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Academic vocabulary for sophomores

A list of literary terms for 10th graders
27 words 1541 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  2. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  3. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
  4. ethos
    the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
  5. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
  6. theme
    the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  7. independent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that can stand alone
  8. dependent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone
  9. phrase
    an expression consisting of one or more words
  10. fragment
    a piece broken off or cut off of something else
  11. run-on
    (verse) without a rhetorical pause between lines
  12. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  13. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
  14. rhetorical question
    an inquiry that is not supposed to be answered
  15. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  16. thesis
    an unproved statement advanced as a premise in an argument
  17. tone
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
  18. concession
    the act of yielding
  19. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  20. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  21. syntax
    the study of the rules for forming admissible sentences
  22. imagery
    the ability to form mental pictures of things or events
  23. satire
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
  24. nonfiction
    prose writing that is not formed by the imagination
  25. fiction
    a literary work based on the imagination
  26. connotation
    an idea that is implied or suggested
  27. denotation
    the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
Created on Mon Oct 18 14:00:23 EDT 2010 (updated Mon Oct 18 14:17:32 EDT 2010)

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