Rhetorical Choices

Ethos

An appeal to authority aiming to establish the credibility of a speaker or source.

Pathos

An appeal to the reader's emotions.

Logos

An appeal to logic.

Call to Action

used by the author to urge readers to follow through with his/her argument.

Challenging Assumptions

used by the author to draw attention to a seemingly common idea.

Making Concessions

used by the author to show that his/her argument is better than opposing ones.

Inclusive Language (Appeal to Identity)

Words that make the reader feel part of a group.

Anecdote

A short personal story.

Allusion

A reference to a book, movie, song, etc.

Testimony

Quoting from people who have something to say about the issue.

Statistics and Data

Using facts and figures.

Colloquialism/ Slang

Use of casual and informal language in writing.

Jargon

Specialized language.

Diction

Word choice.

Syntax

Sentence structure.

Hypophora

Writer raises a question, and then immediately provides an answer to that question.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Metaphor

Saying one thing IS another thing.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically to explain function.

Simile

Saying one thing is LIKE another thing.

Personification

Giving a nonhuman thing human qualities.

Anthropomorphism

Apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing such as objects, animals, or the weather.

Symbolism

One thing represents something else.

Metonymy

A metonym doesn't just symbolize something else, it comes to serve as a synonym for that thing or things.

Foreshadowing

When the author hints at events yet to come in a story.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of words from sounds which seem to suggest their meaning.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration.

Understatement

Making something sound much less than it is.

Euphemism

Use of a mild word for one thought to be rough or offensive.

Dysphemism

A derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one.

Lexical Field

Lexical field or semantic field is the way of organizing related words and expressions into a system.

Assonance

Repeated vowel sounds.

Consonance

Repeated consonant sounds.

Plosive/ Explosive Consonants

Cacophony is the placement of explosive consonants close together.

Euphony

Euphony is the opposite of cacophony.

Sibilance

Sibilance is the repetition of a hissing sound within a phrase or sentence.

Repetition

Mentioning a word or phrase several times.

Epiphora

The repetition of a word or a phrase at the end of two or more successive lines, sentences etc.

Parallelism

Writing constructed in a similar, symmetrical manner.

Tone

The way the author's voice sounds.

Humor

Jokes and funny language.

Irony

Situational irony: the opposite thing happens from what is expected.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech using one part for the whole or something special for something general.

Polysyndeton

Conjunctions used in rapid succession.

Asyndeton

Words or phrases presented in series, separated by commas only, without conjunctions.

Ellipsis

An incomplete sentence construction.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of two or more successive lines, sentences etc.

Juxtaposition

Holding two things up side by side to compare or contrast them.

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words or phrases are combined.

Dichotomy

A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Paradox

A situation or statement that seems impossible or is difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics.

Antithesis

Mentioning one thing and its opposite.