Rhetorical Terms List + more :D

AP Lang/Comp

Satire

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule

Semantics

branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another

style

A writer's style is comprised of a variety of elements that come together to form a distinct literary signature.

subject complement

word or clauses that follow a linking verb and complements or completes the subject

subordinate clause

dependent clause, cannot stand alone as a setence

syllogism

an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion

symbol

something that represents something else usually abstract

synecdoche

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

syntax

way an auother chooses to put words in groups or sentences

theme

central idea of a story usually teaching a life lesson

thesis

sentence that tell author’s opinion, argument, purpose, or postion

tone

author’s attitude to his text

transition

word or phrase that links two different ideas together

understatment

ironic minimizing of a fact

undertone

the attitude that may lie under the tone of the text

wit

intellectually amazing language that surprises or delights

Appositive

a noun or noun phrase that renames another name – The insect, a cockroach, is crawling on the wall.

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds – Try to light the fire.

Begging the question

argumentative ploy when the arguer sidesteps the question

Claim

in argumentation, an assertion of something as fact

Comparison and contrast

when two or more things are compared, contrasted, or both

Convention

an accepted manner, model, or tradition

Deductive reasoning

method of argument that moves from general to specific

Inductive reasoning

method of argument that moves from specific to general

Dialect

language & speech idiosyncracies of a specific region or group

Epistrophe

repetition at the end of successive sentences (opposite of anaphora)

Epitaph

writing in praise of a dead person – most often inscribed upon a headstone

Epithet

a word or phrase applied to a person to describe him or her – “Richard the Lion Hearted”

Eulogy

a speech or written praise of a deceased person – usually given at a funeral

Flashback

retrospection – when an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of narration

Foreshadowing

a sign or warning of a future event

Jargon

specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word; wordplay

Qualifiers

words or phrases that limited the scope of a claim – sometimes, most of the time, usually, I guess…

Immediate audience

the audience physically present when a speech is delivered

Mediated audience

an audience who is not physically present but is affected (television)

Exigence

What prompts the speaker to speak or writer to write at this particular time? Why now?

Purpose

What the speaker/writer wants the audience to feel & do as a result of reading or listening to the rhetoric – Sometimes – What does the speaker/writer want to change?