Glossary

adjective

a word used to describe a noun or pronoun

adverb

a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

annotate

add notes to, comment on

antecedent

a word the pronoun refers to

antonym

a word that means the opposite of another word

article

a specific type of adjective; there are three articles in English: “the," “a," and “an."

articulate

express an idea fluently and coherently

avid

interested, enthusiastic

barbarous

uncivilized, discordant, harsh

brackets

a pair of marks, like square parentheses [ ], that enclose words or numbers to separate them from the rest of a sentence

chronological

according to time

cited

to identify the source of an idea or phrase

clause

a group of words that includes both a subject and a verb

cliché

an overused or unoriginal word or phrase

comma splice

when a comma is used incorrectly between two independent clauses

compound noun

a noun made up of more than one word

comprehension

the act of understanding

concisely

briefly

condense

shorten

conjunction

a word that joins or connects

connotation

ideas or feelings generated by a word that go beyond its literal meaning

consonant

any letter other than a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y

contraction

a word created by combining two words, deleting some letters, and adding an apostrophe

criteria

the standard or model used for comparison

dependent clause

a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but is dependent on the rest of the sentence to finish the thought

digression

a departure or a shift from the main point

document

record evidence

draft

the preliminary or early version of a document

edit

correct errors

ellipses

a set of three periods . . . that means words have been removed

emphatic

based on importance

essay

a short, subjective piece of writing that analyzes or interprets a topic

expository

a type of writing that investigates, evaluates, and explains an idea or topic

format

arrangement on the page

fragment

an incomplete sentence, missing a subject, a verb, and/or a complete thought

generate

create

glossary

a list of words and their meanings

govern

control

grammar

the system and structure of a language

homonym

words that sound like each other but have different meanings

independent clause

a group of words that includes a subject, a verb, and a complete thought

integrate

combine with other information

interjection

a word inserted into a sentence to express surprise or emotion

irregular

different from other, more common forms

isolate

separate, remove from the context

literal

actual

misplaced modifier

a phrase or clause that is awkwardly placed in a sentence so that it seems to refer to an unintended word

modify

add information to

noun

the name of a person, place, thing, or idea

object

a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun affected by the action of the verb

paraphrased

to rewrite something in your own words but without changing the meaning

parentheses

rounded brackets (like this), used to mark off or separate out words or phrases in a sentence

parts of speech

the system used to classify English words based on what they do in a sentence

past tense

a verb form that expresses an action which took place in the past

phrase

a groups of words that does not include the sentence subject or verb

Plagiarism

taking someone else's idea or words and presenting them as if they were yours

possessive

words that show ownership

predicate

the part of the sentence that contains the verb and that tells what happened to the subject or what state the subject is in

preposition

a word that describes the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and something else in the sentence

prepositional phrase

a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun

procrastinate

delay or postpone

pronoun

a word used in place of a noun

proofreading

examining writing carefully to find and correct mechanical errors such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typing errors

purposeful

not accidentally or randomly, but with a goal

revise

re-examine for clarity and quality

run-on

two or more independent clauses merged together with insufficient punctuation between them

sentence

a group of words that contains a subject, a verb, and a complete thought

spatial

as arranged in space

strategy

plan of action

subject

the main noun or pronoun which performs the action in a sentence

summarize

a brief statement of the main points of a longer work

synonym

a word or phrase that means exactly or almost exactly the same thing as another word or phrase

thesis

a brief statement of the essay's main point

unethical

lacking moral principles

verb

a word that expresses action or a state of being

verb phrase

a verb comprised of two or more words

verb tense

the form of the verb that tells us when the action is occurring

vowel

the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y

works

something done or made

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