Rhetoric
This is an acronym for a series of questions that students must first ask themselves, and then answer, as they begin to plan their compositions.
What is SOAPSTone?
In 1692, this British colony was convulsed by witchcraft hysteria that resulted in the execution of 20 people and the jailing of more than 100 others.
What is Salem, MA? (or Massachusetts)
This was invented almost 3,000 years ago by greeks and studied by luminaries such as Aristotle.
What is rhetoric?
Used in Act II of The Crucible to describe Mary Warren, this term means "paleness."
What is pallor?
This Greek philosopher was known as the father of rhetoric.
Who is Aristotle?
MLA Format: Longer works such as plays and novels are typed in this.
What is italics?
The Romans thought the art of occasion to be so important that they created this god. This name is where we get the term "occasion" from.
Who is Occasio?
In How to Argue with a Cat, the author refers to this term as a "one-two logical punch."
What is an enthymeme?
This part of a text collectively refers to the exigence, purpose, audience, writer, context, and message.
What is rhetorical situation?
Playwright Arthur Miller was once married to this famous actress.
Who is Marilyn Monroe?
According to Jay Heinrichs, author of How to Argue with a Cat, an argument between people almost always covers one of these three topics.
What are blame, values, and choice?
Used in Act II of The Crucible, this term means "eagerly."
What is avidly?
This is the part of a rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts writers to create a text.
What is exigence?
Known as the protagonist in Miller's The Crucible, this character says, "I have given you my soul, leave me my name!"
Who is John Proctor?
This word comes from the same Latin word for "battle."
What is debate?
This is a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.
What is a trope?
This part of a text is what the writer hopes to accomplish with it. An author may have more than one of these.
What is purpose? (or author's purpose)
In Act II of The Crucible, Mary Warren gives Elizabeth Proctor this gift.
What is a poppet?
what is stiff-necked?
What is a synecdoche?
This rhetorical strategy appeals to status of authority making the audience more likely to trust them.
What is ethos?
In the opening stage directions of ACT I of The Crucible, the "slave sense" attributed to this character likely refers to her instincts as a person in a subordinate position.
Who is Tituba?
According to the author of How to Argue with a Cat, to earn a first-class ethos you need to work on these three traits of leadership.
What are caring, craft, and cause?
Arthur Miller uses this at the beginning of his play, The Crucible. It is described as an introduction of important background information to the audience such as setting, events occuring before the main plot, characters' back stories, etc.
What is dramatic exposition?
This rhetorical strategy appeals to emotion, trying to make audience feel a certain way.
What is pathos?
The following line from The Crucible is an example of...
"A child's spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it;"
What is a simile?
According to Jay Heinrichs in How to Argue with a Cat, this means making an audience believe you are really good and the "important stuff."
What is craft?
This is making assumptions based on just one or two examples or characteristics.
What is hasty generalization?
This rhetorical strategy appeals to audience's reason, building up logical arguments.
What is logos?
The following line from The Crucible contains an example of....
"The Devil's loose in Salem, Mr. Proctor; we must discover where he's hiding."
What is personification?
According to Heinrichs in How to Argue with a Cat, beliefs come from these two sources.
What are experience and expectation?
This is the belief that not knowing something proves it doesn't exist.
What is fallacy of ignorance?
This term in rhetoric means word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types of words have significant effects on meaning. For example, an essay written by an academic would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang
What is diction?
The following paragraph contains this rhetorical device.
"Elizabeth: The deputy Governor promise hangin' if they'll not confess, John. the town's gone wild, I think. She speak of Abigail, and I though she were a saint, to hear her. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel."
What is biblical allusion?
From the Latin word post hoc ergo propter hoc, this means "after this, therefore because of this."
What is a post hoc fallacy?
In Act IV of The Crucible, this term means "to trick."
What is beguile?
Rather than the dictionary definition, this term means associations suggested by a word. Or implied meaning rather than literal meaning.
What is connotation?
MLA format: When a student needs to cite a novel or drama with one author in MLA format, the format is Last name, First name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, and this.
What is year of publication?
This type of fallacy assumes that what happened before determines what happens after.
What is fallacy of antecedent?
In Act IV of The Crucible, this term means "firm and unyielding."
What is adament?
This a story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. (i.e., Animal Farm by George Orwell)
What is an allegory?
Hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, which intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s was called this.
What is the Red Scare?
What is argument by the stick?
This poetic device is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
What is alliteration?
This rhetorical device is defined as an exaggeration.
What is hyperbole?
Used as the inspiration for Arthur Miller's The Crucible, this is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
What is McCarthyism?
According to the author of How to Argue with a Cat, this is the body language version of basic grammar.
What is posture?
Used in The Crucible, this term means a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something.
What is a predilection?
This device is defined as "giving human-like qualities to something that is not human."
What is personification?
In Act IV of The Crucible, Sarah Good mistakes this character for the devil.
Who is Herrick?
Aristotle shows it is possible to move humans to action. In order to do this you need these two things.
What is a lure and a ramp?
This is described as the art of effective communication.
What is rhetoric?
When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out.
What is dramatic irony?
In Act IV of The Crucible, this character returns to Salem to save lives in attempt to convince others confess to witchcraft.
Who is Reverend Hale? (or Hale)
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity. When writing an argumentative essay, you want to be sure you are using the correct type.
What is jargon?
A question not asked for information but for effect. “The angry parent asked the child, ‘Are you finished interrupting me?’” In this case, the parent does not expect a reply, but simply wants to draw the child’s attention to the rudeness of interrupting.
What is a rhetorical question?
The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction). Syntax is often a creator of this since word order, sentence length and strength and complexity also affect pacing and therefore this. Setting, tone, and events can all affect this as well.
What is mood?
In one of the final scenes of The Crucible, this character says that he "cannot mount the gibbet like a saint" because he believes that refusing to confess to the false charges of witchcraft is what a truly good person would do.
Who is John Proctor? (or Proctor)
According to the author of How to Argue with a Cat, both of these have to do with the logical part of an argument.
What is facade words and fallacies?
A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization. To identify this, consider how the piece would sound if read aloud (or how the author wanted it to sound aloud).
What is tone?