One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.
What is the "predicate?"
100
This rhetorical mode uses solid and appropriate illustrations to communicate clearly and with clarity.
What is "example?"
100
"An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common."
What is a "Metaphor?"
100
"To err is human; to forgive, divine." --Pope
What is "antithesis?"
100
This is using as evidence a well-known wise saying.
What is a "cliche?"
200
A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units, such as prases and clauses.
What is "Loose sentence?"
200
This rhetorical mode divides up information into groups according to certain characteristics.
What is "classification?"
200
"A yawn may be defined as a silent yell."
(G.K. Chesterton)
What is an "oxymoron?"
200
"To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss." --Peacham
What is an "anaphora?"
200
For example, the claim that "evolution means a dog giving birth to a cat."
What is "Straw Man argument?"
300
Words, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on another. Contrast with coordination.
What is "subordination?"
300
This rhetorical mode is used by writers when they want to explain how to do something or how something was done.
What is "process analysis?"
300
The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
What is "parallelism?"
300
"Just as the term 'menial' does not apply to any honest labor, so no dishonest work can be called 'prestigious.'"
What is a "chiasmus?"
300
"We must have a death penalty to discourage violent crime"
What is "Begging The Question."
(Tautology: reasoning in a circle. The thing to be proved is used as one of your assumptions.)
400
A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax.
What is a "periodic sentence?"
400
This rhetorical mode explains why things should be or should have been done. It explains the processes responsible for the process.
What is "cause and effect?"
400
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.
What is "litote?"
400
"They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked."
What is "Polysyndeton?"
400
"Von Daniken's books about ancient astronauts are worthless because he is a convicted forger and embezzler."
What is an "ad hominem argument?"
500
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
What is an "antecedent?"
500
This rhetorical mode helps to make expository or argumentative writing lively and interesting and hold the reader's interest. It is typically used to communicate a scene, a specific place, or a person to the reader.
What is "description?"
500
The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.
What is a "assonance?"
500
"Heat waves are common in the summer."
What is a "Litote?"
500
"If I make an exception for you then I'll have to make an exception for everyone."
What is a "Slippery Slope Fallacy?"
(Camel's Nose)