Argumentative Terms
A technique used in writing/speech in an attempt to convince the audience to think in a certain way or take certain action.
What is Persuasion?
These seven little words—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so—are remembered by an acronym that sounds like a group of enthusiastic supporters.
What are FANBOYS?
You should put quotation marks around the title of a short story, poem, or song—but italicize the title of this longer kind of work.
What is a book, movie, or album?
This rhetorical appeal tries to convince the audience by using facts, logic, and clear reasoning.
What is LOGOS?
Placing contrasting ideas side by side.
What is Juxtaposition?
The people/side that the writer or speaker has in mind when making the claim.
Who is the audience?
If you write “I wanted to go, ___ it started raining,” the missing word could come from this seven-letter acronym - what is it?
What is but?
In an essay, you’d italicize The New York Times, but you’d use quotation marks for “The Daily” because it’s this part of the larger work.
What is an article?
When a speaker appeals to the audience’s emotions—like fear, happiness, or guilt—they’re using this persuasive technique.
What is PATHOS?
A comparison between differing things to show they have something in common.
What is Analogy?
a claim that something is true (trying to persuade others to agree with your claim).
What is Argument?
Teachers often remind you that when joining clauses, you can’t just rely on commas—you need one of these coordinating conjunctions, often memorized with this catchy nickname.
What is FANBOYS?
When writing by hand and italics aren’t possible, you can show emphasis or a book title by doing this instead.
What is underlining?
This persuasive appeal focuses on the speaker’s credibility or trustworthiness.
What is ETHOS?
A statement or idea on which an argument is based.
What is Premise?
something false or flawed
What is Fallacy?
In the sentence “I got ready to go to the party, and listened to music,” the word ____ belongs to this group of conjunctions.
What is AND?
You use quotation marks around this kind of spoken text to show exactly what someone said.
What is dialogue (or a direct quote)?
This technique asks the audience a question that doesn’t require an answer but gets them thinking deeply about the issue
What is a rhetorical question?
You state your claim and then state it again as your reason or evidence.
What is Circular Reasoning?
What is Controlling Idea?
You can use a comma before one of these words to correctly join two independent clauses—unless your teacher says you’ve made a run-on!
What is FANBOYS?
Which word should you italicize in this sentence -"My favorite song off the the new Taylor Swift album The Life of a Showgirl is Wi$h Li$t.
What is The Life of a Showgirl?
Advertisers often use famous athletes or celebrities to endorse a product—a classic example of this type of persuasive appeal.
What is ETHOS?
The fallacy that if the majority is doing something, you do it too.
What is Bandwagon Appeal?