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ABSTRACT -- Something which is abstract is drawn away from physical existence and is apart from it. This meaning is indicated by the Latin root, "abstractus." The prefix, "ab--," means "away," and the root, "trahere," means "to draw." Because abstractions are drawn out of, or apart from, physical existence, they are not perceptible to the senses and are therefore the opposite of concrete realities. Abstractions can only be known through their concrete manifestations. For instance, words such as "love," " faith," "courage," " justice," and "honesty" name abstract qualities that have no physical existence in themselves but are made real through actions. Entering a burning building to rescue someone is an example of courage. Returning a lost wallet to the rightful owner is an example of honesty. Other words such as "beauty," "grandeur," or "revulsion" similarly denote abstractions that may be manifested in objects. For instance, a human face may exemplify beauty; a mountain, grandeur; and a rotting corpse, revulsion.
Abstractions are simplifications of complex realities. The word "beauty" symbolizes an abstract quality that may have infinite manifestations. There are many beautiful faces and many points of beauty in a face. Because so much is implied by the word, we are free to make any number of inferences.
Since abstract language says so little and implies so much, it can veil concrete realities, letting a writer evade unpleasant facts that give evidence contrary to his argument. Readers can paint a picture that satisfies them, being unaware that the language hides a reality contrary to their values. This is a point George Orwell makes in his essay " Politics and the English Language."
ALLUSION -- An allusion is a reference to a person, place, event, or thing that bears an association to the topic of a discourse. This association expands the discourse by drawing in ideas that illustrate the topic, provide a comparison or contrast, suggest consequences, evoke an image, or otherwise enlarge or elucidate the author's ideas. In much "classic" literature, allusions are made to the Bible, to Greek and Roman writers, and to mythology. However, allusions may be made to any field: history, politics, science, Etc.
The nature of the allusions affect both the immediate comprehension of the discourse as well as its eventual fate. While allusions enhance the understanding of informed readers, they impede the comprehension of those less knowledgeable. And if the allusions are to people, places, events, and literary works of significance, they also help embed the literature within the cultural cannon, enhancing its interest, relevance, and longevity. On the other hand, if they point to minor events, little known persons, or passing fads, the accessibility of the discourse is eventually diminished, making it dated and obscure, a fit subject for doctoral students writing dissertations. E. M. Forster's essay "My Wood" is rich in allusions of the first kind.
ANECDOTE --A brief narrative or story often serving tomake a point.Anecdotal evidence may accumulated to substantiate a case or suggest a conclusion. Or, an anecdote may be amusing or entertaining within itself. Anecdotes may be fictional, or non-fictional.Anecdotes are often expressed orally, but good anecdotes find their way into print.For example: Recall the anecdote of George Washington, that he could not tell a lie when he cut down the cherry tree.
ANNOTATION -- A note added to a text in order to comment, explain, criticize, translate, cite sources, gloss, or paraphrase. Annotations are often used to explain allusions. . An annotated edition of a book is one that includes notes by an editor. A variorum edition gives the notes of many editors or gives variant readings of a text. An annotated bibliography is a list of books with notes about their contents or usefulness.
ANTHOLOGY -- An anthology is a collection of works by various authors. Common examples are readers for college courses that bring together essays by different authors. In literature courses, anthologies are collections of stories, poem, and plays by various writers. The word is derived from two Greek roots: "anthos-" which means "flower," and "Legein" which means "to gather." Thus, taken literally, the word means "a gathering of flowers." The metaphorical extension to books implies that the editors have searched the works of various writers to find the most beautiful of their creations and have brought them together in the same way that one would go into a field and gather a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers.
ARGUMENT -- Argument is one of the four modes of discourse along with description, narration, and exposition. The purpose of an argument is to convince your reader to accept your point of view on an issue or to take an action. For example, you may wish to persuade someone that the pledge of allegiance should be allowed in schools even though it includes a reference to God, or you may wish to persuade someone to take part in a public demonstration opposing abortion. The main idea of an argument is more precisely called a thesis. Click here for further discussion.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- An autobiography is the story of a person's live written by that person. In addition to a chronology of events, an autobiography may include reflections on the events and the people involved in them, as well as comments on the contemporary social and cultural setting. However, the focus remains on the individual's experiences, and the tone is personal and introspective. If the focus is shifted to public personages and events, then the writing is more properly called a memoir. Autobiographies differ from diaries and journals in that they are extended narratives intended for publication.
BELLE LETTRES -- A term from the French meaning "beautiful letters or fine writing." It is applied to literature as opposed to expository writing and includes the genres of drama, poetry, fiction, criticism, and essays. Thus, it denotes writing which is valued for its imaginative and artistic qualities as opposed to its informative, didactic, philosophical, or intellectual content. It may then also indicate writing which is artificial or lacks substance. This pejorative connotation originated with Jonathan Swift in the Tatler (no. 230 p. 2. 1710) where he referred to "The Traders in History and Politicks and the Belle Lettres."
CHRONOLOGICAL-- This means following a time order. A chronological recitation of events starts at the beginning and proceeds to relate actions in the order in which they occurred. Chronological organization is sometimes called "linear" because it can be represented as a time line with dates of events indicated along the line, proceeding from the most remote on the left to the most recent on the right. Narration ordinarily uses a chronological organization as in a child's fairytale which begins with "Once upon a time . . ." and ends with "And they lived happily ever after."
However, some writers of fiction, such as William Faulkner, deliberately violate the natural chronology of their narratives in order to juxtapose character or incident for effect. The natural order of events may be violated in a number of ways. A writer may begin a narrative medias res, or in the middle of things, use flashbacks, flashforwards, or embed one story within another. These manipulations are acceptable in fiction where the reader has leasure to sort things out, but in exposition, where the purpose is to convey information in the clearest way, they cannot be tolerated.
For example, chronological order is used in process analysis to explain the steps in producing a product or carrying out a procedure. Here, as in ordinary narrative, time markers and transitions are important. These include the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), as well as conjunctions, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. Click here for a list of transitional words and expressions.
Chronology is also important in cause and effect analysis. Causes and effects follow a chronological order: a source of ignition must precede a fire. However, you cannot always attribute event "B" to event "A" simply because "A" preceded "B." There may be multiple potential causes to any single event, particularly in the areas of human relationships and social events, and so the simple fact of chronological sequence is not sufficient to establish a cause and effect relationship for any particular event.
CLASSIFICATION --
CLIMATIC ORDER -- This means to save the most important or interesting for last. The term emphatic order is sometimes used. People tend to remember best the last thing they hear or read. Therefore, if you have several safety precautions to observe, several reasons for supporting a political candidate, or several divisions of a topic to describe, then save the most important for last.
COHERENCE -- This word means "to stick together." It is made from the prefix co-- which means "together," as in the words "commission," "committee," "cohabit," "codefendant," and many more. The root is from the Latin haerere which means "to cling" and is found in the words "adhere" and "adhesive." When applied to writing, coherence means that the discourse is not only unified, all the statements being about the same topic, but that the statements "stick together" by following one another in a logical way.
The logical relations among the ideas in a coherent text make it easy to outline. Texts which lack logical relations among the ideas can only be outlined with difficulty, if at all. For example, people who suffer from schizophrenia often exhibit abrupt changes in the focus of their speech, making it impossible to create an outline for it.
Coherence can be achieved in a number of different ways. Chief among these is by the repetition of key words, the use of synonyms, and pronoun reference. Parallelism is another means. Also, following the accepted patterns of organization for different modes of discourse helps readers predict what the writer will do or say next. For more information and for illustrations of the various methods for achieving coherence, click here.
CONCLUSION -- The conclusion is the end of a piece of writing. Ideally, as with an introduction, a conclusion should be in proportion to the writing as a whole. Therefore, depending on the length of the whole, a conclusion may be only one or two sentences, a well developed paragraph, or more. Even if very brief, a conclusion is usually alloted a paragraph of its own.
A conclusion may accomplish several things. It should always let the reader know that the writer has said all he has to say about the topic and provide a sense of closure. It may begin with a transitional word or expression like "Finally," "In summary," or "In conclusion." It may also make some reference back to the main idea or reiterate the main points of the essay. When the text is organized inductively, the conclusion may explicitly state the meaning the writer draws from evidence presented. In a persuasive essay, the conclusion may give a final call for action.
Some of the techniques used in writing introductions can also be used in conclusions. A rhetorical question may prompt readers to think about an argument and to take action. When one quotation has been used in the introduction, another quotation on the same topic may be used in the conclusion. Ending with a story that illustrates the main idea is effective because it leaves the reader with a concrete illustration rather than just an abstract statement. Finally, a striking metaphor can illustrate the writer's meaning and give it force. What a conclusion should not do is to introduce new arguments or points to be developed. For examples of conclusions for essays, click here.
COORDINATE -- This word has a prefix co-- which means "together" as in cooperate, committee, and copilot. The root ord comes from a Latin word which means "order." The ordinal numbers are written as first, second, third, etc. Things which are coordinate share the same position in a numbered series and so are on the same level of a hierarchy. Therefore they are similar in kind, equal in value or importance, and represent the same degree of generalization or specificity.
CONCRETE -- Something which is concrete has a physical existence and so is perceptible to the senses. It can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. Concrete is the opposite of abstract. That which is concrete is also particular or specific. We see a specific dog or taste a specific donut.
CONNOTATION --
DEDUCTION -- The word “deduction” is derived from the Latin verb “deducere” which means to lead away or down. When you reason deductively, you begin with a general idea and use it to draw conclusions about particular facts you encounter. Thus, you reason “from” or “down from” a generalization in order to understand specific information. An essay is organized deductively when the main idea is stated at the beginning, usually at the end of the introduction. A writer should use deductive organization in exposition where the primary purpose is to convey information in a clear and direct way. Stating the main idea first gives the reader a point of reference for interpreting the facts and other evidence that follows.
DEPENDENCY ANALYSIS – Dependency
analysis is a method for identifying propositions and outlining their relations
in an oral or written discourse. Developed by James
Deese at the
Coordinate and subordinate relations among propositions are determined by asking which propositions are dependent upon which others for their proper interpretation. If the correct understanding of a proposition is dependent upon information given in a previous one, then the second proposition is said to be dependent upon the first, and so is subordinate to it in the outline of the discourse. If two propositions are both dependent upon a third earlier proposition, then these two are coordinate with each other but subordinate to the one which precedes them. Because it analyzes discourse at the propositional level, it provides a finer-grained analysis than does the rhetorical analysis of Christensen and Christensen.
Dependency analysis is useful for revealing problems with coherence. A hiatus affecting comprehension can occur if a writer does not maintain explicit relations among propositions, as when, for example, he does not give antecedents for pronouns or does not repeat key terms. For examples of logical parallelism among sentences in paragraphs, click here.
DEVELOPMENT --
DENOTATION --
DICTION --
DISCOURSE-- The word is derived from the Latin verb “discurrere” which means “to run about.” Thus, the extension to linguistic productions is metaphoric: the sentences in a conversation or a written document will “run about” the subject, touching on its various aspects. A conversation about dinner is a discourse and so is the president's state of the union address. The sentences that define each of the terms in this glossary are a discourse and so is a descriptive paragraph in a novel or a letter to Dear Abby. Thus, "discourse" is a general term that includes any set of sentences about a topic. It is a jargon word from psycholinguistics that is useful when you want to refer to any sample of writing or speech and don't want to specify a particular kind such as an essay, a letter, a short story, or an interview.
DIVISION --
DOCUMENT -- A document is a physical object, a page or pages that contain writing. It is usually a discourse with an explicit purpose, as for example, a will in which a person indicates how his property should be distributed after his death. As this example suggests, the term often refers to a written discourse with legal standing, meaning that it can be presented as evidence in a court of law. Public documents therefore include court house records, the congressional record, the minutes of city council meetings, and the records of other governmental bodies. However, any discourse may become a an object of public scrutiny, and therefore a document, whether originally intended for this purpose or not. Private letters or diaries which are published or presented as evidence in court are examples.
EDIT --
ESSAY – There are two kinds of essays: formal and informal. An informal essay is a relatively brief prose composition usually written in the first person. It may be on any subject and expresses the writer's opinion on the subject, making it a personal statement of understanding, belief, or prejudice. Thus, it may reveal more about the writer than the subject he addresses. Because it is a personal statement of opinion presented in the writer's own voice, the tone of an informal essay is a salient feature, and this tone may range from the humorous to the caustic.
The structure of ideas may be rigorously logical and conform to the rules of hierarchical organization (making it easy to outline the contents), but more often the structure of ideas is associative, and the discourse is discursive rather than narrowly focused. The purpose is usually to entertain, but in so doing it may also inform or persuade. Informal essays fall within the realm of belle lettres and are published in popular periodicals, as collections of an author's work, or in collections of essays with works by numerous authors (an anthology).
In contrast, a formal essay is usually written in third person and has the purpose of informing rather than of entertaining. Therefore, the emphasis will be on the content, while the personality of the author is relegated to the background. The content is often detailed and technical when intended for a knowledgeable audience seeking additional understanding. The structure of a formal essay is usually explicitly logical and may even be preceded by an outline. Formal essays are found in professional and academic journals. In addition to informing, formal essays may also be intended to persuade, in which case the writer may appeal to the reader's emotions through his choice of language and evidence, and consequently the tone will not be objective even though the writer may still employ the third person point of view. For more information, click here.
EVIDENCE --
EXAMPLE – According to The American Heritage Dictionary, an example is “one that is representative of a group as a whole.” It is commonly used in an idiom to mean “an illustrative instance” as in the sentence, “He read only classic English authors, for example, Austin and Dickens.” The word “illustration” is a synonym for “example” and is defined as “material used to clarify or explain.”
Examples are one kind of evidence that a writer may use to support his thesis or to illustrate his main idea.
EXPLICIT -- The word “explicit” comes from Latin verb “explicare” that means “to unfold.” (The prefix, “ex—,“ means “reversal,” and the root, “plicare,” means “to fold”.) Thus, a writer unfolds his meaning to the reader, making it apparent. An explicit statement is stated directly. It is clear and precise. It is to the point. It is as plain as the nose on your face or a traffic sign that says “Stop.” It should not be misunderstood by anyone.
In essays, the author's main idea is often stated explicitly. If it is, than you should be able to point to the sentence and say “Here is the main idea.” An essay with an explicit main idea at the beginning is said to have deductive organization.
EXPOSITION – The word “exposition” comes from the Latin verb “exponere” which means “to expound” The prefix, “ex--,” means “out “and the root “ponere” means “to place or put.” So literally translated, the word means “to put or to place out.” Thus, the purpose of exposition is to put or place out information so that it is easy for a reader to understand. Exposition is one of the four modes of discourse that also include narration, description, and argumentation.
Exposition can be subdivided into different types. The names indicate the way a topic will be developed. The most common types of exposition are comparison and contrast, division and classification, process analysis, definition, cause and effect, and problem solution. Some textbooks list Illustration (or exemplification), analogy, and others.
Since the purpose of exposition is to convey information in a clear and direct way, it is best to organize it deductively; that is, you should state your main idea near the beginning, usually at the end of the introduction.
The reason for this is simple: It is easier for your readers to comprehend what you say if they already know your topic, the way you intend to treat the topic (i.e. the mode of discourse), and the main points you will cover (your preview).
FALLACY --
FACT --
FORMAL DEFINITION --
FIGURATIVE --
GENERAL --
GLOSS --
HIERARCHY -- The root of the word "hierarchy" is "hieros," which in Greek means "holy," and according to The American Heritage Dictionary, a hierarchy is "a body of clergy organized into successive ranks or grades with each level subordinate to the one above." Thus, the word denotes a kind of organization characteristic of many religions, and also of governmental, military, and business organizations. The description also applies to the organization of information in the directory structure of a computer or the outline of an essay. A hierarchy is a logical structure governed by rules.
IMPLICIT -- The word “implicit” comes from a Latin verb (implicare) that means to infold. (The prefix, “in--,” means “in,” and the root, “plicare,” means “to fold.” The metaphorical implication is that the meaning is folded within the writings and covered up. Hence, it cannot be seen until the reader himself unfolds the text to discover the meaning hidden within. So the main idea of such an essay will not be stated directly in any one sentence that you can point to and say “Here is the main idea.” To discover the main idea, you must think inductively, adding up clues from the evidence the writer presents and what he says about it.
IMPLY -- This is a verb that means to say or indicate indirectly; to hint at. An implication is the opposite of an explicit statement where the writer says what he means in direct and unmistakable terms. If a man says to his wife, "You are fat," there is no question as to the meaning of this explicit statement. However, he may want to send the message in a less explicit way by saying something like "Why don't you go with your friend Mary to the exercise club?" or "Maybe you need a better fitting dress for the Christmas party."
The words "imply" and "infer" are often confused. It is a speaker who makes an implication by his words, and it is the listener who draws an inference as to their meaning.
INDUCTION – According to The American Heritage Dictionary, induction is “the process of deriving general principles from particular facts or instances.” Inductive thinking is the process that detectives use in solving crimes. They investigate a crime scene collecting physical evidence, interview witnesses, and perform background investigations on suspects. They then look at the facts and see what they add up to. If the facts point to a particular suspect, then they make a decision that he is guilty and forward their conclusion and the supporting evidence to the district attorney. The decision the detectives make on the guilt of a suspect is their “general principle” derived “from the particular facts or instances.”
At the trial, the district attorney, operating on the “general principle” that John Doe is guilty, lays out the evidence to support this contention. Thus, the district attorney is working from a general principle (John Doe did it) to the presentation of the facts that support the idea. (This is called “deduction.”)
Once the idea of the idea of suspect's guilt is accepted by the prosecution, additional evidence can be interpreted within the context of this idea. For example, the prosecution may contend that John Doe killed his wife by throwing her off a cliff. If they discover a pair of shoes with dirt on the soles matching that found or a ridge above the place where the body was discovered, then this evidence corroborates their idea. Shoes with sand from the beach would be of no help, and a hotel receipt showing that John Doe was five hundred miles away on the day of the murder would contradict the prosecution's idea.
If sufficient evidence of this kind is presented, then the prosecution's assertion may be proven invalid, and a new theory of "who done it" must be developed. The overtuning of a scientific theory as a result of accumulating evidence that contradicts that theory is the subject of a book by Thomas Khun entitled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
INFER --
INTRODUCTION -- The opening of a written work. The relevant dictionary definition is to open, to begin, to preface. The introduction of a written work is contained in one or more paragraphs or pages at the beginning of the work and has several functions. It should hook the reader's interest, narrow a general topic to one that can be adequately covered in the writing, give an overview of the whole document, set the tone of the writing, and state the main idea. For more discussion and examples click here.
INTRUSIVE NARRATOR --
LEVELS OF USAGE --
LINEAR --
LITERAL --
MACROLEVEL -- The prefix "macro" is from the Greek makros and means large as opposed to "micro" from the Greek mikros which means small. Macrolevel is a useful jargon word in psycholinguistics which means "the big picture" or "the whole thing." Viewed from the macrolevel, a piece of wrting is considered in its entirety rather than in regard to any of its componant parts, words, sentences, or paragraphs.
Sometimes the word "global" is used as a synonym as in "a global view of the text" or "a global view of the problem." This term may have been inspired by photographs of the earth seen in its entirety, floating in space.
MAIN IDEA -- The main idea of an essay, or other written discourse, is the point that the author is trying to make. It is the most important thing that he wants you to understand about the topic. It is most often stated explicitly, although in narrative essays or in fiction it may be implicit. When the main idea is stated explicitly, it may be given in a single sentence or in several sequential sentences.
The main idea sentence is sometimes called a “thesis statement,” but there is a difference between the two. A thesis statement expresses the writer's opinion on the topic of an argumentative essay. His purpose is to persuade readers to accept his point of view. On the other hand, a main idea expresses a fact about the topic of an expository essay. The writer's purpose in this case is not to persuade but to explain. Even though there is this difference, common practice is to use the terms "main idea" and "thesis" interchangeably as I sometimes do in this glossary.
The main idea will be the most general statement in the essay and will serve as an umbrella to cover all the information that the essay contains. It provides unity for the essay in the same way that a topic sentence provides unity for a paragraph. Topics that are not logically related to the main idea should not be included in the essay.
In most exposition, the main idea is stated at the end of the introduction. In narrative essays it is sometimes found in other places, sometimes in the middle and sometimes at the end. When it comes at the end of a narrative, it is like a caption to a political cartoon or a frame of a comic strip. After the writer has painted a picture of an event, he then gives it an explicit label. Not wanting the reader to miss the point, he ends by sayings in effect, "Now this is what I see as true and important in this story, and it is what I want you to remember." When the main idea comes at or near the beginning of an essay, we say that the essay has deductive organization. When it comes near the end, we say that it has inductive organization.
When the main idea is stated explicitly, the sentence has several important functions. First, it must name the topic of the writing. Is it about cars, boats, terrorists, pregnant wives, mutual funds, or baseball? Naming the topic limits what can be talked about in the essay and provides unity.
Second, it should give some indication of how the writer is going to treat the topic For example, is the writer going to argue about the topic, or explain it by dividing it into parts, give a history of it, compare it to something else, define it, or show what its effects are? A thesis sentence will indicate this by using key words or phrases that reveal the method of development the writer intends. Click hereto see examples of thesis sentences for different kinds of expository essays.
The third job of the main idea sentence is to give a preview of the essay. It does this by naming the main points the essay will cover. Look at these examples.
METAPHOR --
MODES OF DISCOURSE – The word "mode" means “a manner, way, or method of doing or acting.” "Style," "manner," or "method" are synonyms. A discourse is a set of sentences about a topic, either spoken or written. So the term “modes of discourse” means ways of writing or talking about a topic. There are four primary modes of discourse: Description, narration, exposition, and argument. Exposition includes comparison and contrast, division and classification, cause and effect, problem and solution, process analysis, defintion, analogy, and example and illustration.
MOTIF --
NARRATIVE ESSAY – A narrative essay is a type of informal essay that contains a strong narrative element, giving it a chronological structure. Thus, a narrative essay may tell a story, but the essay itself should not be referred to as a story. It differs in at least two respects. First, the term "story" usually implies a fictional creation, and a narrative essay relates actual events as experienced by or reported by the writer. Second, rather than being an end in itself, the story in a narrative essay provides an illustration for a point the writer wishes to make, and the essay includes the writer's explicit comments about the events and their meaning. Thus, the purpose of entertainment is balanced by, and sometimes subordinated to, the purpose of exposition or argument.
It is not just in narrative essays where the story being told may be subordinated to a point the author wants to make. Short stories and novels may have intrusive narrators who interject comments, expound theories, or point out lessons to the extent that the story becomes subordinate to his didactic or polemic purpose.
OPINION --
ORGANIZING SENTENCE -- When the sole function of a sentence is to indicate the main points to be covered in a text and the order in which they will be discussed, it is called an organizing sentence. i In a text with an organizing sentence, the main idea or thesis will be stated in a separate sentence. However, the more usual case is for one sentence to both state the writer's main idea or thesis and to indicate the points he will cover. Click here for examples of this latter type of sentence.
PARAGRAPH --
PARALLELISM -- Parallel means side by side, an equal distance apart at all points. When applied to grammar, it means that two or more coordinate sentence elements are expressed in the same way. The value of grammatical parallelism is that it emphasizes the logical relations between coordinate ideas. In the simplest case, parallelism exists between two words that are connected by a coordinating conjunction. However, it is not just single words that may be made coordinate but phrases and clauses as well. Click here for examples and further discussion. For examples of logical parallelism among sentences in paragraphs, click here.
PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT --
PREMISE – A premise is a statement that serves as the basis for an argument and from which you can draw conclusions. It is derived form a Latin word, "praemittere," which means “to set in front.” Thus, a premise is the idea that is “set in front” or stated at the beginning of an argument and from which other ideas can be inferred. In an argumentative essay, your thesis will be your major premise.
PREVIEW -- In a movie theater, you are subjected to previews of coming attractions, usually consisting of a series of quick action shots designed to peak your interest and to give you a general impression of the new films. Thus, in a preview, you literally get to see before hand what is coming. A thesis statement for an essay may also contain a preview. In this case, the preview will indicate the main points to be covered in the body of the essay. The points indicated in the thesis will be designated by Roman numerals in the outline and will be explicit in topic sentences in the body of the essay. A preview aids comprehension because it lets the reader predict the kind of information he can expect in each part of the essay. Here are examples of thesis statements that preview the main points the essay will cover.
PROPOSITION – This is a technical term used by linguists. A proposition
is a two-part statement; it has a subject and predicate. The simplest
proposition is a simple sentence such “John ran,” or “Mary laughed.” However,
beyond this level of simplicity, you cannot equate a proposition with a
sentence because a single sentence may contain a number of propositions.
Linguists have devised different methods for identifying and representing the
propositions in sentences. One of these was developed by James Deese of the
PURPOSE – Why something is done. Purpose is a motivation or reason for acting. In an essay, purpose must be distinguished from both topic and main idea. The topic is the thing you are talking about, and your main idea is what you want to say about the topic. The purpose involves why you are writing about the topic and why you are saying what you say. It concerns the effect you want to achieve. The motivations in writing parallel the motivations for many other actions in life. For example, you may want to please, entertain, plead, intimidate, warn, teach, convince, seduce, frighten, comfort, support, deceive, malign, confess, or explain.
REDUNDANT --
REVISE --
SIMILE--
SPECIFIC -- The opposite of general. Specific means particular, clear, unambiguous. Something that is specific is singled out from a more general category and represents an example or a subset of that category. For example, the word "cars" is a general term for a whole group, whereas "Ford" specifies one member of that group. Ford Thunderbird is more specific still, and a red 1967 Ford Thunderbird is the most specific of all these. Here, "cars" is called the general term; however, if you began with the category of transportation and then narrow it to ground transportation, and then to motor vehicles, the term "cars" becomes a specific example of one sort of ground transportation. Thus, a word is judged general or specific in relation to other words.
STORY – A story is a narrative meaning that it relates a sequence of events. A narrative may be a simple telling of events in chronological order, as in a newspaper story, or it may select and present the events to emphasize causal relationships. When this is done, the narrative is said to have a plot. A plot typically has an identifiable beginning (Once upon a time), a middle, (this happened, and next this happened) and an end (And they lived happily ever after). A story may be true (the events really happened, or it may be a work of fiction (the events and the people are imaginary, having been created by the author). There is also historical fiction in which a writer tells a story about real or imagined characters using actual historical events as a background. A story is different from an essay, although an essay may have a narrative component.
STRUCTURE -- A structure is a an arrangement of elements that allows for the imposition of meaning. The opposite of structure is chaos. Structure and chaos are antithetical poles on a continuum, and there are good and less good structures. It might be argued that there is nothing but structure in the universe, but that humans cannot perceive it because of their limited understanding; only the omniscient God sees the big picture. But pragmatically, if we cannot see some arrangement in a collection of things, then the aggregate is meaningless; it is just a heap or jumble.
The human mind is a reservoir of images, memories, and fragments that without the control of consciousness are chaotic. This is evident in dreams where the executive functions are in abeyance and the random connections among the brain cells are freewheeling, giving us the improbable associations that characterize dreams. Language is one of the tools of consciousness that controls and organizes the mind's reservoir.
Language has structure and the structure is derived from rules. Grammars describe the elements that make up a language and define the rules by which they combine to form structures such as sentences. But there is structure of language beyond the sentence level; any collection of sentences on a topic (a discourse)has a structure too. The basic structure of language, whether it be at the sentence level or beyond, is a hierarchy. James Deese asserts that "all discourse tends toward a strong hierarchy."
TEXT -- A text is a physical object, a page or pages of written language either mechanically or manually produced. It may be a transcription of oral language, and more recently, the display of written language on a computer screen. It is a written document that is the subject of discussion or analysis. It may be an original artifact, as for example, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, or a facsimile reproduction of an original. A text usually represents a discourse, although it may be a list of disassociated sentences. The generality of the term makes it useful when you want to refer to some specific example of writing, but do not feel the need to indicate the subject, mode of discourse, means of production, or any other particularity.
THESIS – In its original and narrow sense, a thesis is a proposition to be defended. It is a statement of opinion that a writer defends in an argumentative essay. The word also refers to the written argument itself. However, more recently, the term “thesis” is also used to refer to the main idea in expository essays. A good thesis statement for an argument has the following characteristics:
THEME --
THESIS --
TOPIC – The topic of an essay is what the essay is about. It is the subject of the writing. The number of potential topics is unlimited. An essay may be about cars, trees, girlfriends, a job, grass seed, the president, chainsaws, art prints, cookies, magic tricks, or Kleenex. In choosing a topic, make it narrow enough so that you can adequately cover it within the word and time constraints of the assignment. It would be harder to write about all cars then just Ford Mustangs. This topic might be limited further to a particular year or model.
Note: The topic of an essay is not the same thing as the thesis or main idea. The thesis or main idea is a statement about the topic. It is what you want the reader to understand and remember after he has read your essay.
For example: “The Ford Mustang was a muscle car in the nineteen seventies.” The topic is the Ford Mustang, but the main idea is that it was a muscle car. Or, “The Ford Mustang evolved from the Ford economy cars of the early nineteen sixties.” Again, the topic is the Ford Mustang, but the main idea focuses on the origins of the car.
TONE --
TOPIC SENTENCE -- A topic sentence bears the same relationship to a paragraph that a main idea sentence bears to an essay as a whole. Therefore, its functions are in most cases the same. First of all, it must announce the topic of the paragraph. The topic sentence acts like a billboard to let the reader know what the paragraph is going to be about. It will have a key word that names the subject.
A second function is to give the reader an indication of how the writer will deal with the topic, whether it be by definition, comparison, examplification, analysis, argument, or in some other way.
A topic sentence will frequently pose an assertion which prompts the reader to ask, "Why do you say that? What are your reasons? What is your proof? Explain what you mean. Give me an example." This is the case not just in argument where the writer is trying to convince the reader to accept a point of view, or in persuasion where he is trying to get the reader to pursue a course of action; it is also common in exposition where the writer presents ideas that are novel or difficult, and the reader expects him to give facts and reasons to explain what he means.
At times a topic sentence may also make a transition from the preceding paragraph to the new one. When the topic sentence performs this function, it uses a transitional word or phrase, points back to the preceding paragraph by the repetition of a key term, and then points forward to the new paragraph by introducing a word or phrase that identifies the new subject.
Like the main idea sentence of an essay which may give a preview of the content by listing the subjects to be covered, a topic sentence may list the subtopics of the paragraph, or at least alert the reader as to how many subtopics there are. And a topic sentence that introduces a new term may also define that term.
A topic sentence most often appears at or near the beginning of a paragraph. This is the general practice in exposition where the primary concern is to convey information in a clear and efficient manner. Here, the billboard function of the topic sentence is paramount. Placing the topic sentence near the beginning gives the paragraph a deductive organization that aids comprehension by alerting the reader as to what he can expect to learn.
However, topic sentences can sometimes be placed at the end of paragraphs to good effect. When the topic sentence comes near the end, the paragraph has inductive organization. This is a common when the paragraph provides examples of a phenomenon or involves an analysis. The topic sentence at the end may state a conclusion drawn from the examples presented or from the line of reasoning laid out. Inductive organization is also found in some types of narrative, as for example in fables, where the main idea at the end gives explicit expression to the point that the writer wants the reader to remember.
Sometimes, especially in academic writing, a topic sentence becomes a "topic paragraph." This is often the case when a text book heading is followed by a short paragraph that names the subtopics that will be introduced in that section. Thus, the paragraph previews the information by listing it in the order in which it will be covered. Examples of various types of topic sentences can be seen here.
TRANSITION --
UNITY -- The word "unity" comes from the Latin "uni--" which means one. "Unanimous" and "universe" are two other common derivatives. An oral or written discourse has unity when all the parts are related to a single purpose, idea, or effect. For example, Aristotle said that unity of plot was essential for tragedy. Edgar Allen Poe asserted that a poem or short story should be unified by a single effect. In a biography or autobiography, the focus on a single life gives unity. A lyric poem achieves unity by the development of a single dominate emotion. Other literary works can create unity by means of theme, symbolism, form, or intent. When applied to exposition, unity means that there is one topic with one main idea about the topic, and all the information in the discourse is related to this one idea. In deductive organization, the topic is made explicit in a main idea sentence placed near the beginning. Each paragraph within the discourse will also have a topic sentence that provides a focus for the sentences in the paragraph. Click here for further discussion.
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