APL Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
abstract
refers to language that descrives concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). The observal or “physical” is usually described in concrete language.
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 beneath the surface of the story; the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric
anecdote
a short, simple narrative of an incident, often used for humerous effect or to make a point
annotation
explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical dates
antithesis
the presentation of two contrasting images. the ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be…” ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country
aphorism
a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life “early bird gets the worm”
apostrophe
usually in poetry but sometimes in prose, 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; persuasion.
cacophony; dissonance
harsh awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony
caricature
descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet personality
colloquialism
a word or phrase (slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y’all, ain’t)
coherence
unity quality of a piece of writing 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
repition of identical consonant sounds with in two or more words in close proximity as in boost/best. it can also be seen with in several compound words like ping-pong
conundrum
a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem
deduction
the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example
denotation
literal meaning of a word
description
the picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch
diction
word choice, an element of style; diction creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. an essay written in academic diction would be less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang
didactic
writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. a didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. didactic writing may be fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
discourse
spoken or written language, including literary works; the 4 tradionally classified modes of discourse our description, exposition, narration, and persuasion
emotional appeal- pathos
when a writer appeals to reader’s emotions to excite and involve them in argument
epigraph
the use of quotations at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. hemingway begins. The Sun Also Rises with 2 epigraphs. one of them is “You are all a lost generation” by Gertrude Stein
ethical appeal- ethos
when a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeal, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience’s confidence
euphemism
a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “he went for his final reward” is a common euphemism for “he died”. euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. the military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian death’s in a military operation
euphony
a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposition of cacophony
example
representation of an instance
explication
the art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. explication usually involves close reading and special attention ro figurative language
exposition
the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also explanation; one of the 4 modes of discourse
generalization
when a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some
genre
a type of literary work, such as a novel or poem, there are also subgenres such as science fiction or sonnet, with in the larger genres
humor
anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, humor meant a person’s temperament
hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor emphasis
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 use 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 material
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 appear first is emphasized more than the subject
jargon
the special language of a profession or group. the term jargon usually has pejorative associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious and unintelligible to outsiders.
logival appeal-logos
when a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons
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 atmosphere) syntax is also a determiner of mood because sentence 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’s a writer’s attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story
paradox
a statement that seems to contradict itself that turns out to have a rational meaning as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau; “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. may modify the same verb or noun. may be a complex bend of single-word, phrase, and clause paralleism all in the same
parody
a word that ridicules the stlye of another work by irritating and exxagerating its elements. it can be made utterly mocking or gently humerous.
pathetic appeal-pathos
when a writer tries to persuade the audience byappealing to their emotions
pedantic
a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. often very difficult
persuasion
a form of argumentation where the writer uses language to try to sway you to one side
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
repitition
word or phrases used two or more times in close proximity
rhetorical question
one that doesnt expect an explicit answer. it is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience
Rhetorical modes
Exposition, description, narration, argumentation
Sarcasm
Harsh caustic personal remakes 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
Speaker
The voice of work an author may speaks as themselves or as a fictional persona
Stereotype
A character that represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group
Style
An authors characteristic manner of expression
Subjectivity
A personal presentation of events and characters influenced by the authors feelings and opinions
Syllogism
A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn for them. Major minor and conclusion
Synecdoche
Words that represent something else
Syntactic fluency
Ability to create a variety of sentence structure
Syntactic permutation
Sentence structures that are extraordinary and complex
Syntax
The grammatical structure of a sentence
Theme
Message
Thesis
The main idea of a piece of writing
Tone
The characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters subject and audience
Transition
A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence paragraph to paragraph
Understatement
The opposite of exaggeration it’s a technique for developing irony and or humor where one writes or says less than intended
Voice
Refers to different area of writing one refers to the relationship between a sentence subject and verb. The end refers to the goal sound of a writer styles
Fallacy
Defects that weakened arguments are very very common and cache quite persuasive at least at the casual reader or listener. You can find dozens of examples of fallacies reasoning in newspapers advertisement and other sources. Second it’s something hard to evaluate whether an argument is fallacious
Hasty generalization
Making assumptions about a whole Group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate. Stereotypes
Missing the point
The premises of an argument do support a particular conclusion but not the conclusion that the arguer actually draws
Post hoc (false cause)
This fallacy means after this, therefore because of this
Slippery slope
The arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction. Usually ending in some dire consequence.
Weak analogy
If the two things that are being compared aren’t really alike in the relevant respects the analogy is a weak one
Appeal to authority
Other we add strength to our arguments by referring to respected sources or authorities and explaining their position on the issues we’re discussing. If however we try to get readers to agree with us simply by impressing them with a famous name or by appealing to a supposed authority who really isn’t much of an expert we connect the fallacy of appeal to authority
Ad populum
To the people. Arguer stake advantage of the desire most people have to be liked and to fit in with others and use that desire to try to get the audience. Bandwagon
Ad nominem and tu quoque
Focus on attention on people rather than on arguments or evidence. Conclusion is usually you shouldn’t believe so and so argument
Appeal to pity
The appeal to pity takes place when an arguer tried to get people to accept a conclusion by making them feel sorry for someone
Appeal to ignorance
The arguer basically says look there’s no conclusive evidence on the issue at hand therefore you should accept my conclusion on the issue
Straw man
One way of making our own arguments stronger is to anticipate and respond In advance to the arguments that an opponent might make.
Red herring
Partway through an argument the arguer goes off on a tangent raising a side issue that distracts the audience for what really at stake
False dichotomy
In false dichotomy the arguer sets up the situation so it looks like there are
