Glossary

We’ve curated a glossary of terms regarding all things writing and publishing related. From commonly-used terms to abbreviations, our glossary will guide writers and people starting out in publishing, to cut through the jargon and gain a better understanding. 

Reflexive verb
Verb that can take a reflexive pronoun as a direct or indirect object, such as enjoy in He really enjoyed himself.   A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Relative clause
Subordinate (or dependent) clause that is usually introduced by a relative pronoun, for example, who delivers the paper in The boy who delivers the paper lives in the next street.   A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Restrictive clause
Subordinate clause, typically beginning with that or who, that identifies or limits its antecedent. An example is that I chose in The dress that I chose was full length.   A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Rhetorical question
A question which is not intended to be answered but is instead used to emphasise a point.   A more extensive list of literary terms, with quotations from fiction and non-fiction sources showing the terms in use, is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Search engine optimisation
Increasing the visibility of a website so that it achieves a higher ranking in search engine results. This can involve incorporating the keywords that people are likely to type in when searching online into the content and coding of the website, so that search engines are more likely to index it.