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allegory
a story taking place on two parallel levels at once where the subsurface story sheds light on the surface story
alliteration
the repetition of consonants at the beginning or in the middle of two or more adjacent words
anadiplosis
the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause
anaphora
the repetition of a word of one clause at the beginning of successive clauses
anecdote
a brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience’s attention or to support a generalization or claim
antagonist
the character who opposes the interests of the protagonist
antimetabole
the repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order (“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy”)
antithesis
the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas, often in parallel structure (“Place your virtues on a pedestal; put your vices under a rock”)
anthimeria
the substitution of one part of speech for another (“The poet says we ‘milestone our lives’”)
apologist
a person or character who makes a case for some controversial, even contentious position
apology
an elaborate statement justifying a controversial, even contentious, position
apostrophe
a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object
appeal
one of the three strategies (logos, pathos, ethos)
appositive
a noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately or defines or amplifies its meaning
assonance
the repetition of a vowel sounds
asyndeton
the omission of conjunctions between related clauses (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)
bathos
unintentional anticlimax through unsuccessful attempt to achieve sublimity + dignity of style
begging of the question
the situation that results when a writer or speaker constructs an argument on an assumption that the audience does not accept. In Latin: petitio principi
canon
one of the traditional elements of rhetorical composition (invention, arrangement, style, memory, or delivery)
cause-and-effect relationship
the relationship expressing, “If X is the cause, then Y is the effect” OR “If Y is the effect, then X is the cause” (“If students plagiarize their papers, it must be because the Internet offers them such a wide array of materials from which to copy”)
claim
the ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or enthymeme expresses. The point supported by an argument
complex sentence
a sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
compound-complex sentence
a sentence with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses
compound sentence
a sentence with two or more independent clauses
compound subject
the construction in which two or more nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses constitute the grammatical subject of a clause
confirmation
part of speech where the speaker or writer would offer proof or demonstration of the central idea, with origins in ancient Roman oratory
connotation
the implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly expressed “dictionary meaning”
data (as evidence)
facts, statistics, and examples that a speaker or writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion
deductive reasoning
reasoning that begins with a general principle and concludes with a specific instance that demonstrates the general principle
denotation
“dictionary definition” of a word
diction
word choice. viewed on scales of formality/informality, concreteness/abstraction, Latinate/Anglo-Saxon derivation, denovtative/connotative value
double entendre
the double (or multiple) meanings of a group of words that the speaker or writer has purposely left ambiguous
ellipsis
the omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a passage
enthymeme
logical reasoning with one premise left unstated
epistrophe
the repetition of a group of words at the end of successive clauses (“They saw no evil, they spoke no evil, and they heard no evil”)
epithet
a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing
ethos
the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator
euphemism
an indirect expression of unpleasant information in such a way to lessen its impact (someone’s “position was eliminated” instead of fired)
exordium
introduction of a speech, means “web”, ancient Roman roots
genre
a piece of writing classified by type (letter, narrative, eulogy, editorial)
hyperbole
an exaggeration for effect
image
a passage of text that evokes sensation or emotional intensity
imagery
language that evokes particular sensations or emotionally rich experiences in a reader
implied metaphor
a metaphor embedded in a sentence rather than expressed directly as a sentence (“His voice was a cascade of emotion” is part of “His voice cascaded through the hallway”)
inductive reasoning
reasoning that begins by citing a number of specific instances or examples and then shows how collectively they constitute a general principle
irony
writing or speaking that implies the contrary of what is actually written or spoken
jargon
specialized vocabulary of a particular group
litotes
understatement
logos
the appeal of a text based on the logical structure of its argument or central ideas
loose/cumulative sentence
a sentence that adds modifying elements after the subject, verb, and complement
metaphor
an implied comparison that does not use the word like or as
metonymy
an entity referred to by one of its attributes or associations (“The admissions office claims…”)
mnemonic device
a systematic memory aid
narration
the part of speech in which the speaker provides background information on the topic; ancient Roman origins
onomatopoeia
a literary device in which the sound of a word is related to its meaning (“buzz”, “moan”)
oxymoron
juxtaposed words with seemingly contradictory meanings (“jumbo shrimp”)
paradox
a statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nevertheless
parallelism
a set of similarly structured words, phrases or clauses that appears in a sentence or paragraph
pathos
the appeal of a text to the emotions or interests of the audience
periodic sentence
a sentence with modifying elements included before the verb and/or complement
periphrasis
the substitution of an attributive word or phrase for a proper name; use of a proper name to suggest a personality characteristic (“She thinks she’s a real Madonna, doesn’t she?”)
peroration
the part of speech in which the speaker would draw together the entire argument and include material designed to compel the audience to think or act
persona
the character that a writer or speaker conveys to the audience, plural personae
petitio principi
disagreeing with premises or reasoning, begging of the question
point of view
the perspective or source of a piece of writing
major premise
first premise of a syllogism, often an irrefutable generalization
minor premise
second premise of a syllogism, often a particular instance of the previous generalization
pun
play on words (anataclasis, paranomasia, syllepsis)
purpose
the goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the text
recursive
referring to the moving back and forth from invention to revision in the writing process
refutation
the part of speech in which the speaker would anticipate objections to the points being raised and counter them, ancient Roman origins
rhetor
the speaker who uses elements of rhetoric effectively in oral or written text
rhetoric
the art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective; the specific features of texts, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners in a situation
rhetorical choices
the particular choices a writer or speaker makes to achieve meaning, purpose, or effect
rhetorical intention
involvement and investment in and ownership of a piece of writing
rhetorical question
a question posed by the speaker or writer not to seek an answer but to affirm or deny a point simply by asking a question about it
rhetorical situation
the convergence in a situation of exigency (the need to write), audience, and purpose
rhetorical triangle
a diagram showing the relations of writer/speaker, reader/listener, and the text in a rhetorical situation
sarcasm
the use of mockery or bitter irony
simile
comparison using like or as
simple sentence
a sentence with one independent clause and no dependent clause
six-part oration
a speech consisting of exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, and peroration; classical rhetoric
soliloquy
dialogue in which a character speaks aloud to themselves
style
the choices that writers or speakers make in language for effect
subordinate clause
a group of words that includes a subject and a verb but that cannot stand on its own as a sentence; also called a dependent clause
syllogism
logical reasoning from inarguable premises
symbol
an element that stands for more than itself and, therefore, helps to convey the theme of a text
synecdoche
a part of something used to refer to the whole (“50 head of cattle”)
syntax
the order of words in a sentence
tautology
a group of words that merely repeats the meaning already conveyed
tone
the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject matter
trope
an artful variation from expected modes of expression of thoughts and ideas
understatement
deliberate playing down of a situation in order to make a point
verisimilitude
the quality of a text that reflects the truth of actual experience
zeugma
a trope in which one word, usually a noun or main verb, governs 2 other words unrelated in meaning (“He maintained a business and his innocence”)
classification
the process of grouping similar ideas or objects, the systematic arrangement of things into classes on the basis of shared characteristic
process analysis
the use of a series of functions, actions, steps, or operations that bring about a particular end result
definition
spelling out exactly what a word or phrase means
comparison/contrast
to point out how two things are similar/to stress how they are dissimilar
analogy
a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them