Rhetorical Terms

Question 1

Alliteration (assonance or consonance)

“Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” (consonance)

“It beats…as it sweeps as it cleans” (assonance)

Answer 1

Repetition is usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.

Question 2

Allusion

“It’s time to fight back that’s what they said, two shots in the dark now they’re dead” (Tupac, Changes)
- reference to Huey P. newton (known for being cofounder of Black Panther Party)

Answer 2

An implied or indirect reference especially in literature.

Question 3

Anadiplosis

“Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith…” - Jesse Jackson

Answer 3

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word of one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next phrase or clause.

Question 4

Analogy

In is to out as up is to down

Answer 4

Comparison of two otherwise unlike things based on resemblance of a specific aspect.

Question 5

Anaphora

“ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise… I have a dream that one day on the red hills…” - MLK Jr.

Answer 5

Repetition of a word/expression at beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses.

Question 6

Apostrophe (grammar and lit. Term)

Grammar Ex. : “Athena’s book”

Lit. Ex. : “Oh, rose, how sweet you smell and how bright you are!”

Answer 6

Grammar: a mark used to indicate the omission of letters or figures

Lit. = figure of speech sometimes represented by an exclamation. Speaks directly to someone not present/inanimate object

Question 7

Appeal to Fear

Ex. A commercial for a presidential candidate that argues that his opponent’s support of illegal immigrants will open a country to terrorism.

Answer 7

When fear is used as the primary motivator to persuade others to support an idea

Question 8

Antithesis

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” - Neil Armstrong

Answer 8

The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences.

Question 9

Aristotelian Appeals

Ethos = as a Doctor, I am qualified to tell you to take this new medication

Pathos= if you don’t adopt this dog, it will never find a home

Logos= Doctors all over the world recommend this vaccine

Answer 9

Three strategies used to persuade audiences

Ethos= ethical appeal (morals)

Logos= logical appeal (statistics, etc.)

Pathos = emotional appeal (emotions)

Question 10

Cause-effect

Ex. Cause = smoking cigarettes
Effect = lung cancer

Answer 10

When something happens that makes something else happen as a result

Question 11

Classification/Division

Ex. Classification of schools:
- divides by types (private,public,etc.)

Classification of weight loss:
- divided by options (exercise, diet, surgery,etc.)

Answer 11

Method of paragraph or essay development in which a writer arranges people, objects, or ideas with shared characteristics into classes or groups

Question 12

Diction

Ex. “I regret to inform you that I will be resigning” vs. “I quit”

Answer 12

Choice of words especially with regard to correctness or effectiveness

Question 13

Ellipsis (rhetorical strategy)

“In the football game, the EO Jags scored six touchdowns, the other team, only three.”

Answer 13

Omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader for the sentence to be understood.

Question 14

Em-dash

“You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me”

Answer 14

Sets off a word or clause and adds emphasis

Question 15

Epistrophe

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

Answer 15

Repetition of a word/expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses

Question 16

Example/illustration

Ex. Police brutality is still an issue because the system does little to protect Black people. For instance, a police Officer apathetically killed an African-American man when he was supposed to arrest him.

Answer 16

Example: Explains, clarifies, or justify a point.

Illustration: picture or drawing used to prove something.

Question 17

Irony

Ex. The name of Erika’s biggest cat is tiny.

Answer 17

Literary device in a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality.

Question 18

Juxtaposition

Ex. All’s fair in love and war.

Answer 18

The act or an instance of placing two or more things side-by-side often to compare or contrast want to create an interesting affect.

Question 19

Mesodiplosis

“She was nervous get excited; she was uncertain yet prepared.”

Answer 19

Repetition of a word in the middle of each phrase or clause.

Question 20

Passive Voice

The cookies had been made.

Answer 20

A subject is a recipient of a verb’s action.

Question 21

Personification

The roses danced in the gentle breeze.

Answer 21

Figure of speech in which a thing — an idea or an animal — is given human attributes.

Question 22

Problem-Solution

Problem: Jim Crow Laws

Solution: Civil Rights act of 1964
- Legally ended segregation that was institutionalized by Jim Crow laws.

Answer 22

A pattern of organization where information in a passage is expressed as a dilemma in something that was, can be, or should be done to remedy this issue.

Question 22

Rhetorical question

“Is rain wet?”

“ you didn’t think I would say yes to that, did you?”

Answer 22

Question asked for effect or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed.

Question 23

Simile/Metaphor

Metaphor: his voice is music to my ears.

Simile: his smell was as soothing as incense.

Answer 23

Simile: figure of speech that makes a comparison with the words like or as.

Metaphor: figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things.

Question 25

Syllogism/Syllogistic

All mammals are animals. All elephants are mammals. Therefore, all elephants are animals.

Answer 25

Rhetorical device that starts in arguments with a reference to something general. From this, it draws a conclusion about something more specific.