Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
Audience
listener, viewer, or reader of text. Most texts have multiple audiences
Claim
also called assertion or proposition. It states the argument’s main ideas and differs from a topic or subject.
Concession
Acknowledgement of opposing arguments possibly being true. This is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of one’s argument
Connotation
meaning or associations that readers have to a word beyond its actual dictionary definition.
Context
circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events that surround a text. It’s background
Ethos
Greek for “character” speakers use this to appear as credible and trustworthy. This is established by what the speaker says or does
Logos
Greek for “embodied thought”. Speakers appeal to reason by offering clear, rational ideas. This is done by making logical connections between the claim and the evidence provided
Occasion
time and place the speech is given or written
Pathos
Greek for “suffering” or “experience”. Speakers appeal to emotion by playing on the audience’s values, desires, hopes, fears, and or prejudice.
Persona
Greek for “mask”. The face, appearance, or the way someone presents themselves to their audience
Exigence
an issue, problem, or situation that creates urgency or prompts someone to write, speak, or take action
Purpose
the goal the speaker wants the audience to achieve
Refutation
a denial of the validity of an opposing argument in order to sound more reasonable
Rhetoric
the art of finding ways to convince or persuade an audience
Speaker
the person or group who creates a text. Ex) politician delivering a speech, commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws political cartoons, ect.
