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pun
A play on words that often has a comic effect. Associated with wit and cleverness. A writer who speaks of the "grave topic of American funerals" may be employing an intentional or unintentional pun.
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Reductio ad Absurdum
The Latin for "to reduce to the absurd." This is a technique useful in creating a comic effect (see Twain's "At the Funeral") and is also an argumentative technique. It is considered a rhetorical fallacy, because it reduces an argument to an either/or choice.
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rhetoric
Refers to the entire process of written communication. Rhetorical strategies and devices are those tools that enable a writer to present ideas to an audience effectively.
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rhetorical question
One that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience. (Francois Villon [in translation] asks, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?")
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sarcasm
A comic technique that ridicules through caustic language. Tone and attitude may both be described as sarcastic in a given text if the writer employs language, irony, and wit to mock or scorn.
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satire
A mode of writing based on ridicule, that criticizes the foibles and follies of society without necessarily offering a solution. (Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a great satire that exposes mankind's condition.)
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setting
The time and place of a literary work
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simile
An indirect comparison that uses the word like or as to link the differing items in the comparison. ("Your eyes are like stars.")
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stage directions
The specific instructions a playwright includes concerning sets, characterization, delivery, etc.
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stanza
A unit of a poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem.
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structure
The organization and form of a work
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style
The unique way an author presents his ideas. Diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to a particular style.
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summary
Reducing the original text to tis essential parts
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syllogism
The format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
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symbol
Something in a literary work that stands for something else. (Plato has the light of the sun symbolize truth in "The Allegory of the Cave.")
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synecdoche
A figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. ("All hands on deck" is an example.)
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syntax
The grammatical structure of prose and poetry
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synthesis
Location a number of sources and integrating them into the development and support of a writer's thesis/claim
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theme
The underlying ideas the author illustrates through characterization, motifs, language, plot, etc.
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thesis
Simply, the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author's assertion or claim. the effectiveness of a presentation is often based on how well the writer presents, develops, and supports the thesis.
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tone
The author's attitude toward his subject
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transition
A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph
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understatement
The opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.
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voice
Can refer to two different areas of writing. The first refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active voice and passive voice). The second refers to the total "sound" of a writer's style.
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