Rhetoric Notes Flashcards
Rhetorical Context
SOAPSTone:
Speaker- Author or narrator
Occasion- Big event that made the text
Audience- Readers text is directed to
Purpose- “So what?”, message, action step
Subject- Summary, topic, and content
Tone- Author’s attitude, use of language, diction/syntax
Rhetorical Triangle
Can be between audience, writer, and purpose as well as rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos).
Ethos, pathos, logos
The author appeals to ___(e,p, or l)___ by ______.
Ethos- Credibility, morality, ethics
Pathos- Emotions, passion
Logos- Logic, reasoning, numbers, statistics, details, names, time, place, etc. Symbols and logos too.
Diction
Word choice. It can be denotative (definition), but is mostly connotative (how it makes you feel).
Figurative language
Simile, metaphor, hyperbole, imagery, and euphemism (changing something bad to sound better/less harsh)
Syntax
Sentence structure that has wayyy too many parts to it.
Repetition (syntax)
An umbrella term for many repeating structures.
Anaphora (syntax)
An effective speaking tool where the repetition is at the beginning of multiple scentences.
Asyndeton (syntax)
Having items in a list with no conjunctions. It speeds up the speech when the speaker has too many things to say.
Polysyndeton (syntax)
The opposite of asyndeton. The overuse of conjunctions between each item in a list to slow the speech.
Parallelism (syntax)
An umbrella term for using grammatically similar words/phrases/sounds/meanings. Must be within one sentence.
Chiasmus (syntax)
A type of parallelism where you invert the order of a statement in the same sentence.
Antithesis (syntax)
Type of parallelism where you put two opposites in the same sentence.
Juxtaposition (syntax)
Two opposite ideas near each other that aren’t parallel and can be in different but nearby sentences that are basically two different statements.
Rhetorical question (syntax)
Asking a question not for a reply but to get people thinking.
Alliteration (syntax)
The repetition of sounds
Anecdote (syntax)
A brief account of a usually humorous incident.
