Sentence Constructions Purpose: to define and review different sentence constructions and their effect on the reader.

anaphora deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect  Repetition of words at the start of successive clauses Ex. I work hard every day, all day, all night to achieve my goals, to achieve what I want in life. I work hard because my goals are charitable. My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.

antecedent Any adjectives, adverbs, phrases, and relative clauses used to alter the meaning of particular words or phrases within a sentence. It gives meaning to a pronoun used in the sentence. Ex. Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they despise tofu hotdogs and black bean burgers.

colloquial Ordinary language, vernacular Language not appropriate for a formal writing situation “Romeo’s baby mama” in a literary analysis essay

convention An accepted manner, model, or tradition used to create uniformity In writing, it is the rules that we agree to that dictate the proper use of commas, capitalization, etc.

clincher A final persuasive statement, often utilizing a rhetorical device, that serves as a final image or consideration for an essay’s intended audience Tries to give the impression of settling the matter absolutely Often written using powerful language, meant to persuade. Does not necessarily need to be logical. Ex. The answer is clear: invest in prisoner education and receive the benefit, or otherwise release with no education, at the risk of your own injury and death.

chiasmus A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first, but with parts reversed to emphasize a specific idea. Ex. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

run-on sentence Run-on sentences lack proper conjunctions (coordinating, subordinating, semicolons, etc.) The two types of run on sentences are comma splices and fused sentences (which we will discuss shortly). A run on sentence is not necessarily long; it just has not been constructed properly.

fused sentence A type of Run-On sentence in which the writer has failed to make any attempt either to link or separate two independent clauses, utilizing neither punctuation, nor conjunctions Does not use an appropriate conjunction (and, or, but, so, ; therefore, however, etc.) This is different from a comma splice, since the writer uses a comma to join the two sentences together, which is not really enough. Ex. My dog played out in the rain he smelled like grass and worms. Ex. Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem the tires of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.

juxtaposition Placing one thing adjacent to another, especially for comparison and contrast If a speaker where to allude to a character who is horribly impatient as a way to illustrate his patience with problem, then that would be a juxtaposition.

Litotes (li-to-tes) Understatement is a figure of speech that makes something seem less significant or less severe than it actually is. A double negative is an expression that uses two negative terms to express a positive. Type of understatement that uses negative words to express the contrary. Litotes is a way to state the affirmative without actually stating the affirmative. Ex. Indeed, it is not uncommon for laves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.

Prose: Ordinary form of written language Prose and syntax Prose: Ordinary form of written language Only two categories: prose and poetry Syntax: The order and structure of a sentence

parallelism The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. Creates rhythm in writing. Ex. He hates getting up in the morning, making his coffee, and driving to work. Repetition of ing followed by a modifier.