The act of agreeing with your opponent's viewpoint initially, only to defeat the argument in the long run.
What is concession?
100
An appeal that shows your audience that you have authority and credibility.
What is ethos?
100
Example: "The most sophisticated people buy Dove chocolate."
Example: "Cindy Crawford thinks this is the best skin cream on the market."
What is the False Comparison (or Appeal to Popularity) fallacy?
100
A major claim or opinion in an essay that is reasonable, specific, relevant, and appropriate in scope.
What is a thesis statement?
100
Example: "Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity..."
What is an example of unclear, indirect writing?
200
A belief held by many people, that a skillful rhetorician will refer to in order to succeed in her argument.
What is a commonplace?
200
The act of making your audience believe you have the same values as they do.
What is rhetorical virtue?
200
Example: "My mother is a bad typist; all women must be bad at typing."
What is a Bad Example (or Hasty Generalization) fallacy?
200
Example: "President Obama is the commander-in-chief of the US Military."
What is an example of a bad thesis statement?
200
A witty style of writing that changes "ordinary language through repetition, substitution, sound, and wordplay" (Heinrichs).
What is figurative language?
300
Volume, gesture, and correct spelling are all examples of this.
What are some examples of decorum?
300
A rhetorical appeal that is effective because "the emotions... tend to overpower the more rational parts of the brain."
What is pathos?
300
Example: "I swept the floor and my dog bit me. If you don't want your dog to bite you, don't sweep."
What is a Wrong Ending (or "Post Hoc") fallacy?
300
The format for an essay's layout, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.
What is MLA?
300
Example: "One should eat to live, not live to eat."
What is an example of chiasmus?
400
The type of rhetoric that is often used in a court to determine innocence or guilt, and to decide on punishment.
What is forensic rhetoric?
400
A type of reasoning that makes its conclusion by drawing on examples
What is inductive reasoning?
400
Example: "Do you want to eat your vegetables, or do you want to go to bed without any dinner?"
Example: "You are either with us, or against us."
What is an example of a False Choice (or Many Questions) fallacy?
400
Web sites that contain authoritative and disinterested information.
What is a credible internet source?
400
Stories, questions, and shocking statistics can be examples of this in the beginning of an essay.
What is a lead-in?
500
The type of argument that urges an audience-member to make a choice.
What is deliberative rhetoric?
500
A "package" of reasoning that contains a premise and a conclusion.
What is a syllogism (or enthymeme)?
500
Example: "Stacy refuses to change her mind because she is stubborn."
Example: "This pizza is delicious because it tastes good."
What is a tautology?
500
The act of putting a source's main points into your own words
What is summary?
500
The most interesting and descriptive, but least authoritative, way to offer an example that supports your argument.