APL Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
Abstract
Language that describes concepts rather than concrete images
Allegory
An extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read
Anecdote
A short, simple narrative of an incident
Annotation
Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data
Antithesis
The presentation of two contrasting images
Aphorism
A short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life
Apostrophe
The device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction
Argumentation
Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments
Cacophony; Dissonance
Harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose
Caricature
Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality
Colloquialism
A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing, but is often inappropriate in formal writing
Coherence; Unity
Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle
Concrete Language
Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities
Connotation
Implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader’s mind
Consonance
A close similarity between consonants or groups of consonants, especially at the end of words
Conundrum
Something confusing or puzzling
Deduction
The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example
Denotation
Literal meaning of a word
Description
The process of giving an account or explanation of something; one of the four modes of discourse
Diction
The clarity with which somebody pronounces words when speaking or singing or their choice of words to fit their context
Didactic
Tending to give instruction or advice, even when it is not welcome or not needed; fond of instructing or advising others
Discourse
Serious speech or piece of writing; the four modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion
Emotional Appeal- Pathos
When a writer appeals to readers’ emotions to excite and involve them in the argument
Epigraph
The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme
Ethical Appeal- Ethos
When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him/her based on presentation of image of self through text
Euphemism
A more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable
Euphony
A succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony
Example
An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern
Explication
The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text
Exposition
Act of describing or discussing a theory, problem, or proposal, or of commenting on a written text
Generalization
A general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases
Genre
A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter
Humor
The quality of being amusing or comic, esp. as expressed in literature or speech
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
Image
A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. An image is always a concrete representation
Imagery
Words or phrases that uses a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the 5 senses in order to create a mental picture
Induction
The process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization
Inference
A conclusion one can draw from the presented details
Invective
A verbally abusive attack
Inversion
Reversing the customary (subject first, then verb, then complement) order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question: “Are you going to the store?” Usually, the element that appears first in emphasized more than the subject
Jargon
The special language of a profession or group. The term jargon usually has a pejorative associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders. The writings of the lawyer and the literary critic are both susceptible to jargon.
Logical Appeal; Logos
When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons. The process of reasoning.
Lyrical
Songlike; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination
Mode
The method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written
Mood
Similar to tone, mood is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere). Syntax is also a determiner of mood because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing.
Narration
The telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse
Objectivity
An impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer’s attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story. Hard news journalism is frequently prized for its objectivity, although even fictional stories can be told without a writer rendering personal judgement.
Oversimplification
To simplify to the point of causing misrepresentation, misconception, or error
Oxymoron
A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.
Pacing
The movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another.
Parable
A succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles.
Paradox
A statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns our to have a rational meaning, as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau; “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
Parallelism
The technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form. Parallel structure may be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a row to describe the same noun or verb; it may take the form of two or more of the same type of phrases that modify the same noun or verb; it may also take the form of two or more subordinate clauses that modify that same noun or verb. Or, parallel structure may be a complex bend of single-word, phrase, and clause parallelism all in the same sentence.
Parody
A work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements. It can be utterly mocking or gently humorous. It depends on allusion and exaggerates and distorts the original style and content.
Pathetic Appeal; Pathos
When a writer tries to persuade the audience by appealing to their emotions. The aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience. An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade. Over-emotionalism can be the result of an excess of pathos.
Pedantic
A term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing.
Persuasion
A form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion.
Regionalism
An element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot.
Repetition
Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity
Rhetorical Modes
Exposition, description, narration, argumentation
Rhetorical Question
One that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.
Sarcasm
Harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony
Satire
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Satire doesn’t simply abuse or get personal. It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.
Speaker
The voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona.
Stereotype
A character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group who lacks individuality; a conventional patter, expression, or idea.
Style
An author’s manner of expression - his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style
Subjectivity
A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author’s feeling and opinions.
Syllogism
A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. A syllogism is the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole.
Syntactic Fluency
Ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length.
Syntactic Permutation
a
Syntax
a
Theme
a
Thesis
a
Tone
a
Transition
a
Understatement
a
Voice
a
