Rhetorical Terms

Question 1

Audience

Answer 1

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text

Question 2

Concession

Answer 2

An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Question 3

Connotation

Answer 3

Meanings or associations that readers have with can word beyond its dictionary definition

Question 4

Context

Answer 4

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text

Question 5

Counterargument

Answer 5

An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward

Question 6

Ethos

Answer 6

Greek for character. Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic

Question 7

Logos

Answer 7

Greek for “embodied thought”. Speakers appeal logos or reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, and statistics.

Question 8

Occasion

Answer 8

The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written

Question 9

Pathos

Answer 9

Greek for “suffering” or “experience”. Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience.

Question 10

Persona

Answer 10

Greek for “mask”. The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Question 11

Text

Answer 11

Any cultural product that can be “read” meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine arts, photography, etc.

Question 12

Polemic

Answer 12

Greek for “hostile”. An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others

Question 13

Propaganda

Answer 13

He spread of ideas and information to further a cause

Question 14

Purpose

Answer 14

The goal the speaker want to achieve

Question 15

Refutation

Answer 15

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument

Question 16

Rhetoric

Answer 16

The art of finding ways to persuade an argument.

Question 17

Rhetorical appeals

Answer 17

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling

Question 18

Rhetorical triangle

Answer 18

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text

Question 19

SOAPS

Answer 19

A mnemonic device that stands for subject, occasion, audience, purpose, and speaker

Question 20

Speaker

Answer 20

The person or group who creates a text.

Question 21

Subject

Answer 21

The topic of a text. What the text is about