Japanese-What does that mean?

So I somehow began learning Japanese, and as a training for reading the characters, I downloaded some manga scans.
 So I noticed something that I can't seem to find an explanation to: sometimes, a word would en by a little っ character. What does that mean? I know its role in the middle of a word, but it can't be the same here...
 Thanks in advance for your response(s)

I guess it means that the last syllable should sound shortly.

>>1
It denotes an abrupt stop.

Compare:

えぇぇぇ？？ (long)

え？ (short)

えっ！？ (sudden stop)

it means you haven't studied hard enough bitch

OK, I get it now, thanks a lot