English 102 review

lecher

a man given to excessive sexual indulgence; a lascivious or licentious man.

Circumlocution

a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.

banal

devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite:

Fallacies

either or, begging the question, red herring argument, appeals to questionable authority, and adhominen

Quotations

must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Purposes

patterns of development

Context

the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect:

Thesis Statements

Thesis statements are generally the last sentence of the first paragraph You may have heard teachers in the past talk about the thesis statement. The thesis statement is a sentence that summarizes the main point of your essay and previews your supporting points. The thesis statement is important because it guides your readers from the beginning of your essay by telling them the main idea and supporting points of your essay.

sycophant

a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

topic sentence

a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usually appearing at the beginning.

martinet

a strict disciplinarian, especially a military one.

Anthropomorphism

an anthropomorphic conception or representation, as of a deity.

taciturn

inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.

malign

to speak harmful untruths about; speak evil of; slander; defame:

wary

watchful; being on one's guard against danger.

Prognosis

Medicine/Medical. a forecasting of the probable course and outcome of a disease, especially of the chances of recovery.

synthesis

1.1a : the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole b : the production of a substance by the union of chemical elements, groups, or simpler compounds or by the degradation of a complex compound c : the combining of often diverse conceptions into a coherent whole; also : the complex so formed 2.2a : deductive reasoning b : the dialectic combination of thesis and antithesis into a higher stage of truth 3.3: the frequent and systematic use of inflected forms as a characteristic device of a language

Topic Sentences

Every paragraph should include a topic sentence that identifies the main idea of the paragraph. A topic sentence also states the point the writer wishes to make about that subject. Generally, the topic sentence appears at the beginning of the paragraph. It is often the paragraph's very first sentence. A paragraph's topic sentence must be general enough to express the paragraph's overall subject. But it should be specific enough that the reader can understand the paragraph's main subject and point.

Exposition (expository writing)

Exposition is writing that explains or informs. It is a practical kind of writing (the kind you are reading right now!). Examples of expository writing include encyclopedia entries, news reports, instruction manuals, informative essays, and research papers.

Transitions

Good transitions can connect paragraphs and turn disconnected writing into a unified whole. Instead of treating paragraphs as separate ideas, transitions can help readers understand how paragraphs work together, reference one another, and build to a larger point. The key to producing good transitions is highlighting connections between corresponding paragraphs. By referencing in one paragraph the relevant material from previous paragraphs, writers can develop important points for their readers. It is a good idea to continue one paragraph where another leaves off. (Instances where this is especially challenging may suggest that the paragraphs don't belong together at all.) Picking up key phrases from the previous paragraph and highlighting them in the next can create an obvious progression for readers. Many times, it only takes a few words to draw these connections. Instead of writing transitions that could connect any paragraph to any other paragraph, write a transition that could only connect one specific paragraph to another specific paragraph.

Narration (narrative writing)

Narration is storytelling. In many ways it is the easiest kind of writing because it comes so naturally to most people. Practically everyone enjoys telling and hearing stories. Narratives usually progress chronologically, and must have a clear beginning, middle and end. Short stories, novels, personal narratives, anecdotes, and biographies are all examples of narrative writing.

Persuasion (persuasive writing)

Persuasive writing seeks to convince the reader of a particular position or opinion. Persuasive writing is in many ways the most difficult to do well because it requires knowledge of the subject, strong convictions, logical thinking, and technical skill. Some examples of persuasive writing include literary essays, editorials, advertisements, and book, music or movie reviews.

Description (descriptive writing)

Think of description as painting a picture with words. Of course, when you use words, you can paint more than what you see, but also what you feel, hear, smell and taste. The idea of description is to make the thing described seem real to your reader's imagination. Not much writing is purely descriptive; writers typically weave description into longer narrative works. Some essentially descriptive writing, however, might include certain forms of advertising, character sketches, and photograph captions.

Paraphrasing

involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing

involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.