Rhetorical moves test

Allusion

A brief indirect reference to a person, event, place, or work of art.

Analogy(type of figurative language)

The comparison between 2 things, usually for explanation or clarification.

Anecdote

Short personal story within a text.

Call to action

Clear and direct message that should elicit a strong response from the audience.

Diction

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

Anaphora and epistrophe

The repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, clauses, or poetic lines.

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences. Example- ending many sentences with “the people."

Euphemism

The substitution of a mild or pleasant expression for one that is too strong or unpleasant. Example- boss “letting you go” instead of “firing.”

Hyperbole (type of figurative language) vs. understatement

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

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

Imagery

When a speaker uses description words that invoke one of the audiences’s senses

Juxtaposition

Comparing things side by side. Contrasts.

Metaphor and simile (types of figurative language) vs understatement

Simile - used to compare something using like or as.

Metaphor- Direct comparison not using like or as.

Metonymy

A figure of speech where the name of one object is substituted for another object closely associated with it.

Oxymoron

A self-contradicting word or group of words(e.g. “deafening silence” or “organized chaos.”)

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that, when investigated or explained, may prove to be true.

Parallelism / parallel structure

Repetition of format, grammatical structure, and pacing.

Personification (type of figurative language)

Giving something non-human human-like features. Example- “the sun is smiling.”

Pronoun use

Words that substitute for nouns or noun phrases.

Rhetorical question

Questions asked in order to create a dramatic effect or prove a point.

Satire

Use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or the ridicule of someone.

Symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

Complex sentence vs. compound sentence

Complex- sentence containing at least one main clause and one subordinate clause.”

Compound- a sentence with more than one subject or predicate.

A clause is a sentence which always contains a subject (the thing doing the verb) and a verb (an action word).

Hortative sentence vs. imperative sentence

a sentence used to urge someone to do something or support a side.

a sentence that tells somebody to do something.

Periodic sentence

A complex sentence in which the main clause (main point) occurs at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning.

Syntax

The way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Tone

The attitude that an artist has towards the subject matter of something they create

Ethos

The character and credibility of the writer

Logos

The reason or logic used by the writer.

Pathos

The emotions used the by writer

Audience

Who will be reading the writing.

Bias

A tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favor that person or thing.

Context

The parts of something written or spoken explained with a certain words or group of words that help to explain its meaning. Example- background like the year or day.

Connotation vs. denotation

Connotation- the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning

Denotation- The literal meaning/definiton of the word.

Exigence

An issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak. Example- Why did they write this?

Mimesis

The imitation of life in art and literature. Example- Somebody loves someone but they don’t know how to express so they write it through a poem.

Occasion

The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing.

Persona

The voice and perspective an author adopts to tell a story

Purpose

The author’s reason for or intent in writing.

Speaker

Who is writing or talking about the work.

Subject

The noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that the sentence is about.