Highlighted Rhetorical terms

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial sounds in two or more neighboring words

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art

ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, something has

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with, or pointing out its similarity to, something more familiar

aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth or moral principle

colloquialism

Slang or informality in speech or writing; not generally acceptable in formal writing

connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; implied meaning

denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color

diction

Related to style; word choice

euphemism

more agreeable or less offensive substitute for unpleasant words or concepts.

“earthly remains” instead of “corpse”

Extended metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work

figurative language

writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid

figure of speech

A device used to produce figurative language

Many compare dissimilar things

Figures of speech include, for example, apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement

generic conventions

The term describes tradition for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example, they differentiate between an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiographty and political writing.

genre

The major category works of literature fit into.

hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

imagery

Sensory details that evoke the senses; creates pictures, smell, touch, etc.

invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

irony/ironic

Contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant; the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true

juxtaposition

Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast

metaphor

implied comparison of seemingly unlike things, suggesting similarity

narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events

onomatopoeia

“Pow, Bam, Poof” words that imitate sounds

oxymoron

groupings of contradictory terms to suggest a paradox

paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common ssense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity

Parallelism

repeated structure in a sentence or paragraph to give structural similarity.

Adds emphasis and organization

pedantic

Overly scholarly, academic, or bookish terms

personification

Describing concepts, animals, or inanimate objects with human attributes

Point of view

the perspective of which a story is told

prose

refers to fiction and nonfiction; technically, anything that isn’t poetry or drama is prose.

One of the major divisions of genre

written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech

repetition

Duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language

Provides emphasis

rhetorical appeal

persuasive device by which a writer tries to sway the audience’s attention and response to any given work; 3 types

1. Logos, logical reasoning

2. Ethos, establishes credibility for speaker; creates believability

3. Pathos, plays on emotion

rhetorical question

A question that is merely asked for effect and does not expect a reply. The answer is assumed

sarcasm

bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone

May use irony as device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic

satire

A work that targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions

For reform or ridicule

simile

An explicit comparison, normally using like, as, or if.

style

1. An evaluation of how authors use literary devices in their writings

2. Classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors

Symbol/symbolism

something concrete like an object or action that represents something more abstract

syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.”Group of words”

How a paragraph is formatted/written

Structure

theme

Central idea or message of a work

Thesis

the thesis statement explains the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition

tone

describes author attitude toward his or her material, audience, or both

understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is

1. litotes: a figure of speech by which an affirmation is made indirectly by denying its opposite

   1. meiosis: rhetorical figure by which something is referred to in terms less important than it really deserves

wit

intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights

attitude

A writer’s intellectual position or emotion regarding the subject of the writing.

concrete detail

Strictly defined, “concrete” refers to nouns that name physical objects - a bridge, a book, or a coat

descriptive details

When an essay uses this phrase, look for the writer’s sensory description

appealing to the visual sense is usually the most predominant, but don’t overlook other sensory details. As usual, after you identify a passage’s descriptive details, analyze their effect

devices

the figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other stylistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic effect.

Language

concentrate on how elements of language combine to form a whole

narrative devices

describes the tools of the storyteller, such as ordering events so that they build to a climactic moment or withholding info

narrative technique

Style of telling the story; order of events and attention to detail

persuasive essay

present a coherent argument in which the evidence builds to a logical and relevant conclusion

resources of language

phrase refers to all devices of composition available to a writer, such as diction, syntax, figure of speech

rhetorical features

how a passage is constructed. Look at organization and use of images, details, or arguments

sentence structure

look at the type of sentences the author uses. Be prepared to discuss the effects of sentence structure

stylistic devices

An essay prompt that mentions stylistic devices is asking you to note and analyze all of the elements in language that contribute to style — such as diction, syntax, tone, attitude, figures of speech, connotations, and repetions.