Terms P-W Flashcards
Persuasion
the use of facts and feelings to draw one’s audience into beliefs and actions
polemic
Greek for hostile, an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority or one opinion over all others
polysyndeton
syntax using (multiple) conjunctions, usually without commas, to present items in a series—“X and Y and Z”
post hoc, ergo propter hoc
mistakenly inferring that because one event follows another they have a casual relation; from post hoc ergo propter hoc (“after this, therefore because of this”)—also called “doubtful cause”
propaganda
the spread of ideas and information to further a cause
pun
a play on words based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but have different meanings
qualifier
a word or phrase that changes how absolute, certain or generalized a statement
rebuttal
an opposition to an assertion; it disproves the opposing argument
red herring
an irreverent issue used to draw attention away from the real issue
refutation
when a write musters relevant opposing arguments; an attack on an opposing view to weaken it, invalidate it or make it less credible
satire
a type of writing that ridicules the short comings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about change
straw man
a fallacious argument that misrepresents a position in order to make it appear weaker that it actually is, refuting this misrepresentation of the position and then concluding that the real position has been refuted
stream of consciousness
a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind
telegraphic sentence
a sentence shorter than five words in length
vernacular
the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality
