Resources of Language
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Alliteration - the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly, threatening throngs)

Allusion - A casual reference to some famous literary work, historial figure, or event.

Analogy - A comparison that attempts to explain one idea or thing by linking it to another.

Aphorism - A brief statement by a specific author which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise obeservation.

Apostrophe - A sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group, person, or personified abstraction (either absent or present).

Atmosphere - The "feeling created by a particular place, scene, or incident. Usually a function of setting.

Axiom - a maxim or aphorism whose truth is self-evident (without the need for demonstration)

Clause - A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and may or may not stand alone as a complete sentence.

Cliché - Something that has become overly familiar or commonplace;a stale image or impression, and the bane of good expository writing.

Colloquialism - A word or expression acceptable in informal usage but inappropriate in formal discourse; A regional dialect.

Comparison/Contrast - A rhetorical mode used to develop essays that systematically match two items for similarities and differences.

Connotation - The implication or emotional overtones of a word rather than its literal meaning.

Denotation - The specific and literal meaning of a word, as found in the dictionary. The opposite of connotation.

Diction - the choice of words a writer uses in an essay or other writing.

Example - An instance that is representative of an idea or claim or that otherwise illustrates it. The example mode of development is used in essays that make a claim and then prove it by citing similar and supporting cases.

Figurative Language - language that heightens meaning by implicitly or explicitly representing something in terms of some other thing, the assumption that the "other thing" will be more familiar to the reader. Figurative language is not meant to have a literal meaning.

Figure of Speech - language that compares one thing to something familiar or that carries a familiar connotation. Simile, metaphor, personification, and litote are all examples of figures of speech.

Generalization - A statement that asserts some broad truth based on a knowledge of specific cases.

Generic Convention - unspoken agreements, or non-binding rules, governing the production of literary works (Ex: "monomyth"). These works have the same basic structure and similarities.

Hyperbole - an exaggeration or overstatement.

Imagery - writing that engages the senses or gives a vivid visual impression on the reader.

Irony - The use of language in such a way that apparent meaning contrasts sharply with real meaning.

Jargon - The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, class, or other group of people. Jargon is sometimes useful, but when used thoughtlessly it can become meaningless expression bordering on gibberish.

Litote - understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed (ex: "she was not unkind").

Maxim - concise statement usually drawn from experience.

Metaphor - A figurative image that implies a similarity between things otherwise dissimilar.

Mood - The emotional or intellectual quality of a story; the author's attitude toward his or her writing.

Narration - An account of events that happened. A narrative organizes material on the basis of chronological order or pattern, stressing the sequence of events and pacing these events according to the emphasis desired.

Paradox - a contradiction of terms that contains elements of truth.

Personification - attributing human qualities to objects, abstractions, or animals.

Point of view - The perspective from which a piece of writing is developed.

Pun - a play on words; the humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings, or the meaning of another word similar in its sound.

Rhetoric - The art of using persuasive language. This is accomplished through the author's diction and sentence structure.

Satire - Often an attack on a person. Also the use of wit and humor to ridicule society's weaknesses so as to correct them. In literature, two types of satire have been recognized: Horatian satire, which is gentle and smiling, and Juvenalian satire, which is sharp and biting.

Simile - a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as."

Symbol - An object or action that in its particular context represents something else.

Tone - The reflection of the writer's attitude toward his or her audience.

Understatement - Deliberately representing something as less than it is in order to stress its magnitude.

*For useful information on essay questions/clarifications check out: http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides/essay%20terms.htm