Rhetorical Terms - Pt. 1

Question 1

Abstract Language

Answer 1

Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific persons, places, or things.

Question 2

Ad Hominem

Answer 2

When a writer personally attacks his/her opponent instead of that person’s argument or ideas.

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

A story, fiction or nonfiction, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts.

Question 4

Alliteration

Answer 4

Repetition of the initial consonant sound.

Question 5

Allusion

Answer 5

An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

Question 6

Ambiguity

Answer 6

Language, an event, or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Question 7

Analogy

Answer 7

A comparison to a directly parallel case.

Question 8

Anaphora

Answer 8

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.

Question 9

Anecdote

Answer 9

A brief recounting of a relevant episode.

Question 10

Annotation

Answer 10

Explanatory notes added to a text.

Question 11

Antithesis

Answer 11

A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.

Question 12

Assonance

Answer 12

Repetition of the vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Question 13

Authority

Answer 13

The quality an author seeks to establish to have an intended audience believe/trust him or her. This quality comes from having strong, cogent arguments that draw on recognized experts or persons with highly relevant experiences.

Question 14

Backing

Answer 14

Support or evidence for a claim in an argument.

Question 15

Balance

Answer 15

Sentence construction in which both halves of the sentence are about the same length and importance.