Rhetorical Argument Flashcards

1
Q

Antagonist

A

The character who opposes the interests of the protagonist.

Ex: In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien creates Lord Sauron as the antagonist to Frodo.

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2
Q

Antanaclasis

A

Repetition of a word in two different senses.

Ex: If we do not hang together, we will hang separately.

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3
Q

Anticipated objection

A

The technique a writer or speaker uses in an argumentative text to address and answer objections, even though the audience has not had the opportunity to voice these objections.
Ex: “You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air…You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory.” (Winston Churchill)

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4
Q

Antimetabole

A

The repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.
Ex: One should eat to live, not live to eat.

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5
Q

Apologist

A

A person or character who makes a case for some controversial, even contentious, position.
Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Romeo makes a case for marrying Juliet, despite the controversy over the issue.

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6
Q

Apology

A

An elaborate statement justifying some controversial, even contentious, position.
Ex: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

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7
Q

Apostrophe

A

The direct address of an absent person or personified object as if he/she/it is able to reply.
Ex: “O’ Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (William Shakespeare)

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8
Q

Appeal to authority

A

In a text, the reference to words, action, or beliefs of a person in authority as a means of supporting a claim, generalisation, or conclusion.
Ex: Isaac Newton was a genius and he believed in God. Therefore, God must exist.

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9
Q

Appeal to emotion

A

The appeal of a text to the feelings or interests of the audience.
Ex: If you don’t graduate from high school, you will always be poor.

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10
Q

Argument by analysis

A

An argument developed by breaking the subject matter into its component parts.
Ex: The Virginians failed miserably at initial colonisation and suffered through disease, war, and famine because of their high expectations and greed, which also molded their colony socially and economically.

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11
Q

Asyndeton

A

The omission of conjunctions between related clauses.

Ex: “This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely.” (Aristotle)

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12
Q

Basic topic

A

One of the four perspectives that Aristotle explained could be used to generate material about any subject matter: greater or less, possible and impossible, past fact, and future fact.
Ex: Topics include justice, peace, rights, and movie theaters.

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13
Q

Brain-storming

A

Within the planning act of the writing process, a technique used by a writer or speaker to generate many ideas, some of which he or she will later eliminate.
Ex: I brainstorm before history essays by writing down as many specific examples as I can think of for the prompt.

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14
Q

cloze test

A

A test of reading ability that requires a person to fill in missing words in a text.
Ex: The SAT’s language portion contains questions modeled in this way.

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15
Q

common topic

A

One of the perspectives, derived from Aristotle’s topics, used to generate material. The six common topics are definition, division, comparison, relation, circumstances, and testimony.
Ex: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson’s political opinions can be the subject of a common topic, such as division.

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16
Q

compound subject

A

A sentence in which two or more nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses constitute the grammatical subject of a clause
Ex: The dog and the cat scurried away from the approaching car.

17
Q

confirmation

A

In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the speaker or writer could offer proof or demonstration of the central idea.
Ex: In Julius Caesar’s speech, the confirmation was scattered throughout.

18
Q

conflict

A

The struggle of characters with themselves, with others, or with the world around them.
Ex: In The Grapes of Wrath, migrants conflict with property owners.

19
Q

connotation

A

The implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly expressed “dictionary meaning.”
Ex: Home literally means one’s house, but implies feelings of family and security.

20
Q

consulting

A

Seeking help for one’s writing from a reader.

Ex: I often consult my parents.

21
Q

dramatistic pentad

A

The invention strategy, developed by Kenneth Burke, that invites a speaker or writer to create identities for the act, agent, agency, attitude, scene, and purpose in a situation.

22
Q

effect

A

The emotional or psychological impact a text has on a reader or listener.
Ex: The Grapes Of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, causes the reader to have sympathy for migrant workers.

23
Q

ellipsis

A

The omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a passage.
Ex: “Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers” (Tuchman).

24
Q

epanalepsis

A

Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause.
Ex: Blood hath brought blood.

25
Q

epithet

A

A word of phrase adding a characteristic to a person’s name.

Ex: Alexander the Great.

26
Q

figurative language

A

Language dominated by the use of schemes and tropes.

Ex: “The ground is thirsty and hungry.”

27
Q

flashback

A

A part of the plot that moves back in time and then returns to the present.
Ex: In Oedipus Rex, both Oedipus and Iocaste recall previous events.

28
Q

generalization

A

A point that a speaker or writer generations on the basis of considering a number of particular examples.
Ex: “All French people are rude.”

29
Q

genre

A

A piece of writing classified by type.

Ex: Science Fiction.

30
Q

investigating

A

Activities that writers use, during the writing process, to locate ideas and information.
Ex: For my research paper, I have investigated many sources in the library and online.

31
Q

irony

A

Writing or speaking that implies the contrary of what is actually written or spoken.
Ex 1: “Of course I believe you,” Joe said sarcastically.
Ex 2: “I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her…I even hoped for a while that she’d throw me over” (Fitzgerald 157).

32
Q

narration

A

In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the speaker provided background information on the topic.
Ex: Julius Caesar used narration in many of his speeches.

33
Q

pace

A

The speed with which a plot moves from one event to another.
Example: In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck paces the story somewhat slowly, interspersing it with main-idea chapters.

34
Q

parallelism

A

A set of similarly structured words, phrases, or clauses that appears in a sentence or paragraph.
Ex 1: The dog ran, stumbled, and fell.
Ex 2: “After two years I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the next day…” (Fitzgerald 17).

35
Q

parenthesis

A

An insertion of material that interrupts the typical flow of a sentence.
Ex: The dog (which was black) ran, stumbled, and fell.

36
Q

people’s topics

A

The English translation of konnoi topoi, the four topics that Aristotle explained could be used to generate material about any subject matter; also called basic topics.
Ex: Topics include justice, peace, rights, and movie theaters.

37
Q

periodic sentence

A

A sentence with modifying elements included before the verb and/or complement.
Ex: “John, the tough one, the sullen kid who scoffed at any show of sentiment, gave his mother flowers.”

38
Q

scheme

A

An artful variation from typical formation and arrangement of words or sentences.
Ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.