Download Glossary of Writing Terms

Glossary of Writing Terms
The Writing Process
Analysis – the process of breaking down something’s structure or elements into smaller parts in
order to understand their nature, how they relate to one another, or their function
Claim – a statement that can be argued
Concise – describes a text that uses as few words as possible to effectively make a point
Editing – an ongoing process which focuses on structure, clarity, style, transitions, word choice,
sentence structure, use of language, etc.
Euphemism – a word or phrase that substitutes for language the speaker or writer feels is too
blunt or somehow offensive
He died. → He passed away.
Evidence – the support for an argument’s claim
Paraphrasing – restating a text or passage using another form or other words while retaining
the main idea of the original source; writers must cite paraphrased information.
Parallelism – the idea that structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses
should be similar in order to improve clarity and readability. For example, items in a list should
be in parallel grammatical form.
We enjoy swimming, biking, and books. → We enjoy swimming, biking, and reading.
Point of View – the perspective from which a text is written
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
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First Person (I or we) – I should learn how to write well.
Second Person (you) – You should learn how to write well.
Third Person (he, she, it, or they) – College students should learn how to write well.
Proofreading – the very last step which generally involves only minor changes in spelling,
punctuation, and grammar
Revising – an ongoing process which focuses on the larger issues, such as content, argument,
purpose, audience, and organization
Rhetorical Strategies – persuasive strategies used in arguments to defend claims and refute
conflicting arguments. Aristotle gave the following categories of appeals used in argument:
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
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Ethos – credibility, moral character, and goodwill of the writer, speaker, or arguing party
Pathos – appeal to emotions or values of the audience
Logos – appeal to reason or logic of the topic/argument with facts and/or evidence
Thesis – the central or controlling idea of a text. The thesis statement does two things:
announce the topic and state what is significant about the topic.
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Writing Terms – MCTC Writing Center 2012
Glossary of Writing Terms
Conventions
Active vs. Passive Voice – In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is
straightforward: the subject carries out the action of the verb. In the passive voice, the subject of
the sentence is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed. The passive forms
of a verb are created by combining a form of the verb "to be" with the past participle of the main
verb. The meaning of a sentence is generally clearer in the active voice.
subject
verb
Active – The executive committee approved the new policy.
subject
verb
Passive – The new policy was approved.
Adjective – a word that modifies, identifies, quantifies, or describes a noun
Adverb – a word that modifies, describes, limits, or qualifies a verb, an adjective, or another
adverb and answers the questions what?, when?, where?, why?, how?, to what extent?, or
under what circumstances?
Clause – a group of related words containing a subject and a verb. Independent clauses can
stand alone as separate sentences, and dependent/subordinate clauses can’t.
dependent
independent
While Joe made dinner, I loaded the dishwasher.
Comma Splice – a type of run-on that occurs when two independent clauses (clauses that can
stand alone as sentences) are connected by only a comma
The sun is high, put on some sunblock.
Contraction – a shortened version of a word or words that uses an apostrophe to show where
a letter or letters have been left out (e.g. isn't, don’t, can’t, o'clock, 'twas)
Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS – for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) –connect two
independent clauses or two sentence elements. When they connect two independent clauses, a
comma comes before the conjunction.
Two independent clauses: MCTC is a great school, but the parking is expensive.
Two sentence elements: Faculty and staff at MCTC are dedicated to student success.
FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) – the conjunction words that can be used to combine
two independent clauses when preceded with a comma
Joe made dinner, and I loaded the dishwasher.
Fragment – a group of words that cannot stand alone because they do not contain even one
independent clause
I love Minneapolis! A great place to live, work, and raise a family.
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Writing Terms – MCTC Writing Center 2012
Glossary of Writing Terms
Minneapolis has a variety of ethnic restaurants. For example, Himalayan, Indian,
Chinese, Ethiopian, Italian, French, Mexican, Columbian, and German.
Infinitive – the root of a verb plus the word to. When a word (often an adverb) or phrase sneaks
between the to of the infinitive and the root of the verb it is called a split infinitive (e.g. to boldly
go). There is no consensus as to whether or not split infinitives are acceptable in writing.
Object – A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers Who? or What?; an
indirect object identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed.
indirect object
direct object
MCTC offers students a great education.
Parts of Speech (verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions,
interjections) – the categories into which words are classified according to their functions in
sentences
Prepositions – describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. It is considered
improper to end a sentence with a preposition.
about, above, across, after, against, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside,
besides, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near,
of, off, on, out, outside, over, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, until, up,
upon, with, without, according to, because of, by way of, in addition to, in front of, in
place of, in regard to, in spite of, instead of, on account of, out of
Prepositional Phrase – a preposition, a noun or a pronoun that serves as the object of the
preposition, and, more often than not, an adjective or two that modifies the object
in the garden, under the bed, beside the table, with me, from Canada
Pronoun – a pronoun is a substitute for a noun (person, place, thing, feeling, or quality). The
antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers, understood by the context.
table of personal pronouns
1st person singular
Subjective Objective Possessive Independent Reflexive
Possessive myself
I
me
my
mine
2nd person singular
you
you
your
yours
yourself
(In older English)
thou
3rd person singular: masculine he
thee
thy
thine
thyself
him
his
his
himself
3rd person singular: feminine she
3rd person singular: neuter it
her
her
hers
herself
it
its
its
itself
1st person plural
we
us
our
ours
ourselves
2nd person plural
you
you
your
yours
yourselves
3rd person plural
they
them
their
theirs
themselves
impersonal
one
one
ones
--
oneself
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Writing Terms – MCTC Writing Center 2012
Glossary of Writing Terms
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement – the idea that pronouns should agree with their antecedents
in person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), number (singular or plural), and gender
Pronoun Consistency – the idea that the use of pronouns should be consistent throughout a
text. For example, a writer shouldn’t use the first person plural we and then shift to the second
person singular you.
Punctuation – standardized marks used to organize writing into clauses, phrases, and
sentences in order to clarify meaning
comma
,
apostrophe
’
question mark
?
parentheses
()
semicolon
;
quotation
marks
“”
exclamation
point
!
brackets
[]
colon
:
period
.
dash
–
ellipsis
...
Run-on/Fused Sentence – a sentence with two independent clauses that have no punctuation
or connecting word between them. Three easy ways to fix a run-on are: (1) Make two separate
sentences; (2) Connect the two clauses with a comma and a FANBOYS; (3) Use a semicolon.
Subordinating Conjunction – comes at the beginning of a subordinate/dependent clause and
establishes the relationship between the dependent clause and the rest of the sentence and
turns the clause into something that depends on the rest of the sentence for its meaning.
after, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, even if, even though, if,
if only, in order that, now that, once, rather than, since, so that, than, that, though, till,
unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, while
Once you understand multiplication, you can start learning division.
You can go to the party as long as you get all your homework done.
Verb – the part of speech that carries the action or indicates the state of being
Verb Tense – shows the time of the verb’s action or being.
Verb Tense Consistency – the idea that consistent verb tense improves readability and
reduces confusion
Capital Community College Foundation. "Index." Guide to Grammar and Writing. Capital Community College
Foundation, 2004. Web. 06 Mar. 2012.
Lunsford, Andrea A., Paul Kei Matsuda, Christine M. Tardy, and Lisa Ede. The St. Martin's Handbook. 7th ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. Print.
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Writing Terms – MCTC Writing Center 2012