Rhetorical Analysis Vocabulary

Flashcards for Rhetorical Analysis vocabulary in English.

Anecdote

A brief story used to illustrate a point or support an argument.

Argument

A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.

Audience

The group of people to whom a speech or piece of writing is directed.

Colloquialism

A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically used in ordinary or familiar conversation.

Connotation

The feeling or idea that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Context

The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.

Counterargument

An argument or set of reasons put forward to oppose an idea or theory developed in another argument.

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Ethos

An appeal to ethics, convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader.

Evidence

The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Exigence

An issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Allusion

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Aristotelian Appeal

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are the three forms of rhetorical persuasion (also known as the Aristotelian appeals).

Attitude

A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.

Compare and contrast

To estimate, measure, or note the similarity or dissimilarity between things.

Concession

Acknowledging the validity of an opponent’s point.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning from general to specific.

Denotation

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

Dialect

A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.

Didactic

Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Exemplification

The act of furnishing or serving as an example of.

Figurative Language

Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation.

Genre

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Juxtaposition

The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Logos

An appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.

Mood

A temporary state of mind or feeling.

Occasion

A particular time or event when something takes place.

Pathos

An appeal to emotion, is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response.

Persona

The aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others.

Purpose

The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Rhetorical Triangle

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

Speaker

The person who is speaking.

Style

A manner of doing something.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Tone

The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

Voice

The individual style in which a certain author writes his or her works.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Idiom

A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.

Imagery

Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

Implication

The conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.

Inductive reasoning

Reasoning from specific to general.

Irony

The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

Organization

The way something is arranged or structured.

Paradox

A statement or proposition that, despite sound reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

Parallelism

The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

Parody

An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Repetition

The action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

Sarcasm

The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.

Synthesis

The combination of ideas to form a theory or system.

Theme

The subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.

Understatement

The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.