AP Land rhetorical terms assignment 1

Sonnet

A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet. "Death be not proud." —John Donne. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" —William Shakespeare. "i carry your heart with me(i carry it in / my heart)"

Anecdote

A brief recounting of a relevant episode. Anecdotes are often inserted into fictional or non fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. The Journalist tried to relieve the tension by telling anecdotes of Hettie Potter. An amusing anecdote is related of him in his professional career. Theron did not feel sure that he had understood the point of the anecdote.

Alter-ego!

A character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character. Do not confuse with persona.

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally. "I got chewed out by my coach."

Conclusion

A conclusion is the end result of the argument - the main point being made. In an argument one expects that the conclusion will be supported with reasons or premises. Moreover, these premises will be true and will, in fact, lead to the conclusion. In conclusion frogs do like trees because...

Non Sequitur

A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument. "Hinduism is one of the world's largest religious groups. It is also one of the world's oldest religions. Hinduism helps millions of people lead happier, more productive lives. Therefore the principles of Hinduism must be true

Conditional Statement

A conditional statement is an if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent and a consequent. "If you studied hard, then you will pass the test." Conditional statements are often used as premises in an argument:

Contradiction

A contradiction occurs when one asserts two mutually exclusive propositions, such as, "Abortion is wrong and abortion is not wrong." Since a claim and its contradictory cannot both be true, one of them must be false.

Counterexample

A counterexample is an example that runs counter to (opposes) a generalization, thus falsifying it. If a food is a fruit, then it is an apple. Now, consider this statement: Mango is a food. It is a fruit, but it is not an apple. Therefore, the mango is the counterexample, thereby making the first statement invalid.

Sound argument

A deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions: First, that the line of reasoning from the premises to the conclusion is valid. Second, that the premises are true.

Poetic devic

A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.

Fallacy

A fallacy is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning. Writers do not want to make obvious fallacies in their reasoning, but they are often used unintentionally, or when the writer thinks they can get away with faulty logic. "People have been trying for centuries to prove that God exists. But no one has yet been able to prove it. Therefore, God does not exist." Here's an opposing argument that commits the same fallacy: "People have been trying for years to prove that God does not exist. But no one has yet been able to prove it.

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson. "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Similar to aphorism and colloquialism.

Hasty generalization

A generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data. "My uncle didn't go to college, and he makes a lot of money. So, people who don't go to college do just as well as those who do."

Sarcasm

A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded. However, not all satire and irony are sarcastic. It is the bitter, mocking tone that separates sarcasm from mere verbal irony or satire. "they're really on top of things" to describe a group of people who are very disorganized is using sarcasm.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. (Example: "Other than baseball, football is my favorite sport." In this sentence, the independent clause is "football is my favorite sport" and the dependent clause is "Other than baseball."

Synecdoche

A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa. "The cattle rancher owned 500 head." "Check out my new wheels."

Invective

A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language. "She spewed invective," "She hurled invective," "She burst forth into invective."

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. Sometimes they are used for political correctness. "Physically challenged," in place of "crippled." Sometimes a euphemism is used to exaggerate correctness to add humor.

Meter

A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (iambic pentameter) Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, (trochaic octameter)

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true."You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job."

Balanced sentence

A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. Both parts are parallel grammatically. "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." Also called parallelism.

Sentence

A sentence is group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought. This is an example.

Allegory

A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. For example lord of the rings represents the fight between good and evil in the world wars.

Didactic

A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking. very textbook and "how-to" book is an example of didacticism, as their explicit purpose is to instruct and educate. Books written for children also often have a didactic intent, as they are often created to teach children about moral values.

Aphorism

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle. An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point. "A bad penny always turns up" is an aphorism for the fact that bad people or things are bound to turn up in life. We just have to deal with them when they do.

Appositive

A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning. "Bob, the lumber yard worker, spoke with Judy, an accountant from the city."

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions. Good satire usually has three layers: serious on the surface; humorous when you discover that it is satire instead of reality; and serious when you discern the underlying point of the author. George Orwell's famous 1945 novel Animal Farm is a good example of Juvenalian satire. The novel's intended target is communism and Stalin-era Soviet Union. Animal Farm is also an allegorical satire: it can be read as a simple tale of farm animals, but it has a deeper political meaning

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization. To identify tone, consider how the piece would sound if read aloud (or how the author wanted it to sound aloud). Tone can be: playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, somber, etc.

Concession

Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint. Often used to make one's own argument stronger by demonstrating that one is willing to accept what is obviously true and reasonable, even if it is presented by the opposition. Sometimes also called multiple perspectives because the author is accepting more than one position as true. Sometimes a concession is immediately followed by a rebuttal of the concession. When you are negotiating and you give in to something that the other side wants, this is an example of a concession.

Analogy

An analogy is a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables. When a writer uses an analogy, he or she argues that the relationship between the first pair of variables is the same as the relationship between the second pair of variables. (similes and metaphors): "Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you're gonna get."

Deductive argument

An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion. In a deductive argument, the premises are intended to provide support for the conclusion that is so strong that, if the premises are true, it would be impossible for the conclusion to be false. (also see inductive argument) A tarantula is a spider. Therefore, tarantulas have eight legs." For deductive reasoning to be sound, the hypothesis must be correct. It is assumed that the statements, "All spiders have eight legs"

Inductive argument

An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth of the conclusion. In an inductive argument, the premises are intended only to be so strong that, if they are true, then it is unlikely that the conclusion is false. (also see deductive argument) "In the past, ducks have always come to our pond. Therefore, the ducks will come to our pond this summer."

Argument

An argument is a piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion. Essentially, every essay is an argument that begins with the conclusion (the thesis) and then sets up the premises. An argument (or the thesis to an argument) is also sometimes called a claim, a position, or a stance.

Valid argument

An argument is valid if the conclusion logically follows from the premises. It is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to nevertheless be false. We do not know if the argument is sound, because we do not know if the premises are true or not. ""If it is snowing, then it is cold.It is snowing."

Appeal to emotion

An attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience's emotions. Common emotional appeals are an appeal to sympathy, an appeal to revenge, an appeal to patriotism - basically any emotion can be used as an appeal. (sadness, empathy)

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. It borrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it. This is also a form of allusion, since it is referencing a previous text, event, etc. The Simpsons often parody Shakespeare plays. Saturday Night Live also parodies famous persons and events. Do not confuse with satire.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, play, song, or historical event) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. "Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel." The allusion here is to "Achilles' heel," or the Greek myth about the hero Achilles and how his heel was his one weakness. In this case, the speaker's "weakness" is chocolate cake.

Symbol

Anything that represents or stands for something else. Usually a symbol is something concrete such as an object, actions, character...that represents something more abstract. Examples of symbols include the Whale in Moby Dick, the river and the jungle in Heart of Darkness, and the Raven in "The Raven."

Classicism

Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures (see romanticism).Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures. any architecture, painting or sculpture produced during the Middle Ages or later, which was inspired by the art of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome, is an example of classicism (or may be seen as classicist). Rather confusingly, "classicism" is often used interchangeably with the word "neoclassicism".

Romanticism

Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature. Does not rely on traditional themes and structures (see classicism). "An example of modern day Romanticism is Beauty and the Beast. Belle is the youth and innocence part of the story because she is young, loving, pure, and sees nothing wrong in life.

False cause

Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one. (Sequence is not causation.) "Before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons. Therefore women's suffrage must have led to nuclear weapons."

Bad analogy

Claiming that two situations are highly similar, when they aren't. "We have pure food and drug laws regulating what we put in our bodies; why can't we have laws to keep musicians from giving us filth for the mind?"

Complex sentence

Complex sentence: 'Salihah didn't get a treat after dinner, because she didn't do her homework on time'.

Compound sentence

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses. he pirate captain lost her treasure map, but she still found the buried treasure.

Simple sentence

Contains only one independent clause. This is an example.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration. "My mother will kill me if I am late."

Situational irony

Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie. Sometimes it makes you laugh because it's funny how things turn out. (For example, Johnny spent two hours planning on sneaking into the movie theater and missed the movie. When he finally did manage to sneak inside he found out that kids were admitted free that day).

Personification

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human. "The tired old truck groaned as it inched up the hill."

Syntax/sentence variety

Grammatical arrangement of words. This is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to master. First, a reader should examine the length of sentences (short or long). How does sentence length and structure relate to tone and meaning. Are they simple, compound, compound-complex sentences? How do they relate to one another? Syntax is the grouping of words, while diction refers to the selection of individual words.

Stressed and unstressed syllables

In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force than the other syllable(s). In the name "Nathan," the first syllable is stressed. In the word "unhappiness," the second of the four syllables is stressed.

Imperative sentence

Issues a command. "Kick the ball."

Ad hominem

Latin for "against the man". Personally attacking your opponents instead of their arguments. It is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than intellect.

Metaphor

Making an implied comparison, not using "like," as," or other such words. "My feet are popsicles." An extended metaphor is when the metaphor is continued later in the written work. If I continued to call my feet "my popsicles" in later paragraphs, that would be an extended metaphor. A particularly elaborate extended metaphor is called using conceit.

Unstated premises

Not every argument is fully expressed. Sometimes premises or even conclusions are left unexpressed. If one argues that Rover is smart because all dogs are smart, he is leaving unstated that Rover is a dog. Here the unstated premise is no problem; indeed it would probably be obvious in context. But sometimes unstated premises are problematic, particularly if two parties in a discussion are making differing assumptions.

Colloquial

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation. A "colloquialism" is a common or familiar type of saying, similar to an adage or an aphorism. ome examples of informal colloquialisms can include words (such as "y'all" or "gonna" or "wanna"), phrases (such as "old as the hills" and "graveyard dead"), or sometimes even an entire aphorism ("There's more than one way to skin a cat" and "He needs to step up to the plate.").

Parenthetical Idea

Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence. It is almost considered an aside...a whisper, and should be used sparingly for effect, rather than repeatedly. Parentheses can also be used to set off dates and numbers. "In a short time (and the time is getting shorter by the gallon) America will be out of oil."

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. Authors often use juxtaposition of ideas or examples in order to make a point.(For example, an author my juxtapose the average day of a typical American with that of someone in the third world in order to make a point of social commentary).

Free verse

Poetry that doesn't have much meter or rhyme. ree verse is the name given to poetry that doesn't use any strict meter or rhyme scheme. Because it has no set meter, poems written in free verse can have lines of any length, from a single word to much longer. William Carlos Williams's short poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" is written in free verse.

Iambic pentameter

Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

Rhetorical Question

Question not asked for information but for effect. "The angry parent asked the child, 'Are you finished interrupting me?'" In this case, the parent does not expect a reply, but simply wants to draw the child's attention to the rudeness of interrupting.

Connotation

Rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning. For example, blue is a color, but it is also a word used to describe a feeling of sadness, as in: "She's feeling blue."

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent. "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Metonymy

Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept. "Relations between London and Washington have been strained," does not literally mean relations between the two cities, but between the leaders of The United States and England. Metonymy is often used with body parts: "I could not understand his tongue," means his language or his speech.

Interrogative sentence

Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, who, whom, and whose). "To whom did you kick the ball?"

Premises

Statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion are premises. In logical argument, a premise is a statement or assumption on which an argument is based. For example, if a person looks at a green apple and says, "this apple is sour," the premises of this argument could be: 1) Green apples are sour.

Declarative sentence

States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question. "The ball is round."

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication \: The audience was impressed by the rhetoric the young girl used in her speech

Slippery slope

The assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme possible outcome. "If you drink a glass of wine, then you'll soon be drinking all the time, and then you'll become a homeless alcoholic."

Mood

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction). Syntax is often a creator of mood since word order, sentence length and strength and complexity also affect pacing and therefore mood. Setting, tone, and events can all affect the mood. (longing, nostalgia, temper)

Style

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. Style may be conscious or unconscious

Appeal to authority

The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be right. This fallacy is often used in advertising. A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day because athlete Michael Jordan says that it is what he eats every day for breakfast.

Appeal to the bandwagon:

The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or used to believe it, or do it. In the 1800's there was a widespread belief that bloodletting cured sickness. All of these people were not just wrong, but horribly wrong, because in fact it made people sicker. Clearly, the popularity of an idea is no guarantee that it's right. .

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author. "The whole day, rain, torrents of rain."

Jargon

The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity. "Lawyers speak using particular jargon, as do soccer players."

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story. Do not confuse with alter-ego. a child going to a new school for the first time wants others to think that he is popular, cool, and unafraid. He dresses in fashionable clothing, and he walks in with confidence and says hello to everyone. He is presenting a brave persona of a likable and popular kid.

Aristotle's appeals

The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one's ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else's. The Greek philosopher Aristotle divided all means of persuasion (appeals) into three categories - ethos, pathos, and logos.

Denotation

The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations. the denotation for blue is the color blue. For example: The girl was blue.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. However, genres can be subdivided as well (poetry can be classified into lyric, dramatic, narrative, etc.)

Figurative Language

The opposite of "Literal Language." Literal language is writing that makes complete sense when you take it at face value. "Figurative Language" is the opposite: writing that is not meant to be taken literally. "that news hit me like a ton of bricks,"

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of a poem's end rhymes. For example, the following lines have a rhymeschemeof ababcdcd: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? a Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. a And summer's lease hath all too short a date. b Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines c And often is his gold complexion dimmed d And every fair from fair sometime declines c By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed d

Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle

The relationships, in any piece of writing, between the writer, the audience, and the subject. All analysis of writing is essentially an analysis of the relationships between the points on the triangle.

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds. "From the molten-golden notes"

Consonance

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words. "Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door"

Thesis

The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. It should be short and clear. (also see argument): For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say: World hunger has many causes and effects. This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world hunger can't be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages.

Pacing

The speed or tempo of an author's writing. Writers can use a variety of devices (syntax, polysyndeton, anaphora, meter) to change the pacing of their words. An author's pacing can be fast, sluggish, stabbing, vibrato, staccato, measured, etc.

active voice

The subject of the sentence performs the action. This is a more direct and preferred style of writing in most cases. "Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house."

Onomatopoeia

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes. Snap, rustle, boom, murmur

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. "Sally walked her dog," the pronoun her refers to Sally, making Sally the antecedent.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. "If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it." Antecedent would be command.

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

Cliche thinkin

Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no exceptions. "I say: 'America: love it or leave it.' Anyone who disagrees with anything our country does must hate America. So maybe they should just move somewhere else

Simile

Using words such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two very different things. "My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles."

Internal rhyme

When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line. "To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!"

Slant Rhyme

When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly - they are merely similar. "I sat upon a stone, / And found my life has gone."

Zuegma (Syllepsis)

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies. "The butler killed the lights, and then the mistress." "I quickly dressed myself and the salad."

Pun

When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way. "My dog has a fur coat and pants!" "I was stirred by his cooking lesson."

Polysyndeton

When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions. Normally, a conjunction is used only before the last item in a list. Examples of polysyndeton: "I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows."

Foreshadowing

When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story. "I told myself this is the end of my trouble, but I didn't believe myself.

Oxymoron

When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox - "wise fool," "eloquent silence," "jumbo shrimp."

Verbal irony

When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out. For example, in many horror movies, we (the audience) know who the killer is, which the victim-to-be has no idea who is doing the slaying. Sometimes the character trusts the killer completely when (ironically) he/she shouldn't. For example, a character stepping out into a hurricane and saying, "What nice weather we're having!"

End rhyme

When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme. "Roses are red, violets are blue, / Sugar is sweet, and so are you."

Periodic sentence

When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. The writer begins with subordinate elements and postpones the main clause. "His confidence broken, his limbs shaking, his collar wet with perspiration, he doubted whether he could ever again appear before an audience." The opposite construction is called a cumulative sentence.

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.' A child runs away from someone throwing a water balloon at him and falls into the pool."

Chiasmus

When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed. "Fair is foul and foul is fair." "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Also called antimetabole.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types of words have significant effects on meaning. We would not address a stranger in the same way as a good friend, and we would not address a boss in that same way as a child. These different choices are all examples of diction.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style. There are differnt types of diction (for example, formal or informal, ornate or plain). "

Imagery

Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually this involves the five senses. Authors often use imagery in conjunction with metaphors, similes, or figures of speech. The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground. Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar. His words felt like a dagger in my heart.

Gothic

Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death. Also refers to an architectural style of the middle ages, often seen in cathedrals of this period. Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto in 1764.

Synesthesia

a description involving a "crossing of the senses." Examples: "A purplish scent filled the room." "I was deafened by his brightly-colored clothing."

Litotes

a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement (Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good) or becomes an intensifying expression (The flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable).

Motif

a recurring idea in a piece of literature. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea that "you never really understand another person until you consider things from his or her point of view" is a motif, because the idea is brought up several times over the course of the novel.

Cumulative sentence

also called a loose sentence) When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements. "He doubted whether he could ever again appear before an audience, his confidence broken, his limbs shaking, his collar wet with perspiration." The opposite construction is called a periodic sentence.

Theme

he central idea or message of a work. The theme may be directly stated in nonfiction works, although not necessarily. It is rarely stated directly in fiction.

Understatement

he ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous. "Our defense played valiantly, and held the other team to merely eight touchdowns in the first quarter."

Alliteration

he repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. "Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore"

Ethos (credibility

means being convinced by the credibility of the author. We tend to believe people whom we respect. In an appeal to ethos, a writer tries to convince the audience the he or she someone worth listening to, in other words an authority on the subject, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect. (Also see the fallacy of appeal to authority.) An argument that relies too heavily on ethos, without any corroborating logos, can become a fallacy. "As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results."

Pathos (emotional)

means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. (Also see the fallacy of appeal to emotion). An argument that relies too much on emotion, without any corroborating logos, can become a fallacy. A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child's safety they'd upgrade him. A man at the car dealership implores the salesman to offer the best price on a new car because he needs to support his young family.

Logos (logical)

means persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid arguments. This is generally considered the strongest form of persuasion. "Here's an example of logos in action from our man Aristotle himself: All men are mortal.Socrates is a man"

Comic relief

when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat. when a character slips on a banana peel: nobody onscreen is laughing, but the audience still finds it funny. We're laughing at the characters.

Parallelism

(Also known as parallel structure or balanced sentences.) Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. Parallelism is used to add emphasis, organization, or sometimes pacing to writing. "Cinderella swept the floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs."

Vernacular

1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech.: Where an everyday speaker might simply say house cat, a scientist would say Felis Domesticus.