Literary Device - Flashcards

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Allusion

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Reference to a statement, a person, a place, an event, or a thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts.

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Antagonist

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The person or force that blocks the protagonist.

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Climax

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The most intense moment in the plot, the moment at which something happens that reveals how the conflict will turn out.

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Conflict

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Struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.

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Point of View: First Person

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Vantage point from which a writer narrates, or tells, a story: the narrator (using the first-person pronoun "I") is the character in the story.

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Flashback

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Scene in a movie, play, short story, novel, or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to show events that happened at an earlier time.

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Foreshadowing

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The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot.

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Internal Conflict

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A struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character.

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External Conflict

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A struggle between an outside force, another character, society as a whole, or nature with a character.

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Description

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Type of writing intended to create a mood or an emotion or to re-create a person, place, thing, event, or experience.

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Simile

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Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, then, or resembles.

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Metaphor

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Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using a connective word.

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Personification

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Type of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human.

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Hyperbole

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Figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or create a comic effect.

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Irony

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Contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality.

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Situational Irony

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When what happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.

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Dramatic Irony

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When the reader or audience knows something important that a character does not know.

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Verbal Irony

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A speaker says one thing but means the opposite.

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Mood

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A story's atmosphere or the feeling it evokes.

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Narrator

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The voice telling the story.

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Parallelism

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Repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure of that state a similar idea.

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Plot

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Series of related events that make up a story or drama.

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Point of View: Third Person

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The narrator, who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character.

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Point of View: Omniscent

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The narrator plays no part in the story but can tell us what all characters are thinking and feeling as well as what is happening in other places.

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Protagonist

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Main character in fiction or drama.

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Setting

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Time and place of a story or place.

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Symbol

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Person, place, thing, or event that stands for both itself and for something beyond itself.

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Theme

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The central idea or insight about human life revealed by a work of literature.

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Tone

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The attitude a writer takes towards a subject, a character, or the reader.

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Emotional Appeal

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Speaks to a readers' emotions, such as sympathy, fear, and hope.

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Logical Appeal

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Speaks to your readers' minds. They rely on your audience's ability to be reasonable and use their common sense.

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Ethical Appeal

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Appeals to your readers' ethics, or moral values. They rely on commonly accepted beliefs or values.

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Figurative Language

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Word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and that is not meant to be understood on a literal level.

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Rhetorical Question

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Questions that are not meant to be answered.

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Repetition

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Repeating an idea using the same words.

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Restatement

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Same idea presented in different words.

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Argument

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A series of statements in a text designed to convince us of something.

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Cause and Effect

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A text structure that shows how or why one thing leads to another.

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Chronological Order

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The arrangement of details in time order that is, in the order in which they occurred.

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Comparison and Contrast

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A method of organizing information by showing similarities and differences amongst various groups of details.

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Credibility

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The believability of a writer's arguments.

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Generalization

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A broad statement that applies to or covers many individuals, experiences, situations, observations, or texts.

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Logical Order

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A method of organizing information by putting details into related groupings.

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Order of Importance

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A means of organizing information by ranking details in the order of their importance.

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Spatial Order

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A means of organizing information by showing where things are located.

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Enumeration (listing)

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Citing a list of details; first, second, and so on.

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Problem-Solution

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Explaining how a problem may be solved.

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Text Structure

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Any organizational patterns that writers use to make their meaning clear.

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Organizational Pattern

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Any text structure that writers use to make their meaning clear.

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Synthesizing

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Putting all the different sources of information together in a process that gives you a better understanding of the whole subject.

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Active Voice

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This is used when the subject of a sentence performs the action.

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Ambiguity

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This is the state of having more than one possible meaning which often leads to misunderstanding because the meaning is not clear.

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Analogy

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This is a comparison based on similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

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Anecdote

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This is a brief story about an interesting incident.

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Argument 1

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This involves one or more reasons presented by a speaker or a writer to lead the audience or reader to a logical conclusion.

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Argument 2

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The logical, systematic presentation of reasoning and supporting evidence that proves the validity of a statement or position.

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Audience

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This is whoever will be reading, listening or watching a story, text or drama.

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Audio

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This is the reproduction or broadcasting of sound.

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Author's Purpose

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This is the reason for creating written work.

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Bias

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This is a prejudice that is leaning toward a positive or negative judgment on something; a personal judgment or opinion about a particular person, position, or thing.

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Bold Print

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This is done to part of a text to make it stand out as a darker, sharper image. It is an organizational feature to locate specific information.

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Capitalization

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This is the use of letters to indicate proper nouns, or it is used at the beginning of a sentence. It is sometimes used by authors to show emphasis or importance.

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Caption

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This is the explanation that goes with a picture or illustration.

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Cause and Effect 1

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This is the relationship between two or more events in which one event brings about another.

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Central Idea

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The key point made in a written passage; the chief topic.

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Chart

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A type of diagram that represents large amounts of information graphically, to make it more understandable.

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Claim

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This is an arguable statement

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Clarity

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In writing, this refers to the clear expression and connection of ideas

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Coherence

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This is a quality in writing in which ideas are presented in a clear, logical manner. Writing which lacks this quality may be hard or impossible to understand.

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Cohesive Devices

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These are methods used to help ideas fit together clearly adn smoothly

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Compare

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This is a method of relating how two or more elements or texts are SIMILAR

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Complex

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This describes something that is complicated, difficult, or consists of interrelated parts.

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Complex Sentence

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This consists of one independent clause with one or more subordinate clauses.

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Compound Sentence

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This consists of two or more independent clauses with no subordinate clauses.

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Compound-Complex Sentence

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This consists of at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

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Comprehension

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This is the process of understanding the meaning of a text.

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Concise Wording

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This is the author's use of brevity when writing.

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Conclusion

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This wraps up pa piece of writing and reminds the readers of the thesis.

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Context

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This is the framework of meaning which surrounds a specific word, sentence, idea, or passage.

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Context Clues

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These are in the text surrounding a word and give hints for the meaning of the word.

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Contrast

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This is a method of relating how two or more elements or texts are DIFFERENT.

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Controlling Idea

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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.

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Conventions

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In writing, or speaking, this is the trait to measure standard processes of spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization, and paraphrasing.

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Counter Argument

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This is an argument that makes an opposing point to another argument. It expresses the view of a person who disagrees with your position.

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Definition

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Usually found in a dictionary, this tells you the meaning of a word or phrase.

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Denotation

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This is the dictionary definition of a word

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Detail

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This is a piece of information that is used to support a main idea.

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Diagram

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A general term for an illustration or visual representation of information. Types of these can include tables and graphs.

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Direct Quotation

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This is the exact repetition of someone's written or spoken words.

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End Punctuation.

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These are marks used to indicate the end of a sentence...?!

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Euphemism

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This type of context clue is used to help the reader infer the meaning of a vocabulary word or provide a supporting detail.

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Extraneous Detail

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These are pieces of information that are not necessary to the meaning or purpose of writing.

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Fact

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This is a statement that can be proved to be true or false. It is not an opinion.

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Figurative Language 1

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This goes beyond the literal meanings of words to create special effects or feelings.

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Formal Language

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This kind of language usually has longer sentences and a greater variety of words than everyday speech. Slang, contractions, and jargon are avoided.

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Format

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This is the general plan of organization of a written work.

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Graphic

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A picture, image or visual representation of information or ideas is called a ______. A _______ novel is a book in which the story is told using a series of pictures, with dialogue shown in them.

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Graphic Organizer

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This is a pictorial way of representing knowledge. It is used to help organize ideas and present information.

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Heading

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This is a title or subtitle at the beginning of a chapter, section, or unit of a text.

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Homonym

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This is a word that has multiple meanings and is spelled in the same way for both meanings.

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Homophones

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These are words that are pronounced the same, but have different meanings.

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Hypothesis

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This is a term used in research and is a statement of what you anticipate your research will show.

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Idiom

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This is a phrase in common use that can not be understood by literal or ordinary meanings.

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Illustration

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A drawing, painting, photograph or other visual representation made for explaining information or furthering understanding of an idea.

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Imagery

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This is the use of language that appeals to the five senses--touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. This uses sensory images to help readers to picture a person, a place, or an event.

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Informal Language

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This is what people use in everyday speech. It usually consists of fairly short sentences and simple vocabulary.

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Introduction

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This is the beginning of a written work that explains what will be found in the main part.

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Introductory Paragraph

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This frames the position or approach of an essay and includes a clear thesis statement.

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Inverted Order

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This is present in a sentence when the verb is placed before the subject. For example: Never have I seen a more beautiful child

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Irrelevant Sentences

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These do not support the main idea of a paragraph. They do not focus on the main idea and may mislead or confuse the reader.

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Italics

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These should be used in lieu of underlining. Do this to most titles of printed material and names of airplanes, trains and automobiles.

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Keyword

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This is a term entered into a search engine, or the search bar on a webpage, which is meant to attract pages containing specific information.

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Limited

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This is a point of view, in which the narrator is outside the story, reveals the thoughts of only one character, and yet refers to that character as 'he' or 'she'. It is called third-person _______.

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Logic

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This is the reasoning used to reach a conclusion based on a set of assumptions, or it may be defined as the science of reasoning, proof, thinking, or inference.

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Logical Order 1

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This refers to the way that ideas and details are arranged in a piece of writing.

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Main Idea

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This is the central and most important idea of a reading passage or presentation.

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Media

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This is the main means of mass communication.

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Metaphor 1

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This is a direct comparison of two things, in which they are said to be (in some sense) the same thing.

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Multiple-meaning Words

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These are words that have more than one definition. The meaning of the word is determined by how it is used in a sentence.

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Nuance

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A subtle difference in meaning.

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Order of Importance 1

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This is used when details are organized by degree of impact.

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Organization

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In writing, this is the trait of order, structure and presentation of information; It is the writing trait which measures logical sequencing of ideas, details, or events.

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Paragraph

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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.

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Passive Voice

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This is used when the subject of a sentence receives the action instead of doing it.

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Persuasive Appeal

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This is a type of writing or speech that attempts to convince a reader to think or act in a particular manner.

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Persuasive Text

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This type of text attempts to convince a reader to adopt a particular opinion or course of action.

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Precise Vocabulary

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This is a writing skill which assures that students choose words that exactly and accurately describe or reflect the writer's meaning.

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Print Style

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This is the type and size of font. It is the look and design of lettering

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Punctuation

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This is the system of standardized marks in written language to clarify meaning.

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Purpose

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This is an author's intention, reason, or drive for writing the piece.

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Q&A

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This is a way to organize paragraph or composition structure in which the author poses a question then answers it.

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Questioning

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This is what active readers do, constantly thinking about the meaning of what they are reading.

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Quote

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This is to speak or to write a passage from another source. It can also be the exact words that someone else has written or said.

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Relevant

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When something closely relates to a subject it is called _________ to the subject.

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Sentence Pattern

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This is the word order for a complete thought. It is usually SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT.

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Sentence Variety

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This is a writing skill which assures that students write sentences that differ in structure and length. It can be a persuasive technique.

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Sequential Order

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This is the chronological, or time, order of events in a reading passage.

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Simile 1

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This is a comparison of two unlike things using the terms "like" or "as".

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Structure

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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.

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Style

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This is the way an author expresses ideas through the use of kinds of words, literary devices, and sentence structure.

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Support

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to strengthen or substantiate an argument or idea by providing facts, details, examples and other information This means to strengthen your ideas and opinions with examples, facts, or details.

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Supporting Evidence

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These are the facts or details that back up a main idea, theme, or thesis.

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Supporting Sentence

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A ___________ sentence helps to clarify, describe, explain, or enhance the main idea of a paragraph.

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Table

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A diagram made to organize data visually in rows and columns.

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Text

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This is the main body of a piece of writing or any of the various forms in which writing exists, such as a book, a poem, an article, or a short story.

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Text Features

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These are common parts of nonfiction texts and are often used to design and organize pages. They help readers navigate the information and make predictions about what will be read.

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Topic

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This is the specific part of a subject that is dealt with in a research paper or in an essay

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Transition

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These are words, phrases or sentences that relate by linking larger segments of writing.

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Transitional Device

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These are connecting words used to link your sentences and paragraphs together smoothly.

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Usage

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This is the way words and phrases are utilized correctly in written or spoken language.

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Viewpoint

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This is a writer's opinion or standpoint on an issue.

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Vivid Language

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This is a kind of language that creates a strong impression on the reader, often through visual, sound, or emotional expressions.

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Voice

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This describes whether transitive verbs have the subject performing the action, or receiving the action. This involves the author's unique way of communicating-of being heard. It is associated with the basic vision of the writer and reveals the individual quality that makes the author's writing her own.

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Word Choice

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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.

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