Terms : Hide Images
| 8572524216 | ad hominem | Latin for "to the man" this fallacy refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker. | 0 | |
| 8572529265 | ad populum (bandwagon appeal) | This fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do." | 1 | |
| 8572532031 | Alliteration | Repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence. | 2 | |
| 8572538172 | Allusion | Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art. | 3 | |
| 8572542202 | Anaphora | Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines. | 4 | |
| 8572546511 | Appeal to false authority | This fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as credible. A TV star, for instance, is not a medical expert, even though pharmaceutical advertisements often use celebrity endorsements. | 5 | |
| 8572550346 | Archaic diction | The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language. | 6 | |
| 8572556478 | Argument | A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion. | 7 | |
| 8572558876 | Assertion | An emphatic statement; declaration. When supported by evidence, this becomes an argument. | 8 | |
| 8572565411 | Assumption | A belief or statement taken for granted without proof. (See Warrant) | 9 | |
| 8572573960 | Backing | In the Toulmin model, this consists of further assurances or data without which the assumption (warrant) lacks authority. | 10 | |
| 8572580622 | Begging the question | A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt--where the writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. | 11 | |
| 8572583294 | Bias | Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue. | 12 | |
| 8572587788 | Circular reasoning | Circular reasoning | 13 | |
| 8572591947 | Cite | Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source | 14 | |
| 8572596371 | Claim | An assertion, usually supported by evidence. It differs from a topic or a subject in that it must be arguable. | 15 | |
| 8572600892 | Claim of fact | asserts that something is true or not true. | 16 | |
| 8572605074 | Claim of policy | proposes a change | 17 | |
| 8572624764 | Claim of value | argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong. | 18 | |
| 8572627791 | Classical oration | Five-part argument structure, including (exordium, narratio, confirmatio, refutatio and peroratio) | 19 | |
| 8572662433 | Closed thesis | a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make. | 20 | |
| 8572669327 | Close reading | is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text. | 21 | |
| 8572671750 | Colloquial/ism | An informal or conversational use of language. | 22 | |
| 8574156476 | Common ground | Shared beliefs, values, or positions. | 23 | |
| 8574156477 | A complex sentence | includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. | 24 | |
| 8574156478 | Connotation | That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning. | 25 | |
| 8574156479 | Context | Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning. | 26 | |
| 8574156480 | Counterargument | A challenge to a position; an opposing argument. | 27 | |
| 8574156481 | cumulative | This type of sentence completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on. | 28 | |
| 8574156482 | declarative | This type of sentence makes a statement. | 29 | |
| 8574156483 | Deduction | Reasoning from general to specific. A logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise) and applying it to a specific case (a minor premise). Usually demonstrated in the form of a syllogism | 30 | |
| 8574156487 | Denotation | The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition. | 31 | |
| 8574156488 | Diction | Word choice. | 32 | |
| 8574156489 | Either/Or (false dilemma) | A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices. | 33 | |
| 8574156490 | Ethos | A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals. Usually thought of as credibility. | 34 | |
| 8574156491 | Euphemism | a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. ("Passed away" for "died".) | 35 | |
| 8574156492 | Faulty analogy | A fallacy in which two things are compared that are not comparable. For instance to argue that because we put animals who are in irreversible pain out of their misery, we should do the same for people, asks the reader to ignore the significant and profound differences between animals and people. | 36 | |
| 8574156493 | Figurative language | The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect. | 37 | |
| 8574156494 | Figure of speech | An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning. | 38 | |
| 8574156495 | First-hand evidence | based on something the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events. | 39 | |
| 8574156496 | Hasty generalization | A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence. | 40 | |
| 8574156497 | Hortative | A sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action. | 41 | |
| 8574156498 | Hyperbole | Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. | 42 | |
| 8574156499 | Imagery | Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing). | 43 | |
| 8574156500 | Imperative sentence | A sentence that requests or commands. | 44 | |
| 8574156501 | Induction | Reasoning from specific to general. From the Latin "to lead into"; a logical process whereby the writer reasons from particulars to universals, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization: (Regular exercise promotes weight loss. It lowers stress levels, and improves mood and outlook. Therefore, exercise contributes to better health.) | 45 | |
| 8574156502 | Irony | A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result. | 46 | |
| 8574156503 | Juxtaposition | Placement of two things side by side for emphasis, with contrasting effect. | 47 | |
| 8574156504 | Logos | A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals | 48 | |
| 8574156505 | Logical fallacy | potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument. They often arise from a failure to make a logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it. | 49 | |
| 8574156506 | Metaphor | A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison. | 50 | |
| 8574156507 | Open thesis | does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay. Instead, it summarizes the main idea or claim. | 51 | |
| 8574156508 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms. | 52 | |
| 8574156509 | Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. | 53 | |
| 8574156510 | Parallelism | The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns. | 54 | |
| 8574156511 | Parody | A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule. | 55 | |
| 8574156512 | Pathos | A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals | 56 | |
| 8574156513 | Persona | The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing. | 57 | |
| 8574156514 | Personification | Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. | 58 | |
| 8574156515 | Polemic | Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others. Generally does not concede that opposing opinions have any merit. | 59 | |
| 8574156516 | Post hoc ergo propter hoc | One may loosely summarize this fallacy by saying that correlation does not imply causation; it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier. | 60 | |
| 8574156517 | Premise | Together, a major and minor one of these make up a syllogism. | 61 | |
| 8574156518 | Propaganda | A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information. | 62 | |
| 8574156519 | Purpose | One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing. | 63 | |
| 8574156520 | Qualifiers | These include words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely to temper the claim, making it less absolute. | 64 | |
| 8574156521 | Quantitative evidence | includes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers. | 65 | |
| 8574156522 | Rebuttal | This gives voice to possible objections. | 66 | |
| 8574156523 | Refute | To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument. | 67 | |
| 8574156524 | Reservation | his explains the terms and conditions necessitated by the qualifier. | 68 | |
| 8574156525 | Rhetoric | The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion." | 69 | |
| 8574156526 | Rhetorical Appeals | techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major ones are ethos (character/credibility), logos (reason or logic), and pathos (emotion). | 70 | |
| 8574156527 | Rhetorical modes | Patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; these include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation. | 71 | |
| 8574156528 | Rhetorical question | purpose is more to produce an effect than to summon an answer. | 72 | |
| 8574156529 | Rogerian arguments | These are based on the assumption that having a full understanding of opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating. Aimed at compromise by ALL parties. | 73 | |
| 8574156530 | Satire | An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it. Driven by anger and a desire to create social change | 74 | |
| 8574156531 | Second-hand evidence | accessed through research, reading, and investigation. It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data. | 75 | |
| 8574156532 | Simile | A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things. | 76 | |
| 8574156533 | Simple sentence | A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause. | 77 | |
| 8574156534 | Chekov's view about how many words should be in a text | conciseness is the sister of talent | 78 | |
| 8574156535 | Speaker | A term used for the author or person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing. | 79 | |
| 8574156536 | Straw man | A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute and idea. | 80 | |
| 8574156537 | Style | The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech. | 81 | |
| 8574156538 | Subject | In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing. | 82 | |
| 8574156539 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise | 83 | |
| 8574156540 | Synedoche | Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole. | 84 | |
| 8574156541 | Syntax | Sentence structure. | 85 | |
| 8574156542 | Synthesize | Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex, not just the sum total. | 86 | |
| 8574156543 | Text | While this term generally means the written word, it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read" - meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more. | 87 | |
| 8574156544 | Chekov's Gun | A principle which states that all objects in a text MUST be intentionally present. If a thing is not critically important to the text, take it out. | 88 | |
| 8574156545 | Thesis | A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit. | 89 | |
| 8574156546 | Tone | The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience. | 90 | |
| 8574156547 | Topic sentence | Most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis. | 91 | |
| 8574156548 | Toulmin Model | An approach to analyzing and constructing arguments that includes this template: Because (evidence as support, therefore (claim), since (warrant or assumption), on account of (backing), unless (reservation. | 92 | |
| 8574156549 | Understatement | Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect. | 93 | |
| 8574156550 | Voice | In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing. | 94 | |
| 8574156551 | Warrant | an assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience. | 95 | |
| 8574156552 | Zeugma | Use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous meanings. "She broke his car and his heart." | 96 | |
| 8574191336 | Relevant, sufficient, and accurate | This describes the minimum requirements for evidence in an intelligent argument | 97 | |
| 8702054549 | Pragmatic | dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. | 98 | |
| 8702056892 | Querulous | complaining in a petulant or whining manner | 99 | |
| 8702064303 | Didactic | intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive, often in a patronizing way. | 100 | |
| 10311538411 | Periodic | A sentence which has the main clause or predicate at the end. This is used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made. It can also create suspense or interest for the reader. | 101 | |
| 10336436875 | Jargon | special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand. | 102 | |
| 10336459661 | Circumlocution: | the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive. | 103 | |
| 10336935247 | Synecdoche | substituting a part (literally... a part of the thing, not something associated with the thing) for the thing itself. "Wheels" to refer to a car. | 104 | |
| 10336942515 | Metonymy | referring to something associated with a thing as if it's the whole thing. Example: boots on the ground to refer to soldiers. | 105 | |
| 10349634151 | Antithesis: | From Greek, meaning "to place against". two things that are polar opposites. In literature, often written with parallel grammatical structure. | 106 | |
| 10349636280 | Vernacular: | the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region. | 107 |
