Song library

Argument Structure

DEFINITION: An argument is the main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel that usually appears as an introduction or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers. Literature does not merely entertain. Therefore, an argument does not intend to serve only as an introduction but it attracts the reader’s focus to an issue that will be made clear gradually. The structure of an argument consists of claims and reasons that support the idea of the argument. HOW IT WORKS: An example of how an argument is structued: A teenager tells her parent that buying her a new laptop would help her with her homework. “Buying a new laptop” is the argument. Stating the laptop will be used to help with homework is the supporting reason. These combined crete the agrument. HOW IT IS USED IN EVERYDAY LIFE: When someone is trying to convince another person to believe an idea, the reasons that are given is the argument.

Figure of Speech

DEFINITION: a word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written passage. HOW TO: Examples of Figures of speech are: Alliteration Assonance Anaphora Hyperbole Irony Metaphor Oxymoron Personification Similes Onomatopoeia Synecdoche Understatements Everyday Use: Figures of speech can be found in every day conversations, books, movies and songs.

Patterns and Organization

Point of View

the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters. HOW TO: Here are examples of the 3 major kinds of Point Of View 1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” and “we”. “I fell because I did not tie my shoe.” 2. Second person point of view employs the pronoun “you”. “You should try Papa John’s Pizza.” 3. Third person point of view uses pronouns like “he”, “she”, “it”, “they” or a name. “Coach Nisbett is the best psychology teacher ever.” Everyday Use: Point of View is used every day in the stories we tell, books we read and in movies and TV.