Terms : Hide Images
| 14741164862 | Allusion | a casual reference to another work of art, historical event, or person | 0 | |
| 14741164863 | Ambiguity | the state of having multiple meanings; an intentional or unintentional equivocation | 1 | |
| 14741164864 | Analogy | a form of reasoning in which one thing is inferred to be similar to another thing in a certain respect | 2 | |
| 14741164865 | Anecdote | a brief recounting of a relevant episode; usually to inject humor or develop a point | 3 | |
| 14741164866 | Aphorism | a terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle often in a clever way "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." | 4 | |
| 14741164867 | Apophasis | calling attention to something by dismissing it "No one would suggest that those who are homeless elected to live on the streets willingly." | 5 | |
| 14741164868 | Apostrophe | the direct address of a non-person or an absent or imaginary person "Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour/England hath need of thee"; may also be a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition "So, I ask you, dear reader, what would you have me do?" | 6 | |
| 14741164869 | Bathos | overdone or insincere attempts at evoking pity or compassion, usually creating a comedic effect | 7 | |
| 14741164870 | Claim | also called assertion or proposition, an argument's main idea/position | 8 | |
| 14741164871 | Claim of fact | asserts something is true or not true | 9 | |
| 14741164872 | Claim of policy | proposes a change | 10 | |
| 14741164873 | Claim of value | argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong | 11 | |
| 14741164874 | Classical Oration | five-part argument | 12 | |
| 14741164875 | Introduction/Exordium | introduce the subject | 13 | |
| 14741164876 | Narration | factual info and background enough to establish the worthiness of addressing the issue | 14 | |
| 14741164877 | Confirmation | the proof | 15 | |
| 14741164878 | Refutation | addressing counterargument(s), bridge to conclusion | 16 | |
| 14741164879 | Conclusion/Peroration | satisfying conclusion, often includes pathos | 17 | |
| 14741164880 | Concession | the act of granting or yielding a particular point or fact that is part of another's argument or granting that an opposing argument has some merit | 18 | |
| 14741164881 | Connotation | extra cultural significance of a word or phrase in addition to its dictionary definition | 19 | |
| 14741164882 | Context | the circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text's production | 20 | |
| 14741164883 | Counterargument | set of reasons put forward to oppose an anticipated idea or theory | 21 | |
| 14741164884 | Deduction | logical process starting with a general principle (major premise), apply it to a specific case (a minor premise). A syllogism is an example of deductive logic | 22 | |
| 14741164885 | Denotation | The literal definition of a word | 23 | |
| 14741164886 | Diction | word choice in speech or writing | 24 | |
| 14741164887 | Didactic | teaching a specific lesson or moral; providing a model of correct behavior or thinking | 25 | |
| 14741164888 | Ellipsis | the omission of words or phrases, sometimes indicated by the use of " ... " | 26 | |
| 14741164889 | Epigraph | a short quotation, often used at the beginning of a work, section, or chapter to introduce a theme | 27 | |
| 14741164890 | Euphemism | the act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive "The drone strike inflicted collateral damage." | 28 | |
| 14741164891 | Exigency | a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy, that has urged the writer to begin to write an argument. (The CollegeBoard loves this word this year... for some unknown reason.) | 29 | |
| 14741164892 | Exposition | a mode of expression, its intention being to explain | 30 | |
| 14741164893 | Figurative language | any language that cannot be taken literally (like simile, metaphor, verbal irony, metonymy, etc.) | 31 | |
| 14741164894 | Genre | the category into which a literary work fits (drama, poetry, prose being the most general, but these may be further subdivided) | 32 | |
| 14741164895 | Hortative sentence (hortation) | one that urges, calls to action | 33 | |
| 14741164896 | Hyperbole | a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect | 34 | |
| 14741164897 | Hypophora | a type of reasoning in which one or more questions are asked and answered by the same writer/speaker. | 35 | |
| 14741164898 | Induction | reasoning from particulars to universals; examples to conclusion | 36 | |
| 14741164899 | Infer | to draw a reasonable conclusion from information provided. | 37 | |
| 14741164900 | Imagery | word choice designed to appeal to one or more of the five senses | 38 | |
| 14741164901 | Irony | verbal irony: words used are the opposite of the intended meaning | 39 | |
| 14741164902 | situational irony | events turn out other than as expected | 40 | |
| 14741164903 | Juxtaposition | placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarity and/or difference. | 41 | |
| 14741164904 | Litotes | this is the strategy of understatement using two negative terms, often employed to provide subtle emphasis, frequently for ironic effect or to underline a passionate opinion "The assassin was not unacquainted with danger." | 42 | |
| 14741164905 | Logical Fallacy | an error in reasoning that may render an argument invalid | 43 | |
| 14741164906 | ad hominem | (literally, "against the man") when a writer personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their arguments | 44 | |
| 14741164907 | ad populum (bandwagon appeal) | a claim supported by popularity | 45 | |
| 14741164908 | appeal to false authority | an author cites an individual who has no expertise to comment on the issue | 46 | |
| 14741164909 | circular reasoning | often called begging the question, the argument repeats the claim instead of providing evidence | 47 | |
| 14741164910 | either/or (false dilemma) | an argument presents two extreme options as the only possible choices (politicians, ha!) | 48 | |
| 14741164911 | faulty analogy | an argument compares two things that are not comparable (ignoring significant differences) | 49 | |
| 14741164912 | hasty generalization | a faulty conclusion is reached after inadequate evidence (smoking isn't bad; my sister has smoked for years and remains the picture of health) | 50 | |
| 14741164913 | non-sequitur | when one statement isn't logically connected to another | 51 | |
| 14741164914 | post hoc, ergo propter hoc | when a writer implies that because one thing follows another, the first caused the second. But sequence is not cause. | 52 | |
| 14741164915 | red herring | when a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue | 53 | |
| 14741164916 | straw man | when a writer argues against a claim that nobody actually holds or is universally considered weak. Setting up a straw man diverts attention from the real issue | 54 | |
| 14741164917 | Meiosis | a dismissive epithet, such as "treehugger," "right-wing nutjob," or "ambulance chaser." | 55 | |
| 14741164918 | Metanoia | the qualification of a statement to either diminish or strengthen its tone, as in "She was disturbed — make that appalled — by the spectacle." Traditionally, nay is often a keyword that sets up the shift, but no replaces it in modern usage except in facetious or whimsical writing "You are the fairest flower in the garden — nay, in the entire meadow." | 56 | |
| 14741164919 | Narrative | a mode of expression, its intention being to tell a story | 57 | |
| 14741164920 | Paradox | the expression of seemingly contrary ideas that have an underlying truth or coexistence | 58 | |
| 14741164921 | Parody | the close imitation of style, usually exaggerating the features of the model for comedic effect | 59 | |
| 14741164922 | Pedantic | overly scholarly, academic, or bookish (connotation usually negative) | 60 | |
| 14741164923 | Point of view | the perspective from which the text is expressed | 61 | |
| 14741164924 | first person | the voice is a part of the action, usually "I, me, my, mine" pronouns | 62 | |
| 14741164925 | second person | referring to the audience, often with the pronouns "you, your, yours" | 63 | |
| 14741164926 | third person | written / spoken from an outside perspective (he, she, it, they) | 64 | |
| 14741164927 | Polemic (polemical) | one who argues with hostility and generally does not concede opposing opinions have merit | 65 | |
| 14741164928 | Pun | a humorous play on the multi ple meanings of a word or words "You can tune a fiddle, but you can't tuna fish—unless you're a bass player." | 66 | |
| 14741164929 | Refutation | working to prove an argument false | 67 | |
| 14741164930 | Rhetoric | the art of effective or persuasive communication | 68 | |
| 14741164931 | Rhetorical appeals | techniques used to persuade an audience | 69 | |
| 14741164932 | Logos | logic, reasoning; rhetorical appeal pertaining to the content of the message | 70 | |
| 14741164933 | Pathos | a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow); the rhetorical appeal concerned with how to reach an audience emotionally | 71 | |
| 14741164934 | Ethos | rhetorical appeal in which the author/speaker establishes trustworthiness of the audience; credibility | 72 | |
| 14741164935 | Rhetorical Question | a question asked solely to produce an effect and not to elicit a reply, as in "What is so rare as a day in June?" | 73 | |
| 14741164936 | Satire | a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way, often through the use of humor, and generally intended to point out a flaw and affect a change | 74 | |
| 14741164937 | Sentential (or Conjunctive) Adverbs | these single words or brief phrases emphasize the thought they precede, interrupt, or — rarely — follow. Examples include however, naturally, no doubt, and of course — and, in informal writing, phrases such as "you see." | 75 | |
| 14741164938 | Syllogism | a logical argument often expressed in this typical form "All A is C; all B is A; therefore all B is C." | 76 | |
| 14741164939 | Symbol | an object or action that is what it is and also takes special significance for literary or rhetorical effect | 77 | |
| 14741164940 | Theme | what an artistic work suggests about life | 78 | |
| 14741164941 | Thesis | the expression of the author's point, meaning, or position | 79 | |
| 14741164942 | Tone | the author's attitude | 80 | |
| 14741164943 | Transition | a word, phrase, or clause that links different ideas or paragraphs | 81 | |
| 14741164944 | Understatement | a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said | 82 | |
| 14741164945 | Wit | the use of language that surprises and delights; it may involve particularly perceptive, humorous, or ingenious thoughts expressed through great verbal power | 83 | |
| 14741164946 | Zeugma | a use of word(s) in a grammatically similar way that produce different meanings "My teeth and ambition are bared—Be prepared!" "When you open a book, you open your mind." "Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle..." | 84 | |
| 14741164947 | Alliteration | the repetition of sounds, usually initial consonants in neighboring words "She sells sea shells by the sea shore." | 85 | |
| 14741164948 | Amplification | an expansion of adding detail to clarify a point "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers." | 86 | |
| 14741164949 | Anaphora | a repetition of a word or of words at the beginning of two or more successive clauses "I came, I saw, I conquered." | 87 | |
| 14741164950 | Antimetabole / Chiasmus | (AN-ti-mə-TAB-ə-lee) repetition of words in reverse order (ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country) | 88 | |
| 14741164951 | Antistrophe (Epistrophe) | repetition of a word or phrase at the close of successive clauses "You said he was late — true enough. You said he was not prepared — true enough. You said he did not defend his statements — true enough." "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." "[T]his nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people [...]" | 89 | |
| 14741164952 | Antithesis | opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction "Many are called, but few are chosen," "We shall support any friends, oppose any foe" | 90 | |
| 14741164953 | Asyndeton | absence of conjunctions "We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground." | 91 | |
| 14741164954 | Epanalepsis | starting and ending a phrase, clause, or a sentence, or a passage, with the same word or phrase "Nothing is worse than doing nothing." "Only the poor really know what it is to suffer, only the poor." | 92 | |
| 14741164955 | Inversion | the reversal of the normal order of words for rhetorical effect. "Shouts the politician." | 93 | |
| 14741164956 | Loose sentence | opposite of a periodic sentence, a sentence type in which the most important idea is expressed first, with dependent grammatical units following often conveying informality and a more conversational feel "He might consider paying the higher fees at a private university, if the teacher/student ratio is small, the teachers are highly qualified, and the job placement rate is high." "You can pass all your classes with good study habits and good attendance." "He decided to major in science, even though he really wanted to study art, philosophy, and religion." | 94 | |
| 14741164957 | Parallelism | the framing of words, phrases, or clauses to provide structural similarity and symmetry | 95 | |
| 14741164958 | Periodic sentence | opposite of a loose sentence, a sentence in which critical meaning comes only at the end (at the period); in this sentence type, the important independent clause is preceded by dependent phrases or clauses (its effect is often more formal and adds emphasis and variety). (e.g. "In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued." "With low taxes, beautiful views and a mild climate, this city is a great place to live.") | 96 | |
| 14741164959 | Polysyndeton | an insertion of conjunctions before each word/phrase in a list "My fellow students read and studied and wrote and passed. I laughed and played and talked and failed." | 97 | |
| 14741164960 | Repetition | speaking or writing something again for rhetorical effect | 98 | |
| 14741164961 | Syntax | the way an author arranges words, phrases, and sentences | 99 |
