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This glossary contains definitions for words used throughout the website.  If you have a suggestion of a word that should be included here, please e-mail me at tim@mr-anderson.com.



Browse the glossary using this index

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F

fable

:
A story intended to enforce a useful truth, especially one in which animals speak and act like human beings.

fallacy

:
A typical error in reasoning that arises commonly in ordinary discourse and renders unsound the argument in which it appears.

feminine rhyme

:
Array

figurative language

:

Language enriched by word images and figures of speech.

Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language. Any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words in order to furnish new effects or fresh insights into an idea or a subject.

The most common figures of speech are simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and idioms.

figurative meaning

:
A symbolic interpretation of written work.

figures of speech

:
special poetic ways of expressing things, especially comparisons that are not literally true.

first person narration

:
Narration in which the point of view is that of the main character.

flashback

:
The technique of stopping the chronological action in a story and shifting to an earlier period to introduce additional information.

flat character

:
A character with only one outstanding trait or feature.

fluency

:
The act of reading easily, smoothly and automatically with a rate appropriate for the text, indicating that students understand meaning.

focus

:
The center of interest or attention; in writing, the central idea.

foil

:
A character who provides a contrast to the protagonist.

foot

:
the repeating unit of meter.

foreshadowing

:

The technique of giving clues to coming events in a narrative.

Not all foreshadowing is obvious. Frequently, future events are merely hinted at through dialogue, description, or the attitudes and reactions of the characters.

Foreshadowing frequently serves two purposes. It builds suspense by raising questions that encourage the reader to go on and find out more about the event that is being foreshadowed. Foreshadowing is also a means of making a narrative more believable by partially preparing the reader for events which are to follow.

format

:

The shape, size and general makeup (as of something printed).

functional documents

:
Works of nonfiction such as "how to" books, technical manuals and instructions.