ELEMENTS OF
LANGUAGE
LUIS MENDEZ

1

Term
Abstraction

Explanation/Definiti on A concept or idea without a specific example idealized generalizations Example
Freedom liberty truth

2

Term
Abstract Noun

Explanation/Definiti on Example

Ideas or things that can mean Beauty, bravery, brilliance, many things to many people evil, fear, honesty, kindness, perseverance, tolerance, warmth, wisdom

3

Term
Allegory

Explanation/Definiti on Example

A narrative or description with a secondary or symbolic meaning underlying the literal meaning The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis is a religious allegory with Aslan as Christ and Edmund as
Judas

4

Term
Alliteration

Explanation/Definiti on Example

Repetition, at close interval, of Alice's aunt ate apples and beginning sounds acorns around August.

5

Term
Allusion

Explanation/Definiti on A reference to something in culture, history, or literature that extends the depth of the text if the reader makes the connection Example
I was surprised that his nose was not growing like
Pinocchio's

6

Term
Allusion (classical)

Explanation/Definiti on A reference to classical
(especially Greek or Roman) myth, literature, of culture

Example
He's a good golfer, but his
Achilles' heel is is putting and it's often made him lose matches. 7

Term
Analogy

Explanation/Definiti on Compares two things that are similar in several respects in order to prove a point or clarify an idea

Example
"I am to dancing what
Roseanne is to singing and
Donald Duck to motivational speeches. I am as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs" -Leonard Pitts

8

Term
Analogical Comparison

Explanation/Definiti on Example

Another way to say the author has used an analogy

9

Term
Anecdote

Explanation/Definiti on A short narrative of an amusing, unusual, revealing, or interesting event.

Example
Example of an anecdote can be a speaker telling a short tale, about an injury that occurred as a result of not follow instruction, at a fire safety seminar.

10

Term
Anticlimax, anticlimactic

Explanation/Definition

Example

An event or experience that causes disappointment because it is less
At the end of a very adventurous tale exciting than was expected or the protagonist dies in an because it happens immediately after unimpressive manner. a much more interesting or exciting event 11

Term
Antecedent

Explanation/Definiti on That which comes before; The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun to which the pronoun refers. Example
Even though the party was fun, it was crowded.
It is the pronoun because it refers to the noun party and party is the antecedent because party is the noun to which the pronoun refers.

12

Term
Antithesis

Explanation/Definiti on The opposite of an ides used to emphasize a point; the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas

Example
Setting foot on the moon may be small step for man but a giant step for mankind

13

Term
Antithesis, balanced

Explanation/Definiti on Example

A figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure 14

Term
Apostrophe

Explanation/Definiti on A speaker directly addresses something or someone not living, that cannot answer back Example
Twinkle, twinkle, little star how
I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky.

15

Term
Appeal to Authority

Explanation/Definiti on One of several appeals strategies; in appealing to authority, the writer refers to expert opinion

Example
Well renounce sciences have concluded that consumption or contact with the lead is deadly. 16

Term
Assertion

Explanation/Definiti on The claim or point the author is making

Example
In an essay about animal cloning the writer states "I think animal cloning should be banned in all states."

17

Term
Bias

Explanation/Definiti on Example

A preference or an inclination, The author of the news article especially one that inhibits was biased