APL Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
Abstract
refers to language that describes concepts rather that concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable things, people, or places). the observable 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 underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.
Anecdote
a short simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.
Annotation
Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical ideas
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, but what can you 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 an imaginary, dead, or absent person of to a place, thing, or personified absttraction
Argumentation
writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of arguementation
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 persons appearance or a faucet of personality
Colloquialism
a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing bu that is often inappropriate in formal writing.
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 readers mind.
consonance
repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong
conumdrum
a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun, it may also be a paradox or difficult problem
coherence; unity
quality peice of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle.
deduction
the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example
denotation
literal meaning of a word as defined
description
the picture meaning in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of disciurse
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 much 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 focus on moral and ethical concerns. didactic writing may be fiction or be 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 four traditionally classified modes of discourse are: description, exposition, narration, and persuasion
emotional appeals - pathos
when a writer appeals to readers emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the arguement
epigraph
the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. hemingway begins the sun also rises with two epigraphs, one of them is “you are all a lost generation” by gertrude stein
ethical appeal - thos
when a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect or 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 audiences confidence
euphemism
a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “he went to his final reward.” is a common one to say he died. they are often used to obscure the reality of a situation. the military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian deaths in military operations
euphony
a succession of harmonius sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cocophony
example
an individual sentence taken to be a representative of a general pattern
explication
interpreting or discovering the meaning of text
exposition
the immediate revelation to the audience of setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot
generalization
when a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable
genre
a type of literary work
humor
anything that causes laughter or amusement
hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis
image
a word or words used to describe a sensory experience or an object percieved by the sense
parallelism
the technique of aranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form
parody
a work that ridicules another work by imitating and exaggerating
pathetic appeal; pathos
when a writer tries to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions
pendantic
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 location
repitition
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
sarcasm
harsh personal remarks to or about someone, less tha subtle iron
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 a work
sterotype
a character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group
style
a authors characteristic manner of expression
subjectivity
a personal presentation of events and characters influenced by authors feelings and opinions
syllogism
a form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn
synechdoche
a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole
syntactic fluency
a ability to create a variety of sentence structures that are extremely complex
syntax
the grammatical structure of a sentence
theme
the central idea of a literary work
thesis
the main idea of a peice of writing
tone
the characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the charaters
transition
a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence
understatement
the opposite of exaggeration
voice
refers to two different areas of writing. one refers to the relationship between a sentences subject and verb the second refers to the total sound of a writers style
