Rhetorical Terms Helen

Question 1

ad hominem fallacy

Answer 1

(Latin for “to the man”)

a fallacy of logic in which a person’s character or motive is attacked instead of that person’s argument

Question 2

ad populam fallacy

Answer 2

latin for “to the crowd”

a fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurance of something is assumed to make it true or right

eg: ‘The Escort is the most widely sold car in the world; therefore, it must be the best”

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

A story in which the people, places, and things represent general concepts or moral qualities

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

a breif reference to a person, place, event, or passage in a work of literature or the Bible assumed to be sufficiently well known to to be recognized by the reader

eg: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead” - TS Elliot

Question 5

Analogy

Answer 5

a comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple

eg: comparing a year long profile of stock index to be a roller coaster ride

Question 6

Anecdote

Answer 6

a short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical

Question 7

anticlimax

Answer 7

a sudden drop from the difnified or imortant in thought or expression to the commonplace or trivial , often for humorous effect

Question 8

appeal to authority

Answer 8

citation of information from people recognized for their special knowladge of a subject for the purpose of strenthening a speaker or writer’s arguments

Question 9

argumentation

Answer 9

exploration of a problem by investigating all sides of it; persuasion through reason

Question 10

begging the question

Answer 10

the fallacy of logical argument that assumes as true the very thing it is trying to prove

eg: the bible is the infalliable word of God + The Bible says that God exists. therefore God exists.

Question 11

cause and effect

Answer 11

examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenominon

eg: essay topics such as “how did the incumbent mayor lose the election?” or “what causes obesity” are well well suited to cause and effect exposition

Question 12

chronological ordering

Answer 12

arrangement in the oder in which things occur; may move from past to present or in reverse order, from present to past

Question 13

classification as a means of ordering

Answer 13

arrangement of objects according to class

eg: media classified as print, television, and radio

Question 14

colloquial expression

Answer 14

words and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing

eg: jack was bummed out about his chemistry grade vs Jack was upset about his chemistry grade

Question 15

damning with faint praise

Answer 15

intentional use of a postive stament that has a negative implication

eg: “your new hairdo is so…intersting”

Question 16

deduction

Answer 16

(deductive reasoning)

a form of reasoning that begins with a generalization, then applies the generalization to a specific case or cases; opposite to induction (see syllogism)

Question 17

digression

Answer 17

a temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing

Question 18

ellipsis

Answer 18

in grammar, the ommision of a word or words necessary for complete construction but understood in context

eg: “if (it is) possible, (you) come early”

OR the sign (…) that something has been left out of a quotation

eg: “to be or not…that is the question”

Question 19

euphemism

Answer 19

the use of a word or phrase that is less direct, but is also less distasteful or less offensive than anouther

eg: “he is at rest” is a euphemism for “he is dead”

Question 20

expository writing

Answer 20

writing that explains or analyzes

Question 21

false dilemma

Answer 21

a fallacy of logical argument which is committed when too few of the available alternatives are considered, and all but one are assessed and deemed impossible or unacceptable

eg: “are you going to go to college and make something of yourself or are you going to end up being an unemployable bum like me” The dilemma is the son’s supposed choice limitation: either he goes to college or he will be a bum. The dilemma is false, because the alternative of not going to college but still being employable has not been considered

Question 22

hyperbola

Answer 22

an extravagent exaggeration of fact, used either for serious or comic effect

eg: “your beauty, that did huant me in my sleep/to undertake the death of all the world/so I might live one hour in your sweet bosom” Shakespeare, Richard III

Question 23

Imagery

Answer 23

lively descriptions which impress the images of things upon the mind; figures of speech