Britain?...”
–Edmund Burke
Polyptoton
Definition: repetition of words derived from the same
root.
Examples:
 “But alas…the gate is narrow, the threshold high, few
are chosen because few choose to be chosen.” –
Aldous Huxley
 Please, Please Me. Title of a Beatles’ song
Anecdote
Definition: a short narrative account of an amusing,
unusual, revealing or interesting account often
intended to illustrate or support some point.
Examples:
 Cary Grant is said to have been reluctant to reveal
his age to the public, having played the youthful
lover for more years than would have been
appropriate. One day, while he was sorting out
some business with his agent, a telegram arrived
from a journalist who was desperate to learn how
old the actor was. It read: HOW OLD CARY GRANT?
Grant, who happened to open it himself,
immediately cabled back: OLD CARY GRANT FINE.
HOW YOU?
Cause and Effect
Definition: writing which explores the causes of some event or
chronicles the effects of some phenomenon in society or
nature
Examples:
 Although demographic shifts, stepped-up world trade,
unemployment, and especially the advance of technology
all have had an effect on the shape of the job market,
middle-level jobs have been disappearing ultimately as a
result of the ways in which technological gains are being
distributed. When a machine replaces a production
worker, both the firm and consumers as a group benefit.
The loss falls mainly on the worker who is displaced. If that
loss is generalized to millions of high-paid workers, they
suffer as a group, and the economy as a whole suffers a
loss of worker purchasing power. Thus the lack of a
mechanism to distribute some of the financial gains from
technology to the work force comes back to haunt the
entire economy.
Chronological Ordering
Definition: writing that presents ideas
according to the time in which they
occurred.
Examples:
 In A Separate Peace, first it’s summer and
the boys are having fun, then Finny falls, and
it is winter, time for the carnival, and then
there is the trial, and….”
 To bake a cake first you preheat the oven,
then mix the batter, then flour your pan,
followed by putting the mixture in the pan to
bake….
Classification
Definition: writing that breaks a large subject into
categories for the purpose of analysis.
Example:
 Paraphrasing is used for different purposes.
Some paraphrases will be designated to
support already existing evidence. Others will
reinforce argumentation against evidence. Still
others will help to develop existing arguments
and provide back-up for any conclusion drawn
in the course of writing. Depending on the
function, paraphrases will be introduced in
accordance with their unique context.
Expository
Definition: writing that provides information such as
an explanation or directions.
Examples:
 In 1997, 175,000 volunteers picked up three million
pounds of garbage along the coasts of the United
States. As a result, both people and sea animals
can enjoy cleaner and safer environments. Glass
bottles, lumber, and syringes are less of a threat to
barefooted beachgoers. Fewer seabirds, fish, and
crabs will die entangled in plastic can holders,
fishing nets, and fishing line. People put trash in the
oceans, but by volunteering their time to help
clean up after themselves, people are also the
solution to the problem.
Order of Importance
Definition: writing in which items are arranged from least
important to most important (climactic order) or vice
versa. A variation on this is psychological order, which
grows from the idea that readers or listeners usually give
most attention to what comes at the beginning and the
end, and least attention to what is in the middle.
Examples:
 After an extended absence from school, the first and
most basic thing you need to do is make up the individual
daily assignments that you missed. More importantly, ask
the teacher questions about things you don’t understand
before completing any quizzes. Reviewing and studying
are then the best things you can do before taking the unit
test.
Parable
Definition: a story or short narrative designed to reveal allegorically
some religious principle, moral lesson, psychological reality, or
general truth.
Examples:
 Biblical parables such the prodigal son and the good Samaritan

A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how
to get to the other side. Suddenly he saw a fox. He asked the fox to
take him on his back across the river.
"The fox said, 'No. If I do that, you'll sting me, and I'll drown.'
"The scorpion assured him, 'If I did that, we'd both drown.'
"The fox thought about it, finally agreed. So the scorpion climbed
up on his back, and the fox began to swim. But halfway across the
river, the scorpion stung him.
"As the poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and
said, 'Why did you do that? Now you'll drown, too.'
"'I couldn't help it,' said the scorpion. 'It's my nature.'"
Parody
Definition: a satiric imitation of a literary work,
film, or of an author/person with the idea of
ridiculing the author, his ideas, or work.
Examples:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which
parodies King Arthur tales
SNL skits like Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin
Weird Al Yankovich’s songs, like “Eat It,”
“Amish Paradise,” “Fat”, etc.
Austin Powers movies
Persuasion
Definition: A form of argumentation; Persuasive
writing attempts to convince the reader to take a
specific action.
Examples:
 “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God” –
Jonathan Edwards trying to get the
congregation to change its sinful ways before
they burn for eternity
 Marc Antony’s speech over Caesar’s body that
begins “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me
your ears…” in which he incites them to revolt
against the assassins
Spatial Ordering
Definition: In this pattern, items are arranged
according to their physical position in space or
relationships to one another.
Examples:
 In describing items on a desk, I might describe
items on the left first, then move gradually
toward the right;
 The Eiffel Tower is divided into three sections.
The lowest section of the tower contains
entrance, a gift shop, and a restaurant. The
middle section of the tower consists of stairs
and elevators that lead to the top. The top
section of the tower includes an observation
deck with a spectacular view of Paris.
RHETORIC
Definition: the study and practice of effective
communication; the ability to use language
effectively, particularly in argument and
persuasion
Examples:
 Marc Antony’s speech over Caesar’s body in
Julius Caesar, in which he incites the crowd to
revolt and go to war against the assassins.
 Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech (and
other writings) in which he argues for equality
and brotherhood
SATIRE
Definition: the use of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to
emphasize the vice, foolishness or weaknesses
in humans, organizations, or social
conventions.
Examples:
 Gulliver's Travels, a satire of eighteenth-century
British society, and “A Modest Proposal,” both
by Jonathan Swift.
 most political cartoons in newspapers and
magazines
 The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, skits on
Saturday Night Live
POINT OF VIEW
Definition: the position from which a story is narrated; the
narrator's viewpoint on events and characters.
Examples:
 “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father
gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my
mind ever since. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve
all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious
natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few
veteran bores.” from The Great Gatsby, told from Nick’s
point of view.
 If the point of view were 3rd person omniscient, then the
reader would know the thoughts and feelings of all of the
characters in the story. If it’s 3rd person limited, the reader
only knows the thoughts of one or two characters.
ALLEGORY
Definition: an extended metaphor or “conceit” that is sustained
through whole sentences or even through a whole discourse in
which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated
with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying
meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and
characters often represent abstract ideas such as charity, greed,
or envy.
Examples:
 The Pandora woods in Avatar is an allegory for the Amazon
rainforest. Also, the attempt to get the Na'vi to 'cooperate'
carries overtones of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and
Afghanistan.” (Owen Gleiberman, review of Avatar.
Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 30, 2009).
 Lord of the Flies is an allegory, with the island representing Eden or
paradise, each of the boys representing a type of government,
the conch representing authority, and so on.
TONE
Definition: the writer's attitude toward the subject of
the message. Elements that create tone include
DIDLS.
Examples:
 In his New York Times column (29 July 2011 ),
Charles M. Blow conveys a bittersweet tone
toward the Buffalo Soldiers and his grandfather in
particular.
 Orwell’s tone in “Shooting an Elephant” is
conflicted and resentful toward both the British
Empire and the Burmese.
TAUTOLOGY
Definition: unnecessary repetition of an idea, in different
words; to repeat the same thing in different words
Examples:
 a good-looking beautiful woman
 a round circle
 a big giant
 a widow woman
CACOPHONY (ka-kä-fə-nē)
Definition: harsh or discordant sound, in writing created
through use of sound devices like alliteration, assonance,
consonance and onomatopoeia
Examples:
 It created a cacophony of hacking coughs, bronchial
rattles, asthmatic wheezes, consumptive croaks.
(Angela’s Ashes)
 The cacophony of phlegmatic and tubercular lungs was
punctuated here and there by a moan or a scream of
someone terrified, thrashing in the throes of a nightmare.
—Ronald Gearles, Undoing Time, 2001
EPITHET
Definition: an adjective or adjectival phrase to characterize a
person, thing, attribute, or quality; the use of a qualifying word
or phrase to further describe something
Examples:
 Ivan the Terrible
 The Artist formerly known as Prince
 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
EXPLETIVE
Definition: a figure of emphasis in which a single word or
short phrase, usually interrupting normal speech, is used to
lend emphasis to the words on either side of the expletive
but adds nothing to the meaning
Examples:
 "The strength of America's response, please understand,
flows from the principles upon which we stand.“ -- Rudy
Giuliani, 9/11 Speech to the United Nations General
Assembly
 "The minimum wage, I might add, today is far less than it
was in 1960 and 1970 in terms of purchasing power.“ -Ralph Nader, 2000 NAACP Address
ANESIS (an'-e-sis )
Definition: the addition of a concluding sentence that diminishes
the effect of what has been said previously.
Examples:
 She had set more track records than any woman in the
country. She had more stamina, skill, and perseverance than
many of the best, but she had broken her leg and would not be
competing this year.
 "This year's space budget is three times what it was in January
1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous
eight years combined. That budget now stands at 5 billion, 400
million dollars a year -- a staggering sum, though somewhat less
than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year.“ --John F.
Kennedy, Rice University Address on Space Exploration