1. Tips and Tricks for Second Semester
Lit Devices
Tips and Tricks for Second Semester

2. Grammar/Conventions Avoid Include Contractions (isn’t, won’t)
Wishy washy language (seems, could mean)
Sentence fragments (Fitzgerald is articulate. Although Tom isn’t)
Comma splices (Nick describes her, he also criticizes her)
Include
Quotations around specific diction (The word “giggled”…)
Italics for novels; quotations for “poems”
Commas before quotes
Subject/verb agreement
Pronoun/antecedent agreement
The group want/wants its/their money.

3. Citations Under the example, include proper MLA citation for the text
Don’t have it? Find it!
Writer’s Inc. (or can show you how
Incorrect citation will earn you a zero!

4. What earns a “10” Sophisticated definition
Strong example of the term (not a stretch)
ONE SENTENCE summary. Two sentences of context.
Use of the term as an active verb when applicable (active voice always!)
Explicit connection of the specific example (quoted in the function discussion) to the overall purpose of its presence. (theme? Character complexity? Ambiguity?)
Other references or quotes to support this analysis
STRONG diction and varied syntax

5. How do I earn a “10” Start with the end in mind, not the term.
Think backwards – what are you trying to prove? (Create a thesis for this body paragraph)
Stay focused!!! Prove the term’s function…that’s it! Be succinct and effective.
Use specific details and word choice – say what you mean in nuanced language
Avoid: very significant, important, interesting, does this very well

6. Sophisticated Definition
Cacophony: The use of harsh, unpleasant, or discordant sounds, usually achieved through the use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing, and unmelodious sounds, primarily those of consonants, to achieve desired results.

7. Strong Example
Symbol: In the simplest sense, a symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else beyond it—often an idea conventionally associated with it. The term symbolism refers to the use of symbols, or to a set of related symbols. 

8. Strong Example
Example: '"I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing in between but the daughter I am holding in my arms. No more running--from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth. I took one journey and I paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much! Do you hear me? It cost too much” (18). Morrison, Toni. Beloved: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, Print.

9. Context
Function: In order to emphasize Sethe’s trauma, Toni Morrison, in her text Beloved, employs the use of a symbol in her text. Context: As Sethe is reuniting with Paul D, she mentions the scar on her back “

10. Concept
Concept: …“I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing in between but the daughter I am holding in my arms. No more running--from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth. I took one journey and I paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much! Do you hear me? It cost too much” (18). Further along in the novel, we learn that Amy Denver identified the whiplashes on her back as a tree. This symbolizes Sethe’s growing and constant pain, but also her strength as a survivor, mother, and woman.

11. Connection
Connection: Morrison’s vivid description of the tree scar on Sethe’s back allows readers to grapple with the pervasive trauma Sethe has experienced. On the one hand, the scar is horrific and gruesome; it reflects the horrific and gruesome torture she endured in slavery. On the other hand, it is a beautiful “tree” – a representation of all the strength and wisdom she carries with her due to those horrible experiences. Morrison’s novel demonstrates that slavery, an abomination in American history and on the lives of the people who endured it, is also a testament to the fortitude of people who survived and carried on in spite of it.

12. Symbol: In the simplest sense, a symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else beyond it—often an idea conventionally associated with it. The term symbolism refers to the use of symbols, or to a set of related symbols.
Example: '"I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing in between but the daughter I am holding in my arms. No more running--from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth. I took one journey and I paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much! Do you hear me? It cost too much” (18).
Morrison, Toni. Beloved: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, Print.
Function: In order to emphasize Sethe’s trauma, Toni Morrison, in her text Beloved, employs the use of a symbol in her text. As Sethe is reuniting with Paul D, she mentions the scar on her back “I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing in between but the daughter I am holding in my arms. No more running--from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth. I took one journey and I paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much! Do you hear me? It cost too much” (18). Further along in the novel, we learn that Amy Denver identified the whiplashes on her back as a tree. This symbolizes Sethe’s growing and constant pain, but also her strength as a survivor, mother, and woman. Morrison’s vivid description of the tree scar on Sethe’s back allows readers to grapple with the pervasive trauma Sethe has experienced. On the one hand, the scar is horrific and gruesome; it reflects the horrific and gruesome torture she endured in slavery. On the other hand, it is a beautiful “tree” – a representation of all the strength and wisdom she carries with her due to those horrible experiences. Morrison’s novel demonstrates that slavery, an abomination in American history and on the lives of the people who endured it, is also a testament to the fortitude of people who survived and carried on in spite of it.

13. Punctuality On time means
Submitted to Turnitin.com by Thursday evening – 11:59pm
Printed copy in my possession by Friday 12:50pm
Definition, Example, Citation, and Function
*Failure to adhere to any of the above will result in a LATE submission and will not receive scoring*

14. Tips Terms and Texts Any term from the list – challenge yourself!
Any text from THIS semester – novels, poems, essays, etc.
Rhyme works, but many of you don’t deepen the sophistication of its use. Thus, the entry is weak.
Poems from last semester’s list are no longer available (new list online) and books/plays from last semester are not allowed. Start reading!