Text Structure
A structure where a writer introduces an issue and then suggests ways it could be resolved.
What is problem–solution?
The art of using language effectively to persuade an audience.
What is rhetoric?
A question asked to make the audience think rather than to receive a literal response.
What is a rhetorical question?
The literal dictionary definition of a word.
What is denotation?
If an author presents two sides of an issue and analyzes both perspectives, this is the author’s likely goal.
What is presenting opposing views?
A structure used when a writer explains why something happened and what results followed.
What is cause and effect?
An appeal that persuades an audience by using facts, statistics, and logical reasoning.
What is logos?
A technique where a writer repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of several clauses or sentences for emphasis.
What is anaphora?
The emotional or cultural associations attached to a word.
What is connotation?
When readers analyze positive or negative word choices to understand an author’s opinion about a topic, they are determining this.
What is the author’s point of view (POV)?
A structure that highlights similarities and differences between two ideas, events, or texts.
What is compare and contrast?
An appeal that builds credibility or trust by referencing expertise or authority.
What is ethos?
A figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”
What is a metaphor?
The smallest meaningful unit of language.
What is a morpheme?
In legal decisions, the principle that courts follow previous rulings when deciding new cases.
What is stare decisis?
A structure often used in arguments where a writer presents a claim, addresses an opposing view, and then provides support.
What is claim–counterclaim–evidence?
An appeal that attempts to move the audience emotionally through powerful language or imagery.
What is pathos?
A brief personal story used to illustrate a point in an argument or speech.
What is an anecdote?
A word part added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning.
What is a prefix?
Two major factors that guide Supreme Court justices when forming legal opinions.
What are the Constitution and stare decisis?
If a passage first describes a social issue and then begins listing possible ways to fix it, this structure is most likely being used.
What is problem–solution?
A structured persuasive argument based on principles developed by Aristotle that uses logical reasoning and rhetorical appeals.
What is an Aristotelian argument?
A rhetorical technique where two opposite ideas are expressed using the same grammatical structure.
What is antithesis?
In the word connection, the ending “-tion” turns the verb “connect” into this part of speech.
What is a noun?
When Frederick Douglass references the Fourth of July in his speech to highlight the contradiction between American freedom and slavery, he is emphasizing this theme.
What is the hypocrisy of slavery in a nation built on freedom?