Second List
Definition – Not all readers are the brightest or are knowledgeable in the subject the writer is writing about. A definition allows the writer to catch up the reader.
Example: “Creationists believe that God designed all life, and that's a somewhat religious idea.” Scientific American, Okay, We Give Up, page 1, line 18.
Function: This article is making fun of creationists and thinks it would be worth defining a creationist so that funnier for the audience, because a clueless audience won't find jokes very funny. Virtually the whole article Okay, We Give Up is based on the making fun of creationists and if the reader doesn't understand the creationism concept, then they will be lost through most of the article, and miss the humor.
Alliteration – Repetition of words that start with the same letter in close proximity to each other.
Example: “Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips, Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-delivered by a drab.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, page 121, line 14.
Function: There are three separate alliterations in this passage. The first one is the 't's in “Turk” and “Tartar's.” The second is the 'b's in “birth-strangled babe” (note there are two 'b's in babe). The third is the 'd's in “Ditch-delivered by a drab.” They are three condensed examples of alliteration packed into quick passage.
Connotation – The ideas and thoughts that are associated with a word or phrase. This is not the dictionary definition, but rather, the unwritten meaning that brings to mind other thoughts.
Example: “In every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism...” Mark Twain, The War Prayer, page 1, line 2.
Function: The phrase “holy fire of patriotism” brings to mind quite a few images not said, but implied because of the connotation of those few words. Perhaps you envision flags or flames or soldiers. The other images are the results of connotation.
Archaic Diction – The choice to use words no longer common or have become obsolete.
Example: “Thou who ordainest, Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!” Mark Twain, The War Prayer, page 1, line 24.
Function:Using words such as “thou” and “thy” were older than Mark Twain's time, and to use that kind of language was to show that it was from before his age – it most likely was from the Bible or a similar source from that era.
Anecdote – A short story used in an essay to relate to the reader, make a point, or invoke a specific feeling.
Example: “At the end of last school year one [cheerleader] needed plastic surgery on her cheek after another girl's teeth went through it during a pyramid collapse...” Rick Reilly, Sis! Boom! Bah! Humbug!, page 1, line 11.
Function: The story of the cheerleaders crashing down allows the reader to visualize what went on and adds more to his argument. If the writer can get the reader to connect to a certain person in a story/anecdote, then the pathos effect begins to sink in and the writer then has a better chance at persuasion.
Description – Description makes essays come to life. Writing is bland if it is just the facts and framework of a essay. Description is the small details that fill in the spaces of writing, and give a richer image to the reader.
Example: “Drown the thunder of the guns with shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain...” Mark Twain, The War Prayer, page 2, line 26.
Function: The description of the people in pain shows how they victims are suffering, giving a fuller image to the destruction the speaker is talking about. It paints a better picture of what is happening.
Juxtaposition – The side-by-side comparison between two things to stress the similarities
or differences between them.
Example: “ I remember it because earlier that day I had passed on Charles Frazier's “Cold Mountain.” This was on the heels of “I Climbed Everest Without A Hat.” ” John Kenney, The Editor's Tale, page 1, line 25.
Function: This is a comparison of two books with mountains in their title. The writer is comparing how different the books are – “Cold Mountain” is a famous bestseller, and “I Climbed Everest Without A Hat” is a fictional book (meaning it isn't actually a book) that is used to compare the really pathetic book to an exceptionally successful one.
Example – A specific instance or representation used to model an idea or concept.
Example: “Women in other countries are drafted into the military. Every Israeli citizen mush serve in the Israeli army.” Daily Illini, Including Women In The Draft, page 1, line 20.
Function: The author is trying to show that there are other places that draft women, citing Israel as an example of one that does. Examples like this give more power to writing, with the logos appeal. It shows that something isn't hypothetical, but that it actually happens.
Onomatopoeia – The use of words that when pronounced, sound like their meaning. The pronunciation should indicate what the word means.
Example: “Why the sky is blue and what a duck says....“Moo”.” Dave Barry, The Funny Side of Beowulf, page 1, line 5.
Function: Most animal sounds such as “meow” “arf” and “hiss” that people pronounce are onomatopoeias. Although the dramatic irony in this is that Dave Barry writes that he thinks that a duck says “moo,” this one keeps the writing lighter because onomatopoeias are often associated with younger or informal writing.
Apostrophe – Addressing someone not present or alive. This often used for reflection and contains rhetorical questions. Usually the character is expressing some emotion, trying to figure something out, or make a decision.
Example: “A dagger of the mind, a false creation Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, page 52, line 1.
Function: Macbeth (the speaker) is talking to no one about whether the dagger is real or is it an imagination that he's envisioning. He is wondering aloud about how it's been bothering him about killing Duncan. Although there's no one around listening to him, Macbeth is contemplating his emotions and trying to decide on murder or not.
Shift In Tone – Usually quite a dramatic change in tone from good to bad, sad to happy, or other opposites. The effect is (hopefully) that the reader will pick up on the shift and it will change the mood of the reader.
Example: “God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer...Drown the thunder of the guns with shrieks of their wounded.” Mark Twain, The War Prayer, page 2, whole page.
Function: This is a speech where the speaker starts off with a quiet introduction, explaining the implied prayer, with nothing particularly engaging. Then there is the tone shift, where he changes into a preacher who is describing the death and destruction that their war will reek on their enemies. The tone shifts from quiet to powerful and critical.
Imagery – Using description to appeal to any or all of the five senses. They should make the reader envision the scene including the smells, sounds, and/or any tastes in the description.
Example: “Cutting the heads off the fish and removing their intestinal tracts. Often I can smell nothing else for days.” John Kenney, The Editor's Tale, page 1, line 29.
Function: The main sense being attacked in this description is the smell. There's enough information to let the reader imagine the situation. There may be a bit of touch (removing intestinal tracts) and sight (cutting the heads off). Often imagery like this may be a blend of multiple senses for a fuller, richer description.
Paradox – A self-contradictory phrase. It is a longer, more serious than a oxymoron. Although a paradox can appear no not make sense, it can express truth. A paradox can also be a set of two docks.
Example: “This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, page 23, line 24.
Function: With ill being the opposite of good, it would appear that something cannot be both neither good or evil. But after taking another look at it, it becomes apparent that something doesn't have to necessarily be good or evil, that it could be neutral, or good for one and bad for another.
Abstract – Something intangible. Abstract things are often ideas or concepts that cannot be represented or are completely theoretical.
Example: “I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.” Lou Gehrig, baseball speech.
Function: No one can touch kindness and encouragement, but it is a feeling that must be experienced and cannot be placed on a shelf. It only exists in the mind, not the physical world, which people can interact with.
Cause And Effect – One event creates another to occur. This is a strategy to show the consequences of one action.
Example: “For years, helpful letter writers told us to stick to science...So there's no better time to say: you were right and we were wrong.” Scientific American, Okay, We Give Up, page 1, line 1.
Function: The cause in this article is the readers writing to the magazine, and the result was that the magazine gave in and decided to bend to the readers' requests. This ended up being the stated (not actual, April Fool's joke) reason the article was written.
Compare And Contrast – Showing the differences and similarities between to things. This makes clear the separation between the two (or more) being compared.
Example: “Creationists believe that God designed all life, and that's a somewhat religious idea. But ID theorists think that at unspecified times some unnamed superpower entity designed life, or maybe just some species, or maybe just some of the stuff in cells.”
Function: The two being being compared and contrasted are the groups the creationists and the ID theorists. They both believe in a higher power, but they differ on how much was designed and how much was chance and made itself or evolved.
Personification – Giving human characteristics, emotions, or actions to something non-human, such as an animal or an inanimate object.
Example: “Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, page 109, line 4.
Function: There are two personifications in this example. One is the stones, which obviously can't move on their own, and the other is the speaking trees. This gives an foreboding, nature feeling to the scene.
Metaphor – A figure of speech what is an indirect comparison of two things fairly dissimilar.
Example: “Intervals with cyclones of applause...” Mark Twain, The War Prayer, page1, line 10.
Function: The metaphor is a much more interesting way of describing applause, as opposed to “loud clapping.” It gives the reader a more interesting idea to try to envision and a more entertaining phrase.
Simile – A figure of speech which expresses a comparison between two unlike things with the connectors “like” or “as.”
Example: “[cheerleading] is about as safe as porcupine juggling.” Rick Reilly, Sis! Boom! Bah! Humbug!, page 1, line 14.
Function: The absurd simile is to prove the point with a bit of an extreme comparison. The exaggerated comparison jumps out at the reader as humorous as well as still staying on topic. I've always liked animal similes and metaphors.
Exaggerated Metaphor – A longer metaphor that's often deeper and more symbolic.
Example: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, page 177, line 22.
Function: The metaphor is a long comparison between Lady Macbeth's life and time. Macbeth doesn't care about his wife's life; talks about it like it is just something that comes and goes and is passing by slowly, just like time.
