Acronyms
MLA
Modern Language Association
Rhetoric
The art of persuasion
Critical Thinking
Analyzing/critiquing ideas rather than accepting them at face-value
Academic Writing
Writing for an academic audience
Thesis Statement
Main idea of the essay, usually written in 1-4 sentences.
OAR
Objectivity, Authority, and Relevance
Logos, Ethos, and Pathos
Logic, Credibility, and Emotion
Believing Game
Pretending to agree with an idea you disagree with so that you can find the virtues in it/empathize with the opposing side
They Say/I Say
The basic argument essay structure: ”they say” is what other people think, and “I say” is my response to it
Quote, Paraphrase, and Summary
A quote is something someone said,
a paraphrase is putting a quote in your own words,
a summary is taking someone else’s main ideas and putting them into your own words
SPACE
Situation, Purpose, Audience, Claims, and Evidence
3 Types of Claims
Claims of fact, value, and policy
Logical Fallacy
False logic, or a distortion of logos/ethos/pathos
Analysis and Synthesis
Analysis is breaking a source apart, while Synthesis is putting multiple sources together
Framing a Quote
Putting context around it—introducing the quote and then explaining/summarizing/responding to it
APA
American Psychological Association
Rhetorical Situation
Situation that requires rhetoric, or GAP (Genre, Audience, Purpose)
Bias
A strong preference for something that can sometimes get in the way of critical thinking
Academic Tone
Writing which uses formal language, but can include informal language as long as there is a balance between them
Signal Phrase vs. Pointing Word
A signal phrase lets the audience know who is speaking (you or someone else).
A pointing word links your sentence back to a previous one. Examples: this, that, these, those
GAP
Genre, Audience, and Purpose (the three parts of the Rhetorical Situation)
Loaded language
Language with connotations, and connotations are positive/negative meanings we associate with words beyond their dictionary definition
7 Habits of Mind
Habits of Mind are mental habits that help us with school and with life. They include Engagement, Curiosity, Creativity, Responsibility, Persistence, Openness, and Flexibility
Op-Ed
Opinion piece, stands for “opposite the editorial page”
Scholarly Source
A source written by a scholar (which is an academic researcher) and has been peer-reviewed by other scholars. The most common scholarly sources are journal articles and academic books.