Public Speaking Midterm

Rhetoric

The art of persuasion through communication; involves appealing to the audience’s emotions, reasons, and trust.

Ethos

Appeal to credibility and character; involves building trust with your audience, showing that you are respectable and trustworthy.

Pathos

Appeal to emotions and feelings; aims to evoke anger, sadness, happiness, etc.

Logos

Appeal to logic and reason; involves using facts, statistics, and logical arguments.

Claim

Statement, asserts something, usually a single sentence,

Claim of Fact

Statements that report, describe, predict, or make causal claims (cause and effect).

Claim of Value

Statements that advance judgements about morality, beauty, merit, or wisdom (opinions, comparisons).

Claim of Policy

Statements that urge that an action be taken or discontinued (or stay the way they are).

Thesis Statement

A sentence that clearly states the main idea or purpose of your essay. Includes the topic and the main idea or focus.

Logical Fallacy

A reasoning error that weakens or invalidates the argument.

Rhetorical Technique

A persuasion technique.

Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question)

Occurs when the argument’s conclusion is assumed in the premise, making the argument logically invalid.

Cherry Picking (Suppressed Evidence)

Occurs when someone selectively presents only the evidence that supports their argument, while ignoring evidence that contradicts it.

False Dilemma (Either/Or Fallacy)

Occurs when someone presents a situation as having only two options, ignoring the possibility of other alternatives.

Composition Fallacy

Occurs when one assumes that what is true for individual parts will also be true for the whole.

Fallacy of Division

Occurs when one assumes that something true of a whole must also necessarily be true of its parts.

Genetic Fallacy

Dismissing an argument based on its origin or source, rather than evaluating its merits.

False Equivalence

Argues two or more things are the same, despite key differences.

Tu Quoque Fallacy (Whataboutism)

Redirects criticism or blame back onto the accuser, implying that their argument is invalid because they are all guilty of the same.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (False Cause)

Assumes that because one event follows another, the first event must have caused the second.

Appeal to Ignorance (Argument from Ignorance)

Occurs when it is argued that a claim must be true because it has not been proven false, or vice versa.

Non Sequitur

A statement that does not logically follow from what was previously said.

Apophasis

Occurs when the speaker or writer brings up a subject by explicitly stating they will not mention it. It’s often used to subtly emphasize or draw attention to a topic while feigning reluctance or denial.

Juxtaposition

Two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Slippery Slope

Occurs when someone argues that a relatively small first step will inevitably lead to a chain of related events with significant and undesirable consequences, without providing evidence for that chain of events.

Bandwagon Effect

The tendency to do or believe things because many other people do or believe the same. Appeals to popularity, encourages conformity, often seen in advertising/politics/social trends.

Red Herring

A diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them.

Ad Hoc

Created for a specific purpose or problem, often as an excuse or after-the-fact explanation.

Hyperbole

Figure of speech that involves deliberate and obvious exaggeration.

Verbal Irony

When someone says the opposite of what they really mean, often to be sarcastic or humorous.

Invective

Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language used to attack or denounce something or someone.

Historian’s Fallacy

When someone judges the decisions or actions of people in the past by using knowledge or perspectives that are only available in the present (hindsight bias).

Appeal to Authority

Someone argues that a claim must be true simply because an authoritative figure or expert says it’s true.

Perfect Solution Fallacy

Someone argues that a solution to a problem is not acceptable because it isn’t perfect or doesn't completely solve the problem in every possible way.

Dog Whistle

A coded message that seems innocent to the general audience but signals something specific to a targeted group.

Antiphrasis

Using a word ironically to mean the opposite (sarcasm).

Tricolon

Rhetorical term that consists of 3 parallel clauses, phrases, or words which happen to come in quick succession without any interruption.

Verisimilitude

A philosophical or theoretical notion that distinguishes truth and falsity of assertions or hypothesis; the willing suspension of disbelief.

Gambler’s Fallacy

When someone believes that past events in a random sequence will influence future events, despite each event being independent of the others.

Euphemism

Polite, mild phrases which substitute unpleasant ways of saying something sad or uncomfortable.

Chiasmus

A literary device in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order.

Hypophora

A figure of speech in which a writer raises a question, and then immediately provides an answer to that question.

Aphorism

A saying that concisely expresses a moral principle or an observation about the world, presenting it as a general or universal truth.

Straw Man Fallacy

When someone misrepresents or oversimplifies another person’s argument to make it easier to attack or refute.

Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy

Occurs when someone cherry-picks data or evidence to support their argument while ignoring contradictory information. Often involves something that has a predetermined outcome.

Ad Hominem

Attacking the person rather than the argument.

Appeal to Novelty (Argument from Newness)

Occurs when something is claimed to be better or superior simply because it is new or modern, without any real evidence to support their claim.

False Cause (Correlation vs Causation)

Occurs when it is assumed that because two events occur together, one must have caused the other, without considering other possible explanations.

The Fallacy Fallacy

Claims that an argument is false because it contains a fallacy.