APL Rhetorical Terms

Question 1

Abstract

Answer 1

refers toj a language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). The observable or “physical” is usually described in concrete language.

Question 2

allegory

Answer 2

an extended narrative i 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; underlying meaning may be moral, religious, politicial, social, or satiric.

Question 3

anecdote

Answer 3

short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point

Question 4

annotation

Answer 4

expanatorynotes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data

Question 5

antithesis

Answer 5

presentation of 2 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…”

Question 6

aphorism

Answer 6

short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life: “Early bird gets the worm.”

Question 7

apostrophe

Answer 7

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 abstractation

Question 8

argumentation

Answer 8

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 argumentation

Question 9

cacophony; dissonance

Answer 9

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry; opposite of euphony

Question 10

caricature

Answer 10

descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality

Question 11

colloquialism

Answer 11

a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing

Question 12

coherence; unity

Answer 12

quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to development of central idea, theme, or organizing principle

Question 13

concrete language

Answer 13

language that decribes specific, observable things, people or places, rather than ideas or qualities

Question 14

connotation

Answer 14

implied or suggested meaning of a word becauseof its association in reader’s mind

Question 15

connosance

Answer 15

repitition of identical consonant sounds within 2 or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as ful-fil and ping-pong

Question 16

conundrum

Answer 16

a riddle whose answer if or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or a difficult problem

Question 17

deduction

Answer 17

process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

Question 18

denotation

Answer 18

literal meaning of a word as defined

Question 19

description

Answer 19

picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of four modes of discourse

Question 20

didactic

Answer 20

writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. a didactic word 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

Question 21

discourse

Answer 21

spoken written language; including literary works; four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion

Question 22

emotional appeal-pathos

Answer 22

when a writer appeals to reader’s emotions( often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument

Question 23

epigraph

Answer 23

use of a quotation at 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

Question 24

ethical appeal-ethos

Answer 24

when the writer tries to persuade audience to respect and believe him/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 audience’s confidence

Question 25

euphemism

Answer 25

a more acceptable and usually more pleasant and way of saying something that might be unappropriate or uncomfortable. “He went to his final award.” is a common euphemism for “he died”. euphemisms are also used to obscure the reality of situation. military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation.

Question 26

euphony

Answer 26

a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony

Question 27

example

Answer 27

an individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern. arguing by example is considered reliable if examples are demonstratable true or factual as well as relevant

Question 28

explication

Answer 28

art of interpreting or discovering meaning of a text. explication usually involves close reading and special attention to figerative language

Question 29

exposition

Answer 29

immediate revelation to audience of setting and other background info necessary for understanding the plot; also explanation; 1 of 4 modes of discourse

Question 30

generalization

Answer 30

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

Question 31

genre

Answer 31

type of literary work, such as a novel or poem; there are also subgenres, such as sci-fi or sonnet, within larger genres

Question 32

humor

Answer 32

anything that causes laughter and amusement; up until the end of the Rennaisance, humor meant a person’s temperament

Question 33

hyperbole

Answer 33

deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis (Ex. He was so hungry he could eat a horse).

Question 34

image

Answer 34

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

Question 35

imagery

Answer 35

words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of 5 senses in order to create a mental picture

Question 36

induction

Answer 36

process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization

Question 37

inference

Answer 37

a conclusion one can draw from presented details

Question 38

invective

Answer 38

verbally abusive attack

Question 39

inversion

Answer 39

reversing the customary ( subject first, then verb, then complement) order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it’s used effectively in many cases such as posing a question, “Are you going to the store?” usually the element that appears first is emphasized more than the subject.

Question 40

jargon

Answer 40

special language of a profession or group. it usually has a pejorative associations with implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders. the writings of the lawyer and the library critic are both susceptible to jargon.

Question 41

logical appeal; logos

Answer 41

when a writer tries to persuade audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons. process of reasoning

Question 42

lyrical

Answer 42

songlike;characterized by emotions, subjectivity and imagination

Question 43

mode

Answer 43

method or form of a literary work; manner in which a form of literature is written

Question 44

mood

Answer 44

similar to tone, mood is primary emotional attitude of a work (feeling of the work; atmosphere). syntax is also a determiner of mood because sentence strength, length, amd complexity affect pacing

Question 45

narration

Answer 45

telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of four modes of discourse

Question 46

objectivity

Answer 46

impersonal presentation of events and characters. its a writers attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in the story. hard news journalism is frequently prized for its objectivity, although even fictional stories can be told without a writer rendering personal judgement.