Terms : Hide Images
| 8093144617 | ad hominem | the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker (ex. We should not buy his products because he is an arrogant fool.) | 0 | |
| 8093276378 | ad populum (bandwagon appeal) | evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do." (ex. You should go to the lock-in like everybody else.) | 1 | |
| 8093284434 | alliteration | repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence (ex. elephants eat eggs.) | 2 | |
| 8093288288 | allusion | brief reference to a person, event, place, or a work of art (ex. It was as crazy as the shipwreck scene from Titanic.) | 3 | |
| 8093295386 | analogy | a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things (ex. As birds have flight, our special gift is reason.) | 4 | |
| 8093324064 | anaphora | repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines (ex. ...not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are...) | 5 | |
| 8093375118 | anecdote | A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim (ex. The story of how two middle schoolers fell in love) | 6 | |
| 8093379245 | annotation | The taking of notes directly on a text | 7 | |
| 8093400882 | antimetabole | Repetition of words in reverse order (ex. Ask now what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.) | 8 | |
| 8093404036 | antithesis | Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction (ex. we shall . . . support any friend, oppose any foe.) | 9 | |
| 8093407035 | appeal to false authority | fallacy where someone who has no expertise speaks about a subject and is cited as an authority (ex. a Hollywood actor talking about medical diseases) | 10 | |
| 8093487476 | archaic diction | Old-fashioned or outdated word choice (ex. beliefs for which our forebears fought) | 11 | |
| 8093536863 | argument | A process of reasoned inquiry. A persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion. (ex. argument for why schools should require uniforms) | 12 | |
| 8093549585 | Aristotelian triangle | A diagram that illustrates the inter-relationship among the speaker, audience, and subject determining a text. |  | 13 |
| 8093578414 | assertion | A statement that presents a claim or thesis (ex. Basketball is the most tiring sport.) | 14 | |
| 8093585791 | assumption | A belief or statement taken for granted without proof (ex. we can assume that elementary school students will not know how to do chemistry.) | 15 | |
| 8093592953 | asyndeton | Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words (ex. we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet andy hardship, support and friend, oppose and foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.) | 16 | |
| 8093597154 | audience | The listener, viewer, or reader of a text (ex. Gehrig's audience was his teammates and fans in the stadium that day, but it was also the teams he played against, the fans listening on the radio, and posterity-- us. | 17 | |
| 8093603169 | backing | the assurances or data which supports the assumptions (ex. we quizzed the elementary kids on chemistry and none of them could answer a question.) | 18 | |
| 8094135070 | bandwagon appeal | evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do." (ex. You should go to the lock-in like everybody else.) | 19 | |
| 8094136517 | begging the question | A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt (ex. Giving students easy access to a wealth of facts and resources online allows them to develop critical thinking skills.) | 20 | |
| 8094145639 | circular reasoning | A fallacy in which the argument repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence (ex. You can't give me a C; I'm an A student!) | 21 | |
| 8094198665 | claim | state's the argument;s main idea or position; must be arguable (ex. Video games should be considered sports.) | 22 | |
| 8094207816 | claim of fact | asserts that something is true or not true (ex. Teen pregnancies have risen every year.) | 23 | |
| 8094257786 | claim of policy | proposes a change (ex. Sex education needs to be implemented starting in primary school.) | 24 | |
| 8094276202 | claim of value | argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong (ex. Abortion is a moral way of birth prevention.) | 25 | |
| 8100160372 | classic oration | five-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians consisting of introduction (exordium), narration (narratio), confirmation (confirmatio), refutation (refutatio), conclusion (peroratio) | 26 | |
| 8100378856 | closed thesis | a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make (ex. The three-dimensional characters, exciting plot, and complex themes of the Harry Potter series make them not only legendary children's books but enduring literary classics.) | 27 | |
| 8100649505 | complex sentence | A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (ex. Despite the people's efforts to save the cats, only five survived.) | 28 | |
| 8100756860 | compound sentence | A sentence that includes at least two independent clauses (ex. The dog ) | 29 | |
| 8100821324 | concession | An acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable (ex. Lou Gehrig concedes what some of his listeners may think - that his bad break is a cause for discouragement or despair) | 30 | |
| 8100877224 | confirmation | provides the development of proof through evidence that supports the claims made by the speaker | 31 | |
| 8100888773 | connotation | meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its denotation (ex. He was mad vs. He was infuriated) | 32 | |
| 8100898216 | context | the circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text (ex. The context for Lou Gehrig's speech is the recent announcement of his illness and his subsequent retirement, but also the poignant contrast between his potent career and his debilitating disease.) | 33 | |
| 8101044407 | counterargument | an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward (ex. Some of Lou Gehrig's listeners might have argued that his bad break was a cause for discouragement or despair.) | 34 | |
| 8101055326 | cumulative sentence | sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on (ex. But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course - both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.) | 35 | |
| 8101116368 | deduction | a logical process wherein you reach a conclusion with a major premise and apply it to a minor premise (ex. Major premise: Exercise contributes to better health. Minor premise: Yoga is a type of exercise. Conclusion: Yoga contributes to better health.) | 36 | |
| 8101148047 | diction | a speaker's choice of words (ex. casual diction, formal diction) | 37 | |
| 8602134257 | either/or (false dilemma) | a fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices (Either we agree to higher taxes, or our grandchildren will be mired in debt.) | 38 | |
| 8602143782 | faulty analogy | when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable | 39 | |
| 8602170060 | logical fallacy | potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument | 40 | |
| 8602174876 | open thesis | a thesis that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay | 41 | |
| 8602186554 | straw man | a fallacy where a speaker deliberately chooses a poor example | 42 |
