English Vocab

Exigence

'an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak Ex. A congressman delivers a speech arguing that we need stricter gun control. The exigence is that the congressman believes stricter gun control will lead to less gun violence. A pastor writes and delivers a eulogy at a funeral. Ex. "Finding herself is a state of exigence, the homeless woman went to the local shelter in search of assistance''.

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused, stale Ex. "I hope that sounds right, even trite" Ex." The early bird gets the worm"

Generalization

A broad statement or an idea that is applied to a group of people or things. Ex. "Every salesman lies to make more money on a sale." Ex. "Every salesman lies to make more money on a sale."

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way. Ex. "You're sweet as sugar" Ex. " I am as busy as a bee"

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as". Ex. " She shines as bright as the sun" Ex. " You are brave like a lion"

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as. Ex. "The snow is a white blanket" Ex. "He is a shining star"

loose sentence

A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows. Ex. "I go back to the country every summer, because I want to see my family and friends" Ex. "Florida is a great space for a vacation spot for families, with Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World.

Non-Sequitur

A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from previous argument or statement. Ex. "Business is business, and a cup of tea is a cup of tea." Ex. "If Charles is right, then Diana is right. As Diana is right, therefore, Charles is right."

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Ex. " My alarm clock yells at me to wake up every morning" Ex. "The lightning danced across the night sky"

Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Ex. All food from that restaurant are good, i got this from there therefore it is good. Ex. All reptiles have no fur. All snakes are reptiles, therefore snakes have no fur.

Persuasion

A kind of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people's actions. Ex. Ad campaigns (stop smoking as it can cause many negative affects to your body) Ex. Diamond dog food is the best dog food and will have your dogs tail waging as it is natural and delicious, buy it today.

Process Analysis

A method of paragraph or essay development by which a writer explains step by step how something is done or how to do something. Ex. Recipes (How to make a saldad, step 1, step 2 step 3 ect) Ex. Sewing patterns with all necessary steps to complete it.

comparison and contrast

A mode of discourse in which two or more things are compared and contrasted. Comparison often refers to similarities, contrast to differences. Ex. Whales breathe air, fish breathe water but they both can swim. Ex. Mammels are warm blooded, reptiles are cold blooded but they both breathe.

rhetorical question

A question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply. Ex. "Is rain wet?" Ex. "Can birds fly"

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event. Ex. "Don't act like a scrooge" - A Christmas Carol Ex. "She is always correct she's Einstein" - Historical figure

Ad Hominem

A response to another persons argument by attacking the persons character rather than the logic or content of the argument. Ex. Abusive - This is where the person is directly attacked. Ex. Circumstantial - Personal circumstances motivate a person's argument, so it must be false. (i.e. This car is proven to get great gas mileage. Yeah right! You just want my sale.)

Anedote

A short account of an interesting event. Ex "This anti-aging cream took years off. It must be the best" Ex. " I took a weight loss supplement and it took off lots of weight, This pill most work"

False dilema

A statement falsely claims an "either/or" situation, when there is in fact at least one additional logically valid option. Ex. "You are for us, or you are against us." Ex. "I thought you cared about other people, but I didn't see you at the fundraiser for the Harris Family."

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Ex. "Less is more" Ex. " To bring peace we must war"

Inductive

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations. Ex. Most women are scared of snakes. Lisa is a women, therefore lisa is scared of snakes. Ex. My teacher let me pick a piece of candy from the bowl. The first 5 students got a chocolate bar. The bowl must be filled with chocolate bars.

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels. Ex. Ex.

Logical Fallacies

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. Ex. Ad Hominem Fallacy. Ex.Appeal to Ignorance

rhetorical situation

Any set of circumstance that invloves at least one person using some sort of communication to modify the perspective of at least one other person. Ex. Audience. Spectator, listeners, and/or readers of a performance, a speech, a reading, or printed material Ex. Author/Rhetor/Speaker/Writer. The person or group of people who composed the text.

Pathos

Appeal to emotion Ex. "Don't be the last person on the block to have their lawn treated - you don't want to be the laughing stock of your community!" Ex. "You should consider another route if you leave later. I heard that that street is far more dangerous and ominous at night than during the daytime."

Logos

Appeal to logic or reason Ex, "The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently turned a profit year-over-year, even in spite of market declines in other areas." Ex. "History has shown time and again that absolute power corrupts absolutely."

colloquial

Characteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing Ex. "yeah'' instead of "yes" Ex. "movie" instead of "Film"

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions. Ex. " We lived and loved and laughed and left." Ex. "I wore a sweater, and a hat, and a scarf, and a pair of boots, and mittens,"

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste). Ex. Sight: She had seen the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen in her life" Sound: He had the most beautiful voice she had ever heard in her life" Ex.Smell: The rotten food is the worst thing she has ever smelled in her life" Touch: The tree bark felt very rough Taste: The hamburger she ate was the best one she has ever tasted.

detail

Facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in the work Ex. " Her dog was big, fluffy and white" Ex. " She has a green dress with flowers on it"

Post Hoc.

Fallacy where we believe that becuase one event follows another, the first must have been a cause of the second. Ex." Our soccer team was losing until I bought new shoes" Ex. "I sneezed at the same time the power went off."

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. Ex. The character feeling lonely after her best friend moves out of state. Ex. The character feeling joyful for getting accepted to her dream college.

explain

Give a detailed account including reasons or causes. Ex. A book on how to do something. Ex. Why something happened and why it did.

effusive

Overflowing with words or feelings; gushing Ex. Being so grateful to see someone so you hug them so many times. Ex. I was effusive to see my new baby dog I was bursting with excitment.

audience

Refers to the listeners or specatators, or intended readership for a peice of writing. Ex. crowd in the seats at a sporting event. Ex. readers of the book

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis Ex. "The people of this city deserve a mayor they can trust, a mayor they can respect, a mayor they can count on." Ex. " I looked upon the rotting sea, I drew my eyes away , I looked upon the rotting deck and there the dead man lay."

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity. Ex. "Mike likes his new bike" Ex. "The lumpy, bumpy road"

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds Ex. "Try to light the fire" Ex. "It beats... as it sweeps, as it cleans"

pedantic

Someones who is concerned with precision, formalism, accuracy. Ex. a person at a party who bores everyone while talking at length about the origin and details of a particular piece of pottery. Ex.Paul, a professor, was on a guided tour of the Musée Rodin with his girlfriend. Several times throughout the tour, Paul interrupted the guide to interject his thoughts and opinions, causing his girlfriend to roll her eyes.

Red Herring

Something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. Ex. "When your mom gets your phone bill and you have gone over the limit, you begin talking to her about how hard your math class is and how well you did on a test today." Ex. "When you are late getting home-past curfew-you distract your parents by talking to them about the weather-how cold it is, or how rainy it is."

Narration

Tells the story of what happened, the specific events that happened, and the people who were involved. Uses organized facts and details in a clear chronological or time order. Ex. First person narration is when a charcter is telling a story (I, We, Me) Ex. Third Person narration is when there is external narrator is telling the story (he,she,it,they)

purpose of text

The aim or intention of a text and/or the author of the text. Ex. Entertain- to make the reader enjoy the reading Ex. Persuade- to change a readers opinion.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Ex. "I enjoyed college" Ex. "Hurricanes are scary"

context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text. Ex. The history surrounding the story of shakespeare King Henry IV. Ex. from the lord of the flies when the author describes the deserted island the group of boys believe there is dangerous creature loading.

Setting

The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs. Ex. "Long ago Cinderella lived in a kingdom far away" Ex. " In the 1980s Harry Potter took place in Hogwarts"

Benevolent

The desire to do good. Ex. A person like Mother Teresa Ex. A person like Ellen DeGeneres

Sentence Length

The number of words in a sentence Ex. I have three dogs.( 4 words in the sentence) Ex. I love going to the movies. ( 6 words)

cause and effect

The reason something happens and the result of it happening. Ex. Smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer ex. Never brushing your teeth leads to cavities.

authority

The reference of words to actions or beliefs of a person. Supporting a claim, generalization, or conclusion. Ex. Issac Newton was a genius and he believes in god. Therefore God must be real. Ex. The guy I met was an oceanographer expert and he said there is 1000's of own known creatures, therefore there are 1000's of unknown creatures.

inform

To give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance Ex. Teachers teaching a subject Ex. A set of directions teaching you how to build something.

Either or reasoning

When a writer builds an argument upon the assumption that there are only two choices or outcomes when there are actually several. Ex. "Drink water every day and be healthy, or continue to drink sodas and be unhealthy. Those are the only options" Ex. "You either support Hillary Clinton for President or you don't believe in women's rights"

Begging the question

When an argument permies assume the truth of the conclustion instead of supporting it. ( assume without proof) Ex. Everyone wants the new iPhone because it is the hottest new gadget on the market! Ex. Smoking cigarettes can kill you because cigarettes are deadly.

Verbal Iron

When words express something contrary to truth or someone says the opposite of what they really mean. Ex. Someone stepping out to a hurricane and saying "wow what nice weather we are having" Ex. Walking into a messy room and saying "you're the cleanest person I've ever met"

The Aristotelian Appeals

Writers of text use various strategies to appeal to their audiences. The three means by which writers persuade their audience are pathos, ethos, and logos Ex. Egos, logos and pathos

figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. Ex. "You're a couch potato" Ex. "Time is money"

informal

Writing suitable for casual or everyday situations Ex. "It is in my opinion that vs. I think (informal). Ex. I would really appreciate it if you could vs. could you...(informal)

Exposition

a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory. Ex. When star wars says "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" Ex. In the begging of Cinderella when she opens up saying,"Once upon a time, there lived a gentleman who, after his beautiful and kind wife died, married the proudest and meanest woman in all the lands. She had two daughters from a previous marriage who were just as nasty and haughty as their mother.

assertion

a declaration or statement Ex. a person who stands up boldly in a meeting with a point in opposition to the presenter, despite having valid evidence to support his statement. Ex. ancient scientists that stated the world was flat.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.. Ex. New wheels- Refers to new car Ex.Ask for her hand- Asking for permession to marry

parallel sentence

a sentence that shows similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words. Ex. "She likes cooking, jogging, and Reading." Ex. Tonight, I will do my homework and watch TV."

Abstract

a short summary of your (published or unpublished) research paper, usually about a paragraph. Ex. Written description of the findings of a scientific study Ex. Introduction explaining the paper written

description

a spoken or written representation or account of a person, object, or event Ex. A job description giving details about a job, tasks, what the main purpose is. Ex. Description of person ( I have long brown hair, brown eyes, I am short and have light skin.)

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Ex. Wall-E - Saving the earth Ex. The wizard of oz- The lion- cowardice The tin man- technology in the future.

organization

arranged in an orderly way Ex. Putting something such a list of names in alphabetical order. Ex. Putting the variety of markers away by their color.

contrastive

change of meaning by replacing one sound (phoneme) with another Ex. Seek and sick Ex. Steal and Still

polysyllabic

consisting of several, especially four or more, syllables, as a word. characterized by such words, as a language, piece of writing, etc. Ex. The word Children Ex. The word Melting

Ethos

credibility Ex."If you're still unsure, please consider that my advanced degree and fieldwork speak for themselves." Logos Ex."If you're still unsure, please consider that my advanced degree and fieldwork speak for themselves." Logos

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Ex. "I've told you to clean a million times" Ex. " I am so tired i can sleep for years"

concrete

gives readers a clear understanding of what you are writing about, whether it is a place, event, person, or other topic, by providing precise details and specific identifying information. Ex. "The smooth butter" Ex. " The burnt toast"

sardonic

grimly or scornfully mocking, bitterly sarcastic Ex. "I did not attend the funeral, but I sent a letter saying that I approved of it" Ex. "But all the lads have asked for the name of my tailor.""Doubtless with the aim of avoiding him, sir."

monosyllabic

having only one syllable Ex. "fan" Ex. "you"

urban

in, relating to, or characteristic of a city or town. Ex. City lights and casinos Ex. Large size and high density of population.

didactic

intended to teach Ex. Thank you for a rewarding educational, Didactic, completive week" Ex. The Korean tale, thus has a stronger didactic and moral character than similar tales"

subjective

is something based on one's opinions, perspectives, beliefs, discoveries, desires, and feelings. It has no concern with right or wrong, other than the person's opinion of what is right and wrong. Ex. Someone saying that their foot hurts a lot. How much is a lot? How do we know if it is a lie or not? Ex. Saying cookies and cream is the best ice cream flavor v. cookies and cream is an ice cream flavor (objective)

nostalgic

longing for the past Ex. When the old song came on the radio, Harold suddenly felt nostalgic for his high school years. . Ex. The scent of hot cocoa made her nostalgic for the sledding parties of her childhood.

objective

not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts Ex. How well you play a football game (not personal) such as highscores, what plays you did. Ex. How you preform on a test not how you believe you did (test scores, questions you got right or wrong)

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. Ex. I tried, I failed. I learned. I will try once more. Ex. "She has red hair, blue eyes, and a slim nose"

participent

one who takes part in Ex. Taking part in a class reading and volunteering to read. Ex.Taking part and voting this upcoming election.

ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation Ex. "Take a right turn" (Can be interperated as take the correct way or the direction right hand) Ex. " I saw bats" ( can be interperated as the animal bat or the object bat"

Antithesis

proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect. Ex." Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." Ex. "You are easy on the eyes, but hard on the heart."

entertain

provide (someone) with amusement or enjoyment. Ex. "Id rather stay here and wait, than go into that dark room" Ex. I called my friend at their house, her brother said shes not home, but I heard her voice over the line.

Idea/Example

providing a series of examples; turns an idea into a concrete one Ex. A chef comes up with a new menu item than proceeds to make it. (idea) Ex. Using a previously cooked pie to demonstarte how the newly cooked one should look (example)

periodic sentence

sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end. Ex. "In spite of the heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued" Ex. "Positive thinking, by helping us stay focused and maintaining a good attitude, is important for a happy life.''

contemptuous

showing or feeling scorn Ex. "With a contemptuous look on his face, the escaped convict pointed his gun at the unarmed police officer" Ex. "After announcing the life sentence, the judge called the guilty man contemptuous."

Metonymy

substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it Ex. "White house declared... instead of saying the president" Ex. "The suits on wall street... instead of saying lawyers"

observer

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see Ex. A directer watching the actors preform a scene. Ex. Audience members watching a movie go onto the big screen.

Denotation

the exact dictionary definition of a word Ex. House: The actual building and structure. Ex. The number equivalent to 6 plus 7 and the 5th day of the week.

Connotation

the implied or suggested meaning connected with a word Ex. Home: Cozy, loving, comfortable Ex. Friday the 13: fear/suspicious day

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex. "Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" Ex. Black bug bit a big black bear"

Understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is. Ex. "It rained more then usual" when describing a flooded area. Ex. " I got an Ok score on the test" - A student who got the highest score on the test v. everyone else.

Deductive

the process of reasoning from one or more statements to reach a logical conclusion. Ex. All men are mortal. Socrates is a man, therefore socrates is mortal. Ex. All athletes workout in the gym. Frank is an athlete, therefore Frank works out in the gym.

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses Ex. " My life is my purpose, my life is my goal. My life is my inspiration" Ex. "Every day, every night, in every way. I am getting better."

persuade

to convince Ex. "The lawyer successfully persuaded the jury." Ex. "We almost persuaded her to go to the party."

inverted sytax

to reverse in position, order, direction, or relationship. to turn or change to the opposite or contrary, as in nature, bearing, or effect: to invert a process. to turn inward or back upon itself. Ex. Normal syntax : Jane ate a cake. Inverted:A cake Jane ate. Ex. Normal: I ran away from the flames Inverted: From the flames I ran away.

dramtic irony

when the reader or audiences knows something the character doesn't know. Ex. When the main character of a scary movie goes into an empty house thinking it empty when the audience knows the killer is inside. Ex. When the chacrter of a ocean movie jumps into the water thinking it is safe but the audience knows there is. a killer shark in there.

formal

writing marked by an impersonal, objective, and precise use of language. Ex. (formal) It is recommended v. we recommend Ex. (formal) it is necessary for me v. I need to

compassionate

you have strong feelings about them and are enthusiastically and wholeheartedly Ex. Showing kindness Ex. Encouraging others to do better