Glossary

Full Glossary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - K - L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - V

An abbreviation describes a word which has been shortened, for example 'fridge' from 'refrigerator'.

Accent is how a speaker pronounces language. It varies according to the region or country the speaker comes from, and their social class or group.

An adverbial clause adds to the meaning of the verb in the main clause of a sentence, and may be a clause of time, place, reason, manner, comparison, purpose, result, condition or concession; for example, ‘I watch TV after I’ve done
my homework’.

Alliteration is the word used to describe connected syllables or words beginning with the same letter or sound, for example ‘baby brother’.

An anecdote is a story about an incident, often used to illustrate a point in an argument or to support a statement about a person’s character.

Archaic forms of language are often used by writers to create a sense of the past in a text set in a previous age.

Assonance is the use of repeated vowel sounds, such as is used in poetry to create an effect, for example ‘The fleas that tease in the high Pyrenees’.

An audience is the group of people for whom a text is created, in other words, listeners, readers, viewers or users of the Internet.

An autobiography is the story of someone’s life written by himself or herself, usually in the first person.

A ballad is a poem which tells a story, sometimes set to music as a song.The stanzas are usually quite short, with a simple rhythm and rhyme scheme.

A biography is the story of someone’s life written by somebody else, usually in the third person.

Blank verse is poetry which has a regular rhythm or metre but no rhyme.

A cliché is a phrase which may once have been original and striking but has become so over-used that it no longer conveys any strength of feeling or opinion.

Cohesion refers to the way in which a sentence is logically constructed.

A colon is most commonly used to introduce a list.

Comparative adjectives compare the degree of quality between two objects.

A contraction is a word which has been shortened, for example ‘mum’ for ‘mother’; or two words which have been made into one, for example ‘I’d’ for ‘I had’.

A dialect is a version of a language which shows differences in grammar and vocabulary from standard English.

Empathy describes how you identify with, or are able to see a situation through the eyes of, a character in a text.

An etymological dictionary traces the origins of words.

Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words.

A fable is a short narrative intended to make a moral point or give a moral lesson.

A fact is something which can be supported by evidence.

Fairy stories are based on traditional tales and contain magical people and situations.The plots may be quite gruesome and frightening.

Fiction is something which is invented or made up by the writer. A text written in the first person makes it seem as if the character is telling his or her own story.

Formal language follows the conventions of standard English and is used to write to someone in authority, for example.

The future tense describes something that will or may happen.

Genre describes different types of writing with their own characteristics or features, for example crime writing, historical novels.

A homonym is a word with the same spelling (in which case it is a homograph) and/or the same sound (in which case it is a homophone) as another, but with a different meaning.

Imagery describes the vivid use of language to create a particular picture or sense in the reader’s mind. Metaphors and similes are images.

Informal language can follow the grammatical conventions of standard English but include contractions, such as ‘can’t’. It can also be non-standard English, for example slang.

Internal rhyme describes the placing of two or more words which rhyme in the same line of a poem, for example ‘Her Sunday beads among the reeds’.

Inversion is writing which reverses the usual order of words. It may be used in poetry to help the writer to make a rhyme or put particular emphasis on a word.

Irony is a kind of humour based on mockery or gentle sarcasm, for example if you say ‘He’s a very nice man’, but mean the opposite.

A kenning is a device used in Old English poetry, when a compound term is used to describe something without actually naming it.

Latin was the language of Ancient Rome. Because the Roman Empire extended so widely throughout the ancient world, Latin has influenced many modern languages.

A legend is a story usually about well-known actual people, such as St George, which but may have been added to over the years to make it seem more exciting or heroic. A legend usually conveys a moral, or message, to the reader.

Melodrama is a type of play, especially popular in the nineteenth century, which has a simple plot of good triumphing over evil, and often a poor or humble hero getting the better of a rich or upper-class villain.

Metaphor is when the author writes about something as if it is something else so you see it in a new or different way.

A motion is the topic or subject of a formal debate which leads to a vote.

A myth is an ancient traditional story with a message.

A narrative is a text which tells a story. It may be in prose or poetry, and may be fiction or include fact.

Non-fiction is writing which deals with facts, such as a set of instructions, a travel guide or an account of a historic or scientific event.

An obituary is a newspaper announcement of someone’s death. It usually consists of a brief biography and details of when, where and how the subject died.

Onomatopoeia is the use of words which sound like their meaning, for example ‘whines’.

An opinion is a belief for which there is no evidence available or for which there could never be definite evidence.

The past perfect tense refers to a situation in the past that happened before another situation in the past, for example ‘I had run away’.

Personification is a form of metaphor in which non-human objects are described as though they act like humans or show human emotions.

Poetic diction describes the range of language used in poems.

A précis is a shortened version of a text, which keeps all the main details but leaves out anything which does not affect the essential points.

The present continuous tense describes something that is ongoing, for example ‘I am running away’.

A present participle is a verb form which shows a continuous action. It ends in ‘-ing’ and although it is called ‘present’, it can be used with any tense, for example ‘she is walking’, ‘she was walking’. It can also be used as an adjective, for example
‘the laughing man’.

The present perfect tense describes a situation in the past looked at from the present, for example ‘I have run away’.

Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing with the aim of persuading the audience.

Rhetorical questions are questions which either do not require an answer or which you cannot answer.

Rhyme may be regular or irregular.

Rhythm is the pattern of long and short, or strong and weak, beats in a text.

A semi-colon is a punctuation mark which is used either to separate phrases or clauses in a sentence when you want a clearer break than a comma, but not a full stop; or to separate items in a list with a more significant break than is achieved by using a comma.

Simile is when the writer creates a picture in your mind by comparing one thing to something else, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’ to link the objects.

The simple past tense describes a completed action, for example ‘I ate my breakfast’.

The simple present tense describes a present habit or fact, for example ‘I get up at 7 o’clock’.

Slang describes words or phrases used in informal language, in speech or writing, which may be associated with particular regions, age groups, historical times or social classes.

A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines with a specific rhyming scheme, and is often about an emotion such as love.

Standard English is the accepted language of public communication, which follows commonly-accepted rules or conventions of vocabulary choice, spelling, punctuation and grammar. It does not use slang, outdated or regional forms of
language.

Symbolism is when a person, object, event or place represents something else in addition to its obvious, surface meaning.

A text written in the third person makes it seem as though the author has total knowledge of all the characters.

The tone of a piece of speech or writing is created by the speaker’s or writer’s choice of words and the structure of sentences. It may make us like or dislike the speaker or writer, and may influence how far we agree with what is said or written.

A traditional tale may involve ordinary people who perform extraordinary deeds, and is meant to suggest a moral, or message, to the reader.

A verb is a word which describes what a person or thing does or is.

Verb tenses tell the reader or listener when something happens.