Glossary of Terms

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• Words that represent ideas that cannot easily be defined and do not appeal to our senses. For example, love, duty, and honour

• Before presenting a character of a play in production, an actor (and director) must make choices about the character's physical, emotional, intellectual and historical being. For example, the character of Juliet can be played as a sweet and innocent girl-child or as a complex and deep-thinking woman, etc.

• A story in which the literal meaning represents another level of meaning. It is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

• The repetition of identical consonant sounds at the beginning of closely associated words. For example, "Peter Piper Pecked"

• A brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art or fiction. Allusion is most typically a casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. An allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion.

• A character or force in conflict with the main character (protagonist). This opposition can be a character or something that exists in the main character's environment, from an animal, to weather, to other people's beliefs, or prejudice which causes turmoil.

• A contrast, usually expressed with parallel sentence construction. For example, "To err is human, to forgive, divine."

• The repetition of identical vowel sounds in different, closely associated words. For example, "in Xanadu did Kubla Khan"

• Words and details that create a feeling in the reader. Atmosphere and mood is the same thing. Atmosphere is the prevailing feeling of the scene; it sets up expectations in the reader about the outcome of the episode. It is created by description, diction, imagery, and sometimes dialogue. Some teachers may say that the atmosphere exists in the story, and the mood is the resulting feeling created in the reader, yet in the end they are the same.

• The person or persons for whom a text is written or a play is performed. It is important to know the audience for whom you are writing and to write with the tone, diction and style appropriate for that group.

• The ballad is a story/poem told in song, usually by an impersonal narrator and in a condensed form. Ballads are commonly written using a ballad stanza: a quatrain of alternating four- and three-stress lines, usually rhyming on the second and fourth lines (abab).

• Poetry written in unrhymed ("blank") lines of iambic pentameter.

• The placement and movement of actors in a dramatic production.

• These paragraphs, between the introduction and the conclusion, expand on the thesis and lead to the concluding ideas. This is where the details--the flesh--of the essay is laid out.

• This is a technique used to begin to sketch out some ideas for a piece of writing. To brainstorm, you simply list as many ideas as possible about the topic.
  
  
  • Any idea, no matter how absurd or strange it may seem at the time, is fair game.
  • Don't censor yourself.
  • Don't evaluate the ideas or try to put them in any order.
  • Just write them down.
  • You don't have to write in sentences--words and phrases are fine.

• A strong pause or a break within the line of a poem.

• A person in a literary work.
• The personality of a person in a literary work. (For example, you might be asked to "describe the character of the narrator".)

• A character that is used to contrast opposing traits with another character. For example, in Cinderella, the ugly stepsister's are foils to Cinderella, and their differences emphasize Cinderella's sweetness and virtue.

• There are a number of different types of characters that can be present in a work of fiction. Each of these types serves a different role.
  
  Sometimes the character's role is:
  
  
  • to advance the plot (the character says or does something that moves the action of the story forward, for example, Little Red Riding Hood's mother suggested she go visit her grandmother)
    
    
  • to add to the understanding of setting (simply the character's presence can do this, or how the character acts or what he or she says--a character who appears in the story to talk using a dialect or local slang, or to show the common manner and appearance of the people surrounding the main character is there to add to our understanding of the setting.)
    
    
  • to develop the main character's personality (through the way the main character interacts with this person)
    
    
  • to act as a foil (to emphasize traits in another character by having opposite traits, for example, Charlie Brown and Lucy are character foils)
    
    
  • to develop a theme related to the story (for example, the cats in Pinnochio that lead him astray represent the temptations in his world that Pinnochio has to face; the theme they develop is "there are temptations that people may have to face")
    
    
  Some labels for major character types are:
  
  • protagonist
  • antagonist
  • character foil
  • stereotype

• The methods a writer uses to develop the personality of a character. This is especially attained by description of the character's actions, gestures and general demeanour.

• Clearness of thought and style.

• A metaphor or expression that has become overused. Sometimes referred to as a "dead metaphor." For example, "He is as strong as a bull."

• The moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem where the conflict reaches its point of greatest intensity and is thereafter resolved. It is also usually the peak of emotional response from a reader or spectator and also the turning point in the action.

• Poetry made in traditional patterns created through rhyme, meter, line length, and line groupings.

• Logical, easy to follow and ordered writing. Nothing should seem out of place. Effective transitions should show the reader the connections between sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.

• Characteristic of an informal or conversation style.

• Comedy depicts humorous plots whereby the protagonist is faced with a light-hearted challenge and in the end overcomes it and the story or play ends happily.

• Refers to the process of maturing. A coming of age story traces a protagonist's journey through this development process.

• The final paragraph of a piece of writing. You can use a number of techniques to write a concluding paragraph. As you write, try to do one or more of the following.
  
  
  • Restate your thesis statement--this reinforces that idea in your readers' minds.
    
    
  • Summarize your main points--this leaves readers with a clear and concise picture of the ideas you developed.
    
    
  • Illustrate your thesis statement with an anecdote, quotation, example, or question--this will challenge your readers to think about the topic.
    
    
  • Recommend a course of action--this will challenge your readers to act on what they have read.
    
    
• Just as there are some things you should do to conclude an essay, there are also things to avoid.
  
  
  • Keep the conclusion simple. Don't try to apply all of the above suggestions to one essay.
    
    
  • Don't announce your conclusion. "In conclusion..." or "Now I would like to conclude..." are not effective ways to begin a conclusion.
    
    
  • Don't introduce any new ideas.

• This sentence restates the main idea and sums up the facts and ideas expressed in the paragraph. It also draws a conclusion about these ideas and leaves the reader with a strong impression about the topic.

• A force of opposition and struggle found in fiction. Conflict may be internal or external and is usually one of the following scenarios: (1) Man against Man: (2) Man against Nature; (3) Man against self.

• The emotional associations and overtones related to a word. For example, a person who is underweight might be described as slight, or scrawny. Slight has a fairly positive emotional connotation, while scrawny has a negative connotation.

• The repetition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of closely associated syllables or words. For example, gored/bored, given/heaven

• Content is the "matter" of writing; it is whatever you are writing about.

• A two-line stanza.

• The turning point of uncertainty and tension resulting from earlier conflict in a plot. The crisis usually leads to or overlaps with the climax of a story.

• The ability to evaluate critically the text being read; the one main requirement is that you keep an open mind to expand the meanings and enjoyment of the work. The danger is in holding fast to your first impressions and judgment, thus shrinking the work to fit only your limited experience.

• A declarative sentence forms a statement. For example:
  
  
  • "Mary is here."
  • "My name is Mary."

• The literal dictionary definition of a word.

• Description is how a writer describes a scene and events. See imagery --description can be very plain, or rich in imagery.

• Conversation between characters in a drama or story.

• Diction is the vocabulary chosen by the writer. It can reflect the level of education of the speaker (narrator), the attitude of the speaker, and can directly influence the atmosphere through connotative meanings.

• Poetry intended to teach a lesson, especially a moral one.

• A situation that requires a choice between two equally unfavourable options.

• Direct presentation means the speaker is telling us about the character, for example, "Jodie was a shy girl." Indirect presentation means the speaker is showing the character's actions, or words through dialogue, or another character's dialogue.

• This is any one of the first copies of a written work. Your first draft is meant to be changed--that's why it is called a rough draft.

• Refers to a dramatic situation in which the audience knows something a character does not.

• A character who changes significantly during the story (growing older is not a significant change).

• See revision.

• A solemn poem that mourns the death of a person or the passing of an era.

• The continuation of a sentence in a poem from one line (having no end punctuation) to the next line (and perhaps even beyond into other lines).

• An instant of revelation or insight in which a character suddenly recognizes a previously unknown truth.

• To put it simply, an essay is a piece of nonfiction made up of an introduction, body, and conclusion that is focused on one main idea.

• A mild expression used to describe an otherwise offensive word or topic. For example, dying can be euphemistically described as "passing away," "going to a better place," or "leaving us."

• A kind of sentence that shows strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point. For example, Mary is missing!

• A systematic explanation of a specific topic.

• The expository essay is an extended piece of writing made up of a number of paragraphs. Moreover, it is a piece of nonfiction containing
  
  
  • one main idea (thesis statement) usually expressed in the first paragraph (called the introduction)
    
    
  • a number of paragraphs, each of which explores or supports the main idea (called the body)
    
    
  • a concluding paragraph (called the conclusion) which summarizes or emphasizes the ideas presented in the body
    
    
  • different types of paragraphs--narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive--depending on the topic or the purpose of the essay

• A genre of drama whereby emotions and experiences are expressed through a distorted presentation of the world. (See realism.)

• A metaphor that develops throughout a poem and that involves several points of comparison.

• The part of a plot that falls after the climax, in which the complications of the rising action are untangled. The denouement.

• Fantasy novels create settings and characters that do not exist in our world. Wizards, castles, dragons, orgs, fairies and unicorns are all figures of fantasy novels. Fantasy can be a form of entertainment and escape, but the author will use fantasy to illuminate truths about human experience. For example, Tolkein's fantasy novels were hugely popular after the release of movie versions of his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

• Figurative language is the use of figures of speech in writing to attain a special effect. It is usually associated with poetry, but it is a useful prose-writing tool, as well, if it is not overused. Figurative language can strengthen your writing if it is used sparingly and with care.

• Words in which imaginative comparisons are made. For example, metaphor, simile, personification

• The story is told by one of the characters who is referred to as "I". The reader generally sees everything through that character's eyes. Very occasionally the first-person can be used with an omniscient narrator

• A shift in a story to events that took place earlier, needed to fill in background details.

• A simple or one-sided character in a story; one who does not change or develop. Characters who reveal only one personality trait.

• The use of details and clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story.

• Poetry with neither rhyme nor rhythm and meter

• Genre means "type" or "kind", as in "what kind of novel do you like?" It comes from the French word "genre" which is used especially to mean "independent style".

• A character that changes through the course of a story or novel. This growth is often due to one or several epiphanies . (See also dynamic character.)

• In historical fiction, while the events and some of the people mentioned in the novel may have existed in the past, the situations in the book are fictional. If they were factual, the book would exist as a non-fiction retelling of an event, or as a biography or autobiography. Even so, readers can learn a lot about the history of an era by reading historical fiction. For example, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie are historical fiction series that you may have encountered as a child.

• This genre includes thrillers and psychological thrillers that rely on suspense and surprise to make your hair stand on end, and keep you reading far past midnight. For example, Stephen King is a king of horror.

• Deliberate overstatement or exaggeration to achieve emphasis. For example, I told you a million times to shut the door.

• Two-syllable foot . The first syllable is unstressed and the second is stressed. For example, ab surd / the book

• A line composed of five iambic feet .

• Any concrete detail that appeals to any of our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch.

• The use of concrete details and figures of speech that appeal to the reader's senses. We can see, hear, touch, taste, smell, or feel the ideas through the images created by the writer. Often the images allude to more than the surface idea--and create meaning through metaphor.

• A sentence that gives a command. It always ends with a period. The subject is understood to be "you." For example, Clean your room.

• A story in which a character undergoes a rite of passage from a state of innocence to a state of experience.

• The rhyming of words within a line of poetry. For example, "The sails at noon left off their tune"

• A sentence that asks a question. A question mark is always needed. For example, Why did you clean your room?

• The introductory paragraph has two main jobs: it must capture the interest of the readers and it must tell the readers what the essay is about. It may include:
  
  
  • a strongly stated main idea, fact, or example
  • a quotation
  • a question
  • an anecdote

• A literary device whereby the appearance of things differs from reality, whether in terms of meaning, situation, or action. That is, it is ironical when there is a difference between what is spoken and what is meant (see verbal irony), what is thought about a situation and what is actually the case (see situational irony), or what is intended by actions and what is their actual outcome (see dramatic irony).

• Refers to a contrast between what a character or the reader expects to happen and what really happens.

• Specialized language often characteristic of a particular subject. Using jargon should be avoided when writing for most audiences.

• The lighting plays an important part in focusing an audience's attention on the action and character of a play. Lighting can isolate characters onstage; it can also suggest the inner, emotional lives of the characters.

• The third-person ("he/she") narrator who reveals the thoughts and feelings of only one character is using the limited omniscient point of view.

• Literary fiction or "literature" is sometimes considered a genre in itself. Literature encourages the reader to participate intellectually, imaginatively, and emotionally; it has a lasting interest and can be read more than once and still be enjoyed every time. Many novels of other genres are considered literature. For example, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a blend of science fiction, and social commentary. Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient is both literature and historical fiction.

• A lyric is a relatively short non- narrative poem in which the first-person speaker expresses thoughts and feelings, not necessarily those of the poet.

• Metaphor is a direct comparison. A figure of speech in which like and unlike things are brought together as if they were one. For example:
• His words were a knife that cut me deeply.
• Anger is a caged beast.

• Refers to human reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses: all of the things that are not related to our physical world, such as spirituality, morality, ethics, and honour are metaphysical ideas.

• When poetry is read aloud, there is often a recognizable flow of rising and falling sounds. This varying pattern of stressed syllables alternating with syllables of less stress is what makes up a poem's meter. Each unit of stress and unstressed syllables is called a "foot." There are many possible patterns of verse including the following types of feet: the iambic, anapest, trochee, and dactyl.

• Substituting a characteristic of a thing for the thing itself. For example, "The wings of the ship sped it upon its way." (Here "wings" stands for sails because the sails act like wings for the ship as it moves over the water.)

• A speech spoken entirely by one person.

• See atmosphere.

• A recurrent element in literature. For example, "The experience of a journey" as a motif.

• A genre in which the plot is centered on an unsolved crime. The ending usually involves an unravelling of the plot, and ultimately solves the mystery. For example, Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of past literature, and more modern writers such as Agatha Christie and Tom Clancy rely on this formula. The childhood novels of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys rely on this formula.

• A traditional story that is closely associated with a particular culture or group of people. The myth usually communicates the beliefs and values of that culture.

• Narrative is another word for story. Narratives have plot, conflict, characters, setting, and point of view. Narration is story telling, which is different from pure description or explanation.

• A poem that tells a story. A narrative poem may be short or long, and the story it relates may be simple or complex.

• The character that is telling the story, or is speaking in a poem or novel. The narrator is not the author--one should not assume that a work is autobiographical.

• An approach in literature and drama that places an emphasis on realism. Within this style, life is portrayed without idealization. The ugly and unseemly parts of human existence are not avoided.

• The only way to keep track of facts, ideas, and impressions while you are reading. Your mind can't keep track of all the information it receives when you are reading or researching. Taking notes helps you;
  
  
  • gather information
  • remember information
  • organize information
  • review information
  • summarize information
    
    
    
• Notes don't just come from reading. Notes can be taken from speech, discussions, and films.
  
  
• The most efficient way to take notes is to write on index cards. The cards should be dated and numbered, which makes sorting the information easier.
  
  
• The best notes are:
  
  
  • brief--single words, phrases, and sentences rather than paragraphs, summarize, use abbreviations
  • written in your own words--this makes you think about what has been written or said
  • identified--the source should be given

• The third-person ("he/she") narrator who reveals none of the thoughts and feelings of the characters is using the objective point of view. This narrator records the details of the story as a video camera would, devoid of thoughts and emotions.

• A long lyric poem that praises a person or thing.

• Omniscient literally means "all-seeing." The third-person ("he/she") narrator who can reveal the thoughts and feelings of several characters is speaking with an omniscient point of view.

• A word whose sound suggests its meaning. For example, "the bee buzzes" or "plop," "smash," "bang," etc.

• Poems that have no traditional structural patterns such as rhyme, rhythm and meter, or regular line length.

• Your paragraphs must have order , which means the ideas must be arranged in an orderly sequence. Order can be achieved in one of three ways:
  
  
  • chronological order (by time)
  • spatial order (through space)
  • logical order (general statements followed by causes or examples)

• Outlines are formal organizational systems. Used properly, they will make your writing a lot easier. The simplest way to learn about outlines is to look at examples.
  
  
• The three types of outlines most commonly used by writers are:
  
  
  • the topic outline
  • the sentence outline
  • the paragraph outline

• A short allegorical story designed to convey some truth.

• A statement that first appears to be contradictory but actually states a truth. For example, History teaches us that we learn nothing from history.

• The paragraph outline is often used to take notes on passages or short essays. This type of outline does not classify material into main and subheadings, it merely lists the topic of each paragraph in the order in which the paragraphs appear. It contains the thesis statement and the topic sentences from each paragraph are commonly written as a series of numbered sentences, one for each paragraph.

• Putting into your own words some difficult lines and phrases that may be difficult to understand.

• The imitation of either formal or thematic elements of one work in another for humorous purposes. Not to be confused with satire.

• The voice or character/personality of the first-person narrator in verse or prose narratives, and the speaker in poetry. The use of the term "persona" (as distinct from "author") stresses that the speaker is part of the fictional creation, invented for the author's particular purposes in a given literary work. The persona may be completely different from the author.

• A figure of speech that gives human characteristics to non-human things or abstractions. When we speak of nature as though it were human we are using personification. For example:
  
  
  • The wind whistled through the trees.
  • The tree wept with joy.

• A 14-line iambic pentameter poem with a clear division between the first eight lines (octave) and the last six lines (sestet). The division is called a turning point (volta). The rhyme scheme of the octave is usually abba abba; the rhyme scheme of the sestet is either cde cde or cd cd cd. The octave often asks a question or states a problem while the sestet provides the answer or solution.

• The storyline in a play or story based on a sequence of events linked by cause and effect.

• The perspective from which we see the characters and events of the story. It involves several different ways in which a story is told: first person, omniscient, limited omniscient, and objective or dramatic character.

• A précis is a precise and greatly condensed version of a piece of writing. It is a summary of essential ideas, and it follows the direction and outline of the original passage, even though it's written in your words.
  
  
• Tips for writing a précis:
  • cover all the main ideas found in the original passage
  • follow the sequence of ideas found in the original passage
  • avoid interjecting personal interpretations or ideas
  • preserve the author's point of view, slant, or bias
  • write in complete sentences
  • ensure that your précis is no longer than one-third of the original passage

• An introductory element which intends to prepare the viewer for the principal experience to come.

• Ordinary language that is not set to a rhythm or rhyme. Prose is the form of language found in novels, plays, stories. You are reading prose right now.

• The main character in a story. Generally the reader is made to sympathize with the protagonist. For example, Little Red Riding Hood is the protagonist of the fairy tale.

• A play on words where multiple meanings are deliberately suggested. For example, Hamlet's character says "I am too much in the sun" (punning on "son").

• Separate from developing a theme, a writer might have any of several purposes for writing a novel, for example, to recreate a certain moment or era in history, to portray a cultural or social tradition, to explore certain values or beliefs, to represent certain kinds of people, etc.

• A four-line stanza

• Quotation marks (" ") enclose every direct quotation and each part of an interrupted quotation

  • if a quotation continues for more than one paragraph, place quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, but only at the end of the last
    
    
  • use a separate paragraph for each change of speaker
    
    
  • commas and periods are always inside quotation marks
    
    
  • semicolons and colons are always outside the quotation marks. unless the marks are part of the quotation
    
    
  • question marks, exclamation marks, and dashes are placed outside the quotation marks, unless the marks are part of the quotation
    
    
  • a question mark is inside the quotation marks if the quotation and the non-quoted part of the sentence are a question

• A type of fiction or drama where the characters, dialogue, setting and plot are very much like the "real world" that we all inhabit.

• Regional fiction depicts an age on a smaller scale than historical fiction.

• Make sure your essay only contain that which is relevant . Every idea in your essay should help the reader follow and understand your thesis statement and your purpose for writing. Nothing should distract the reader from the writer's main idea.

• The job of making it smooth is called revision or editing . Revising your writing is more than correcting spelling and grammar errors. It is a four-step process that will make your words and sentences work together so your paragraphs sound great and are easy for anyone to understand.
  
  
• The four steps of revision are:
  • checking for what belongs
  • checking for appropriate language
  • checking for logic and order
  • checking for common mistakes (proofreading)

• A question which implies that the answer is obvious--the kind of question that does not need actually to be answered.

• The sound effect created when the sounds at the ends of words are repeated. For example, ant/slant, dime/chime, given/driven

• The pattern of rhymed words at the end of the lines of a poem. Each new rhyme sound is assigned a letter from the alphabet beginning with "a." For example, An abcb rhyme scheme

• The shifts in the beat, speed, or loudness, or the pitch in a line of poetry.

• The events of a dramatic or narrative plot leading up to the climax.

• Sometimes formulaic, the romance genre has in the past required a young heroine, an older hero, a memorable first meeting, a plot twist centered around a misunderstand-ing, and a happy (or not) ending. Harlequin Romance and Danielle Steele have built empires around this formula. Other, more literary novels that follow this pattern are Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice , and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights , which both can also be considered historical fiction.

• Characters who show varied and sometimes contradictory traits.

• Satire is the literary art of diminishing a person or topic or human quality by making it appear ridiculous. This often involves the use of irony or sarcasm.

• One method of reading quickly is called scanning. When you scan an article, you look for specific information. To scan, your eyes pass rapidly over the text looking for key words or ideas.

• Someone who is made to bear the blame for others or made to suffer in their place.

• A blend of life and technology is typically the premise of the science fiction genre. From Jules Verne's 2000 Leagues under the Sea, to the more modern Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the recent Matrix movies, science fiction stories capture the imagination of millions.

• This type of outline is similar to the topic outline except that the headings and subheadings are written as complete sentences. This format gives the writer a clearer idea of how the thesis will be developed in the essay. This type of outline is also more informative for a teacher or peer who may offer suggestions. More thought must go into a sentence outline but when it's complete, it can be easier to use as a basis for your essay. A sentence outline looks exactly like a topic outline, except that each statement is written as a complete sentence.

• The physical layout of the stage and props on which a play takes play.

• The time and place of a story or drama, as well as the weather, the seasons, the physical props in the scene, and the clothing of the character(s). It is also the political or social situation of the scene.

• Sexism, the promotion of gender stereotypes, is easily avoided in writing by using more inclusive language. For example:
  
  
  • "Firefighter" instead of "Fireman"
  • "Human Resources" instead of "Manpower"

• A sonnet with three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The usual rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Each quatrain usually develops a variation of the main theme. The rhyming couplet usually provides a summary or conclusion.

• A outright comparison using "like", "as", or "as if". For example:
  
  
  • The raindrops sparkled like diamonds on the window pane.
  • My soul is like a soaring swift.

• Skimming is another technique that helps you read a section or article quickly and efficiently. When you skim, you do not thoroughly read every word on the page; you glance rapidly through a passage and pick out the most important ideas.

• When you skim:
  
  
  • read the first paragraph to understand the thesis of the passage
  • read the first sentence of each paragraph
  • use headings and subheadings to help you focus on important ideas
  • choose information you don't already know
  • choose information you don't understand

• Slang refers to words that are used popularly, or in a particular class of society, but are not generally acknowledged as correct English. Slang is sometimes vulgar, as well. For example, Calling someone an "airhead" is slang for stupid.

• A 14-line, tightly crafted lyric poem that focuses on a specific theme. The sonnet is usually written in iambic pentameter. The two most traditional sonnet structures are the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet and the Shakespearean (English) sonnet.

• An imaginary voice taken on by a poet or a writer that tells you the poem or the story.

• Directions in a play's script about how the playwright intends actions or arrangements to be carried out.

• A group of lines of verse in a poem that form a unit. Stanzas are named according to the number of lines found in them.
  
  
  • couplet --two-line stanza
  • quatrain --four-line stanza
  • sestet--six-line stanza
  • octave--eight-line stanza

• A character who remains primarily the same throughout the story.

• A stereotypical character is one we are immediately familiar with, because we have seen the type before. This character is predictable, and one-dimensional: the smooth talking politician, the dreary librarian, the placard wielding university student straining for justice. These characters can sometimes symbolize the characteristics of an entire group in our society, and are often used in satire to poke fun at or ridicule ideas, people or institutions in society.

• Style is the "manner" of writing. Style is the way authors express what they have to say. Style can be formal or familiar, plain or pretentious. Style is the way the writer writes. More specifically, according to Discovering Literature , it is the manner in which the writer uses language to create his or her reality.

• In order to fully develop each paragraph you must write with plenty of substance . That means you have to say something about the topic sentence. You can draw on your own experience for this material or the experience of others, which might mean doing some research.

• The reader's state of excitement and anticipation regarding an outcome, such as the ending of a mystery novel.

• Something that represents something else. A symbol uses an object or action or image that means something more than its literal meaning. For example, An eagle can be a symbol for freedom, independence, etc.

• A part of a thing stands for the whole thing. For example, He saw a thousand heads upon the street. (Heads stands for people).

• The grammatical order of words in a sentence that gives structure to sentences.

• A central idea or purpose in a poem or a short story that usually gives insight into human nature or human experience. A theme is not usually directly stated, but implied through the story.

• A thesis statement summarizes the main ideas of a piece of writing. It is often just one or two sentences that sum up the point you intend to make. In many cases your thesis statement can also be the topic sentence.

• The speaker is a character outside of the main action of the story. The main character is spoken of as `he/she". The speaker may have unlimited or limited knowledge about the characters in the story.

• This simply refers to a section of a play. The parts of the play are broken up into portions of time.

• The tone in literature reveals the writer's attitude toward the readers or toward the subject. A tone may represent any human emotional attitude from joyous to angry to melancholy to distant to detached, to any attitude at all.

• This is the most commonly used outline and it is the one you will likely use for the essays you will write for your school-work. The topic outline uses words and phrases but no complete sentences. It shows the ideas you plan to include in your essay, in the order in which they will be developed.

• This sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. It identifies your purpose for writing and defines your point of view. You can usually find the topic sentence at or near the beginning of a paragraph, though it can sometimes be the last sentence.

• This character type is usually born into some sort of nobility. Due to a tragic flaw, they make a serious error in judgment, and eventually fall from esteem. The tragic hero will meet death with honour.

• A transition is a change from one stage or position to another. In the writing process, transitional words and phrases link other words, sentences, and ideas. You can think of transitions as the `highway signs' of writing. They prepare the reader for what is coming next. Different types of transitions do different things, but ultimately they all join ideas. They make writing smooth and easier to read and understand.

• Technical writing is a style of writing that uses a straight-forward, instructional style to present information.

• Your paragraphs must have unity . That means that everything in the paragraph must relate to the main thought. Your essay must be unified . Every word in every sentence should relate to the main idea of that sentence. Every sentence should reinforce the topic sentence of that paragraph. Every paragraph should support the thesis statement.

• The quality of writing with diverse vocabulary and sentence structure.

• One thing is said while the opposite is meant.

• The everyday vocabulary of common speech.

• Voice is the "sound" of the characters, narrators, and personae of literature. See also persona, tone, point of view.

• The themes are typically of struggle and contest between good guys and bad guys, or cowboys and Indians. While the tales are not part of our experience in the modern world, the genre lives on. For example, Louis L'Amour was an enormously popular western novelist.

• Wordiness plagues sentences that do not seem to end, that repeat something, and that are padded with unnecessary words. Here's how to avoid this kind of wordiness:
  
  
  • if you can get an idea across with fewer words, do it
  • remove words that don't relate to the main idea of the sentence
  • remove sentences that don't relate to the main idea of the paragraph

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