Updated Articles and Resources
- verbal play - definition and examples of verbal play…Created: 2009-12-15 @ 10:05:45 EST
In sociolinguistics, the deliberate manipulation of aspects of language for humorous or playful purposes… - riddle - definition and examples of riddlesCreated: 2009-12-15 @ 10:01:36 EST
A question deliberately worded in a puzzling manner and presented as a problem to be solved. … - Hyperbole, by William Shepard Walsh - From "The Handy-Book of Litera…Created: 2009-12-12 @ 13:51:22 EST Updated: 2009-12-12 @ 15:22:55 EST
One of the most entertaining sections of William S. Walsh's "Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities" (1892) is his discussion of hyperbole, with some wonderfully outsized examples drawn from … - rhopalic - definition and examples of rhopalic…Created: 2009-12-11 @ 16:28:49 EST
A sentence or a line of poetry in which each word contains one letter or one syllable more than the previous word… - Sentence Combining Exercise - A Slippery Thief - Building Sentences …Created: 2009-12-10 @ 23:28:03 EST Updated: 2009-12-10 @ 23:29:19 EST
This sentence-combining exercise has been adapted from a narrative paragraph relating the misadventures of a would-be thief. Your job is to combine the sentences in each set of the exercise. Severa… - Glossary of Usage - Index of Commonly Confused Words - Frequently Co…Created: 2009-12-10 @ 01:21:34 EST
"Advice" or "advise"? "Farther" or "further"? "Principal" or "principle"? It's easy to confuse words that are similar in sound, spelling,… - Climactic and Climatic - Commonly Confused Words - Climactic vs. Cli…Created: 2009-12-10 @ 01:15:55 EST Updated: 2009-12-10 @ 01:19:45 EST
The adjective "climactic" corresponds to the noun climax: "a climactic scene." The adjective "climatic" corresponds to the noun climate: "climatic research."… - 2009 Blog Archive for Grammar & Composition - Blogs from About.com G…Created: 2009-12-09 @ 23:36:22 EST
Appearing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Grammar & Composition blog at About.com covers a wide variety of topics related to the English language… - grammaticality - definition and examples of grammaticality…Created: 2009-12-08 @ 15:05:35 EST Updated: 2009-12-08 @ 15:12:26 EST
In linguistics, the conformity of a sentence to the rules defined by a specific grammar of a language… - queclarative - definition and examples of queclarativesCreated: 2009-12-07 @ 01:28:31 EST
An utterance that has the form of a question (an interrogative sentence) but the force of a statement (a declarative sentence)… - In Praise of Clichés by Wright Morris - Reflections on the Vernacul…Created: 2009-12-05 @ 07:12:01 EST
In this passage from his third volume of memoirs, Wright Morris recalls a discovery he made while writing his award-winning novel "The Field of Vision." Creating genuine vernacular voices… - catchphrase - definition and examples of catch phrasesCreated: 2009-12-05 @ 07:02:24 EST
A vogue expression, often media-inspired and usually short-lived… - What Are Clichés and Why Are We Supposed to Avoid Them? - Clichés,…Created: 2009-12-05 @ 06:33:41 EST
Most teachers and usage guides encourage us to eliminate clichés from our writing, characterizing them as "tired," "hackneyed," and "stale." But like so many of t… - Thomas McGuane's Description of the Matchless 500 - Scrapbook of Sty…Created: 2009-12-05 @ 03:48:07 EST Updated: 2009-12-05 @ 04:52:36 EST
In this paragraph from the essay "Me and My Bike and Why," American novelist Thomas McGuane describes his first motorcycle… - validity - definition and examples of formal validity - valid argume…Created: 2009-12-03 @ 16:01:30 EST Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:15:51 EST
In a deductive argument, the principle that if all the premises are true, the conclusion must also be true… - preposition stranding - definition and examples of preposition stran…Created: 2009-12-03 @ 05:02:46 EST Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 05:23:14 EST
A syntactic construction in which a preposition is left without a following object… - pied-piping - definition and examples of pied-pipingCreated: 2009-12-03 @ 03:20:49 EST Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 14:40:29 EST
In transformational grammar, the syntactic process by which one element in a clause drags other words along with it… - catachretic metaphor - definition and examples of catachretic metaph…Created: 2009-12-02 @ 23:17:25 EST Updated: 2009-12-02 @ 23:20:23 EST
(1) A word used in a figurative sense to remedy a gap in the lexicon. (2) A type of strained metaphor that is logically misused but may be figuratively effective. … - bureaucratese - definition and examples of bureaucrateseCreated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:04:44 EST Updated: 2009-12-02 @ 01:57:23 EST
Obscure speech or writing that is typically characterized by wordiness, euphemisms, and buzzwords… - term of address - definition and examples of address termsCreated: 2009-11-30 @ 01:53:34 EST Updated: 2009-11-30 @ 01:59:57 EST
A word, phrase, name, or title (or some combination of these) used in addressing someone. … - cooperative principle - definition and examples of the cooperative p…Created: 2009-11-29 @ 17:29:00 EST
The assumption that participants in a conversation normally attempt to be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear… - turn-taking - definition and examples of turn-taking - conversation …Created: 2009-11-29 @ 17:22:17 EST
The manner in which orderly conversation normally takes place… - back-channel signal - definition and examples of back-channel signalsCreated: 2009-11-29 @ 01:33:05 EST Updated: 2009-11-29 @ 17:25:49 EST
A noise, gesture, expression, or word used by a listener to indicate that he or she is paying attention to a speaker… - discourse marker - definition and examples of discourse markersCreated: 2009-11-28 @ 21:34:38 EST Updated: 2009-11-29 @ 17:27:26 EST
A particle (such as oh, well, now, then, you know, and I mean) that is used in conversation to make discourse more coherent but that generally adds little to the paraphrasable meaning of an utteran… - complex word - definition and examples of complex wordsCreated: 2009-11-28 @ 05:30:32 EST
A word made up of a base (or root) and one or more affixes… - reading - definition and examples of readingCreated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:37:33 EST
The process of extracting meaning from a written or printed text… - overwriting - definition and examples of overwritingCreated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:04:59 EST
A wordy writing style characterized by excessive detail, needless repetition, outlandish figures of speech, and/or convoluted sentence structures… - notional agreement - definition and examples of notional agreementCreated: 2009-11-27 @ 01:44:28 EST
Agreement (or concord) of verbs with their subjects and of pronouns with their antecedent nouns on the basis of meaning rather than grammatical form. … - proximity agreement - definition and examples of proximity agreementCreated: 2009-11-27 @ 01:36:13 EST
In applying the principle of subject-verb agreement (or concord), the practice of relying on the noun that is closest to the verb to determine whether the verb is singular or plural. … - tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon - definition and examples of tip-of-the…Created: 2009-11-25 @ 21:06:54 EST
In psycholinguistics, the feeling that a name, word, or phrase--though momentarily unrecallable--is known and will soon be recalled… - text - definition and examples of textsCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 17:43:04 EST
(1) The original words of something written, printed, or spoken, in contrast to a summary or paraphrase. (2) A coherent stretch of language that may be regarded as an object of critical analysis… - textuality - definition and examples of textualityCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 17:28:18 EST Updated: 2009-11-25 @ 17:35:50 EST
In linguistics, the property by which successive sentences form a coherent text in contrast to a random sequence… - entailment - definition and examples of semantic entailmentCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:38:42 EST
In semantics, the principal that under certain conditions the truth of one statement ensures the truth of a second statement… - paralinguistics - definition and examples of paralinguisticsCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:13:27 EST
The study of vocal (and sometimes non-vocal) signals beyond the basic verbal message or speech. … - stance - definition and examples of stance in linguisticsCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:11:30 EST
Linguistic and non-linguistic forms and strategies that show a speaker's commitment to the status of the information that he or she is providing… - dysfluency - definition and examples of dysfluencyCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:09:59 EST
Speech that is not smoothly delivered or grammatically well formed. … - verbless sentence - definition and examples of verbless sentencesCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:54:15 EST
A construction that lacks a verb but functions as a sentence… - illocutionary force - definition and examples of illocutionary forceCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:50:46 EST
In speech-act theory, a speaker's intention in delivering an utterance… - conversational implicature - definition and examples of conversation…Created: 2009-11-25 @ 05:49:48 EST
In pragmatics, an indirect or implicit speech act: what is meant by a speaker's utterance that is not part of what is explicitly said… - speech act - definition and examples of speech acts or illocutionary…Created: 2009-11-25 @ 05:46:58 EST
In linguistics, an utterance defined in terms of a speaker's intentions and the effects it has on a listener. … - locutionary act - definition and examples of locutionary actsCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:46:10 EST
In speech-act theory, the act of making a meaningful utterance. … - utterance - definition and examples of utterancesCreated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:42:23 EST Updated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:37:19 EST
In linguistics, a unit of speech. In phonetic terms, a stretch of spoken language that is preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker… - implicature - definition and examples of implicatureCreated: 2009-11-23 @ 23:52:01 EST
See "conversational implicature."… - a-verbing - definition and examples of a-verbingCreated: 2009-11-23 @ 05:35:01 EST
A form of the verb (usually the present participle) in which the base is preceded by the prefix a-… - Punctuation Practice - Lost in the Witchcrafted Woods - Using Commas…Created: 2009-11-22 @ 19:57:59 EST Updated: 2009-11-22 @ 20:17:46 EST
This exercise offers practice in applying the guidelines for using punctuation marks. In the following paragraph, insert commas, quotation marks, colons, and dashes wherever you think they belong… - Talking About Our Troubles, by Mark Rutherford - Classic British Ess…Created: 2009-11-22 @ 12:27:54 EST
In this short essay, British novelist and journalist Mark Rutherford (the pen name of William Hale White) encourages us to deal with our misfortunes by practicing "the art of self-suppression… - The Tyranny of Things, by Edward Sandford Martin - Classic American …Created: 2009-11-22 @ 05:17:35 EST Updated: 2009-11-22 @ 05:21:39 EST
In "The Tyranny of Things," originally published in 1893 (a time of severe economic depression in the United States), Edward Sandford Martin argues that by mistaking luxuries for necessit… - Teaching the Essay, by Emma Miller Bolenius - America and the Essay …Created: 2009-11-21 @ 08:59:25 EST Updated: 2009-11-21 @ 09:13:50 EST
"Teaching the Essay" by Emma Miller Bolenius is a slightly abbreviated version of a survey that was first published in 1915. Following her study of British essayists, Bolenius concludes w… - Teaching the Essay, by Emma Miller Bolenius - Survey of British and …Created: 2009-11-21 @ 06:59:48 EST Updated: 2009-11-21 @ 09:30:39 EST
As educator Emma Miller Bolenius demonstrates in this survey, the essay has provided a rich variety of literary pleasures over the centuries. "Teaching the Essay" is a slightly abbreviate… - intensive pronoun - definition and examples of intensive pronounsCreated: 2009-11-19 @ 23:42:25 EST Updated: 2009-11-19 @ 23:54:15 EST
A pronoun that serves to emphasize its antecedent… - journalese - definition and examples of journaleseCreated: 2009-11-19 @ 01:55:03 EST Updated: 2009-11-19 @ 02:02:45 EST
An informal, often pejorative term for a style of writing and word choice found in many newspapers and magazines… - comment clause - definition and examples of comment clausesCreated: 2009-11-18 @ 23:44:24 EST
A commonly occurring word group that adds a parenthetical remark to another word group… - embedding - definition and examples of embedding - generative gramma…Created: 2009-11-18 @ 23:17:08 EST
In generative grammar, the process by which one clause is included (embedded) in another. … - matrix clause - definition and examples of matrix clausesCreated: 2009-11-18 @ 23:03:20 EST
In linguistics (and in generative grammar in particular), a clause that contains a subordinate clause… - complement clause - definition and examples of complement clausesCreated: 2009-11-18 @ 22:11:41 EST Updated: 2009-11-18 @ 23:06:07 EST
A subordinate clause that serves to complete the meaning of a noun or verb in a sentence. … - verbal paradox - definition and examples of verbal paradox - figures…Created: 2009-11-18 @ 15:30:33 EST
A figure of speech in which a seemingly self-contradictory statement is nevertheless found to be true. … - apostrophe - mark of punctuation - definiton and examples of apostro…Created: 2009-11-17 @ 01:03:37 EST Updated: 2009-11-17 @ 01:16:20 EST
A mark of punctuation used to identify a noun in the possessive case or indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word. … - The Best Advice on Writing - Ten Writers Recall the Best Advice They…Created: 2009-11-16 @ 16:59:20 EST
As many professional authors will tell you, aspiring writers are often hungry for advice--eager to pick up a tip that will open the door to a successful writing life. Here are ten of those inside t… - plot - definition and examples of plots in narrativesCreated: 2009-11-15 @ 17:20:05 EST
The sequence of incidents or events in a narrative… - foreshadowing - definition and examples of foreshadowingCreated: 2009-11-15 @ 17:13:36 EST Updated: 2009-11-15 @ 17:26:37 EST
The presentation of details, characters, or incidents in a narrative in such a way that later events are prepared for (or "shadowed forth")… - On Reading for Amusement by Henry Fielding - Classic British Essays …Created: 2009-11-15 @ 02:17:15 EST Updated: 2009-11-15 @ 02:21:38 EST
As noted in the dedication of his comic masterpiece, "Tom Jones" (1749), Henry Fielding's goal was "to recommend goodness and innocence" through comedy and satire--a theme he ex… - reference - definition and examples of pronoun referenceCreated: 2009-11-12 @ 02:44:05 EST Updated: 2009-11-12 @ 03:13:16 EST
The relationship between a grammatical unit that refers to (or stands in for) another grammatical unit, usually a pronoun and a noun… - serial comma - definition and examples of serial commasCreated: 2009-11-11 @ 17:11:45 EST Updated: 2009-11-11 @ 17:14:35 EST
The comma that precedes the conjunction before the final item in a series… - parallel structure - definition and examples of parallel structuresCreated: 2009-11-09 @ 19:51:37 EST
Two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form. … - register - definition and examples of registerCreated: 2009-11-09 @ 00:57:14 EST
One of many styles or varieties of language determined by such factors as social occasion, purpose, and audience… - barbarism - definition and examples of barbarismCreated: 2009-11-08 @ 23:22:05 EST Updated: 2009-11-08 @ 23:23:58 EST
Broadly, an incorrect use of language. More specifically, a word considered "improper" because it combines elements from different languages… - symbolism - definition and examples of symbolismCreated: 2009-11-08 @ 17:10:49 EST
The use of one object (a symbol) to represent or suggest something else. … - topic - definition and examples of essay topics - ideas for writingCreated: 2009-11-08 @ 17:06:45 EST
The particular issue or idea that serves as the subject of a paragraph, essay, report, or speech. … - extended definition - definition and examples of extended definition…Created: 2009-11-08 @ 16:34:09 EST
In a paragraph or essay, an explanation and/or illustration of a word, thing, or concept… - Composing Descriptive Paragraphs and Essays - Writing Guidelines, To…Created: 2009-11-08 @ 16:23:14 EST
For ideas on how to compose your own descriptive paragraph or essay, spend some time studying the guidelines, topic suggestions, exercises, and readings offered here… - grammarian - definition and examples of grammariansCreated: 2009-11-07 @ 23:53:09 EST Updated: 2009-11-08 @ 23:32:26 EST
A specialist in the grammar of one or more languages… - verbless clause - definition and examples of verbless clausesCreated: 2009-11-07 @ 22:24:52 EST
A clause-like construction in which a verb element is implied but not present. … - polarity - definition and examples of polarityCreated: 2009-11-07 @ 04:54:48 EST Updated: 2009-11-07 @ 06:00:15 EST
In linguistics, the distinction between positive and negative forms… - Broken Memories by Edward Thomas - Classic British Essays - The Pros…Created: 2009-11-05 @ 21:40:43 EST Updated: 2009-11-05 @ 22:06:17 EST
Edward Thomas was born in the London borough of Lambeth, and in "Broken Memories" he describes how the pastoral suburb of his childhood has been "effaced" by the inexorable grow… - "The Town Week," by E.V. Lucas - Classic British Essays - Familiar …Created: 2009-11-05 @ 17:57:45 EST Updated: 2009-11-05 @ 18:09:20 EST
Although his essays are now commonly regarded as quaint and sentimental, "The Town Week" offers signs of the darker personality that lay behind E.V. Lucas's urbane persona… - Cut Spelling - Definition and Examples of Cut SpellingCreated: 2009-11-05 @ 04:43:27 EST
A simplified version of English spelling that omits letters not needed to represent pronunciation… - NATO phonetic alphabet - Definition and Examples of the NATO Phoneti…Created: 2009-11-05 @ 04:34:06 EST
A spelling alphabet used by airline pilots, police, the military, and other officials when communicating over radio or telephone… - grammatical category - definition and examples of grammatical catego…Created: 2009-11-04 @ 17:09:35 EST
A class of units (such as noun and verb) or features (such as number and case) that share a common set of grammatical properties… - parole - linguistic definition and examples of parole and langueCreated: 2009-11-04 @ 04:52:02 EST
The individual expressions of language in contrast to langue, language as an abstract system of signs… - langue - definition and examples of langue and paroleCreated: 2009-11-04 @ 03:48:25 EST Updated: 2009-11-04 @ 05:00:17 EST
Language as an abstract system of signs (the underlying structure of a language), in contrast to "parole," the individual expressions of language… - verbal hygiene - definition and examples of verbal hygieneCreated: 2009-11-04 @ 01:34:06 EST Updated: 2009-11-04 @ 01:42:59 EST
A phrase coined by British linguist Deborah Cameron to describe "the urge to meddle in matters of language": the inclination to improve, correct, or arrest change in a language… - accent - definition and examples of accentCreated: 2009-11-03 @ 02:11:37 EST
(1) In speaking, an identifiable style of pronunciation. (2) In traditional English metrics, the emphasis given a syllable by stress, pitch, and duration. (3) A diacritical mark… - linguistic variation - definition and examples of linguistic variati…Created: 2009-11-03 @ 02:09:17 EST
Regional, social, or contextual differences in the ways that a particular language is used… - monologue - definition and examples of monologuesCreated: 2009-11-02 @ 23:08:22 EST Updated: 2009-11-02 @ 23:12:21 EST
A speech or composition presenting the words or thoughts of a single character. … - setting - definition and examples of setting in creative nonfictionCreated: 2009-11-02 @ 19:12:27 EST
The place and time in which the action of a narrative takes place… - critical essay - definition and examples of critical essaysCreated: 2009-11-02 @ 18:15:44 EST Updated: 2009-11-02 @ 18:18:11 EST
A composition that offers an analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of a text… - Of Figures of Speech, by Lindley Murray (1817) - Essays on Style - G…Created: 2009-11-02 @ 16:46:11 EST
Though hardly a definitive study even for its time, Lindley Murray's treatment of the major figures of speech contains some enduring insights and illuminating examples… - Is It Wrong to Begin a Sentence With "But"? - Grammar and Usage Myth…Created: 2009-11-02 @ 06:13:41 EST
It has been common practice to begin sentences with a conjunction since at least as far back as the 10th century… - That the Worst Puns Are the Best, by Charles Lamb - Classic British …Created: 2009-11-01 @ 18:01:39 EST
"There is a persistent difference of opinion about puns," Max Eastman said, "some finding them cottony in the mouth, and others doting on the taste of them." As Charles Lamb mak… - Young and Youthful - Commonly Confused Words - Young versus YouthfulCreated: 2009-11-01 @ 01:09:58 EDT Updated: 2009-11-01 @ 04:35:52 EST
Although these two adjectives have similar meanings, "young" tends to be a neutral statement of fact (in an early stage of life) while "youthful" often suggests the positive qua… - Amuse and Bemuse - Commonly Confused Words - Amuse versus BemuseCreated: 2009-11-01 @ 00:01:40 EDT Updated: 2009-11-01 @ 00:13:23 EDT
The verb "amuse" means to entertain or to appeal to an audience's sense of humor. The verb "bemuse" generally means to puzzle, distract, or bewilder… - Perverse and Perverted - Commonly Confused Words - Perverse versus P…Created: 2009-10-31 @ 20:03:41 EDT Updated: 2009-10-31 @ 20:26:16 EDT
The adjective perverse generally means stubborn, cranky, wrong-headed, or incorrect. Perverted means twisted, distorted, corrupt. … - Noisome and Noisy - Commonly Confused Words - Noisome versus NoisyCreated: 2009-10-31 @ 19:10:55 EDT Updated: 2009-10-31 @ 19:58:44 EDT
The adjective noisome means obnoxious, harmful, offensive to the senses (especially the sense of smell). It doesn't mean making noise (noisy)… - Five Words That May Not Mean What You Think They Mean - Literally Ra…Created: 2009-10-31 @ 06:36:32 EDT Updated: 2009-10-31 @ 06:55:42 EDT
It's not unusual for the meanings of words to change over time. What's especially intriguing--and often perplexing--is to observe such changes in our own time. Here we consider five examples of wor… - predigested thinking - definition and examples of predigested thinki…Created: 2009-10-31 @ 03:40:43 EDT
The reduction of a complex idea to a slogan or simple formula "with all the qualifications, distinctions, and uncertainties left out" (R. H. Thouless, "Straight and Crooked Thinking&… - psittacism - definition and examples of psittacismCreated: 2009-10-31 @ 03:37:05 EDT
Thoughtless repetition of a word or phrase; using a word without regard for its meaning… - Campaign to Cut the Clutter - Ten Good Small Words - More Tips on Wr…Created: 2009-10-30 @ 23:16:00 EDT Updated: 2009-10-30 @ 23:24:53 EDT
We continue our campaign to cut the clutter by honoring ten good small words. Unfortunately, these words are so common that some writers try to avoid their company, favoring longer expressions that… - Practice in Making a Simple Outline for a Cause & Effect Paragraph -…Created: 2009-10-30 @ 04:24:31 EDT Updated: 2009-10-30 @ 05:20:37 EDT
Here we'll practice making a simple outline: a list of the key points in a paragraph or essay. This basic outline can help us revise a composition by showing at a glance if we need to add, remove, … - Example Paragraph: Confessions of a Slob - Sample Paragraph Develope…Created: 2009-10-29 @ 23:19:43 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 23:26:41 EDT
The following paragraph is effectively developed with specific examples. "Confessions of a Slob" is also well organized, but it lacks a satisfactory concluding sentence. … - Example Paragraph: Junk Food Junkie - Identifying Connections and Ad…Created: 2009-10-29 @ 22:25:54 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 23:33:27 EDT
This paragraph is effectively developed with specific examples. "Junk Food Junkie" is also a well-organized paragraph, but it lacks a satisfactory concluding sentence. … - medium - definition and examples of mediumCreated: 2009-10-29 @ 20:48:44 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 21:10:06 EDT
(1) A channel or system of communication. (2) The means of transmitting information between a speaker or writer (the sender) and an audience (the receiver)… - absolute metaphor - definition and examples of absolute metaphorsCreated: 2009-10-29 @ 17:35:45 EDT
A metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which one of the terms (the tenor) can't be readily distinguished from the other (the vehicle)… - public sphere - definition and examples of public sphereCreated: 2009-10-29 @ 17:10:25 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 17:25:21 EDT
In rhetoric, the physical or (more commonly) virtual place where citizens exchange ideas, information, attitudes, and opinions… - constraints - definition and examples of constraints in rhetoric - r…Created: 2009-10-29 @ 16:12:14 EDT
In rhetoric, those factors that restrict the persuasive strategies or opportunities available to a speaker or writer… - exigence - definition and examples of exigenceCreated: 2009-10-29 @ 07:27:51 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 16:15:45 EDT
In rhetoric, an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak. … - eloquence - definition and examples of eloquenceCreated: 2009-10-29 @ 06:23:56 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 06:25:57 EDT
The quality of forceful and persuasive discourse… - syntactic ambiguity - definition and examples of syntactic ambiguityCreated: 2009-10-28 @ 16:52:31 EDT Updated: 2009-10-29 @ 01:57:10 EDT
The presence of two or more possible meanings within a single sentence or sequence of words… - lexical ambiguity - definition and examples of lexical ambiguityCreated: 2009-10-28 @ 16:29:47 EDT Updated: 2009-10-28 @ 19:15:11 EDT
The presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word. … - light verb - definition and examples of light verbsCreated: 2009-10-27 @ 05:46:48 EDT
A verb with no meaning of its own that serves merely to convert another word in a sentence into a verb form… - loan shift - definition and examples of loan shiftsCreated: 2009-10-27 @ 01:40:44 EDT
A change in the meaning of an established native word to accommodate a new concept acquired from another language… - epigraph - definition and examples of epigraphsCreated: 2009-10-26 @ 16:02:22 EDT
(1) A brief motto or quotation set at the beginning of a text to suggest its theme. (2) Words inscribed on a wall, a building, or the base of a statue… - epitaph - definition and examples of epitaphsCreated: 2009-10-26 @ 15:59:07 EDT
(1) A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. (2) A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration… - reporting verb - definition and examples of reporting verbsCreated: 2009-10-25 @ 17:16:26 EDT
A verb used to indicate that discourse is being quoted or paraphrased… - rhetorical stance - definition and examples of rhetorical stanceCreated: 2009-10-25 @ 06:58:07 EDT
A writer's subject, audience, and persona (or voice)… - silent letter - definition and examples of silent letters or silent …Created: 2009-10-24 @ 01:27:53 EDT Updated: 2009-10-24 @ 01:31:46 EDT
A letter that is usually left unpronounced… - verbing - definition and examples of verbingCreated: 2009-10-23 @ 16:26:57 EDT
A type of conversion (or functional shift) in which a noun is used as a verb or verbal… - What Is Verbing? - Turning Nouns Into Verbs - Definition and Example…Created: 2009-10-23 @ 16:19:50 EDT Updated: 2009-10-23 @ 16:24:16 EDT
Verbing is a time-honored way of coining new words out of old ones, the etymological process of conversion (or functional shifting). Sometimes it's also a kind of word play… - London University Matriculation Papers in English Language: 1871-188…Created: 2009-10-23 @ 02:55:45 EDT Updated: 2009-10-23 @ 03:09:49 EDT
These five English language examination papers were originally published in an appendix to "An Epitome of English Grammar," a textbook published in 1885… - Why the Adverb Is Not Our Friend - The Part of Speech That Gets No R…Created: 2009-10-22 @ 20:48:41 EDT Updated: 2009-10-23 @ 04:11:01 EDT
Without a doubt, the adverb is both the poor stepchild and the Rodney Dangerfield of the parts of speech, enduring the scorn of writers and critics alike. … - What Are "Snarl Words" and "Purr Words"? - Definition and Examples o…Created: 2009-10-22 @ 18:17:59 EDT Updated: 2009-10-23 @ 04:31:00 EDT
The terms "snarl words" and "purr words" were coined by S. I. Hayakawa to describe highly connotative language that often serves as a substitute for serious thought and well-rea… - Niagara Falls by Rupert Brooke - Classic British and American Essay…Created: 2009-10-22 @ 04:24:51 EDT Updated: 2009-10-22 @ 04:36:39 EDT
Although best known for his poetry, Rupert Brooke was also a skilled essayist. He composed this highly descriptive piece of travel writing during a tour of the United States and Canada in 1913… - A Word for Autumn by A.A. Milne - Classic British Essays - An Essay …Created: 2009-10-22 @ 01:24:48 EDT Updated: 2009-10-22 @ 01:32:12 EDT
In "A Word for Autumn," first published in 1919, Milne attends playfully to the "precious root" that represents "the general blessings of the autumn"--celery… - The Almost Perfect State by Don Marquis - Classic American Essays - …Created: 2009-10-21 @ 23:32:23 EDT Updated: 2009-10-21 @ 23:38:28 EDT
"The Almost Perfect State" illustrates the delicate balance of biting wit and lyrical reflection in Marquis's finest prose. As Christopher Morley wrote in his introduction to the essay in… - Indo-European - Definition and Examples of Indo-European - LanguagesCreated: 2009-10-21 @ 06:55:32 EDT
A family of languages (including most of the languages spoken in Europe, India, and Iran) descended from a common tongue spoken in the third millennium B.C… - Grimm's Law - Definition and Examples of Grimm's LawCreated: 2009-10-21 @ 06:47:16 EDT
A statement of the relationship between certain consonants in Germanic languages and their originals in Indo-European… - repetition - definition and examples of repetitionCreated: 2009-10-21 @ 00:59:37 EDT Updated: 2009-10-21 @ 01:21:00 EDT
An instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage--dwelling on a point. … - baby talk - definition and examples of baby talkCreated: 2009-10-20 @ 07:21:06 EDT
The simple language forms used by young children, or the modified form of speech often used by adults with young children… - glottal stop - definition and examples of glottal stopCreated: 2009-10-20 @ 01:47:16 EDT
In phonetics, a stop sound made by rapidly closing the vocal cords… - Estuary English - Definition and Examples of Estuary EnglishCreated: 2009-10-20 @ 00:49:59 EDT Updated: 2009-10-20 @ 15:01:22 EDT
A contemporary variety of British English: a mixture of non-regional and southeastern English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary… - Australianism - Definition and Examples of AustralianismsCreated: 2009-10-19 @ 21:19:20 EDT
An English word or phrase--or a feature of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation--that originated in Australia and/or is used primarily by Australians… - Briticism - Definition and Examples of Briticisms or BritishismCreated: 2009-10-19 @ 19:39:13 EDT Updated: 2009-10-19 @ 21:24:42 EDT
A word or phrase that is typical of English as it is used in Britain… - Americanism - Definition and Examples of AmericanismsCreated: 2009-10-19 @ 18:53:39 EDT Updated: 2009-10-19 @ 21:23:48 EDT
An English word or phrase--or a feature of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation--that originated in the United States and/or is used primarily by Americans. … - audience analysis - definition and examples of audience analysisCreated: 2009-10-18 @ 22:21:09 EDT
In composing an essay, report, speech, or argument, the process of determining the values, interests, and attitudes of the intended audience. … - journalists' questions - definition and examples of the journalist's…Created: 2009-10-18 @ 17:12:15 EDT Updated: 2009-10-18 @ 21:19:33 EDT
The questions answered in the lead of a conventional newspaper article… - mystification - definition and examples of mystification - rhetorica…Created: 2009-10-18 @ 03:27:45 EDT
The use of language to deceive others or to disguise the conditions of our social existence… - weasel word - definition and examples of weasel wordsCreated: 2009-10-18 @ 03:06:14 EDT
A modifying word that undermines or contradicts the meaning of the word, phrase, or clause it accompanies… - aptronym - definition and examples of aptronymsCreated: 2009-10-17 @ 07:08:37 EDT
A name that matches the occupation or character of its owner, often in a humorous or ironic way… - How to Write Good by William Safire - Safire's Fumblerules for Write…Created: 2009-10-16 @ 20:28:06 EDT Updated: 2009-10-16 @ 20:30:01 EDT
Language maven William Safire's best known column included these 17 fumblerules--"mistakes that call attention to the rule."… - therapeutic metaphor - definition and examples of therapeutic metaph…Created: 2009-10-16 @ 18:39:05 EDT
A metaphor (or figurative comparison) used by a therapist to assist a client in the process of personal transformation, healing, and growth… - root metaphor - definition and examples of root metaphorCreated: 2009-10-16 @ 18:37:28 EDT
An image, narrative, or fact that shapes an individual's perception of the world and interpretation of reality… - complex metaphor - definition and examples of complex or telescoped …Created: 2009-10-16 @ 18:25:02 EDT
A metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which the literal meaning is expressed through more than one figurative term… - Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Metaphor - Types of Metaphors - Exampl…Created: 2009-10-16 @ 17:44:30 EDT Updated: 2009-10-16 @ 18:06:36 EDT
All of us, every day, speak, write, and think in metaphors. And there are countless ways of looking at them, thinking about them, using them. Here are 13 types of metaphors, with links to examples … - squish - definition and examples of squish or fuzzy grammarCreated: 2009-10-16 @ 03:47:37 EDT
The view that grammatical constructions do not have strict boundaries but occur on a continuum… - pragmatic competence - definition and examples of pragmatic competen…Created: 2009-10-15 @ 22:58:09 EDT Updated: 2009-10-15 @ 23:11:22 EDT
The ability to use language in a contextually appropriate fashion… - content word - definition and examples of content wordsCreated: 2009-10-15 @ 20:21:41 EDT
A word that conveys information in a text or speech act… - perlocutionary - definition and examples of perlocutionary actsCreated: 2009-10-15 @ 17:52:52 EDT Updated: 2009-10-15 @ 21:38:12 EDT
In speech-act theory, an action or state of mind brought about by, or as a consequence of, saying something. … - foreigner talk - definition and examples of foreigner talkCreated: 2009-10-13 @ 05:21:02 EDT Updated: 2009-10-13 @ 05:41:12 EDT
A simplified version of a language that is sometimes used by native speakers when addressing non-native speakers. … - disjunction - definition and examples of disjunctionCreated: 2009-10-09 @ 11:03:57 EDT
A coordinate construction that uses a disjunctive conjunction (usually "or" or "either . . . or") to indicate a contrast. … - adverbial - definition and examples of adverbialsCreated: 2009-10-09 @ 11:00:46 EDT
A phrase or clause that performs the function of an adverb… - dummy word - definition and examples of dummy wordsCreated: 2009-10-08 @ 18:29:14 EDT Updated: 2009-10-08 @ 18:32:33 EDT
A word that has a grammatical function but no specific meaning… - Whoever and Whomever - Commonly Confused Words - Whoever versus Whom…Created: 2009-10-08 @ 15:11:56 EDT
In the manner of "who" and "whom," use "whoever" when a sentence requires a subject pronoun; use "whomever" when a sentence requires an object pronoun… - On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake, by William James - Classic…Created: 2009-10-07 @ 17:06:52 EDT Updated: 2009-10-07 @ 17:28:49 EDT
When the great earthquake struck San Francisco on the morning of April 18, 1906, philosopher William James was profoundly affected not only by the terrible devastation but also by the heroic human … - justification - definition and examples of justificationCreated: 2009-10-07 @ 05:40:43 EDT
In typesetting and printing, the process or result of spacing text so that the lines come out even at the margins… - margin - definition and examples of marginsCreated: 2009-10-07 @ 05:01:51 EDT Updated: 2009-10-07 @ 05:44:59 EDT
The part of a page outside the main body of text… - indentation - definition and examples of indention or indentationCreated: 2009-10-07 @ 04:29:49 EDT Updated: 2009-10-07 @ 05:05:17 EDT
The blank space between a margin and the beginning of a line of text… - gambler's fallacy - definition and examples of the gambler's fallacy…Created: 2009-10-07 @ 02:34:52 EDT
A fallacy in which an inference is drawn on the assumption that a series of chance events will determine the outcome of a subsequent event… - 100 Major Works of Modern Creative Nonfiction - A Reading List for L…Created: 2009-10-07 @ 02:28:24 EDT
Essays, memoirs, biographies, travel writing, history, cultural studies, nature and science writing--all fit under the broad heading of creative nonfiction, and all are represented here: an alphabe… - Hot Hands, by Stephen Jay Gould - Scrapbook of Styles - Passage From…Created: 2009-10-07 @ 02:22:59 EDT Updated: 2009-10-07 @ 02:27:30 EDT
In this excerpt from the essay "The Streak of Streaks," paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould relies on examples and statistics to explain--and debunk--the popular belief known as "hot ha… - citation - definition and examples of citationsCreated: 2009-10-05 @ 20:54:27 EDT
A source quoted in an essay, report, or book to clarify, illustrate, or substantiate a point… - situational irony - definition and examples of the irony of situationCreated: 2009-10-05 @ 20:36:15 EDT
An occasion in which the outcome is significantly different from what was expected or considered appropriate. … - appeal - definition and examples of appealsCreated: 2009-10-04 @ 18:58:55 EDT Updated: 2009-10-04 @ 19:09:56 EDT
In classical rhetoric, one of the three main persuasive strategies: the appeal to logic (logos), the appeal to the emotions (pathos), and the appeal to the character (or perceived character) of the… - open class - definition and examples of open classCreated: 2009-10-03 @ 18:15:52 EDT
The category of content words--that is, parts of speech (or word classes) that readily accept new members… - lexical verb - definition and examples of lexical verbsCreated: 2009-10-03 @ 18:08:01 EDT
Any verb in English that is not an auxiliary verb… - epicene - definition and examples of epiceneCreated: 2009-10-02 @ 18:28:28 EDT
(1) In traditional grammar, a noun that can refer to either sex without changing its form. (2) A gender-neutral pronoun--also known as a generic pronoun… - jeremiad - definition and examples of jeremiadCreated: 2009-10-01 @ 21:20:54 EDT
A speech or literary work expressing a bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of doom. … - Toulmin model - definition and examples of the Toulmin model of dedu…Created: 2009-10-01 @ 02:39:14 EDT
A six-part model of argument introduced by British philosopher Stephen Toulmin. The Toulmin model can be used as a tool for analyzing and categorizing arguments… - backing - definition and examples of backingCreated: 2009-10-01 @ 02:33:44 EDT
In the Toulmin model of argument, the support or explanation provided for the warrant… - warrant - definition and examples of warrantCreated: 2009-10-01 @ 01:18:29 EDT
In the Toulmin model of argument, a general rule indicating the relevance of a claim. … - data - definition and examples of dataCreated: 2009-10-01 @ 00:13:32 EDT Updated: 2009-10-01 @ 02:42:28 EDT
In the Toulmin model of argument, the evidence or specific information that supports a claim… - language family - definition and examples of language familiesCreated: 2009-09-30 @ 16:11:44 EDT
A set of languages deriving from a common ancestor or "parent."… - eye dialect - definition and examples of eye dialect and eye spellingCreated: 2009-09-30 @ 14:54:36 EDT
The representation of regional or dialectal variations by spelling words in nonstandard ways… - The Alphabet Poem from "The Admiral's Caravan" by Charles E. Carryl …Created: 2009-09-30 @ 04:48:46 EDT
This nonsensical alphabet poem is the daily "exercise" recited by Bob Scarlet, a character in Charles E. Carryl's children's book "The Admiral's Caravan" (1891). When you can an… - Conjugal Conjugations, by A.W. Bellaw - Irregular Verbs in Verse - T…Created: 2009-09-30 @ 03:52:06 EDT Updated: 2009-09-30 @ 04:44:01 EDT
A.W. Bellaw, a 19th-century American poet and humorist, plays with irregular verbs in this light-hearted marriage proposal… - semantic field - definition and examples of semantic field or lexica…Created: 2009-09-30 @ 00:45:58 EDT
A set of words (or lexemes) related in meaning… - psycholinguistics - definition and examples of psycholinguisticsCreated: 2009-09-28 @ 22:03:19 EDT
The study of the mental aspects of language and speech--a branch of both linguistics and psychology… - mental lexicon - definition and examples of mental lexiconCreated: 2009-09-28 @ 21:57:41 EDT
In psycholinguistics, a person's internalized knowledge of the properties of words. … - oration - definition and examples of orationsCreated: 2009-09-28 @ 19:48:48 EDT
A speech delivered in a formal and dignified manner… - lexical set - definition and examples of lexical setsCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 22:56:53 EDT
A group of words that share a specific form or meaning. More specifically, as defined by John C. Wells (1982), a group of words in which particular vowels are pronounced in the same way… - proof - definition and examples of proofs and proof sheets in printi…Created: 2009-09-27 @ 20:04:22 EDT
A trial sheet of printed material made to be checked and corrected. … - ghost word - definition and examples of ghost wordsCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 17:20:41 EDT
A word that has never occurred in actual usage but that appears in one or more dictionaries, usually because of a lexicographical or typographical error… - phantonym - definition and examples of phantonymsCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 17:01:33 EDT
An informal term for "a word that looks as if it means one thing but means quite another" (Jack Rosenthal)… - Chinese rhetoric - definition and examples of Chinese rhetoricCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 06:03:59 EDT
The practice and study of persuasive discourse in China… - classical rhetoric - definition and examples of classical rhetoricCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 05:52:17 EDT
The practice and teaching of rhetoric in ancient Greece and Rome from roughly the fifth century B.C. to the early Middle Ages… - parts of a speech - definition and examples of the parts of a speech…Created: 2009-09-27 @ 05:28:08 EDT Updated: 2009-09-27 @ 05:31:03 EDT
In classical rhetoric, the divisions of a speech: arrangement… - proof - definition and examples of proof in rhetoricCreated: 2009-09-27 @ 03:30:22 EDT Updated: 2009-09-27 @ 20:09:29 EDT
In rhetoric, the part of a speech or written composition that sets out the arguments in support of a thesis… - division - definition and examples of division and partition - parts…Created: 2009-09-27 @ 00:18:39 EDT Updated: 2009-09-27 @ 05:40:26 EDT
In classical rhetoric, the part of a speech in which an orator outlines the key points and overall structure of a speech… - digression - definition and examples of digressionCreated: 2009-09-26 @ 23:19:48 EDT Updated: 2009-09-27 @ 05:33:31 EDT
The act of departing from the main subject in speech or writing to discuss an apparently unrelated topic. … - Quiz on 20 Commonly Confused Words - Review of Commonly Confused Wor…Created: 2009-09-26 @ 06:55:45 EDT Updated: 2009-09-26 @ 16:49:44 EDT
In our Glossary of Usage you'll find more than 150 sets of commonly confused words. To test your familiarity with 20 of these word pairs, take a few minutes to do the following quiz… - Premier and Premiere - Commonly Confused Words - Premier versus Prem…Created: 2009-09-25 @ 23:30:21 EDT Updated: 2009-09-25 @ 23:34:13 EDT
As an adjective, "premier" means first in rank or importance. The noun "premier" refers to a prime minister, or the head of a state, province, or territory. The noun "premi… - Hoard and Horde - Commonly Confused Words - Hoard versus HordeCreated: 2009-09-25 @ 20:51:06 EDT Updated: 2009-09-25 @ 22:39:03 EDT
The noun "hoard" refers to a supply of something that has been stored up and often hidden away. As a verb, "hoard" means to collect and store away or to keep something to onesel… - primary metaphor - definition and examples of primary metaphorsCreated: 2009-09-25 @ 16:21:31 EDT
A basic, intuitively understood metaphor--such as KNOWING IS SEEING or TIME IS MOTION--that may be combined with other primary metaphors to produce complex metaphors… - Bill Barich's Descriptive Narrative - Steelhead on the Russian - Pa…Created: 2009-09-25 @ 06:36:44 EDT Updated: 2009-09-25 @ 18:08:32 EDT
In "Steelhead on the Russian," Bill Barich recounts his experiences fishing for trout in northern California's Russian River. Here, after seeking advice from his mentor, he describes his … - mother tongue - definition and examples of mother tongue or first la…Created: 2009-09-25 @ 00:51:51 EDT
A person's native language--that is, a language learned from birth… - native speaker - definition and examples of native speakersCreated: 2009-09-25 @ 00:04:37 EDT Updated: 2009-09-25 @ 00:56:13 EDT
A speaker who uses a first language or mother tongue… - metalanguage - definition and examples of metalanguageCreated: 2009-09-24 @ 23:26:37 EDT
Language used in talking about language… - contact language - definition and examples of contact languagesCreated: 2009-09-24 @ 23:11:46 EDT
A marginal language (a type of lingua franca) used for purposes of basic communication by people with no common language… - block language - definition and examples of block languageCreated: 2009-09-24 @ 19:36:00 EDT
Language structures--typical of headlines, slogans, lists, and text messages (including Tweets)--made up only of words that are essential to convey a message… - exophora - definition and examples of exophora and exophoric referen…Created: 2009-09-24 @ 18:52:03 EDT
The use of a pronoun or other word or phrase to refer to someone or something outside the text… - existential sentence - definition and examples of existential senten…Created: 2009-09-24 @ 17:35:40 EDT
A sentence that asserts the existence or nonexistence of something. For this purpose, English relies on constructions introduced by "There." … - The Aspect of London by Arthur Symons - Classic British Essays - Cha…Created: 2009-09-23 @ 01:40:36 EDT Updated: 2009-09-23 @ 01:49:56 EDT
Arthur Symons' highly descriptive writing shows the influence of the impressionist painters he deeply admired. As critic Nicholas Freeman has observed, "Symons does not confine himself entirel… - The Art of Controversy, by Ambrose Bierce - Classic American Essays …Created: 2009-09-22 @ 21:43:10 EDT Updated: 2009-09-22 @ 22:04:31 EDT
In "The Art of Controversy," Ambrose Bierce examines the irrational appeals underlying most arguments. What's more important than winning an argument, Bierce says, is defeating an opponen… - submerged metaphor - definition and examples of submerged metaphorsCreated: 2009-09-21 @ 15:50:08 EDT
A type of metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which one of the terms (either the vehicle or the tenor) is implied rather than stated explicitly… - zero article - definition and examples of zero articlesCreated: 2009-09-21 @ 15:46:39 EDT
An occasion in speech or writing where a noun or noun phrase is not preceded by an article… - Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - definition and examples of the Sapir-Whorf …Created: 2009-09-21 @ 15:23:28 EDT
The linguistic theory that the semantic structure of a language shapes or limits the ways in which a speaker forms conceptions of the world… - verbal irony - definition and examples of verbal ironyCreated: 2009-09-21 @ 00:14:19 EDT
A trope (or figure of speech) in which the intended meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. … - cognitive linguistics - definition and examples of cognitive linguis…Created: 2009-09-20 @ 23:04:43 EDT
A cluster of overlapping approaches to the study of language as a mental phenomenon… - dramatic irony - definition and examples of dramatic or tragic ironyCreated: 2009-09-20 @ 21:11:19 EDT
An occasion in a play, film, or other creative work in which the words or actions of a character convey a meaning unperceived by the character but understood by the audience… - sign - definition and examples of signsCreated: 2009-09-20 @ 04:05:51 EDT
Any motion, gesture, image, sound, pattern, or event that conveys meaning. … - sentence combining - definition and examples of sentence combining e…Created: 2009-09-19 @ 19:26:51 EDT Updated: 2009-09-19 @ 20:23:33 EDT
The process of joining two or more short, simple sentences to make one longer sentence--an alternative to traditional grammar instruction. … - performance grammar - definition and examples of performance grammarsCreated: 2009-09-19 @ 01:44:11 EDT
A description of the syntax of English as it is actually used by speakers in spontaneous dialogues. … - competence grammar - definition and examples of competence grammarCreated: 2009-09-19 @ 00:42:15 EDT
See "mental grammar."… - Word Grammar - definition and examples of Word GrammarCreated: 2009-09-19 @ 00:10:45 EDT
A theory of language structure which holds that grammatical knowledge is largely a body (or network) of knowledge about words… - redundancy - definition and examples of redundanciesCreated: 2009-09-18 @ 20:18:11 EDT Updated: 2009-09-18 @ 20:20:47 EDT
(1) Any feature of a language that is not needed in order to identify a linguistic unit. (2) In generative grammar, any language feature that can be predicted on the basis of other language feature… - O-U-G-H, by Charles Battell Loomis - The Pronunciation Poem - Spelli…Created: 2009-09-18 @ 04:48:22 EDT
Composed well over a century ago, this bit of light verse by Charles Battell Loomis nicely illustrates the vagaries of English spelling and pronunciation… - On Studies, by Samuel Johnson - Classic British Essays - The Role of…Created: 2009-09-18 @ 01:54:57 EDT
In an essay that first appeared in 1753, Samuel Johnson explores some of the themes introduced by Francis Bacon in "Of Studies" (1625). Compare Bacon's terse aphoristic style with Johnson… - elocution - definition and examples of elocutionCreated: 2009-09-18 @ 01:49:27 EDT
The art of effective public speaking. In classical rhetoric, one of the traditional rhetorical canons: "elocutio," or what is now called style… - To a Thesaurus, by Franklin P. Adams - Light Verse - Encomium to a T…Created: 2009-09-17 @ 18:08:28 EDT Updated: 2009-09-17 @ 22:05:57 EDT
In this poem (included in "Tobogganing on Parnassus," 1912), Franklin P. Adams (better known as FPA) delivers an amusing encomium to the poet's best friend--his thesaurus… - appeal to the people - definition and examples of the logical fallac…Created: 2009-09-16 @ 23:16:33 EDT
An argument (generally considered a logical fallacy) based on widespread opinions, values, or prejudices and often delivered in an emotionally charged way… - rhetoricality - definition and examples of rhetoricalityCreated: 2009-09-16 @ 02:59:25 EDT Updated: 2009-09-16 @ 03:13:27 EDT
A modern (or postmodern) view of rhetoric as an inherent feature of language or as a condition of our existence as language-using creatures rather than a conventional academic discipline or an over… - archaism - definition and examples of archaismsCreated: 2009-09-15 @ 15:10:56 EDT
A word or phrase that is considered extremely old fashioned and long out of common use… - Gourmand and Gourmet - Commonly Confused Words - Gourmand versus Gou…Created: 2009-09-15 @ 03:00:51 EDT Updated: 2009-09-15 @ 03:05:03 EDT
The noun "gourmand" refers to someone who is extremely (and often excessively) fond of eating and drinking. A "gourmet" (both a noun and an adjective) is a connoisseur: someone … - Grisly and Grizzly - Commonly Confused Words - Grisly versus GrizzlyCreated: 2009-09-15 @ 01:52:48 EDT Updated: 2009-09-15 @ 03:17:18 EDT
The adjective "grisly" means horrible, fearsome, disgusting. The noun "grizzly" refers to a large brown bear. As an adjective, "grizzly" (more commonly "grizzled&… - Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech by William Faulkner - Classic Essays a…Created: 2009-09-13 @ 16:40:25 EDT
William Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 "for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." In his acceptance speech, delivere… - Rodeo and Baseball, by Gretel Ehrlich - Scrapbook of Styles - Compar…Created: 2009-09-12 @ 23:07:52 EDT Updated: 2009-09-12 @ 23:11:33 EDT
Award-winning essayist and novelist Gretel Ehrlich has said that she's happiest when outdoors, whether on a ranch in Wyoming or an ice sheet in Greenland. In this paragraph from her first book, &qu… - Where Are the Best Places to Write? - Finding a Good Place for Writi…Created: 2009-09-12 @ 21:30:11 EDT Updated: 2009-09-12 @ 21:32:42 EDT
If a cork-lined room doesn't happen to be available, where is the place to write? J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Annie Dillard, and several other professional writers offer some advice… - What Is the Secret of Good Writing? - Ten Secrets of Good WritingCreated: 2009-09-12 @ 20:45:52 EDT Updated: 2009-09-12 @ 23:18:10 EDT
There must be a secret to good writing--the kind of writing we enjoy, remember, learn from, and try to imitate. While countless writers have been willing to reveal that secret, only rarely do they … - Gifts, by Ralph Waldo Emerson - Classic American Essays - Essay by R…Created: 2009-09-12 @ 04:58:38 EDT Updated: 2009-09-12 @ 15:29:21 EDT
In this short essay (an extended definition), Emerson encourages us to do some "high thinking" about the nature of both gift-giving and gift-receiving. As the critic David Herd has observ… - colloquialism - definition and examples of colloquialismsCreated: 2009-09-11 @ 20:05:08 EDT
An informal expression that is more often used in casual conversation than in formal speech or writing. … - ironist - definition and examples of ironistCreated: 2009-09-11 @ 19:05:09 EDT Updated: 2009-09-11 @ 19:17:13 EDT
A notable user of irony, especially a writer or performer. … - gradience - definition and examples of gradienceCreated: 2009-09-09 @ 21:25:55 EDT
The quality of indeterminacy (or blurred boundaries) on a graduated scale connecting two linguistic elements… - source domain - definition and examples of source domainsCreated: 2009-09-09 @ 16:18:11 EDT
See "conceptual domain" and "conceptual metaphor."… - target domain - definition and examples of target domainCreated: 2009-09-09 @ 16:08:03 EDT Updated: 2009-09-09 @ 16:11:14 EDT
See conceptual domain and conceptual metaphor… - conceptual domain - definition and examples of conceptual domainsCreated: 2009-09-09 @ 15:59:01 EDT Updated: 2009-09-09 @ 17:36:45 EDT
In studies of metaphor, the representation of any coherent segment of experience, such as the concepts of love or journeys. … - Review and Revue - Commonly Confused Words - Review versus RevueCreated: 2009-09-06 @ 22:31:57 EDT Updated: 2009-09-06 @ 22:37:36 EDT
The noun "revue" refers to a musical or theatrical production. As both a noun and a verb, "review" has the sense of inspecting, surveying, or critically evaluating… - Amoral and Immoral - Commonly Confused Words - Amoral versus ImmoralCreated: 2009-09-06 @ 21:47:36 EDT
The adjective "amoral" means lying outside the moral order or acting without regard for any particular code of morality. The adjective "immoral" means not moral--that is, violat… - A Hanging, by George Orwell - Classic British Essays - George Orwell…Created: 2009-09-05 @ 18:27:38 EDT Updated: 2009-09-05 @ 19:11:59 EDT
From 1922 to 1927, George Orwell served in Burma as a member of the Indian Imperial Police. Out of that experience came this classic essay, "A Hanging."… - What Is an Eponym? - Examples of Eponyms - Words Derived From Proper…Created: 2009-09-05 @ 15:53:41 EDT
An eponym is a word derived from the proper name of a person or place. Some eponyms ("sandwich" and "valentine," for instance) are well known. But there are hundreds of other ep… - What Is Monologophobia? - Elegant Variation and the Fear of Repetiti…Created: 2009-09-04 @ 04:30:13 EDT Updated: 2009-09-04 @ 13:42:19 EDT
An overwhelming fear of using a word more than once in a single sentence, or even in a single paragraph. … - Edward Abbey's List of Examples in "The Great American Desert" - Scr…Created: 2009-09-03 @ 15:13:50 EDT Updated: 2009-09-03 @ 15:20:10 EDT
In this passage from chapter two of "Journey Home," rogue environmentalist Edward Abbey identifies some of the most unappealing characteristics of desert life through a series of vivid ex… - cleft - definition and examples of cleft sentencesCreated: 2009-09-02 @ 15:43:04 EDT Updated: 2009-09-02 @ 15:46:35 EDT
A construction in which some element in a sentence is moved from its normal position into a separate clause to give it greater emphasis… - dramatism - definition and examples of dramatismCreated: 2009-08-26 @ 15:31:25 EDT
A metaphor introduced by the 20th-century rhetorician Kenneth Burke to describe his critical method, which includes study of the various relations (ratios) among the five qualities that comprise th… - Reasons and Examples in Paul Fussell's "Class" - Scrapbook of Styles…Created: 2009-08-25 @ 03:43:47 EDT Updated: 2009-08-25 @ 03:50:48 EDT
This passage considers one of the more visible signs of social class: clothing and other belongings "with messages on them you're supposed to read and admire." Notice how Fussell introduc… - Epigram, Epigraph, and Epitaph - Commonly Confused Words - Epigram a…Created: 2009-08-25 @ 02:12:21 EDT
Each of these words beginning with "epi-" (from the Greek word for "upon") has multiple definitions, but here are the most common meanings… - motto - definition and examples of mottoes and mottosCreated: 2009-08-24 @ 15:54:47 EDT Updated: 2009-08-24 @ 18:12:38 EDT
(1) A word, phrase, or sentence that expresses an attitude, ideal, or guiding principle associated with the organization to which it belongs. (2) A brief saying or proverb… - slogan - definition and examples of slogansCreated: 2009-08-24 @ 03:49:21 EDT Updated: 2009-08-24 @ 16:03:53 EDT
A short, attention-getting expression (or catchphrase) used in promoting a product, candidate, or cause… - demonym - definition and examples of demonymsCreated: 2009-08-23 @ 19:26:19 EDT Updated: 2009-08-23 @ 19:28:53 EDT
A name for the people who live in a particular place… - name - definition and examples of namesCreated: 2009-08-23 @ 17:37:06 EDT Updated: 2009-08-24 @ 02:04:15 EDT
An informal term for a word or phrase that designates a person, place, or thing… - nickname - definition and examples of nicknamesCreated: 2009-08-23 @ 17:00:05 EDT Updated: 2009-08-23 @ 17:40:55 EDT
A familiar form of a proper name, or any descriptive name or epithet used informally… - stasis - definition and examples of stasisCreated: 2009-08-23 @ 01:55:00 EDT
In classical rhetoric, the process of, first, identifying the central issues in a dispute, and then finding appropriate arguments by which to address those issues… - ars dictaminis - definition and examples of ars dictaminisCreated: 2009-08-23 @ 00:01:59 EDT
In medieval rhetoric, the art of letter writing… - argumentation - definition and examples of argumentationCreated: 2009-08-22 @ 23:12:24 EDT
The process of forming reasons, justifying beliefs, and drawing conclusions with the aim of influencing the thoughts and/or actions of others. … - paralanguage - definition and examples of paralanguageCreated: 2009-08-20 @ 23:04:57 EDT
See "paralinguistics."… - existential "there" - definition and examples of existential "there"Created: 2009-08-20 @ 18:34:08 EDT
See "existential sentence."… - H.L. Mencken's Hyperbolic Prose Style -Created: 2009-08-18 @ 05:23:42 EDT Updated: 2009-08-18 @ 05:26:33 EDT
Though Mencken died ("deoxidized," he would say) over half a century ago, his rip-roaring style--witty, combative, yet graceful--continues to "stir up the animals" and attract f… - poisoning the well - definition and examples of poisoning the well -…Created: 2009-08-17 @ 16:42:38 EDT Updated: 2009-08-17 @ 16:46:38 EDT
A logical fallacy (a type of ad hominem argument) in which a person attempts to place an opponent in a position from which he or she is unable to reply… - Margaret Fuller and Mary Wollstonecraft, by George Eliot - Classic B…Created: 2009-08-16 @ 18:18:50 EDT Updated: 2009-08-16 @ 18:26:56 EDT
Widely recognized as one of England's greatest novelists, George Eliot (the pen name of Marian Evans) was also a notable poet and critic. In this review essay, Eliot compares two books published 50… - The Patron and the Crocus, by Virginia Woolf - Classic British Essay…Created: 2009-08-16 @ 00:18:24 EDT Updated: 2009-08-16 @ 00:21:51 EDT
Virginia Woolf considers the relationship between a writer and her readers: to what extent should a writer keep her audience in mind when she writes--and which audience should that be?… - uptalk - definition and examples of uptalkCreated: 2009-08-15 @ 18:29:00 EDT Updated: 2009-08-15 @ 18:31:02 EDT
A speech pattern in which phrases and sentences habitually end with a rising sound, as if the statement were a question… - The Land of Little Rain, by Mary Austin - Classic American Essays - …Created: 2009-08-15 @ 03:08:26 EDT Updated: 2009-08-15 @ 03:44:45 EDT
In the first chapter of "The Land of Little Rain," Mary Austin describes the "lotus charm" of "the loneliest land that ever came out of God's hands."… - Review Exercise: Adding Commas to a Paragraph II - Punctuation Revie…Created: 2009-08-14 @ 20:17:59 EDT Updated: 2009-08-14 @ 20:28:45 EDT
Insert commas wherever you think they belong in the paragraph "Frederick Douglass." Try reading the paragraph aloud: at least in some cases, you should be able to hear where commas are ne… - Review Exercise: Adding Commas to a Paragraph - Punctuation Review -…Created: 2009-08-14 @ 19:33:01 EDT Updated: 2009-08-14 @ 20:34:44 EDT
This exercise offers practice in applying the rules for using commas effectively. Insert commas wherever you think they belong in the paragraph "The Least Successful Car." Try reading the… - William Golding's Encomium to Books - Style Scrapbook - Passage From…Created: 2009-08-09 @ 01:27:07 EDT Updated: 2009-08-09 @ 01:41:39 EDT
William Golding originally delivered this encomium to the book in a lecture in 1976--well before the arrival of laptops, Kindles, e-books, and other competitors to what Golding calls "physical… - Narration in Graham Greene's "The Lost Childhood" - Scrapbook of Sty…Created: 2009-08-08 @ 20:13:37 EDT
In this brief narrative from the opening of the essay "The Lost Childhood" (first published in 1947), Graham Greene recalls "the dangerous moment" when he first discovered that … - On the Difference Between Wit and Humor by Charles S. Brooks - Class…Created: 2009-08-07 @ 18:53:27 EDT
Here--in an essay developed with examples, analogies, and personification--Charles S. Brooks offers an extended comparison of wit and humor… - familiar essay - definition and examples of familiar or personal ess…Created: 2009-08-07 @ 18:47:48 EDT
A short prose composition (a type of creative nonfiction) characterized by the personal quality of the writing and the distinctive voice or persona of the essayist… - A Description of the Barracks in Block 16 of Manzanar - From "Farewe…Created: 2009-08-07 @ 02:13:21 EDT
The memoir "Farewell to Manzanar" recounts the experiences of the Wakatsuki family at an American internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. In this excerpt, Jeanne Wakat… - Cause and Effect in "The Dream Animal" by Loren Eiseley - Scrapbook …Created: 2009-08-07 @ 00:46:38 EDT Updated: 2009-08-07 @ 01:00:46 EDT
In this excerpt from the essay "The Dream Animal," an informal study of human evolution, Loren Eiseley relies on patterns of cause and effect to explore the mystery of the rapid emergence… - Sentence Combining #7: Out of the Ice Age - Paragraph Building Exerc…Created: 2009-08-06 @ 19:05:32 EDT Updated: 2009-08-07 @ 06:56:42 EDT
This sentence-combining exercise has been adapted from two paragraphs in "The Dream Animal," a chapter in Loren Eiseley's book "The Immense Journey" (1957). Sentences that can b… - Censor and Censure - Commonly Confused Words - Censor and CensureCreated: 2009-08-06 @ 04:08:37 EDT
The verb "censor" means to suppress or remove something that is considered objectionable. The noun "censor" refers to a person who censors things. The verb "censure" m… - Perquisite and Prerequisite - Commonly Confused Words - Perquisite v…Created: 2009-08-06 @ 03:25:55 EDT Updated: 2009-08-06 @ 03:34:27 EDT
A "perquisite" (sometimes informally shortened to "perk") is a benefit (beyond pay) that is associated with a particular job. A "prerequisite" is something required as… - rhetorician - definition and examples of rhetoricianCreated: 2009-08-05 @ 06:07:47 EDT
(1) A master or teacher of rhetoric. (2) An eloquent speaker or writer… - The Symbolism of Poetry, by W.B. Yeats - Classic British and America…Created: 2009-08-03 @ 05:15:48 EDT Updated: 2009-08-03 @ 05:59:00 EDT
Composed in 1900, Yeats's influential essay "The Symbolism of Poetry" offers an extended definition of symbolism and a meditation on the nature of poetry in general… - Choosing a Style Manual and Documentation Guide - Most Popular Style…Created: 2009-08-02 @ 23:57:00 EDT Updated: 2009-08-03 @ 00:05:58 EDT
A style manual is a set of editing and formatting standards for use by students, researchers, journalists, and other professionals. Style manuals are essential reference works for scholars who need… - Appetite, by Laurie Lee - Scrapbook of Styles - Then and Now Compari…Created: 2009-08-02 @ 01:07:32 EDT Updated: 2009-08-02 @ 01:15:48 EDT
In this excerpt from his essay "Appetite," Laurie Lee uses a then-and-now comparison to illustrate his thesis: "One of the major pleasures in life is appetite, and one of our major d… - tu quoque - definition and examples of tu quoqueCreated: 2009-08-01 @ 15:59:33 EDT Updated: 2009-08-01 @ 16:11:54 EDT
A type of ad hominem argument in which a person turns a charge back on his or her accuser: a logical fallacy… - Reveries Over Childhood and Youth, by W.B. Yeats - Classic Essays - …Created: 2009-08-01 @ 01:42:26 EDT Updated: 2009-08-01 @ 14:46:12 EDT
As recounted in Chapter One of "Reveries Over Childhood and Youth," the Anglo-Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats spent his early years with his mother's family in Sligo. Thoug… - On a Rainy Morning, by Charles S. Brooks - Classic Essays - Personi…Created: 2009-07-31 @ 02:21:23 EDT Updated: 2009-07-31 @ 02:40:54 EDT
In this essay from the collection "Chimney-Pot Papers" (1919), Charles S. Brooks relies on personification and description to convey the pleasures of a rainstorm in the city… - The Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson - Classic Essay…Created: 2009-07-30 @ 04:14:18 EDT Updated: 2009-07-30 @ 04:39:52 EDT
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others, the Declaration of Independence is a classic example of a deductive argument. The basic premises stated in the … - stunt word - definition and examples of stunt wordsCreated: 2009-07-30 @ 01:08:40 EDT Updated: 2009-07-30 @ 01:19:22 EDT
Defined by Tom McArthur in "The Oxford Companion to the English Language" (1992) as an informal, late-20th-century term for "a word created and used to produce a special effect or at… - diacritic mark - definition and examples of diacritic marks - accent…Created: 2009-07-29 @ 02:55:52 EDT
In phonetics, a symbol added to a letter that alters its sense, function, or pronunciation. … - received pronunciation - definition and examples of received pronunc…Created: 2009-07-28 @ 21:42:47 EDT Updated: 2009-07-28 @ 22:58:14 EDT
A once prestigious variety of British English spoken without an identifiable regional accent. … - closed class - definition and examples of closed classCreated: 2009-07-28 @ 01:17:48 EDT Updated: 2009-07-28 @ 02:23:53 EDT
The category of function words--that is, parts of speech (or word classes) that do not readily accept new members… - function word - definition and examples of function wordsCreated: 2009-07-27 @ 21:52:11 EDT Updated: 2009-07-28 @ 01:24:28 EDT
A word that expresses a grammatical relationship… - syntactic blend - definition and examples of syntactic blendCreated: 2009-07-27 @ 20:16:32 EDT
See anacoluthon… - repair - definition and examples of linguistic repairsCreated: 2009-07-27 @ 19:22:52 EDT Updated: 2009-07-27 @ 19:25:52 EDT
The process by which a speaker recognizes a speech error and repeats what has been said with some sort of correction. … - adjunct - definition and examples of adjunctsCreated: 2009-07-25 @ 03:13:53 EDT Updated: 2009-07-25 @ 03:26:05 EDT
A word, phrase, or clause--usually an adverbial--that is integrated within the structure of a sentence and that can be omitted without making the sentence ungrammatical. … - disjunct - definition and examples of disjunctCreated: 2009-07-25 @ 01:33:48 EDT Updated: 2009-07-25 @ 01:44:51 EDT
(1) A type of sentence adverb that comments on the content or manner of what is being said or written. (2) Any of two or more items connected by a disjunctive conjunction ("or"). … - conjunct - definition and examples of conjunctCreated: 2009-07-24 @ 17:09:13 EDT
See "conjunctive adverb."… - Great Vowel Shift - Definition and Examples of the Great Vowel ShiftCreated: 2009-07-24 @ 02:05:58 EDT
The systemic change in the pronunciation of English vowels (in phonetic terms, the raising and fronting of the long, stressed monophthongs) that occurred in southern England during the late Middle … - Marital and Martial - Commonly Confused Words - Marital versus Marti…Created: 2009-07-23 @ 17:25:43 EDT
The adjective "marital" refers to marriage. The adjective "martial" refers to battle, war, or military life… - Economic and Economical - Commonly Cofused Words - Economic versus E…Created: 2009-07-23 @ 16:49:29 EDT Updated: 2009-07-23 @ 16:53:19 EDT
In present-day usage, the "economical" generally means thrifty--marked by careful use of resources or operating with little waste. The adjective "economic" (related to the field… - The Historic Present in "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt - Scrapboo…Created: 2009-07-22 @ 19:04:05 EDT Updated: 2009-07-22 @ 23:00:56 EDT
Narrated in the present tense, McCourt's memoir provides a lyrical and painful account of growing up in Limerick, Ireland… - Examples in Margaret Drabble's "The Missing Piece" - Scrapbook of St…Created: 2009-07-18 @ 21:46:33 EDT
In the opening paragraph from "The Missing Piece," Margaret Drabble introduces her theme with references to various literary figures alongside examples from her own life… - Developing a Topic Sentence With Examples in Pritchett's "London" - …Created: 2009-07-18 @ 21:23:40 EDT Updated: 2009-07-18 @ 21:29:34 EDT
In this paragraph from the essay "London," V.S. Pritchett develops his short topic sentence ("London is prolific in its casualties, its human waste and eccentrics") with a serie… - A List of Standard Contractions in English - Common English Contract…Created: 2009-07-18 @ 18:53:16 EDT Updated: 2009-07-19 @ 17:31:54 EDT
In the table below you'll find some of the most frequently used contractions in English… - A 19th Century College Entrance Exam in English Grammar - History of…Created: 2009-07-18 @ 16:11:00 EDT
In 1870, students who had applied to Illinois Industrial University (now the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) were required to take this entrance exam in English. … - Common Revision Symbols and Abbreviations - Correction SymbolsCreated: 2009-07-18 @ 00:04:47 EDT
Some English instructors use these symbols and abbreviations to guide students during the revision and editing stages of the writing process… - Common Scholarly Abbreviations - English and Latin Abbreviations Use…Created: 2009-07-17 @ 21:30:06 EDT Updated: 2009-07-17 @ 23:52:42 EDT
This list contains some of the common abbreviations found in scholarly documentation--that is, in footnotes, parenthetical notes, glossary entries, and bibliographic references in research papers, … - lower case - definition and examples of lower caseCreated: 2009-07-14 @ 23:20:34 EDT Updated: 2009-07-14 @ 23:28:48 EDT
In the printed alphabet, small letters (a,b,c . . .) as distinguished from capital letters (A,B,C . . . )… - cumulative sentence - definition and examples of cumulative sentence…Created: 2009-07-14 @ 03:22:51 EDT
An independent clause followed by a series of subordinate constructions that gather details about a person, place, event, or idea. … - Cumulative Sentences in "The Falls" by George Saunders - Scrapbook o…Created: 2009-07-14 @ 03:14:12 EDT Updated: 2009-07-14 @ 03:20:03 EDT
"I like style," George Saunders once told an interviewer. "I like to sound odd and, hopefully, unique." In the following two paragraphs from his short story "The Falls,&quo… - What Is a SNOOT - Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar - David Foste…Updated: 2009-12-15 @ 10:19:50 EST
After reading this article, decide if you are a SNOOT: one of "the Few, the Proud, the More or Less Constantly Appalled at Everyone Else."… - editing - definition and examples of editingUpdated: 2009-12-15 @ 10:13:00 EST
A stage of the writing process in which a writer strives to improve a draft (and sometimes prepare it for publication) by correcting errors and by making words and sentences clearer, more precise, … - revision - definition and examples of revision - revising an essay -…Updated: 2009-12-15 @ 10:11:32 EST
The process of rereading a text and making changes (in content, organization, sentence structures, and word choice) to improve it… - Sentence Structures - Basic Sentence Structures…Updated: 2009-12-15 @ 08:56:25 EST
One of the keys to good writing is understanding the countless ways in which basic sentence structures can be combined and arranged. Let's begin, then, by identifying those basic sentence structure… - interjection--definition and examples of interjections…Updated: 2009-12-13 @ 11:05:19 EST
The part of speech that usually expresses emotion and is capable of standing alone… - anagram - definition and examples of anagramUpdated: 2009-12-13 @ 10:22:07 EST
A type of word play in which a word or phrase is formed by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase… - hyperbole - definition and examples of hyperboles…Updated: 2009-12-12 @ 14:30:50 EST
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement… - analogy - definition and examples of analogy - figures of speech…Updated: 2009-12-12 @ 10:54:31 EST
Reasoning or explaining from parallel cases… - Introduction to Sentence Combining - Sentence Combining Exercises…Updated: 2009-12-10 @ 22:34:58 EST
Sentence combining calls on you to experiment with different methods of putting words together. Because there are countless ways to build sentences, your goal is not to find the one "correct&… - Building Sentences with Participial Phrases - Sentence Combining Exe…Updated: 2009-12-10 @ 22:14:51 EST
These sentence-building exercises will give you a chance to apply the principles introduced in "Creating and Arranging Participial Phrases."… - Christmas Afternoon, by Robert Benchley - Classic American Essays - …Updated: 2009-12-10 @ 21:54:52 EST
Robert Benchley's account of the Gummidge family's "Christmas Afternoon"--written "in the manner" of Charles Dickens--is an especially witty example of parody… - climax - definition and examples of climaxUpdated: 2009-12-10 @ 01:28:05 EST
Mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events… - erotesis - definition and examples of erotesisUpdated: 2009-12-07 @ 01:31:04 EST
A rhetorical question implying strong affirmation or denial… - The Myles na Gopaleen Catechism of Cliché - What Is a Cliché? - F…Updated: 2009-12-05 @ 07:13:26 EST
From 1939 until his death in 1966, Brian O'Nolan commanded a satiric weekly column for The Irish Times called "Cruiskeen Lawn." In several of those columns, O'Nolan presented "a uniq… - Cliche Sites for Writers and Editors - Cliche Sites on the Web…Updated: 2009-12-05 @ 07:05:40 EST
Cliches are the enemy of fresh and engaging prose, and we certainly don't need them in our own writing. But before we can eliminate cliches, we need to be able to recognize them. The following web … - dead metaphor - definition and examples of dead metaphorsUpdated: 2009-12-05 @ 06:58:10 EST
A figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use… - cliché - definition and examples of clichésUpdated: 2009-12-05 @ 06:45:29 EST
A trite expression--often a figure of speech whose effectiveness has been worn out through overuse and excessive familiarity… - 400 Writing Topics - Prompts and Suggestions for Paragraphs and Essa…Updated: 2009-12-05 @ 02:37:43 EST
Coming up with a good topic can be one of the hardest parts of composing a paragraph or essay. These 400 topic suggestions should make that job a little easier… - verb - definition and examples of verbs - glossary of grammatical te…Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:34:32 EST
The part of speech that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. … - fronting - definition and examples of frontingUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:33:27 EST
Any construction in which a word group that customarily follows the verb is placed at the beginning of a sentence… - syllogism - definition and examples of syllogismUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:30:20 EST
A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion… - induction - definition and examples of inductionUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:26:11 EST
Method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances… - paromologia - definition and examples of paramologiaUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:22:45 EST
An argumentative strategy (a type of concession) by which a speaker acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point in order to strengthen his or her primary claim. … - concession - definition and examples of concessionUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:19:48 EST
An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point… - deduction - definition and examples of deduction - deductive argumen…Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:18:31 EST
A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises… - logical fallacy - definition and examples and types of informal logi…Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:14:51 EST
An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid… - fallacy - definition and examples of logical fallaciesUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:13:32 EST
An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid… - logical proof - definition and examples of logical proofUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 18:10:06 EST
An argument based on inductive or deductive reasoning… - inversion - definition and examples of inversion in grammarUpdated: 2009-12-03 @ 14:22:37 EST
In grammar, a reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of the subject… - prepositional phrase - definition and examples of prepositional phra…Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 05:34:15 EST
A group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers… - preposition - definition and examples of prepositions - list of comm…Updated: 2009-12-03 @ 05:31:27 EST
A word that indicates the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence… - catachresis--definition and examples of catachresisUpdated: 2009-12-02 @ 23:25:19 EST
The inappropriate use of one word for another, or an extreme, strained, or mixed metaphor, often used deliberately… - "House" Calls - The Metaphors of Dr. Gregory House - Figurative Lang…Updated: 2009-12-02 @ 07:05:00 EST
As regular viewers of "House, M.D." are aware, the show's deeply disturbed protagonist (played by Hugh Laurie) is inclined to deliver inflammatory eructations of festering figures of spee… - Tips for Taking Essay Exams - How to Pass an Essay Exam…Updated: 2009-12-02 @ 06:41:16 EST
These tips you should help you to manage exam pressures and compose a strong essay… - soft language - definition and examples of soft language - George Ca…Updated: 2009-12-02 @ 01:55:11 EST
A phrase coined by comedian George Carlin to describe euphemistic expressions that "take the life out of life."… - homoioteleuton--definition and examples of homoioteleutonUpdated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:21:43 EST
Similar sound endings to words, phrases, or sentences… - agent - definition and examples of agent - glossary of grammatical t…Updated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:18:35 EST
The person or thing that performs an action in a sentence… - doublespeak - definition and examples of doublespeakUpdated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:16:57 EST
Language intended to disguise, distort, or obscure its actual meaning… - gobbledygook - definition and examples of gobbledygookUpdated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:15:33 EST
Inflated, jargon-cluttered prose that fails to communicate clearly… - jargon - definition and examples of jargonUpdated: 2009-12-01 @ 04:13:34 EST
The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders… - direct address--definition and examples of direct addressUpdated: 2009-11-30 @ 02:08:40 EST
A construction in which a speaker or writer directly addresses another individual; also, the name of the individual who is addressed… - vocative - definition and examples of vocative - what is vocative?Updated: 2009-11-30 @ 02:01:24 EST
A word or phrase used to address a reader or listener directly, usually in the form of a personal name, title, or term of endearment… - accusative case - definition and examples of accusative caseUpdated: 2009-11-30 @ 01:05:13 EST
See objective case… - nominative case - definition and examples of nominative caseUpdated: 2009-11-30 @ 01:03:29 EST
See subjective case… - phatic communication - definitions and examples of phatic communionUpdated: 2009-11-29 @ 17:30:18 EST
Small talk: the nonreferential use of language to share feelings or establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas… - Punctuation Practice - Using End Marks of Punctuation - Exercise - P…Updated: 2009-11-29 @ 06:44:05 EST
After you have reviewed "End Punctuation: Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points," try this short exercise… - Phony Rules of Writing - Grammar and Usage Myths…Updated: 2009-11-29 @ 04:57:18 EST
Before applying the principles of effective writing, we need to find out which rules are worth taking seriously and which rules are not really rules at all. Here we'll look at five phony rules of w… - deictic word - definition and examples of deictic words - deixisUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 21:53:40 EST
A word that points to the time, place, or situation in which the speaker is speaking… - discourse analysis - definition and examples of discourse analysisUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 21:50:26 EST
The study of the ways in which language is used in texts and contexts… - discourse - definition and examples of discourseUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 21:49:13 EST
(1) In linguistics, a unit of language longer than a single sentence. (2) More broadly, the use of spoken or written language in a social context… - word - definition and examples of wordUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 07:02:22 EST
A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a combination of morphemes… - base - definition and examples of baseUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 05:41:58 EST
The form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes are added to create new words. … - root - definition and examples of rootUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 05:39:12 EST
A word from which other words grow, usually through the addition of prefixes and suffixes… - morpheme - definition and examples of morphemeUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 05:37:09 EST
A meaningful linguistic unit (a word or a word element) that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts… - retronym - definition and examples of retronymsUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:58:22 EST
A new word or phrase created for an old object or concept whose original name has become associated with something else or is no longer unique… - innuendo - definition and examples of innuendoUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:34:37 EST
A subtle or indirect observation about a person or thing, usually of a critical or disparaging nature; an insinuation… - double entendre - definition and examples of double entendreUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:31:34 EST
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase can be understood in two ways, especially when one meaning is risqué. … - polysemy - definition and examples of polysemyUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:25:37 EST
The association of one word with two or more distinct meanings… - homophones - definition and examples of homophoneUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:24:35 EST
Two or more words (such as "knew" and "new") that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and sometimes spelling… - paronomasia - definitions and examples of paronomasiaUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:21:54 EST
Punning, playing with words… - pun - definition and examples of punsUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:18:17 EST
A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words… - palindrome - definition and examples of palindromesUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:13:09 EST
Word play in which a word, phrase, or sentence reads the same backward or forward… - euphuism - definition and examples of euphuismUpdated: 2009-11-28 @ 03:08:50 EST
An elaborately patterned prose style… - How to Write a Passing Essay for a Standardized Test - Composing a S…Updated: 2009-11-27 @ 08:42:15 EST
This comic essay has some serious advice to offer about how to write a passing essay for a standardized test… - Getting Started With Freewriting - How to Overcome Writer's Block Wi…Updated: 2009-11-27 @ 08:39:52 EST
Freewriting is a useful strategy to help you overcome writer's block and get started on any writing project… - synesis - definition and examples of synesisUpdated: 2009-11-27 @ 01:46:11 EST
A grammatical construction in which agreement or reference is determined by sense rather than the strict requirements of syntax… - agreement - definition and examples of agreementUpdated: 2009-11-27 @ 01:41:30 EST
The correspondence of a verb with its subject in person and number, and of a pronoun with its antecedent in person, number, and gender. … - slip of the tongue - definition and examples of slips of the tongueUpdated: 2009-11-26 @ 02:04:50 EST
An accidental mistake in speaking, usually trivial, sometimes amusing… - coherence - definition and examples of coherenceUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 17:41:31 EST
A quality of sentences, paragraphs, and essays when all parts are clearly connected… - cohesion - definition and examples of cohesionUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 17:40:25 EST
The use of transitional expressions and other stylistic devices to guide readers and show how the parts of a composition relate to one other. … - stimulus freedom - definition and examples of stimulus-freedomUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:33:07 EST
The principle (formulated by linguist Noam Chomsky) that what a person says or writes is not determined by external circumstances… - cacophemism - definition and examples of cacophemismsUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:31:17 EST
A word or expression that is generally perceived as harsh, impolite, or offensive… - dubitatio - definition and examples of dubitatio - glossary of rheto…Updated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:29:04 EST
The expression of feigned doubt about the ability to speak well. … - scheme - definition and examples of rhetorical schemes - figures of …Updated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:27:16 EST
A term in classical rhetoric for any one of the figures of speech: a deviation from conventional word order. … - bathtub effect - definition and examples of bathtub effectUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:25:35 EST
The observation that, when trying to remember a word or name, people find it easier to recall the beginning and end of a lost item than the middle… - syntactic persistence - definition and examples of syntactic persist…Updated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:19:09 EST
In psycholinguistics, a speaker's tendency to reuse the syntactic structure of a previous utterance when given a choice between two different structures having roughly the same meaning… - modality - definition and examples of modalityUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:15:54 EST
Linguistic devices that indicate the degree to which an observation is possible, probable, likely, certain, permitted, or prohibited… - exuscitatio - definition and examples of exuscitatioUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:14:32 EST
An emotional utterance that seeks to move an audience to a similar feeling… - pleonasm - definition and examples of pleonasmsUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:08:30 EST
The use of words to emphasize what is clear without them: redundancy… - tautology - definition and examples of tautologiesUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 16:07:33 EST
(1) The needless repetition of an idea using different words. (2) In logic, a statement that is unconditionally true by virtue of its form alone… - sentence - definition and examples of sentencesUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:57:11 EST
The largest independent unit of grammar: it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point… - holophrase - definition and examples of holophrasesUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:55:12 EST
A single word (such as "Thanks") that is used to express a complete, meaningful thought. … - allophone - definition and examples of allophonesUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:53:17 EST
In linguistics, an audibly distinct variant of a phoneme… - nominal - definition and examples of nominalUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 05:52:03 EST
(1) Relating to nouns. (2) Any word or word group that functions as a noun… - amelioration - definition and examples of ameliorationUpdated: 2009-11-25 @ 04:16:12 EST
The upgrading or elevation of a word's meaning, as when a word with a negative sense develops a positive one… - semantics - definitions and examples of semantics - what is semantic…Updated: 2009-11-24 @ 07:26:24 EST
The field of linguistics concerned with the study of meaning in language… - inference - definition and examples of inferenceUpdated: 2009-11-24 @ 07:22:50 EST
The process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true… - Ten Tips for Composing a Holiday Newsletter - Write a Family Newslet…Updated: 2009-11-23 @ 19:25:35 EST
A holiday newsletter doesn't have to be silly or boring. One that's fairly brief, thoughtfully composed, and marked by a sense of humor can be a charming way of staying in touch with distant friend… - Ten Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing - Better Words, Sentences, an…Updated: 2009-11-23 @ 18:01:12 EST
Whether we're composing a blog or a business letter, an email or an essay, our goal should be to respond clearly and directly to the needs and interests of our readers. These ten tips should help u… - Must Reads: Essential Articles and Resources about GrammarUpdated: 2009-11-23 @ 06:23:07 EST
- clipping - definition and examples of clippingUpdated: 2009-11-23 @ 05:35:56 EST
A word formed by dropping one or more syllables from a polysyllabic word, such as "cell" from "cellular phone."… - There's a Name for It - Twenty Weird, Witty, and Wonderful Language …Updated: 2009-11-23 @ 04:39:09 EST
You'll find many familiar names in our Glossary of Grammatical & Rhetorical Terms--names for the traditional parts of speech, logical fallacies, and figures of speech, for example. But even die… - Review Exercise - Punctuating Sentences Correctly - Punctuation Exer…Updated: 2009-11-22 @ 23:32:40 EST
It's time to find out how well you can apply the guidelines for using punctuation marks correctly and effectively… - Basic Rules of Punctuation - Punctuation GuidelinesUpdated: 2009-11-22 @ 20:01:57 EST
Understanding the principles behind the common marks of punctuation should strengthen our understanding of grammar and help us to use the marks consistently in our own writing. Here we'll review th… - Classic British and American Essays and Speeches - Great Essays and …Updated: 2009-11-22 @ 12:40:15 EST
From the works of Francis Bacon and Daniel Defoe to those of Virginia Woolf and Martin Luther King, Jr.: 100 of the greatest essays and speeches composed by British and American writers over the pa… - What Is an Essay? - History and Definitions -- Types of EssaysUpdated: 2009-11-21 @ 07:24:30 EST
Since Montaigne adopted the term "essay" in the 16th century to describe his "attempts" at self-portrayal, this slippery form has resisted any sort of precise, universal definit… - essay - definition and examples of essays - glossary of rhetorical t…Updated: 2009-11-21 @ 07:20:04 EST
A short work of nonfiction, often artfully disordered and highly polished, in which an authorial voice invites an implied reader to accept as authentic a certain textual mode of experience. … - prose - definition and examples of proseUpdated: 2009-11-20 @ 23:44:57 EST
Ordinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse… - pronoun - definition and examples of pronounUpdated: 2009-11-20 @ 00:03:23 EST
A word that takes the place of a noun. …