Definitions
An appeal to authority aiming to establish the credibility of a speaker or source
Ethos
A writer might say “As a veterinarian…” or “a Harvard University study…” or “a constitutional scholar….”
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
antithesis
An exaggeration for emphasis.
Hyperbole
Saying one thing is LIKE another thing.
Simile
Giving a nonhuman thing human qualities.
Personification
When a person says the opposite of what they mean, often to sarcastic effect, such as when a customer says "Good job," to a waiter who has dropped his tray
Irony
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
parallelism
Short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
anecdote
An appeal to logic. When the author makes logical connections between ideas, that’s logos. IF this happens, THEN this happens. Things like that.
Logos
Holding two things up to compare or contrast them.
Juxtaposition
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
Hyperbole
The snow is a white blanket.
Metaphor
When the author’s/speaker’s words are not to be taken literally
Figurative Language
Holding two things up to compare or contrast them.
Juxtaposition
The way the author’s voice sounds
Tone
“This place is like a Garden of Eden.”
Allusion
An advertisement that includes the citation of statistics, facts, data, charts, and graphs
Logos
Don’t require answers and are posed to show that the answers are obvious
Rhetorical Question
Jokes and funny language.
Humor
Situational irony: the opposite thing happens from what is expected.
Irony
“To be, or not to be: that is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…”
Aporia
She sells seashells by the sea-shore.
alliteration
the repetition of the same words at the end of sentences, clauses, phrases, or paragraphs
Antistrophe
Quoting from people who have something to say about the issue.
Testimony