Useful Terms
Throughout the year, you will learn a plethora of new vocabulary and rhetorical devices. Here, you will find a helpful list of terms:
OCEA:
O - Orient the reader
C - Claims
E - Evidence
A - Analysis
Hyperbole: exaggeration for a purpose
Metonymy: when a thing/concept is called not by its name but by the name of something associated with it
Synecdoche: when a part of something represents the whole, or the word when you mean only a part of it
Anaphora: repetition of words or phrases at the start of a sentence
Epistrophe: repetition of words or phrases at the end of consecutive sentences or clauses
Colloquialism: a word or phrase that is not formal but rather used in every day conversation
Jargon: technical language specific to a particular field and hard for others to understand
Counterargument: an argument opposing someone's main argument
Concession: acknowledging the validity of parts of the opposing argument
Juxtaposition: placing contrasting ideas, phrases, images next to each other for emphasis
Antithesis: a person or thing that is the opposite of someone or something else
Chiasmus: use of same words but inverted
Alliteration: repetition of sounds at the start of the sentence
Consonance: repetition on consonant sounds in the beginning, middle or end of words
Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in beginning, middle or end of words
Aphorism: a short and concise (sometimes witty) statement of general truth or moral principal about the world or life (aim is to reflect on truth)
Epigram: a short, concise, witty statement (aim is to humor)
Connotation: the ideas, images, feelings evoked by a particular word
Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word
Allusion: referring covertly or indirectly to a text, an object or a circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. It is left to the reader or hearer to make the connection.
Reference: directly referencing another text, object, or a circumstance
Imperative: a command (usually begins with a verb)
Declarative: a strong statement
Parody: a composition that imitates the style of another composition, normally for comic effect
Satire: a composition that uses mockery, humor, exaggeration of someone or something in order to expose and criticize it
Oxymoron: the juxtaposition to two opposing words
Paradox: a statement that appear to contradict itself but is also true
Dualism: the quality of having two different or opposite parts or elements
Allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Parallelism: the use of elements in sentences that are grammatically similar or identical in structure, sounds, meaning, or meter.
Metaphor: a comparison between two things without the use of "like" or "as"
Simile: a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced my "like" or "as"
repetition: something that it said or done again
O - Orient the reader
C - Claims
E - Evidence
A - Analysis
Hyperbole: exaggeration for a purpose
Metonymy: when a thing/concept is called not by its name but by the name of something associated with it
Synecdoche: when a part of something represents the whole, or the word when you mean only a part of it
Anaphora: repetition of words or phrases at the start of a sentence
Epistrophe: repetition of words or phrases at the end of consecutive sentences or clauses
Colloquialism: a word or phrase that is not formal but rather used in every day conversation
Jargon: technical language specific to a particular field and hard for others to understand
Counterargument: an argument opposing someone's main argument
Concession: acknowledging the validity of parts of the opposing argument
Juxtaposition: placing contrasting ideas, phrases, images next to each other for emphasis
Antithesis: a person or thing that is the opposite of someone or something else
Chiasmus: use of same words but inverted
Alliteration: repetition of sounds at the start of the sentence
Consonance: repetition on consonant sounds in the beginning, middle or end of words
Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in beginning, middle or end of words
Aphorism: a short and concise (sometimes witty) statement of general truth or moral principal about the world or life (aim is to reflect on truth)
Epigram: a short, concise, witty statement (aim is to humor)
Connotation: the ideas, images, feelings evoked by a particular word
Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word
Allusion: referring covertly or indirectly to a text, an object or a circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. It is left to the reader or hearer to make the connection.
Reference: directly referencing another text, object, or a circumstance
Imperative: a command (usually begins with a verb)
Declarative: a strong statement
Parody: a composition that imitates the style of another composition, normally for comic effect
Satire: a composition that uses mockery, humor, exaggeration of someone or something in order to expose and criticize it
Oxymoron: the juxtaposition to two opposing words
Paradox: a statement that appear to contradict itself but is also true
Dualism: the quality of having two different or opposite parts or elements
Allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Parallelism: the use of elements in sentences that are grammatically similar or identical in structure, sounds, meaning, or meter.
Metaphor: a comparison between two things without the use of "like" or "as"
Simile: a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced my "like" or "as"
repetition: something that it said or done again