Rg31
Prefixes A-Z
Prefix A-Z

A

ab,abs- from, away from abduct lead away, kidnap, abjure renounce

ad, ac, af, ag, an, ap, ar, as, at to, forward accord agreement, harmony, affliction cause by distress, aggregation collection, annexation addition, appease bring toward peace, arraignment indictment, assumption arrogance, taking for granted, attendance presence, the persons present

ambi both ambiguous of double meaning, ambivalent having two conflicting emotions

an, a without anarchy lack of government, amoral without morals

ante before antecedent preceding event or word, antediluvian ancient

anti against, opposite antipathy hatred, antithetical exactly opposite

arch chief, first archetype original, archbishop chief bishop

B

be over, thoroughly bedaub smear over, befuddle confuse thoroughly

bi two bicameral composed of two houses, biennial every two years

C

cata down catastrophe disaster, cataract waterfall, catapult hurl

circum around circumnavigate sail around, circumspect cautious, circumscribe limit

com, co, col, con, cor with, together combine merge with, coeditor joint editor, collateral subordinate, connected, conference meeting, corroborate confirm

contra, contro against contravene conflict with, controversy dispute

D

de down, away debase lower in value, decadence deterioration

demi partly, half demigod partly divine being

di two dichotomy into two parts, dilemma choice between two bad alternatives

dia across diagonal across a figure, diameter distance across a circle

dis, dif not, apart discord lack of harmony, differ disagree

dys faulty, bad dysfunctional not functioning properly

E

ex, e out exit, exodus, emit give off something

extra, extro beyond, outside extracurricular beyond the curriculum, extraterritorial beyond a nation’s bounds, extrovert person interested in external objects and actions

H

hyper above, excessively hyperbole exaggeration, hyperventilate breath at an excessive rate

hypo beneath, lower hypoglycemia low blood sugar

I

in, il, im, ir not inefficient not efficient, inarticulate not clear or distinct, illegible not readable, impeccable not capable of sinning, irrevocable not able to be called back

in, il, im, ir in, on, upon invite call in , illustration something that makes clear, impression effect upon mind or feelings, irradiate shine upon

inter between, among intervene come between, international between nations, interjection a statement thrown in

intra, intro within intramural within a school, introvert person who turns within himself

M

macro large, long macrobiotic tending to prolong life, macrocosm the great world

mega great, million megalomania delusions of grandeur, megaton explosive force of a million tons of TNT

meta involving change metamorphosis change of form

micro small microcosm miniature universe, microscopic extremely small.

mis bad, improper misdemeanor minor crime, mischance unfortunate accident

mis hatred misanthrope person who hates mankind, misogynist woman-hater

mono one monarchy government of one ruler, monotheism belief in one god

multi many multifarious having many parts, multitudinous numerous

N

neo new neologism newly coined word, neophyte beginner

non not noncommittal undecided

O

ob, oc, of, op against obstruct block, occlude close, block out, offend insult, opponent someone who struggles against

olig few oligarchy government by a few

P

pan all, every panacea cure all, panorama unobstructed view in all directions

para beyond, related parallel similar, paraphrase restate, translate

per through, completely permeable allowing passage through, pervade spread throughout

peri around, near perimeter outer boundary, periphery edge

poly many polyglot speaking several languages

post after posthumous after death

pre before preamble introductory statement, premonition forewarning

prim first primordial existing at the dawn of time, primogeniture state of being the first born

pro forward, in favour of propulsive driving forward, proponent supporter

proto first prototype first of its kind

pseudo false pseudonym pen name

R

re again, back reiterate repeat, reimburse pay back

retro backward retrospect look back in time

S

se away, aside secede withdraw, seclude shut away

semi half, partly semiconscious partly conscious

sub, suc, suf, sug, sup, sus under, less subjugate bring under control, succumb yield, cease to resist, suffuse spread through, suggest hint, suppress put down by force, suspend delay, temporarily cease

super, sur over, above supernatural above natural things, surtax additional tax

syn, sym, syl, sys with, together synchronize time together, sympathize pity, identify with, syllogism explanation of how ideas relate, system network

T

tele far telegraphic communication over a distance

trans across transport carry across

U

ultra beyond, excessive ultra conservative exceedingly conservativel, ultraviolet

un not unkempt not combed, disheveled

under below underling someone inferior

uni one unison oneness of pitch, complete accord

V

vice in place of viceroy governor acting in place of a king

W

with away, against withstand stand up against, resist

Cohesion: Using Repetition and Reference Words to Emphasize Key Ideas in Your Writing

Cohesion is the glue that holds a piece of writing together. In other words, if a paper is cohesive, it sticks together from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Cohesive devices certainly include transitional words and phrases, such as therefore, furthermore, or for instance, that clarify for readers the relationships among ideas in a piece of writing. However, transitions aren't enough to make writing cohesive. Repetition of key words and use of reference words are also needed for cohesion.

Repetition of Key Words
We can tie sentences or paragraphs together by repeating certain key words from one sentence to the next or from one paragraph to the next. This repetition of key words also helps to emphasize the main idea of a piece of writing.
For example, in the following paragraph, notice how many times the words owned and ownership are repeated: Nobody owned any part of the land. Sotopo's father owned many cattle, and if the cows continued to produce calves, he might as well become the next chief. Old Grandmother owned the beautifully tanned animal skins she used as coverlets in winter. And Sotopo owned his polished hard-wood assegais. But the land belonged to the spirits who governed life; it existed forever, for everyone, and was apportioned temporarily according to the dictates of the tribal chief and senior headman. Sotopo's father occupied the hillside for the time being, and when he died the older son could inherit the loan -- land, but no person or family every acquired ownership.From The Covenant by James Michener. |
By repeating the words owned and ownership throughout the paragraph, the writer has tied each sentence to each other and has clearly indicated what the main idea of the paragraph is. In this case, the main idea is ownership of something. And what exactly is being (or not being) owned? By repeating the word land, the author shows us that the entire main idea is ownership of land.
Cohesion Strategies: Repeating Key Words and Structures
Methods for Developing Effective Paragraphs
In this article we consider how careful repetition of key words and sentence structures can help make our writing clear and cohesive.
An important quality of an effective paragraph is unity. A unified paragraph sticks to one topic from start to finish, with every sentence contributing to the central purpose and main idea of that paragraph.
But a strong paragraph is more than just a collection of loose sentences. Those sentences need to be clearly connected so that readers can follow along, recognizing how one detail leads to the next. A paragraph with clearly connected sentences is said to be cohesive.
Repetition of Key Words
Repeating key words in a paragraph is an important technique for achieving cohesion. Of course, careless or excessive repetition is boring--and a source of clutter. But used skillfully and selectively, as in the paragraph below, this technique can hold sentences together and focus the reader's attention on a central idea.
We Americans are a charitable and humane people: we have institutions devoted to every good cause from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World War III. But what have we done to promote the art of thinking? Certainly we make no room for thought in our daily lives. Suppose a man were to say to his friends, "I'm not going to PTA tonight (or choir practice or the baseball game) because I need some time to myself, some time to think"? Such a man would be shunned by his neighbors; his family would be ashamed of him. What if a teenager were to say, "I'm not going to the dance tonight because I need some time to think"? His parents would immediately start looking in the Yellow Pages for a psychiatrist. We are all too much like Julius Caesar: we fear and distrust people who think too much. We believe that almost anything is more important than thinking.
(Carolyn Kane, from "Thinking: A Neglected Art." Newsweek, December 14, 1981)
Notice that the author uses various forms of the same word--think, thinking, thought--to link the different examples and reinforce the main idea of the paragraph. (For the benefit of budding rhetoricians, this device is called polyptoton.)
Repetition of Key Words and Sentence Structures
A similar way to achieve cohesion in our writing is to repeat a particular sentence structure along with a key word or phrase. Although we usually try to vary the length and shape of our sentences, now and then we may choose to repeat a construction to emphasize connections between related ideas.
Here's a short example of structural repetition from the play Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw:
There are couples who dislike one another furiously for several hours at a time; there are couples who dislike one another permanently; and there are couples who never dislike one another; but these last are people who are incapable of disliking anybody.
Notice how Shaw's reliance on semicolons (rather than periods) reinforces the sense of unity and cohesion in this passage.
Extended Repetition
On rare occasions, emphatic repetitions may extend beyond just two or three main clauses. Not long ago, the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk provided an example of extended repetition (specifically, the device called anaphora) in his Nobel Prize Lecture, "My Father's Suitcase":
The question we writers are asked most often, the favorite question, is: Why do you write? I write because I have an innate need to write. I write because I can’t do normal work as other people do. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at everyone. I write because I love sitting in a room all day writing. I write because I can partake of real life only by changing it. I write because I want others, the whole world, to know what sort of life we lived, and continue to live, in Istanbul, in Turkey. I write because I love the smell of paper, pen, and ink. I write because I believe in literature, in the art of the novel, more than I believe in anything else. I write because it is a habit, a passion. I write because I am afraid of being forgotten. I write because I like the glory and interest that writing brings. I write to be alone. Perhaps I write because I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at everyone. I write because I like to be read. I write because once I have begun a novel, an essay, a page I want to finish it. I write because everyone expects me to write. I write because I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries, and in the way my books sit on the shelf. I write because it is exciting to turn all life’s beauties and riches into words. I write not to tell a story but to compose a story. I write because I wish to escape from the foreboding that there is a place I must go but--as in a dream--can’t quite get to. I write because I have never managed to be happy. I write to be happy.
(The Nobel Lecture, 7 December 2006. Translated from the Turkish, by Maureen Freely. © The Nobel Foundation 2006)
Two well-known examples of extended repetition appear in our Essay Sampler: Judy Brady's essay "Why I Want a Wife" (included in part three of the Essay Sampler) and the most famous portion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.
Final Reminder: Needless repetition that only clutters our writing should be avoided. But the careful repetition of key words and phrases can be an effective strategy for fashioning cohesive paragraphs.

http://www.clarkson.edu/writingcenter/docs/cohesion.pdf http://self-publishing.knoji.com/writing-a-paragraph-unity-coherence-and-emphasis/ http://grammar.about.com/od/developingparagraphs/a/cohrepetition.htm

In establishing emphasis by repetition, the idea is repeated in different words. This strategy usually impresses the readers more forcefully with what the writer is trying to say.