This is a story with two levels. On the first level, the story is straightforward. On a deeper level, the characters symbolize people or ideas, and are used to give a message or teach a lesson, or to be satirical or political.
What is an Allegory?
100
This is a technique in which concluding statements refer directly back to the thesis statement.
What is Closing by Return?
100
This type of essay is written in the same form as that in a newspaper. It expresses personal opinion, with clear supports to back up that opinion.
What is an Editorial?
100
This is the feeling that a work of literature evokes.
What is Mood?
100
This occurs when you put two contradictory words together (i.e. big shrimp, little giant, seriously joking).
What is an Oxymoron?
200
This is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words (i.e. Sweet smell of success).
What is Alliteration?
200
This device uses the same grammatical structure to develop an idea (i.e. he was neither too tall nor too short; neither too smart nor too dull; neither too poor nor too rich). It gives balance and rhythm to writing.
What is Parallelism?
200
This essay form tells a story in a sequence of events. It should have a point, lesson, or idea to make the essay meaningful.
What is a Narrative Essay?
200
This is the selection and arrangement of words.
What is Diction?
200
This is when one theme, idea or person is paralleled to another.
What is Juxtaposition?
300
This is the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship (i.e. Hot is to cold as fire is to ice).
What is an Analogy?
300
This technique uses the word that a pronoun is replacing and referring to. For example, one can use the word "she" to represent the name of the girl.
What is Pronoun Reference?
300
This essay type demonstrates similarities and differences between two topics.
What is a Comparison Essay?
300
This is the position on a problem taken by a writer or speaker with the purpose of proving or supporting it.
What is Attitude?
300
This is a literary device that uses harsh sounding words, like strangled, or ravaged.
What is Cacophony?
400
This is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious.
What is an Allusion?
400
This is an effective literary device, similar to parallelism, where the author uses the same word, line, or phrase over and over again to suggest order or add special meaning to a piece of literature or poetry.
What is Repetition?
400
This type of essay makes a claim or takes a position and backs it up with statistics, expert opinions, and other evidence. It also reviews an opposing view and explains why it is wrong and you are right.
What is an Argumentative Essay?
400
This is the author's attitude toward the audience. It is developed from the diction (i.e. humorous, light, serious, sarcastic, dark, formal, and informal).
What is Tone?
400
These are words used in casual conversation but not in formal, written communication. Also known as slang.
What is Colloquialism?
500
This is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds (i.e. Sweep by sleeping geeks).
What is Assonance?
500
These are usually sentences in a selection that connect one topic to the one that follows, or that links sections of a written work.
What are Transitions?
500
This method of essay writing gives directions or instructions about how to complete a task, or tells how something is done.
What is an Expository Essay?
500
Metaphor and simile are the two most common types of this, but devices such as hyperbole and personification are often used as well.
What is Figurative Language?
500
This is a word that imitates the sound it represents (i.e. splash, wow, gush, kerplunk).