Rhetorical and Grammatical Terms

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering rhetorical devices, grammatical terms, sentence structures, and persuasive appeals as defined in the lecture transcript.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.

ex) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" (repeating the 'P' sound)

Allusion

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.

ex)"Achilles' heel": Means a hidden weakness, alluding to the Greek myth of the hero Achilles whose heel was his only vulnerable spot.

Analogy

An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.

ex)Part to whole: Branch is to tree as arm is to man

Anaphora

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

ex) I am hungry, I am thirsty, I am weak

Anecdote

A short account of an interesting event.

ex) It was fascinating what he did earlier

Antecedent

The noun to which a later pronoun refers.

ex)Maria lost her book."

• _______: Maria (the noun)

• Pronoun: her (refers to Maria

Aphorism

A short, astute statement of a general truth.

ex)The secret to getting ahead is getting started."

Archaic diction

The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.

ex) Thou / Thee / Thy: Old pronouns for "you" and "your"

Asyndeton

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.

ex)I came, I saw, I conquered"

Attitude

The speaker’s position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.

Audience

One’s listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.

Authority

A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.

Bias

Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.

Colloquial/ism

An informal or conversational use of language.

ex) Gonna: Casual speech for "going to

Common ground

Shared beliefs, values, or positions.

Complex sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

ex) "[She decided to go to bed early] [because she was tired]

independent clause dependent clause

Concession

A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.

ex) "I know that staying up late is fun, but lack of sleep hurts your focus the next day”

Connotation

That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning (see denotation).

ex)Home vs. House: Both mean a place where you live. "House" is neutral (just a building), but "home" brings up warm feelings of safety, family, and comfort

Coordination

Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but.

ex) I like to eat pizza and burgers."

Context

The factors around the text at its inception, including the time, place, history, etc.

Counterargument

A challenge to a position; an opposing argument.

Declarative sentence

A sentence that makes a statement.

ex) The car is black

Deduction

Reasoning from general to specific.

ex)

1. Animals need to eat several times a day.

2. My dog max is an animal.

3. Therefore, max needs to eat several times a day.

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.

ex) Dove- a type of bird

Diction

Word choice.

Ethos

appeals to writers credebility

ex)

Exigence

The moment or event that motivates the speaker to write or speak about an issue, topic, or situation.

ex) natural disaster, war

Figurative language

The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.

Figure of speech

An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.

ex) My backpack was as light as a feather.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.

ex) this bag weighs a ton, i have told you a million times

Imagery

Vivid use of language that evokes a reader’s senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).

Imperative sentence

A sentence that requests or commands.

ex) please leave the package at the door

Induction

Reasoning from specific to general.

ex) my dog max needs to eat

my dog max is an animal

an animal needs to eat

Irony

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.

ex) fire station gets burned down, police station gets robbed

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things side by side for emphasis.

ex) the sweet and sour sauce

Logos

appeals to logic within an argument

Metaphor

A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.

compares two different things by saying one thing is the other, without using the words "like" or "as"

ex) he is a couch patato

Metonymy

Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole.

ex) The White House: Used to mean the U.S. President or their administration

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.

ex) Jumbo Shrimp

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.

ex) you have to spend money to make money, less is more

Parallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

ex) I like walking, running, and jogging

Parody

A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.

Pathos

appeals to the reader’s emotions

Persona

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.

Personification

Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.

ex) the trees danced in the wind

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.

ex) I got apples and oranges and bananas

Propaganda

A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.

ex) uncle sam “ I want you to join the army”

Purpose

One’s intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.

Refute

To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.

Rhetoric

The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the “available means of persuasion.”

is the art of using language effectively and persuasively to influence an audience

Models: description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation.

Rhetorical question

A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.

ex) is the sky blue?

Satire

An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.

ex)

Scheme

A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.

ex) the cat was fat and laying on the mat

Sentence patterns

The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.

Simile

A figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to compare two things.

ex) she is as heavy as a cow

Simple sentence

A statement containing a subject and predicate/verb; an independent clause.

Speaker

A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.

Straw man

A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent’s position.

• Real point: "I think we should reduce homework by 20%."

• : "So you want schools to stop giving homework entirely!"

Style

The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.

Subordinate clause

Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.

ex) she left the party early because she was tired

Subordination

The dependence of one syntactic element on another in a sentence.

connects a dependent clause to an independent clause to show that one idea is more important than the other.

ex) You will fail unless you pass this test"

Syntax

Sentence structure.

Synthesize

Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.

Thesis

The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.

Thesis statement

A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.

Tone

The speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Topic sentence

A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph’s idea and often unites it with the work’s thesis.

Understatement

Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.

Voice

In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.