Glossary
P
Paragraph (par-ra-grar-ff)
A paragraph is a key building block of an essay. It consists of a sequential series of sentences that usually develops one main idea.
Paraphrasing (par-ra-fray-zing)
Paraphrasing is the skill of putting someone else’s words or text into your own words without altering the essential sense or meaning of the original.
Parentheses (pa-ren-tha-seez)
Parentheses is another name for the brackets that are used to enclose a word or phrase.
Participle(par-ti-sip-pul)
A participle is a form of verb, usually ending in "ing", used in compound tenses.
Periodical (peer-ree-odd-i-kal)
A periodical, also referred to as a journal, is a vehicle for the publication of scholarly articles.
Plagiarism (play-jer-iz-im)
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged presentation of someone else's words, ideas or arguments as one's own.
Précis (pray-see)
A précis is a brief summary of the key points or ideas of a longer text. The plural of précis is spelt the same but pronounced - pray-sees.
Preface (preff-ass)
A preface is an introductory section of a book that usually explains the purpose or content.
Prefix (pre-fiks)
A prefix is a letter or group of letters placed at the beginning of a word such that a new word is formed.
Prejudice (prej-e-diss)
Prejudice is the unreasonable, unfounded, or unfair dislike or preference.
Premise (prem-iss)
A premise is a statement that is taken as the basis for, or step in, an argument.
Preposition (prep-oe-zish-on)
A preposition is a word used before a noun (or pronoun) to link it to other words.
Procrastination (proe-krass-te-nay-shun)
Procrastination is the tendency to avoid, for as long as possible, doing or completing whatever task needs to be done.
Punctuation (punk-tew-ay-shun)
Punctuation is the use of various symbols to control the organisation of words (and hence meaning) in sentences.