Definitions Flashcards
Concession
An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.
Usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.
Connotation
Meanings/ Associations that readers have with a word beyond the dictionary definition or denotation. Greatly effects the author’s tone.
Ex: terms for overweight Fat Chubby Obese Plump
Context
The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.
Counter argument
An opposing argument to the one another writer is putting forward.
Will usually be addressed through the process of concession and refutation.
Ethos
Greek for ‘character’
Appeal towards the creditably of the speaker and is established by who you are and what you say.
Logos
Greek for ‘embodied thought’
Appeal towards speakers using clear, rational ideas with special details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back it up.
Pathos
Greek for ‘suffering’ or ‘experience’
Where the speaker appeals to ones emotions by playing to an audience’s values, desires, and hopes OR fears and prejudices.
Occasion
The circumstances, atmosphere, attitude, and events surrounding a text.
Persona
Greek for ‘mask’
The face or character that a speaker shows to the audience.
Polemic
Greek for ‘hostile’
An aggressive argument that tries to establish superiority of 1 opinion above all others.
Propaganda
The spread of rumors/ information 2 further a cause.
The use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics to damage or promote a cause.
Purpose
The goal the speaker wishes to achieve.
Refutation
Denial of validity of an opposing argument.
In order to sound reasonable these are often followed by a concession that acknowledge that an opposing argument might be true/ reasonable.
Rhetoric
Defined by Aristotle.
The art of finding a way of persuading an audience.
Rhetorical Appeals
Techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important/ compelling.
EX: Ethos, Pathos, Logos.
Rhetorical Triangle
OR
Aristotelian Triangle
A diagram that shows the interrelationship between the speaker, audience, and subject in a text.
S . O . A . P . S
Mnemonic device that stands for;
Subject Occasion Audience Purpose Speaker
Speaker
The person/ group who creates a text. Might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist of a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement.
