1. Lit Terms 3

2. Anecdote
A short narrative account of an amusing, unusual, revealing, or interesting event. A good anecdote has a single, definite point, and the setting, dialogue, and characters are usually subordinate to the point of the story.
Ex:
At the beginning of a speech about fire safety, the speaker tells a short cautionary tale about a serious injury that occurred as a result of not following protocol.

3. Pun A play on two words similar in sound but different in meaning. Ex
After periodic doubts about his vocational calling, the young chemistry teacher concluded he was out of his element.
The church choir robes were too long and needed to be hymned.

4. Idiom
An expression in one language that cannot be closely matched or translated easily into another language. Ex
A Chip on your shoulder
Sick as a dog
Pay the piper

5. Connotation
The implied definition of a word- goes beyond the literal definition. Ex
Cheap, Frugal, Miserly, Economical
Confident, Secure, Proud, Egotistical

6. Denotation
The minimal, strict definition of a word as found in a dictionary, disregarding any historical or emotional connotation. Ex
House vs home
Vizzini: He didn't fall? Inconceivable. Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. (The Princess Bride, 1987)

7. Rhetorical Question
a statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered. Ex
"If practice makes perfect, and no one's perfect, then why practice?" (Billy Corgan)
"Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do 'practice'?" (George Carlin)

8. Figurative Language Language that contains or uses figures of speech
Similes
Metaphors
Etc Ex
Her head was spinning from all the new information.
The toast jumped out of the toaster.
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

9. Purpose
The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
3 main purposes:
To inform
To persuade
To entertain

10. Compare
To point out/discover similarities between things.

11. Contrast
To point out/discover differences between things.

12. Inference
A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

13. Main Idea
the main points of a speech; the subtopics of a speech..

14. Supporting Detail
Details that give more information about and support the main idea.