T-U-V-W

tactile imagery imagery that appeals to the sense of touch

tense the time of a verb's action or state of being

testimonial a statement by a person to promote or endorse a product or service 

text print or nonprint material that communicates a message

theme the central idea, insight, or purpose of a work 

thesaurus a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms

thesis a proposition that is the main idea, position, or view of an essay writer

thesis statement a sentence, often placed at the end of an introduction, that presents a clear declaration of the central argument or main idea in an essay

third-person narrator a narrator that tells a story from outside the work of fiction and uses the third-person pronouns he or she

third-person point of view a type of narration in which the narrator uses the pronouns he, she, and they

timeless having meaning beyond the specific time period depicted in the story

timeliness a factor that makes an event newsworthy because it has just happened or has recently been disclosed

tone the text creator's attitude toward the subject matter or audience

tone of voice expression and feeling conveyed in one's voice

topic sentence a sentence that states or suggests the main idea of a paragraph

traditional poems poetry that follows a formal and regular structure in terms of rhythm and rhyme

tragedy in general, a literary work in which the protagonist meets an unhappy or disastrous end

tragic flaw traditionally, that particular defect in a tragic hero that leads to his or her downfall

transition a word or phrase that links ideas, phrases, or clauses, making clear the relationship between one and the other

transitional device a word or phrase used to link ideas, sentences, or paragraphs

understatement saying or revealing less than is actually the case; a figure of speech that is deliberately less forceful than the subject or occasion would justify; the opposite of hyperbole

unfinished claim an incomplete and ambiguous claim or comparison that leaves it to the viewer to complete or make sense of the message in an advertisement

unity maintaining the focus of a piece of writing; staying on topic; keeping the ideas in a composition connected to the topic

universal having meaning for people of all ages, races, and social classes

URL a uniform resource locator; the address of a website on the Internet

utopia an ideal and perfect place or state where everyone lives in harmony and everything is for the best

verb a word or a group of words that expresses an action or state of being

verbal irony words in a piece of literature that suggest the opposite of their literal or contextual meaning

vested interest involvement in something that is personally advantageous

visual imagery imagery that appeals to the sense of sight

visualizing using your imagination to create a mental image of a person, thing, or event 

vocabulary log a list of unfamiliar words and their definitions

vocal tone the use of pitch and volume to reflect emotion while speaking

voice the way you sound in writing; the personal and recognizable style of a writer

voice-over the voice of an unseen narrator or commentator in a film or on TV

volume the degree of loudness in someone's voice

weasel words vague, misleading words that enable advertisers to make claims that they cannot be held legally liable for

webbing a prewriting technique in which ideas related to a single word or concept are drawn in a web or cluster around the original word

web browser a computer program that provides access to Internet information

web page a document on the World Wide Web

website a site or location on the World Wide Web consisting of a home page and often other files and documents

wit apt, clever, and often humorous speech

World Wide Web a network of websites on the Internet