Rhetoric I
The art of using language effectively and persuasively
Rhetoric
A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer
A writer's or speaker's choice of words
Diction
Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view or discussion in the essay is based.
Thesis
A comparison without using like or as
Metaphor
A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
Appeal to emotion. A quality the evokes deep feeling.
Pathos
The telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the modes of discourse
Narration
Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character
Tone
An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
Logical Fallacy
A literary or rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
Antithesis
combining parts into a whole
Synthesis
An appeal based on logic and reason
Logos
A particular decision a writer or speaker makes to achieve meaning, purpose, or effect.
Rhetorical Choice
Sentence structure and word order.
Syntax
the process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations
Deductive Reasoning
A word that imitates the sound it represents.
Onomatopoeia
The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Ambiguity
An issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak
Exigence
The picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the modes of discourse
Description
Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other.
Parallelism
reasoning from detailed facts to general principles
Inductive Reasoning
A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
Paradox
All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests
Connotation
The convergence of exigency, audience, and purpose. The overall context in which a piece of writing occurs
Rhetorical Situation
Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout. One of the modes of discourse.
Compare and Contrast
Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines
Anaphora
A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
Syllogism
A contrast between expectation and reality or between what is said and what is meant.
Irony
A series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses
Tricolon
The credibility of the speaker. Rhetorical decisions that build or strengthen (appeal to) the credibility of the speaker.
Ethos
The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another. One of the modes of dicourse.
Analysis
Characteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing
Colloquial
An inductive argument that depends on the existence of a similarity between two things or states of affairs
A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.
Extended Metaphor
References to artistic elements or expressions within a textual work
Aesthetic