Terms : Hide Images
| 6940363603 | Analogy | Explaining something complex by comparing it to something more simple. Ex: "An amateur playing in a professional game is like an ibex stepping into a lion's den." | 0 | |
| 6940377670 | Argument | The combination of reasons, evidence, etc that an author uses to convince an audience of their position. | 1 | |
| 6940388655 | Aristotelian appeals | Three different methods of appealing to an audience to convince them—ethos, logos, and pathos. | 2 | |
| 6940394498 | 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. | 3 | |
| 6940409080 | Audience | Who the author is directing his or her message towards. Ex: When you create a resume, your audience is potential employers. | 4 | |
| 6940426336 | Compare and Contrast | Discussing the similarities and differences between two things to some persuasive or illustrative purpose. Ex:"Hybrid cars have a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional midsize vehicles." | 5 | |
| 6940431757 | Connotation | The implied meaning of a word; words can broadly have positive, negative, or neutral connotations. Ex:conscientious = positive connotation fussy = negative connotation | 6 | |
| 6940456155 | Context | The extra-textual environment in which the text is being delivered. | 7 | |
| 6940464260 | Counterargument | The argument(s) against the author's position. | 8 | |
| 6940472460 | 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. | 9 | |
| 6940483469 | Denotation | The literal, dictionary-definition meaning of a word. Ex: The denotation of "chair" is "a place to sit." | 10 | |
| 6940486970 | Diction | The style of language used; generally tailored to be appropriate to the audience and situation. Ex: You might say "What's up, loser?" to your little brother, but you would probably say "How are you doing today?" to your principal. | 11 | |
| 6940500149 | 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. | 12 | |
| 6940505593 | Evidence | The information presented meant to persuade the audience of the author's position. Ex: If I were arguing that Anne is a good student, I might reference her straight-A report card and her 1500 SAT score as pieces of evidence. | 13 | |
| 6940516743 | Figurative language | The use of language in a non-literal way; i.e. metaphor, simile, etc. | 14 | |
| 6940523666 | Genre | The specific type of work being presented. | 15 | |
| 6940524925 | Imagery | Any descriptive language used to evoke a vivid sense or image of something; includes figurative language. | 16 | |
| 6940529783 | 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." | 17 | |
| 6940536892 | 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. | 18 | |
| 6940546011 | Irony | At the most basic sense, saying the opposite of what you mean; also used to describe situations in which the results of an action are dramatically different than intended. | 19 | |
| 6940549435 | 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." | 20 | |
| 6940555674 | Logos | Appealing to someone's sense of concrete facts and logic. Ex: Citing peer-reviewed scientific studies is an appeal to logos. | 21 | |
| 6940562477 | Occasion | The reason or moment for writing or speaking. Ex: When giving a graduation speech, the occasion is graduation. | 22 | |
| 6940567966 | Organization | How the different parts of an argument are arranged in a piece of writing or speech. | 23 | |
| 6940571826 | Pathos | An Aristotelian appeal. Involves appealing to someone's emotions. Ex: Animal shelters ads with pictures of cute sad animals and dramatic music are using pathos. | 24 | |
| 6940579076 | Purpose | The author's persuasive intention. | 25 | |
| 6940585475 | Repetition | Re-using a word or phrase repeatedly for effect or emphasis. | 26 | |
| 6940594123 | Rhetoric | The use of spoken or written word (or a visual medium) to convey your ideas and convince an audience. | 27 | |
| 6940598318 | Rhetoric Triangle | The relationship between the author, the audience, the text/message, and the context. Ex: The author communicates to the reader via the text; and the reader and text are surrounded by context. | 28 | |
| 6940607048 | Speaker | The persona adopted by the author to deliver his or her message; may or may not actually be the same person as the author. | 29 | |
| 6940612669 | Style | The author's own personal approach to rhetoric in the piece; similar to voice. | 30 | |
| 6940614779 | Symbolism | Using a symbol to refer to an idea or concept. Ex: "Fire" is commonly used a symbol for passion and/or anger | 31 | |
| 6940618180 | Syntax | The way sentences are grammatically constructed. | 32 | |
| 6940623609 | 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. | 33 | |
| 6940626911 | Themes | Overarching ideas or driving premises of a work. | 34 | |
| 6940634544 | Tone | The use of stylistic devices to reveal an author's attitude toward a subject. | 35 | |
| 6940639294 | Voice | An author's unique sound. Similar to style. Ex: Think of the way that you can recognize a pop singer on the radio without hearing who it is first. | 36 | |
| 6940643861 | Alliteration | Using words with the same first letter repeatedly close together in a phrase or sentence. Ex: "She purchased the pretty purple parka." | 37 | |
| 6940648800 | Allusion | Making a brief reference to the cultural canon—e.g. the Bible, Shakespeare, classical mythology, etc. | 38 | |
| 6940655220 | 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. | 39 | |
| 6940659922 | Concession | Agreeing with the opposing viewpoint on a certain smaller point (but not in the larger argument). | 40 | |
| 6940663805 | Didactic | A text with an instructive purpose, often moral. | 41 | |
| 6940667475 | Euphemism | Referring to something with a veiled phrase instead of saying it directly Ex: "She let Bob go," is a euphemism for "she fired Bob." | 42 | |
| 6940671940 | Exemplification | Providing examples in service of a point. | 43 | |
| 6940677928 | Hyperbole | Overstating a situation for humorous or dramatic effect. Ex: "My backpack weighs tons!" | 44 | |
| 6940682146 | Idiom | A commonly used phrase that signifies something very different than its literal meaning. Ex: "This costs an arm and a leg!" is an idiom which means "This is very expensive." | 45 | |
| 6940687668 | Onomatopoeia | Using "sound-effect" words (e.g. "clap," "buzz). | 46 | |
| 6940693754 | Paradox | A phrase or assertion that appears to contradict itself (but the contradiction itself may have its own meaning). Ex: Paradoxical phrases include "dark angel," "fresh rot," "blissful hell," etc. | 47 | |
| 6940697594 | Parallelism | Repeated structural elements in a sentence. Ex: "We went to sea; we went to war; we went to bed." | 48 | |
| 6940702271 | Parody | Using the form of something to mimic and make fun of it. | 49 | |
| 6940707251 | Personification | Giving human characteristics to a nonhuman object or idea. Ex: "The sun was shining happily today." | 50 | |
| 6940709838 | Sarcasm | Mockingly stating the opposite of what you mean. Easier to convey in the spoken word than via writing. | 51 | |
| 6940712104 | Satire | A genre of humorous and mocking criticism to expose the ignorance and/or ills of society. | 52 | |
| 6940715169 | 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. | 53 | |
| 6940720454 | Understatement | Deliberately minimizing something, usually for humorous effect. Ex: "My mom's a little bit irritated I crashed the car—I'm grounded for the next twenty-four months." | 54 |
