Rhetorical Terms for Reading and Writing

Question 1

an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.

Answer 1

Allegory

Question 2

An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, or thing, event, or other literary work which the reader is presumably familiar

Answer 2

Allusion

Question 3

a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point

Answer 3

Anecdote

Question 4

is a rhetorical device that features the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses. Anaphora works as a literacy device to allow writers to convey, emphasize, and reinforce meaning.

Answer 4

Anaphora

Question 5

a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases, and in the sentence, yet maintain grammatical accuracy.

Answer 5

Asyndeton

Question 6

It rather connects the clauses with a conjunction. “I came and I saw and I conquered.” Is an example of polysyndeton. In other words, whereas the first one is marked by the insertion of commas, the second one shows the omission of commas and the use of conjunctions.

Answer 6

Polysyndeton

Question 7

Syndeton includes the addition of multiple conjunctions, such as in this example: “He eats and sleeps and drinks.”

Answer 7

Syndeton

Question 8

indicates the same word returns at the end of each sentence. Epistrophe is a stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the ends of the clauses or sentences.

Answer 8

Epistrophe

Question 9

is a combination of two words, “snide” and “remark,” which means a sarcastic comment

Answer 9

Snark

Question 10

is the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be…”

Answer 10

Antithesis

Question 11

is a rhetorical device that starts an argument with a reference to something general, and from this it draws a conclusion about something more specific.

Answer 11

Syllogism

Question 12

a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y’all, a’int)

Answer 12

Colloquialism