Unit 07 (40 terms)

fallacy/fallacious reasoning

A fallacy is a display of faulty reasoning that makes an argument invalid, or a faulty belief based on an unsound argument. Many fallacies are deceptive in that they may appear to be based on sound reasoning and seem to follow good logic.

straw man

A fallacy is an argument or belief based on erroneous reasoning. Straw man is one type of logical fallacy. Straw man occurs when someone argues that a person holds a view that is actually not what the other person believes. Instead, it is a distorted version of what the person believes.

hypothetical question

A hypothetical question is based on supposition, opinion, personal belief, or conjecture, and not facts. ... This sort of a question usually requires the questioner to arrange imaginary parameters for the things he supposes.

rhetorical device

A rhetorical device is a use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience. Repetition, figurative language, and even rhetorical questions are all examples of rhetorical devices.

rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is a question someone asks without expecting an answer. ... Well, sometimes these questions are asked to punch up a point. If the answer is glaringly obvious, it will make that answer stand out. Sometimes it's used to persuade someone. Other times, it's used for literary effect.

thesis

A thesis is a statement in a nonfiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove. One can find examples of thesis statement at the beginning of literary pieces.

ad hominem

Ad hominem, which stands for the Latin term argumentum ad hominem, is a response to a person's argument by attacking the person's character rather than the logic or content of the argument. Ad hominem remarks are often an example of fallacy, because they are irrelevant to the overall argument.

argument

An argument is the main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel, which usually appears as an introduction, or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers. Literature does not merely entertain.

asyndeton

Asyndeton is a writing style where conjunctions are omitted in a series of words, phrases or clauses. It is used to shorten a sentence and focus on its meaning. For example, Julius Caesar leaving out the word "and" between the sentences "I came.

syndeton

Asyndeton is a writing style where conjunctions are omitted in a series of words, phrases or clauses. It is used to shorten a sentence and focus on its meaning. For example, Julius Caesar leaving out the word "and" between the sentences "I came. I saw.

compare / contrast

Comparison is a rhetorical or literary device in which a writer compares or contrasts two people, places, things, or ideas. In our everyday life, we compare people and things to express ourselves vividly. ... Comparisons occur in literary works frequently.

syllogism

Syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning where you arrive at a specific conclusion by examining two other premises or ideas. Syllogism derives from the Greek word syllogismos, meaning conclusion or inference.

concession

Definition of Concession. Concession is a literary device used in argumentative writing, where one acknowledges a point made by one's opponent. It allows for different opinions and approaches toward an issue, indicating an understanding of what causes the actual debate or controversy.

diatribes

Definition of Diatribe. Diatribe is a violent or bitter criticism of something or someone. It is a rhetorical device used as a verbal attack against a person, group, institution, or a particular behavior.

evidence

Definition of Evidence. Evidence is a type of literary device that appears in different categories of essays and theses, in the form of paraphrase and quotations. It is presented to persuade readers, and used with powerful arguments in the texts or essays.

Refute/Refutation

Definition of Refutation. The literary term refutation refers to that part of an argument where a speaker or a writer encounters contradicting points of view. Alternatively, refutation can be described as the negation of an argument, opinion, testimony, doctrine, or theory, through contradicting evidence.

logic

Derived from a Greek word, Logos means "logic." Logos is a literary device that can be described as a statement, sentence, or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic. In everyday life, arguments depend upon pathos and ethos besides logos.

dichotomy

Dichotomy is from the Greek word dichotomia, which means "dividing in two." Dichotomy is a literary technique that divides a thing into two equal and contradictory parts, or between two opposing groups. In literary works, writers use this technique for creating conflicts in their stories and plays.

ethos

Ethos is one of the three Aristotelian appeals. Ethos refers to any element of an argument that is meant to appeal to an audience's ethics or ethical responsibilities. A writer utilizes the three appeals in order to convince his audience of his argument. The other two appeals are pathos (emotion) and logos (logic).

claim

In literature, a claim is a statement that asserts something to be true. A claim can either be factual or a judgment. Claims can work on their own or in conjunction with other claims to form a larger argument. The word claim comes from the Latin word clamare, which means "to cry out, shout."

syncope

From these examples, syncope can also be defined as the dropping of the unstressed vowels, letters, or syllables, or dropping the consonants from the middle of a word. It can be found in synchronic analysis and diachronic analysis of languages.

hypophora

Hypophora is a figure of speech in which a writer raises a question, and then immediately provides an answer to that question. Commonly, a question is asked in the first paragraph, and then the paragraph is used to answer the question.

order of importance

Ideas or steps are prioritized by the writer or speaker according to a hierarchy of value. When using the order of importance pattern of organization, information can be structured from most important to least important or least important to most important. ... Example: The company has a clearly laid out hierarchy.

in medias res

In medias res, (Latin: "in the midst of things") the practice of beginning an epic or other narrative by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events; the situation is an extension of previous events and will be developed in later action.

inversion

Inversion, also known as "anastrophe," is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.

isocolon

Isocolon is a rhetorical device that involves a succession of sentences, phrases, and clauses of grammatically equal length. In this figure of speech, a sentence has a parallel structure that is made up of words, clauses, or phrases of equal length, sound, meter, and rhythm.

enjambment

It can be defined as a thought or sense, phrase or clause, in a line of poetry that does not come to an end at the line break, but moves over to the next line. In simple words, it is the running on of a sense from one couplet or line to the next without a major pause or syntactical break.

logical order

Logical order in the arena of literature simply refers to step by step presentation of the ideas of the author in such a manner that would abide by the regulations of logic or in simpler words , which would easily reach to the reader's heart. Only a work set in a logical order can be easily grasped by a reader.Mar 25, 2018

logos

Logos Definition. Derived from a Greek word, Logos means "logic." Logos is a literary device that can be described as a statement, sentence, or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic. In everyday life, arguments depend upon pathos and ethos besides logos.

parallelism

Parallelism is a literary device in which parts of the sentence are grammatically the same, or are similar in construction. It can be a word, a phrase, or an entire sentence repeated. King's famous 'I have a dream' repetition makes the speech compelling and rhythmic, as well as memorable.Jul 28, 2015

pathos

Pathos is a quality of an experience in life, or a work of art, that stirs up emotions of pity, sympathy, and sorrow. Pathos can be expressed through words, pictures, or even with gestures of the body. ... Pathos is a method of convincing people with an argument drawn out through an emotional response.

repetition

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable. There are several types of repetition commonly used in both prose and poetry. ... Repetition is not distinguished solely as a figure of speech, but more as a rhetorical device.

reductio ad absurdum

Reductio ad absurdum is a Latin term that means "to reduce something to absurdity." It is a figure of speech that is defined as a manner of arguing something for one's own position by showing the absurdity of the position of his opponent.

rhetoric

Rhetoric is a technique of using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form. It is an art of discourse, which studies and employs various methods to convince, influence, or please an audience. ... Thus, you direct language in a particular way for effective communication, making use of rhetoric.

sentence pattern

Sentence structure is the way a sentence is arranged, grammatically. The sentence structure of your writing includes where the noun and verb fall within an individual sentence. Sentence structure depends on the language in which you're writing or speaking.

style

Style in literature is the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.

text structures

Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is organized. This strategy helps students understand that a text might present a main idea and details; a cause and then its effects; and/or different views of a topic.

euphony

The literary device euphony is derived from the Greek word euphonos, which means "sweet-voiced." It can be defined as the use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create.

main idea

The main idea is the point of the paragraph. It is the most important thought about the topic. ... The author can locate the main idea in different places within a paragraph. The main idea is usually a sentence, and it is usually the first sentence.

research questions

The specific queries the researcher wants to answer in addressing the research problem