Literary Terms Unit 8

Front

Dependent clause

Back

cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause.

Front

Compound sentence

Back

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.

Front

Complex sentence

Back

Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

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Declarative sentence

Back

States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question. "The ball is round."

Front

Imperative sentence

Back

Issues a command. "Kick the ball."

Front

Style

Back

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes.

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Symbol

Back

Anything that represents or stands for something else. Usually it is something concrete such as an object, actions, character...that represents something more abstract.

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Syntax

Back

Grammatical arrangement of words

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Theme

Back

The central idea or message of a work. It may be directly stated in nonfiction works, although not necessarily. It is rarely stated directly in fiction.

Front

Thesis

Back

The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. It should be short and clear.