Terms : Hide Images
| 6819206398 | analogy | explaining something complex into simpler terms ex: "An amateur playing in a professional game is like an ibex stepping into a lion's den." | 0 | |
| 6819222862 | argument | The combination of reasons, evidence, etc. that an author uses to convince an audience of their position. | 1 | |
| 6819252731 | attitude | The writer's personal views or feelings about the subject at hand. ex: "the deplorable state of this school" would convey that the author has a negative attitude towards the school. | 2 | |
| 6819259170 | audience | Who the author is directing his or her message towards | 3 | |
| 6819260955 | compare and contrast | Discussing the similarities and differences between two things to some persuasive or illustrative purpose. | 4 | |
| 6819264331 | connotation | The implied meaning of a word; words can broadly have positive, negative, or neutral connotations. ex: conscientious = positive fussy = negative | 5 | |
| 6819286309 | context | The extra-textual environment in which the text is being delivered. ex: If I am delivering a congratulatory speech to awards recipients, the immediate context might be the awards presentation ceremony; the broader context might be the purpose or significance of the awards themselves. | 6 | |
| 6819288507 | counterargument | The argument(s) against the author's position. | 7 | |
| 6819300017 | deductive reasoning | A form of logical reasoning wherein a general principle is applied to a specific case. ex: If all planets orbit a star, and Theta II is a planet, then it must orbit a star. | 8 | |
| 6819316193 | denotation | The literal, dictionary-definition meaning of a word. | 9 | |
| 6819318443 | diction | The style of language used; generally tailored to be appropriate to the audience and situation. | 10 | |
| 6819329137 | ethos | Setting up a source as credible and trustworthy. ex: "Given my PhD in the subject and years of experience in the field" is an appeal to ethos. | 11 | |
| 6819333988 | evidence | The information presented meant to persuade the audience of the author's position. | 12 | |
| 6819341070 | genre | The specific type of work being presented. | 13 | |
| 6819373095 | imagery | Any descriptive language used to evoke a vivid sense or image of something; includes figurative language. ex: "The water was a pearl-studded sea of azure tipped with turquoise." | 14 | |
| 6819379605 | implication | When something is suggested without being concretely stated. ex: "Watch your wallet around Paul," implies that Paul is a thief without coming out and saying "Paul is a thief." | 15 | |
| 6819386409 | inductive reasoning | Making a generalization based on specific evidence at hand. ex: All of the planets in this solar system orbit a star, so all planets probably orbit stars. | 16 | |
| 6819400065 | irony | saying the opposite of what you intended (light sarcasm) verbal: author says the opposite of what was meant situational: events opposite of what is expected | 17 | |
| 6819418588 | juxtaposition | Placing two very different things together for effect. ex: "There they stood together, the beggars and the lords, the princesses and the washerwoman, all crowding into the square." | 18 | |
| 6819425090 | logos | Appealing to someone's sense of concrete facts and logic. ex: Citing peer-reviewed scientific studies | 19 | |
| 6819433677 | occasion | The reason or moment for writing or speaking. ex: When giving a graduation speech, the occasion is graduation. | 20 | |
| 6819439411 | pathos | An Aristotelian appeal. Involves appealing to someone's emotions. | 21 | |
| 6819443130 | purpose | The author's persuasive intention. ex: If you are trying to convince your mother you should get a dog, your purpose in addressing an essay on the subject to her would be to convince her that you should get a dog. | 22 | |
| 6819463158 | anaphora | A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences. | 23 | |
| 6819480001 | rhetorical triangle | The relationship between the author, the audience, the text/message, and the context. | 24 | |
| 6819484632 | style | the author's own personal approach to rhetoric in the piece; | 25 | |
| 6819488342 | symbolism | Using a symbol to refer to an idea or concept. | 26 | |
| 6819495618 | syntax | The way sentences are grammatically constructed. ex: She likes pie," is syntactically simple. On the other hand, "As it so happened, when Barbara got out of class early she liked to have a piece of pie—key lime or pecan, always—at the corner diner; while she was there she watched the people passing by the window and imagined herself inside each of their lives, riding in their heads for moments and moments until the afternoon was whiled away and she'd become fifty people," is syntactically complicated. | 27 | |
| 6819506360 | synthesis | Combining sources or ideas in a coherent way in the purpose of a larger point. ex: A typical research paper involves synthesizing sources to make a broader point about the topic. | 28 | |
| 6819513241 | tone | The use of stylistic devices to reveal an author's attitude toward a subject. ex: Only a narrow distinction from attitude. The phrase "the deplorable state of this school" reveals a negative attitude, but the word choice of "deplorable" is part of the author's tone. | 29 | |
| 6819518646 | allusion | Making a brief reference to the cultural canon—e.g. the Bible, Shakespeare, classical mythology, etc. ex: "Like Eve in the Garden of Eden, George was not good at resisting temptation." | 30 | |
| 6819526340 | anecdote | Offering a brief narrative episode. This device can serve many functions in a text—for example, introducing an issue, serving as evidence, to illustrate a point, and so on. | 31 | |
| 6819530844 | concession | Agreeing with the opposing viewpoint on a certain smaller point (but not in the larger argument). ex: "While I admit that hybrid cars have higher carbon production costs than conventional automobiles, this is dramatically offset by the much-smaller lifetime carbon footprint of the vehicles." | 32 | |
| 6819537989 | didactic | From the Greek, didactic literally means "teaching." Didactic words have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles. | 33 | |
| 6819546103 | exemplification | Providing examples in service of a point. | 34 | |
| 6819548842 | hyperbole | Overstating a situation for humorous or dramatic effect. | 35 | |
| 6819571095 | synecdoche | Referring to one part of something as a way to refer to the whole. ex: "Ask for her hand" is a synecdoche for marriage; the "hand" stands in for the whole woman. | 36 | |
| 6819576721 | satire | genre of humorous and mocking criticism to expose the ignorance and/or ills of society. | 37 | |
| 6819583394 | paradox | phrase or assertion that appears to contradict itself (but the contradiction itself may have its own meaning). ex: "dark angel," "fresh rot," "blissful hell," | 38 | |
| 6819599884 | assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity | 39 |
