75 Rhetorical Terms

20. process analysis

A type of development in writing that stresses how a sequence of steps produces a certain effect. For instance, explaining to the reader all of the steps involved in balancing a checkbook would be a process essay.

22. synecdoche (suh

NEK-duh-kee) - a part of something used to refer to the whole—for example, "50 head of cattle" referring to 50 complete animals

19. personification

Personification- Attributing human qualities to objects, abstractions, or animals: "Tis beauty calls and glory leads the way."

7. figurative language

Said of a word or expression used in a nonliteral way. For example. The expression "to go the last mile" may have nothing at all to do with geographical distance, but may mean to complete an unfinished task or job.

13. concrete

Said of words or terms denoting objects or conditions that are palpable, visible, or otherwise evident to the senses. Concrete is the opposite of abstract. The difference between the two is a matter of degrees. Illness, for example is abstract; ulcer is concrete; "sick to the stomach" falls somewhere between the two. The best writing usually expresses abstract propositions in concrete terms.

21. satire

Satire - Often an attack on a person. Also the use of wit and humor in order to ridicule society's weaknesses so as to correct them. In literature, two types of satire have been recognized: Horatian satire, which is gentle and smiling; Juvenalian satire which is sharp and biting.

4. appeal to ethos

one of three strategies for persuading audiences—appeal to ethics

3. allegory

the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or generalization about human existence.

11. connotation

the implication of emotional overtones of a word rather than its literal meaning. Lion, used in a literal sense, denotes a beast (see denotation). But to say that Winston Churchill had "the heart of a lion" is to use the connotative or implied meaning of lion.

14. evidence

the logical bases or supports for an assertion or idea. Logical arguments consist of at least three elements: propositions, reasoning, and evidence. The first of these consists of the ideas that the writer advocates or defends. The logical links by which the argument is advanced make up the second. The statistics, facts, anecdotes and testimonial support provided by the writer in defense of the idea constitute the evidence. In a research paper, evidence consisting of paraphrases or quotations from the works of other writers must be documented in a footnote, endnote, or parenthetical reference. See also argumentation.

2. analogy

A comparison that attempts to explain one idea or thing by likening it to another. Analogy is useful if handled properly, but it can be a source of confusion if the compared items are basically unalike

2.) ad populem argument

A fallacious argument that appeals to the passions and prejudices of a group rather than its reason. An appeal for instance, to support an issue because it's the "American Way" is an ad populem argument.

11. metaphor

A figurative image that implies the similarity between things otherwise dissimilar, as when the poet Robert Frost states "I have been acquainted with the night," meaning that he has survived despair.

8. hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperboles often have a comic effect; however, a serious effect is also possible. Often, hyperbole produces irony at the same time.

23. simile

A figure of speech which, like the metaphor, implies a similarity between things otherwise dissimilar. The simile, however, always uses the words like, as, or so to introduce the comparison: "As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion."

21. rhetorical question

A question posed with no expectation of receiving an answer. This device is often used in public speaking in order to launch or further discussion: "Do you know what one of the greatest pains is? One of the greatest pains in human nature is the pain of a new idea."

1.)allusion

A reference to some famous literary work, historical figure, or event. For example, to say that a friend "has the patience of Job" means that he is as enduring as the Biblical figure of that name. Allusions must be used with care lest the audience miss their meaning.

4. description

A rhetorical mode used to develop an essay whose primary aim is to depict a scene, person, thing, or idea. Descriptive writing evokes the look, feel, sound, and sense of events, people, or things.

11. comparison/contrast

A rhetorical mode used to develop essays that systematically match two items for similarities and differences.

12. emphasis

A rhetorical principle that requires stress to be given to important elements in an essay at the expense of less important elements. Emphasis may be given to an idea in various parts of a composition. In a sentence, words may be emphasized by placing them at the beginning or end or by judiciously italicizing them. In a paragraph, ideas may be emphasized by repetition or by the accumulation of specific detail.

12. complex sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses

19. red herring

A side issue introduced into an argument in order to distract from the main argument. It is a common device of politicians: "Abortion may be a woman's individual right, but have you considered the danger of the many germ-infested abortion clinics?" Here the side issue of the dirty clinics clouds the ethical issue of the right or wrong of having an abortion.

10. cliché

A stale image or expression, and the bane of good expository writing. "White as a ghost" is a cliché; so is "busy as a bee." Some clever writers can produce an effect by occasionally inserting a cliché in their prose, but most simply invent a fresh image rather than cull one from the public stock.

24. understatement

A way of deliberately representing something as less than it is in order to stress its magnitude. Also called litotes. A good writer will restrain the impulse to hammer home a point and will use understatement instead. An example is the following line from Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest: "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

7. attitude

A writer's intellectual position or emotion regarding the subject of the writing. In essay sections, expect to be asked what the writer's attitude is and how his or her language conveys that attitude.

13. narration

An account of events as they happen. A narrative organizes material on the basis of chronological order or pattern, stressing the sequence of events and pacing these events according to the emphasis desired. Narration is often distinguished from three other modes of writing: argumentation, description and exposition.

1. ad hominem argument

An argument that attacks the integrity or character of an opponent rather than the merits of an issue. (Ad hominem is Latin for "to the man.") It is also informally known as "mud-slinging."

9. image/imagery

An image is a phrase or expression that evokes a picture or describes a scene. An image may be either literal, in which case it is a realistic attempt to depict with words what something looks like, or figurative, in which case the expression is used that likens the thing described to something else (e.g., "My love is like a red, red rose.").

2. argumentation

Argumentation is the writer's attempt to convince his reader to agree with him. It is based upon appeals to reason, evidence proving the argument, and sometimes emotion to persuade. Some arguments attempt to merely prove a point, but others go beyond proving to inciting the reader to action. At the heart of all argumentation lies a debatable issue.

17. logical fallacy

Errors in reasoning used by speakers or writers, sometimes in order to dupe their audiences. Most logical fallacies are based on insufficient evidence ("All redheads are passionate lovers"); or irrelevant information ("Don't let him do the surgery; he cheats on his wife"); or faulty logic ("If you don't quit smoking, you'll die of lung cancer").

22. subordination

Expressing in a dependent clause, phrase, or single word any idea that is not significant enough to be expressed in a main clause or an independent sentence:

13. essay

From the French word essai, or "attempt," the essay is a short prose discussion of a single topic. Essays are sometimes classified as formal or informal. A formal essay is aphoristic, structured, and serious. An informal essay is personal, revelatory, humorous, and somewhat loosely structured.

14. oxymoron

From the Greek for "pointedly foolish," an oxymoron is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. Simple examples include "jumbo shrimp" and "cruel kindness."

4. anaphora (un

NA-fuh-ruh) - the repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses

23. tone

In every writing, tone is the reflection of the writer's attitude toward subject and audience. The tone can be irony, sarcasm, anger, humor, satire, hyperbole, or understatement.

21. rhetoric

The art of using persuasive language. The art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective; the specific features of texts, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners in a situation.

25. unity

The characteristic of having all parts contribute to the overall effect. In writing, an essay or paragraph is described as having unity when all sentences develop one idea. The worst enemy of unity is irrelevant material. A good rule is to delete all sentences that do not advance or prove the thesis (in an essay) or the topic sentence (in a paragraph).

24. slanting

The characteristic of selecting facts, words, or emphasis to achieve a preconceived intent: Favorable intent: "Although the Senator looks bored, when it comes time to vote he is on the right side of the issue." Unfavorable intent: "The Senator may vote on the right side of the issues, but he always looks bored."

10. conclusion

The final paragraph or paragraphs that sum up an essay and bring it to a close. Effective conclusions vary widely, but some common tacks used by writers to end their essays include summing up what has been said, suggesting what ought to be done, specifying consequences that are likely to occur, restating the beginning, or taking the reader by surprise with an unexpected ending. Most important of all, however, is to end the essay artfully and quietly without staging a grand show for the reader's benefit.

8. audience

The group for whom a work is intended. For a writer, the audience is the reader who the writer desires to persuade, inform, or entertain. Common sense tells us that a writer should always write to the level and needs of the particular audience for whom the writing is meant. For example, if you are writing for an unlettered audience, it is pointless to cram your writing with many literary allusions whose meanings will likely be misunderstood.

23. syntax

The order of words in a sentence and their relationships to each other. Good syntax requires correct grammar as well as effective sentence patters, including unity, coherence, and emphasis.

20. point of view

The perspective from which a piece of writing is developed. In nonfiction the point of view is usually the author's. In fiction the point of view can be first- or third-person point of view. In the first-person point of view, the author becomes part of the narration and refers to himself as "I." In the third-person point of view the narrator simply observes the action of the story. Third- person narrative is either omniscient (when the narrator knows everything about all of the characters) or limited (when the narrator knows only those things that might be apparent to a sensitive observer.)

12. mood

The pervading impression made on the feelings of the reader. For instance, Edgar Allan Poe often created a mood of horror in his short stories. A mood can be gloomy, sad, joyful, bitter, frightening, and so forth. A writer can create as many moods as his emotional range suggests.

25. voice

The presence or the sound of self chosen by the author. Most good writing sounds like someone delivering a message. The aim in a good student writing is to sound natural. Of course, the voice will be affected by the audience and occasion for writing. Voice is closely related to style.

3. coherence

The principle of clarity and logical adherence to a topic that binds together all parts of a composition. A coherent essay is one whose parts--sentences, paragraphs, pages--are logically fused into a single whole. Its opposite is an incoherent essay--one that is jumbled, illogical, and unclear.

17. parallelism

The principle of coherent writing requiring that coordinating elements be given the same grammatical form, as in Daniel Webster's dictum, "I was born an American; I will live an American; I will die an American."

16. inversion

The reversal of the normal order of words in a sentence to achieve some desired effect, usually emphasis. Inversion is a technique long used in poetry, although most modern poets shun it as too artificial. For examples of inversion, see Shakespeare's "That Time of Year" (Sonnet 73).

15. pacing

The speed at which a piece of writing moves along. Pacing depends on the balance between summarizing action and representing action in detail. Syntax can also affect pacing.

9. claim

The ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point, backed up by support, of an argument.

10. irony

The use of language in such a way that apparent meaning contrasts sharply with the real meaning. One famous example (in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar) is Antony's description of Brutus as "an honorable man." Since Brutus was one of Caesar's assassins, Antony meant just the opposite. Irony is a softer form of sarcasm and shares with it the same contrast between apparent and real meaning. In general, there are three major types of irony used in language: (1) In verbal irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's (or speaker's) true meaning. (2) In situationalirony, events turn out the opposite of what was expected. What the characters and readers think ought to happen is what does happen. (3) In dramatic irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work. Irony is used for many reasons, but frequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor.

25. style

The way a writer writes. The expression of an author's individuality through the use of words, sentence patterns, and selection of details Any of the choices writers make while writing—about diction, sentence length, structure, rhythm, and figures of speech—that make their work sound like them. The tone of a particular work can be due in part to a writer's style. James Baldwin is known for his distinctive style, one aspect of which is the mixing of formal, sometimes biblical, language and an everyday, conversational style, as in this sentence from "Notes of a Native Son" (p. 39 in 50 Essays): "I had declined to believe in that apocalypse which had been central to my father's vision; very well, life seemed to be saying, here is something that will certainly pass for an apocalypse until the real thing comes along."Advice to fledgling writers: Develop a style that combines sincerity with clarity.

18. objective and subjective writing

Two different attitudes toward description. In objective writing the author tries to present the material fairly and without bias; in subjective writing the author stresses personal responses and interpretations. For instance, news reporters should be objective whereas poetry can be subjective.

24. transition

Words, phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs that indicate connections between the writer's ideas. These transitions provide landmarks to guide the reader from one idea to the next so that the reader will not get lost. The following are some standard transitional devices:

6. exposition

Writing whose chief aim is to explain. Rather than showing, as in narration, exposition tells. A majority of essays contain some exposition because they need to convey information, give background, or tell how events occurred or processes work.

3. anecdote

a brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience's attention or to support a generalization or claim.

6. apostrophe

a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, "Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee."

19. periodic sentence

a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. This independent clause is preceded by a phrase of clause that cannot stand alone. For example: "Ecstatic with my AP scores, I let out a loud shout of joy!" The effect of a periodic sentence is to add emphasis and structural variety. See loose sentence.

16. paradox

a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. The first scene of Macbeth, for example, closes with the witches' cryptic remark "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."

16. generalization

a statement that asserts some broad truth based upon a knowledge of specific cases. For instance, the statement "Big cars are gas guzzlers" is a generalization about individual cars. Generalizations are the end products of inductive reasoning, where a basic truth may be inferred about a class after experience with a representative number of its members. One should, however, beware of rash or faulty generalizations—those made on insufficient experience or evidence. It was once thought, for example, that scurvy sufferers were malingerers, which led the British navy to the policy of flogging the victims of scurvy aboard its ships. Later, medical research showed that the lethargy of scurvy victims was an effect rather than the cause of the disease. The real disease was found to be a lack of vitamin C in their diet

18. metonymy

a term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. A news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "the President declared" is using metonymy.

5. aphorism

a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.

17. loose sentence

a type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. If a period were placed at the end of the independent clause, the clause would be a complete sentence. A work containing many loose sentences often seems informal, relaxed, and conversational. See periodic sentence.

9. colloquialism

a word or expression acceptable in informal usage but inappropriate in formal discourse. A given word may have a standard as well a colloquial meaning. Bug, for example, is standard when used to refer to an insect; when used to designate a virus, i.e. "She's at home recovering from a bug," the word is a colloquialism.

18. parody

a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. As comedy, parody distorts or exaggerates distinctive features of the original. As ridicule, it mimics the work by repeating and borrowing words, phrases, or characteristics in order to illuminate weaknesses in the original. Well-written parody offers enlightenment about the original, but poorly written parody offers only ineffectual imitation. Usually an audience must grasp literary allusion and understand the work being parodied in order to fully appreciate the nuances of the newer work. Occasionally, however, parodies take on a life of their own and don't require knowledge of the original.

15. example

an instance that is representative of an idea or claim or that otherwise illustrates it. The example mode of development is used in essays that make a claim and then prove it by citing similar and supporting cases.

8. causal relationship (cause

and-effect relationship): The relationship expressing, "If X is the cause, then Y is the effect," or "If Y is the effect, then X caused it"—for example, "If the state builds larger highways, then traffic congestion will just get worse because more people will move to the newly accessible regions," or "If students plagiarize their papers, it must be because the Internet offers them such a wide array of materials from which to copy."

6. appeal to pathos

appeal to emotion, an appeal to feelings rather than to strict reason; a legitimate ploy in an argument as long as it is not excessively or exclusively used.

5. appeal to logos

appeal to logic

20. sarcasm

from the Greek meaning "to tear flesh," sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic, that is, intending to ridicule. When well done, sarcasm can be witty and insightful; when poorly done, it's simply cruel.

14. euphemism

from the Greek word for "good speech," euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. The euphemism may be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement. Saying "earthly remains" rather than "corpse" is an example of euphemism.

15. genre

the major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. However, genre is a flexible term: within these broad boundaries exist many subdivisions that are often called genres themselves. For example, prose can be divided into fiction (novels and short stories) or nonfiction (essays, biographies, autobiographies, etc.). Poetry can be divided into lyric, dramatic, narrative, epic, etc. Drama can be divided into tragedy, comedy, melodrama, farce, etc. On the AP language exam, expect the majority of the passages to be from the following genres: autobiography, biography, diaries, criticism, essays, and journalistic, political, scientific, and nature writing.

7. begging the question

the situation that results when a writer or speaker constructs an argumentation an assumption that the audience does not accept.

22. rhetorical modes

this flexible term describe the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. The four most common rhetorical modes and their purposes are as follows: (1) The purpose of exposition (or expository writing) is to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion. The AP language exam essay questions are frequently set up as expository topics. (2) The purpose of argumentation is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader. Persuasive writing is a type of argumentation having an additional aim of urging some form of action. (3) The purpose of description is to re- create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that being described. Sometimes an author engages all five senses in description; good descriptive writing can be sensuous and picturesque. Descriptive writing may be straightforward and objective or highly emotional and subjective. (4) The purpose of narration is to tell a story or narrate an event or series of events. This writing mode frequently uses the tools of descriptive writing. These four writing modes are sometimes referred to as modes of discourse.

5. diction

word choice. Diction refers to the choice of words a writer uses in an essay or other writing. Implicit in the idea of diction is a vast vocabulary of synonyms - different words that have more or less equivalent meanings. If only one word existed for every idea or condition, diction would not exist. But since we have a choice of words with various shades of meaning, a writer can and does choose among words to express ideas. The diction of skilled writers is determined by the audience and occasion of their writing.

1.) abstract

words or phrases denoting ideas, qualities, and conditions that exist but cannot be seen. Love, for example, is an abstract term; so are happiness, beauty, and patriotism. The opposite of abstract terms are concrete ones—words that refer to things that are tangible, visible, or otherwise physically evident. Hunger is abstract, but hamburger is concrete. The best writing blends the abstract with the concrete, with concrete terms used in greater proportion to clarify abstract ones. Writing two steeped in abstract words or terms tends to be vague and unfocused.