Rhetorical Terms

Question 0

A method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts of all of the characters in the story

Answer 0

Third-person omniscient point of view

Question 1

An ‘all-knowing’ kind of narration; the narrator has full knowledge of the story’s events and of the motives and unspoken thoughts if the various characters.

Answer 1

Omniscient narration

Question 2

When something is stated too strongly; exaggerated or overemphasized

Answer 2

Overstatement

Question 3

A short story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson; a statement or comment that conveys meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like

Answer 3

Parable

Question 4

A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing

Answer 4

Parody

Question 5

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

Answer 5

Paradox

Question 7

Phrases or clauses within a sentence that are written in the same grammatical pattern; Ex: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Answer 7

Parallel syntactic structure

Question 8

The main point of the sentence is located at the end

Answer 8

Periodic sentence structure

Question 9

When the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb

Answer 9

Passive voice

Question 10

Slavish attention to rules, details

Answer 10

Pedantry

Question 11

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

Answer 11

Persona

Question 12

A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something

Answer 12

Perspective

Question 13

A belief or set of beliefs, esp. religious or political ones

Answer 13

Persuasion

Question 14

The freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in order to create an effect

Answer 14

Poetic license

Question 15

The narrator’s position in relation to the story being told

Answer 15

Point of view

Question 16

A fallacy that consists in assuming that a particular event, B, is caused by another event, A, simply because B follows A in time

Answer 16

Post hoc fallacy

Question 17

A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information

Answer 17

Propaganda

Question 18

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

Answer 18

Prose

Question 19

The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text

Answer 19

Protagonist

Question 20

A quality or accomplishment that makes someone suitable for a particular job or activity

Answer 20

Qualification

Question 21

A cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event

Answer 21

Reason

Question 22

Something, esp. a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting

Answer 22

Red herring

Question 23

Disproof: any evidence that helps to establish the falsity of something

Answer 23

Refutation

Question 24

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, esp. the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques

Answer 24

Rhetoric

Question 25

A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer

Answer 25

Rhetorical question

Question 26

An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it

Answer 26

Satire

Question 27

A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things

Answer 27

Simile

Question 28

A method of description that begins at one geographical point and moves onward in an orderly fashion

Answer 28

Spatial order

Question 29

An instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion, and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion

Answer 29

Syllogism

Question 30

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

Answer 30

Syntax

Question 31

The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place

Answer 31

Setting

Question 32

A narrative mode that seeks to portray an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions

Answer 32

Stream of consciousness narration

Question 33

A thing that represents or stands for something else, esp. a material object representing something abstract

Answer 33

Symbol

Question 34

A manner of expression in writing

Answer 34

Tone

Question 35

The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is

Answer 35

Understatement

Question 36

An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect

Answer 36

Utopia

Question 37

The distinctive tone or style of a literary work or author

Answer 37

Voice

Question 38

Mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence

Answer 38

Wit

Question 39

Dealing with ideas rather than events

Answer 39

Abstract

Question 40

The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb

Answer 40

Active voice

Question 41

Giving or designed to give pleasure through beauty; of pleasing appearance

Answer 41

Aesthetic

Question 42

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

Answer 42

Allusion

Question 43

A negative term applied to a vague or equivocal expression when precision would be more useful

Answer 43

Ambiguity

Question 44

Placing an event, person, item, or verbal expression in the wrong historical period

Answer 44

Anachronism

Question 45

A thing or event that existed before or logically precedes another

Answer 45

Antecedent

Question 46

A drop, often sudden and unexpected, from a dignified or important idea or situation to one that is trivial or humorous

Answer 46

Anticlimax

Question 47

A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification

Answer 47

Analogy

Question 48

Any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning

Answer 48

Allegory

Question 49

A short narrative account of an amusing, unusual, revealing, or interesting event

Answer 49

Anecdote

Question 50

An attempt to link the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise

Answer 50

Ad hominem fallacy

Question 51

A fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it

Answer 51

Ad populum fallacy

Question 52

a fallacy of defective induction, where it is argued that a statement is correct because the statement is made by a person or source that is commonly regarded as authoritative

Answer 52

Appeal to authority

Question 53

A very typical example of a certain person or thing

Answer 53

Archetype

Question 54

A thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof

Answer 54

Assumption

Question 55

An account of a person's life written by that person

Answer 55

Autobiography

Question 56

A sub-genre of comedy and satire in which topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo, are treated in an unusually humorous or satirical manner while retaining their seriousness

Answer 56

Black comedy

Question 57

A logical fallacy in which a premise of an argument contains a direct or indirect assumption that the conclusion is true; offering a circular argument; circular reasoning

Answer 57

Begging the question

Question 58

A picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect

Answer 58

Caricature

Question 59

A linear sequence of events that logically progress from one to the other, with the prior action “causing” the latter to happen

Answer 59

Cause and effect

Question 60

The order in which events happen, especially when emphasizing a cause-effect relationship in history or in a narrative

Answer 60

Chronological ordering

Question 61

The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions

Answer 61

Catharsis

Question 62

State or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof

Answer 62

Claim

Question 63

The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex

Answer 63

Climax

Question 64

A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation

Answer 64

Colloquialism

Question 65

A fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor

Answer 65

Conceit

Question 66

An idea or feeling that a word invokes person in addition to its literal or primary meaning

Answer 66

Connotation

Question 67

A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film

Answer 67

Convention

Question 68

To offer praise which is too moderate or marginal to be considered praise at all

Answer 68

Damning with praise

Question 69

A conclusion that has been deduced

Answer 69

Deduction

Question 70

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests

Answer 70

Denotation

Question 71

A turn of phrase intended to produce a particular effect in speech or a literary work

Answer 71

Device

Question 72

The art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions

Answer 72

Dialectic

Question 73

Conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie

Answer 73

Dialogue

Question 74

Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive

Answer 74

Didactic

Question 75

A temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing

Answer 75

Digression

Question 76

A formal discussion of a topic in speech or writing

Answer 76

Discourse

Question 77

A short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme

Answer 77

Epigraph

Question 78

A moment of sudden revelation or insight

Answer 78

Epiphany

Question 79

Relating to or denoting the writing of letters or literary works in the form of letters

Answer 79

Epistolary

Question 80

A phrase or statement written in memory of a person who has died, esp. as an inscription on a tombstone

Answer 80

Epitaph

Question 81

The quality of being pleasing to the ear, esp. through a harmonious combination of words

Answer 81

Euphony

Question 82

A detailed explanation of the meaning of something

Answer 82

Explication

Question 83

The part of a play or work of fiction in which the background to the main conflict is introduced

Answer 83

Exposition

Question 84

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died

Answer 84

Eulogy

Question 85

A word or phrase used to fill out a sentence or a line of verse without adding to the sense

Answer 85

Expletive

Question 86

A situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are other options

Answer 86

False dilemma

Question 87

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter

Answer 87

Genre

Question 88

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Answer 88

Hyperbole

Question 89

Supposed but not necessarily real or true

Answer 89

Hypothetical

Question 90

A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words

Answer 90

Idiom

Question 91

Reversing a normal word order of the sentence

Answer 91

Inverted syntax

Question 92

Visually descriptive or figurative language, esp. in a literary work

Answer 92

Imagery

Question 93

The logical assumption or process of assuming that what is true for a single specimen or example is also true for other specimens or examples of the same type

Answer 93

Induction

Question 94

A literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

Answer 94

Irony

Question 95

Taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory

Answer 95

Literal

Question 96

Ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

Answer 96

Litotes

Question 97

Into the middle of a narrative; without preamble

Answer 97

In medias res

Question 98

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Answer 98

Metaphor

Question 99

A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions

Answer 99

Melodrama

Question 100

A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature

Answer 100

Motif

Question 101

A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement

Answer 101

Non sequitur

Question 102

A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations

Answer 102

Nostalgia

Question 103

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Answer 103

Oxymoron

Question 104

A traditional story, esp. one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events

Answer 104

Myth

Question 105

The atmosphere or pervading tone of something, esp. a work of art

Answer 105

Mood

Question 106

Looking back on or dealing with past events or situations

Answer 106

Retrospective