Unit 8 · Style – Writing

Comparisons ● (core concept) — Similes, metaphors, analogies, or anecdotes used to relate to an audience; they only advance the purpose if the audience shares and understands them.

Simile ● (core concept) — A comparison using “like” or “as.” (Example: “brave as a lion.”)

Metaphor ● (core concept) — A direct comparison without “like” or “as.” (Example: “a sea of troubles.”)

Analogy ● (core concept) — An extended comparison that explains something unfamiliar by likening it to something familiar; also a recognized type of evidence.

Anecdote ● (core concept) — A brief, telling story used as evidence or to connect with an audience.

Syntax ● (core concept) — The arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses into sentences.

Diction ● (core concept) — A writer's word choice.

Syntax, diction, and persuasion ● (core concept) — Choices about syntax and diction shape how an audience perceives the writer and how readily it accepts the argument.

Word choice and credibility ● (core concept) — Word choice may reflect a writer's biases and affect their credibility with a particular audience.

Writing for a dynamic audience ● (core concept) — Audiences are unique and shifting, so writers must weigh the audience's perspectives, contexts, and needs when choosing evidence, organization, and language.

Style ● (core concept) — A writer's characteristic mix of word choice, syntax, and conventions.

Irony ● (core concept) — A complex or ironic perspective signaled through stylistic choices; it often emerges from the gap between the argument and what readers expect or value.

Modifiers ● (core concept) — Words, phrases, or clauses that qualify, clarify, or specify; place them closest to what they modify to reduce ambiguity.

Parenthetical elements ● (core concept) — Nonessential interruptions — set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses — that add information for the audience or advance the writer's purpose.

Rhetorical question ○ — A question asked for effect rather than an answer. (A common stylistic device.)