ENGLISH rhetoric vocab

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts likely have multiple of these.

Concession

An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

connotation

meaning or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition or denotation

context

The circumstances, atmosphere attitudes and event surrounding a text

counter argument

an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward

ethos

Greek for “character” speakers appeal to ethos by demonstrating that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a different topic

logos

Greek for “embodied thought” speakers appeal to logos, or reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up

occasion

The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written

pathos

Greek for “suffering” or “experience” speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience

persona

Greek for “mask”, the face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience

polemic

Greek for “hostile” an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion overall others

propaganda

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. in it’s negative sense propaganda is the use of rumors lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cost

purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve

refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument

rhetoric

The faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion or the art of finding ways to persuade an audience

rhetorical appeals

rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling (usually ethos, logos and pathos)

rhetorical triangle

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker audience and subject in determining a text

SOAPS

stands for subject, occasion, audience, purpose, and speaker a way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation