Abstract : A brief summary of a longer work, such as a research paper or thesis, outlining its main points.
Active Voice : A grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence performs the action of the verb (e.g., “The dog chased the ball.”).
Allegory : A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Alliteration : The repetition of the same beginning consonant sound in words close together.
Allusion : An indirect or passing reference to a person, place, event, or literary work.
Analogy : A comparison between two different things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
Analysis : The process of breaking down a complex topic or text into smaller parts to understand its structure, components, and relationships.
Anecdote : A short, interesting, or amusing story about a real incident or person.
Antagonist : The character or force that opposes the protagonist, creating conflict in a story.
Anthropomorphism : Attributing human characteristics or behavior to an animal or inanimate object.
Apostrophe : A figure of speech in which a writer addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a thing.
Argument : A set of reasons or evidence offered in support of a conclusion or claim.
Aside : A dramatic device where a character speaks directly to the audience, unheard by other characters on stage.
Audience : The intended readers, listeners, or viewers of a piece of writing or communication.
Autobiography : A self-written account of the writer’s own life.
Bias : Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
Bibliography : A list of all sources consulted or used in the preparation of a written work.
Biography : An account of someone else’s life written by another person.
Blog : A regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.
Brainstorming : A group or individual creative technique used to generate many ideas on a specific topic or problem.
Case Study : An in-depth investigation of a single subject, group, or phenomenon.
Character : A person, animal, or imaginary creature in a literary work.
Citation : A quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work.
Claim : A statement that asserts something to be true, often requiring support with evidence.
Cliché : A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
Climax : The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; the turning point in a narrative.
Coherence : The quality of being logical and consistent, making a text easy to understand.
Colloquialism : A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
Conclusion : The final part of a piece of writing, summarizing the main points and often providing a final thought or call to action.
Conflict : The struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot of a story.
Conjunction : A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause (e.g., and, but, or).
Connotation : An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Context : The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text or idea.
Contradiction : A combination of statements, ideas, or features that are opposed to one another.
Contrast : The state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association.
Critique : A detailed analysis and assessment of something, especially a literary or philosophical theory.
Deduction : A method of reasoning from general principles to specific instances.
Denotation : The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.
Denouement : The final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
Description : The act of giving a spoken or written account of something.
Dialogue : Conversation between two or more characters in a literary work.
Diction : The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
Drafting : The initial stage of writing where the author puts ideas into a rough written form.
Editing : The process of reviewing and making changes to a written text to improve its clarity, coherence, conciseness, and correctness.
Editorial : An article in a newspaper or magazine expressing the opinion of its editor or publisher.
Emphasis : Special importance, value, or prominence given to something.
Essay : A short piece of writing on a particular subject.
Euphemism : A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
Evidence : Facts, figures, or information used to support a claim or argument.
Exaggeration : The act of making something seem larger, better, or worse than it really is.
Exposition : The part of a story that introduces the setting, characters, and basic situation.
Fact : A thing that is known or proved to be true.
Falling Action : The part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax, leading to the resolution.
Fiction : Literature in the form of prose, especially novels and short stories, that describes imaginary events and people.
Figurative Language : Language that uses figures of speech (e.g., metaphors, similes, personification) to create a more vivid or imaginative effect than literal language.
Flashback : An interruption of the chronological sequence of events to present an event that occurred earlier.
Foreshadowing : A literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
Form : The visible shape or configuration of something, or the structure and organization of a piece of writing.
Genre : A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Grammar : The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (and sometimes also phonology and semantics) without considering vocabulary and pronunciation.
Hook : An opening statement or paragraph designed to grab the reader’s attention.
Hyperbole : Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Idiom : A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., “raining cats and dogs”).
Imagery : Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
Implication : The conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.
Inference : A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.
Informal : Having a relaxed, friendly, or unofficial style.
Introduction : The opening section of a written work, typically stating its purpose and scope.
Irony : The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Jargon : Special words or expressions used by a particular profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.
Journal : A daily record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary.
Juxtaposition : The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Lemma : The canonical form, dictionary form, or citation form of a set of words.
Literary Device : Any of various techniques used by writers to create a specific effect in their writing (e.g., metaphor, symbolism, irony).
Logos : An appeal to logic or reason in rhetoric.
Main Idea : The central point or purpose of a piece of writing.
Memoir : A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.
Metaphor : A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Meter : The rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in poetry.
Mood : The atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work.
Motif : A dominant idea or feature in an artistic or literary composition.
Narration : The act or process of telling a story.
Narrator : The person who tells the story.
Nonfiction : Prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history.
Noun : A word (other than a pronoun) used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things, or to name a particular one of these.
Objective : Based on facts and not influenced by personal feelings or opinions.
Onomatopoeia : The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle).
Opinion : A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
Organization : The systematic arrangement of a piece of writing, including its structure, logical flow, and arrangement of ideas.
Outline : A general description or plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail.
Oxymoron : A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g., “jumbo shrimp”).
Pacing : The speed at which a story unfolds or the rate at which information is presented in a text.
Paragraph : A distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.
Paraphrase : To express the meaning of (something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.
Passive Voice : A grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence receives the action of the verb (e.g., “The ball was chased by the dog.”).
Pathos : An appeal to emotion in rhetoric.
Personification : The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Perspective : A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Persuasion : The action or process of convincing someone or of being convinced to do or believe something.
Plagiarism : The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.
Plot : The main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.
Poetry : Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively.
Point of View : The narrator’s position in relation to the story being told (e.g., first person, third person).
Preposition : A word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause (e.g., “in,” “on,” “at”).
Prewriting : The initial stage of the writing process, involving brainstorming, outlining, and planning before drafting begins.
Primary Source : An original object or document created at the time under study.
Pronoun : A word that can function as a noun phrase and refers to an already mentioned noun (e.g., “he,” “she,” “it,” “they”).
Proofreading : The final stage of editing, focusing on correcting surface errors such as typos, grammar mistakes, and punctuation errors.
Propaganda : Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
Protagonist : The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
Purpose : The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
Quotation : A group of words taken directly from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author or speaker.
Redundancy : The state of being no longer needed or useful; in writing, using more words than necessary.
Refutation : The act of proving a statement or theory to be wrong or false.
Repetition : The action of repeating something that has already been said or written.
Research : The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
Resolution : The unfolding or solution of a complicated issue in a story; the final outcome.
Rhetoric : The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Rhyme : Correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.
Rising Action : The series of events that begin after the exposition and lead up to the climax in a story.
Satire : The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Secondary Source : An account or interpretation of an event created by someone who did not directly experience or witness it.
Sentence : A set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command.
Setting : The place and time at which a story, play, or film is set.
Simile : A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., “as brave as a lion”).
Slang : A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.
Soliloquy : An act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.
Source : A place, person, or thing from which something originates or can be obtained.
Speaker : The voice behind the poem, or the person delivering a speech.
Stanza : A group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.
Stereotype : A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
Stream of Consciousness : A literary style in which a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow, often without clear logic or syntax.
Structure : The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.
Style : The way an author writes or the choices an author makes regarding diction, syntax, and other literary devices.
Subjective : Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
Subplot : A subordinate plot in a play, novel, or similar work.
Summary : A brief statement or account of the main points of something.
Symbolism : The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Syntax : The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Synthesis : The combination of ideas to form a theory or system.
Tense : A grammatical category that expresses time reference (e.g., past, present, future).
Theme : The central topic or idea explored in a narrative.
Thesis Statement : A short statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, etc., and is developed, supported, and explained in the text by means of examples and evidence.
Tone : The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
Topic Sentence : A sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph in which it appears.
Transition : A word or phrase that connects ideas, sentences, or paragraphs, creating a smooth flow in writing.
Understatement : The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.
Unity : The quality of being united into one; in writing, the coherence and cohesion of all parts contributing to a single main idea.
Verb : A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence.
Voice : The unique style, personality, and perspective of a writer.
Word Choice : The selection of words to convey meaning, tone, and style.
Works Cited : A list of sources referred to in a written work, typically found at the end of the text.
Writer’s Block : The condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.