Central Idea
Thesis
The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.
Diction
Word choice
Persona
The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.
Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.
Parallelism
The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.
Thesis statement
A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.
Syntax
Sentence structure
Tone
The speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience.
Allusion
An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.
Archaic Diction
The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.
Purpose
One’s intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.
Authority
A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.
Attitude
The speaker’s position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.
Satire
An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.
Context
Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.
Context
Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.
Antithesis
Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.
Speaker
A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.
Irony
A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.
Voice
In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.
Polysyndeton
The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.
Connotation
An idea or feeling that which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning.
Style
The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.
Metonymy
Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole.
Logos
A Greek term that means “word”; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos).