Glossary of Terms
Writing Fundamentals
Active Voice Subject performs the action. "The team completed the project." Contrast with passive voice: "The project was completed by the team."
Audience Who you're writing for. Understanding audience shapes every choice.
Clarity Writing that is immediately understood. The primary goal of most professional writing.
Concision Saying what needs to be said in as few words as possible. Not brevity for its own sake — efficiency.
Draft A version of a piece. First drafts are for discovery; later drafts are for refinement.
Flow How writing moves from one idea to the next. Good flow feels effortless to read.
Passive Voice Subject receives the action. "The project was completed." Often weaker than active voice but has legitimate uses.
Revision The process of reworking a draft. Where good writing happens.
Tone The attitude or feeling conveyed by writing. Formal, casual, urgent, warm, etc.
Voice The distinctive style of a writer. What makes writing recognizable as coming from a specific person.
Structure and Organization
Hook An opening that grabs attention. Makes readers want to continue.
Lead/Lede The opening of a piece, especially in journalism. Sets up what follows.
Outline A structural plan for a piece. Can be detailed or rough.
Paragraph A unit of thought. Usually one main idea per paragraph.
Topic Sentence The sentence that states the main idea of a paragraph. Often first, but not always.
Transition Words, phrases, or sentences that connect ideas. Create flow between paragraphs.
Craft Terms
Concrete Language Specific, tangible words. "Red cardinal on the fence post" vs. "bird outside."
Abstract Language General, conceptual words. "Excellence" "success" "quality." Less vivid than concrete.
Metaphor A comparison that says one thing is another. "Time is money."
Simile A comparison using "like" or "as." "Quick as a flash."
Showing vs. Telling Showing creates experience through detail and action. Telling summarizes or states directly.
Economy Using only the words needed. Related to concision.
Story and Narrative
Character A person in a story. Readers need someone to care about.
Conflict Opposition that creates tension. Essential for narrative.
Dialogue Spoken words in writing. In fiction, enclosed in quotation marks.
Narrative Arc The shape of a story. Setup, rising action, climax, resolution.
Scene A unit of action in real-time. With dialogue and detail.
Summary Compressed time in narrative. Less vivid than scene.
Professional Writing
Call to Action (CTA) A request for the reader to do something specific.
Executive Summary A condensed overview of a longer document. For busy readers who won't read everything.
Memo A short internal document. Usually structured: purpose, background, key points, action.
Proposal A document offering a solution or approach. Seeks approval or acceptance.
Editing Terms
Copyediting Checking for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency.
Developmental Editing Working on structure, argument, and big-picture elements.
Line Editing Sentence-level revision. Improving clarity, flow, and word choice.
Proofreading Final check for errors. Last step before publishing.
AI Writing Terms
Prompt Instructions given to AI. Better prompts yield better results.
Iteration Repeated cycles of AI generation and human refinement.
Voice Training Giving AI examples of your writing so it can mimic your style.
Essay Types
Personal Essay Uses personal experience to explore a broader theme.
Argumentative Essay Makes and supports a claim.
Expository Essay Explains a topic.
Narrative Essay Tells a story.
Blog and Content
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Techniques to make content findable via search engines.
Headline The title of a piece. Critical for getting clicks.
Subhead Secondary headings that break up text.
Listicle An article structured as a list.
Long-form Extended content, usually 2,000+ words.
Short-form Brief content, often under 500 words.