English Vocab Term 3

Appeal

in rhetoric, the means of persuasion in an argument. According to Aristotle, there are three fundamental appeals to convince a person: reason (logos), ethics (ethos), and emotion (pathos).

Emotional appeals/pathos

a method of persuasion that's designed to create an emotional response in the reader/viewer by connecting to the audience’s values, needs, and sensibilities

Ethical appeal/ethos

a method of persuasion that is based on the writer or speaker’s credibility to discuss a subject and is influenced by expertise, knowledge, experience, training, credentials, use of logical and emotional appeals, etc.

Logical appeal/logos

a method of persuasion that is based on the writer or speaker appealing to the audience’s sense of intelligence and logic by using facts, statistics, research, historical evidence, etc. to support a legitimate, rational, and well-reasoned argument

Rhetorical analysis

a close examination and interpretation of a non-fiction (usually argumentative) work that analyzes how the author uses language, devices, and genre characteristics to create intended effects and persuade the reader

Rhetorical situation

the context and set of circumstances surrounding a writer or speaker’s attempt to persuade and includes the speaker, audience, topic, and occasion

Argumentative text

a text in which the writer develops and defends a position or debates a topic using logic and persuasion

Claim

an assertion, position, or arguable thesis about a topic or issue

Thesis

a statement or premise supported by arguments

Counterargument

a viewpoint that opposes an author’s thesis or claim; addressing and rebutting counterarguments are essential in persuasive writing and speaking

Concession

a technique used in argumentation wherein a writer/speaker acknowledges a point made by the opposition in order to establish an understanding of the issue from various angles and enhance credibility

Rebuttal

the attempt to disprove, contradict, or argue against an opposing viewpoint

Rhetorical device

a technique that an author or speaker uses to influence or persuade an audience

Understatement

a rhetorical technique, often incorporating irony or humor, in which something is represented as less than it actually is

Overstatement

an exaggerated statement

Bias

a particular inclination, feeling, or opinion about a subject that is often preconceived or unreasoned

Logical fallacy

an incorrect or problematic argument that is not based on sound reasoning

Loaded Language fallacy

a term or phrase that has strong emotional overtones and that is meant to evoke strong reactions beyond the specific meaning (e.g., tax relief instead of tax cut, or death tax instead of estate tax)

Red Herring fallacy

a logical fallacy that misleads or distracts the readers’ attention from the original topic with irrelevant information

Slippery Slope fallacy

a logical fallacy that erroneously suggests one action will automatically lead to a chain of disastrous or undesirable action(s)/event(s)

Strawman fallacy

a logical fallacy that involves intentionally misrepresenting an opponent’s position or claim with a more easily refutable position and may involve oversimplifying, omitting, or distorting details

Incorrect premise

a faulty idea that is used as the foundation of an argument (e.g. If the road is wet, then it has rained recently.)

Ad hominem fallacy

a rhetorical fallacy in which the intent is to attack the character or circumstance of the proponent of the position to distract from the argument. This personal attack is intended to devalue the claim without regard for the evidence provided.

Annotating

marking a text with notes and/or comments

Audience

the intended group for a message, regardless of the medium

Author’s purpose

the reason an author writes about a particular topic (e.g., to persuade, to entertain, to inform, to explain, to analyze, etc.); the reason an author includes particular details, features, or devices in a work

Citation

a reference to the author’s name, title of work, date published, publisher, and/or page numbers of quoted or paraphrased text in a shortened in-text notation or in a longer bibliographic entry

Context

the words, sentences, or passages that precede or follow a specific word, sentence, or passage

Credibility

the quality of having reliable and trustworthy characteristics which may be influenced by an author having expertise on a topic, using unbiased and accurate reasoning, evidence, and sources to support ideas, and providing current and up-to-date information

Diction

word choice that may be determined by the writer or speaker’s style, purpose, and need to communicate accurately, appropriately, and understandably to a specific audience expression

Drawing Conclusions

a form of inference in which the reader gathers information, considers the general thoughts or ideas that emerge from the information and comes to a decision; the conclusion is generally based on more than one piece of information.

Evidence

specific details or facts that support an inference or idea

Exigency

the need, demand, or requirement essential to a circumstance, condition, etc.

Inference

a logical guess made by connecting bits of information

Key ideas

important ideas throughout a work that support the central message, theme, tone, etc.

Paraphrase

restate the meaning of something in different words. Paraphrasing alters the exact wording of the source and transmits its ideas or information without evaluation or interpretation.

Plagiarize

to present the ideas or words of another as one’s own without crediting the source

Reliable Source

a credible or believable source. Some questions to evaluate credibility might be: Is the author a respected authority on the subject? Does the author support opinions with strong argumentation and reasoning? How current is the information?

Summarize

to reduce large sections of text to their essential points and main idea. Note: It is still important to attribute summarized ideas to the original source.

Syntax

the arrangement and sequence of words in sentences, clauses, and phrases

Synthesize

to combine elements and parts to form a coherent whole

Text Evidence

paraphrased or directly quoted detail(s) from a text that supports a reader’s claim, thought, inference, or analysis about the text

Text Structure

the way or pattern in which an author organizes ideas within a text

Tone

the author’s particular attitude, either stated or implied in writing

Topic

a specific subject, idea, or issue that is the focus of a discussion, essay, article, or other work