VOCAB ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses

aphorism

a short pithy instructive saying

chiasmus

inversion in the second of two parallel phrases

cliché

a trite or obvious remark

colloquialism

an expression that seeks to imitate informal speech

conceit

an artistic device or effect

contradiction

opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas

emphasis

special and significant stress by position or repetition

idiom

expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from its words

litotes

understatement for rhetorical effect

non sequitur

a conclusion that does not follow from the premises

oxymoron

conjoined contradictory terms

paradox

a statement that contradicts itself

perspective

a way of regarding situations or topics

point of view

a mental position from which things are perceived

premise

a statement that is held to be true

rhetorical question

an inquiry that is not supposed to be answered

sarcasm

witty language used to convey insults or scorn

syllogism

reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises

understatement

something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast