English - Unit 3 (Rhetorical Vocab)

Rhetorical Vocabulary

Exigence

Fancy term for authors purpose. WHY the speaker is writing, the need, purpose or demand for their writing.

Active voice

The subject is doing the action (The subject is doing something)

Example: The dog chased the ball

Passive voice

The action is happening to the subject, often with the word "by" to show who is doing it. (Something is being done by the subject)

Example: The ball was chased by the dog

Polemic

A strong argument or opinion that someone has about something. It's when a person feels very strongly about an idea and talks or writes about it in a way that might disagree with others. (A debate)

Appeal

A quality of an argument that makes it truly persuasive

Values

A person's principles or standards of behavior; ones judgment of what is important in life.

Ethics

Principles of conduct; a guiding philosophy

Credibility

The quality of being trusted and believed in.

Persuade

To cause someone to do something through reasoning or argument.

Rhetoric

The art of effective verbal or written, argumentation and persuasion.

Ethos

Appeal to the audience based on speaker/authors credibility. Also refers to a collective or organizations reputation. (Celebrities, doctors, someone famous and or trusted)

Pathos

Appeal to the audience's emotion

Logos

Appeal to the audiences logical reasoning within context of speech or text (facts, numbers, data, etc.)

Antithesis

The opposite of the speaker, standpoint or thesis; their opponent standpoint.

Example: If one friend says, “We should play outside,” and another says, “No, we should stay inside,” those ideas are antithesis because they are the opposite.

Synthesis

To combine ideas and create a completely new idea. That new idea becomes the conclusion you have drawn from your reading.

Example: If one friend wants to play soccer and another wants to play tag, you can combine the ideas and make a game where you kick the ball and tag each other. That’s synthesis—mixing ideas to create something new!