Rhetorical Terms Test

  1. Ad Hominem - logical fallacy that refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument of the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker.

 

  1. Ad Populum - (bandwagon) this fallacy occurs when someone does something because everyone else does it.

 

  1. Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds usually in a given line.

 

  1. Allusion - a brief reference to a person, event, or a place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art.

 

  1. Analogy - a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things, Often an analogy uses something simple and familiar to explain something unfamiliar and complex.

 

  1. Anaphora - repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or lines.

 

  1. Concession - an acknowledgment that the opposing argument may be true or reasonable. 



  1. Counterargument - an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward.

 

  1. Anecdote -  A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.

 

  1. Closed Thesis - A statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.

 

  1. Connotation - Meanings or associations readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition.



  1. Ethos - Greek for character. Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.

 

  1. Pathos -  Greek for suffering or experience, speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. Specific appeals might play on the audience’s values, desires, and hopes, or their fears and prejudices.



  1. Logos - Greek for embodied thought, speakers appeal to logos or reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or excerpt testimony to back them up.



  1. Hyperbole - Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis, or to produce a comic or ironic effect.



  1. Understatement - Figure of speech in which is presented as less important, dire, urgent, good, etc. than it actually is, often for satirical and comic effect. It is the opposite of hyperbole. 

 

  1. Juxtaposition -  The placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.



  1. Purpose - The goal the speaker wants to achieve. 

 

  1. Polysyndeton -  the deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between phrases and words.

 

  1. Refutation - a denial of the validity of an opposing argument. 



  1. Persona -  Greek for mask. The face or character that a speaker shows to their audience.

 

  1. Bias - A prejudice or preconceived notion that prevents a person from approaching a topic in a neutral or objective way. 

 

  1. Syllogism - a logical structure that uses the major premise to reach a necessary conclusion.

 

  1. Asyndeton - omission of conjunctions between phrases and words.

 

  1. Archaic Diction - outdated choice of words.

 

  1. Deduction - a logical process where you reach a conclusion by starting with a general principle or major premise and applying it to a specific case or minor premise.



  1. Equivocation -  A fallacy that uses a term with two or more meanings in an attempt to misrepresent or deceive.

 

  1. Polemic - Greek for hostile, an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion above all others. Polemics generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.



  1.  Qualitative Evidence - Evidence supported by reason, traditions, or precedence

 

  1.  Quantitative Evidence - Things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers

 

  1.  Enthymeme - Essentially a syllogism with one of the premises implied and taken for granted as understood.

 

  1.   Trope - Artful diction. From the Greek word for turning. Any figure of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, etc.

 

  1.  Syntax - The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. This includes word order, the length and structure of sentences, and such schemes like parallelism and juxtaposition.

 

  1.  Synecdoche - A type of metaphor where a part is used to represent the whole.

 

  1. Propaganda -  The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. Uses rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.

 

  1. Satire - Use of irony or sarcasm used to critique society or an individual.

 

  1. Rhetorical Question - A figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than the purpose of getting an answer.

 

  1. Post hoc ergo propter hoc - “After which therefore because of which” - It is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it earlier. Correlation does not prove causation.

 

  1. Paradox -  A statement or situation that is seemingly contradicting on the surface but delivers an ironic truth.


  2. Rhetoric - The art of finding ways of persuading an audience.


  3. Antithesis - Opposition or contrast of ideas or words in a parallel construction.


  4. Chiasmus - A figure of speech where one phrase is inverted in the next phrase.


  5. Colloquial Diction - Slang; informal language connected to time and place.


  6. Jargon - language associated with a specific field of study.


  7. Vernacular - Language or vocabulary from a particular region.


  8. Denotation - The dictionary definition of a word.


  9. Epizeuxis - The repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis.


  10. Euphemism - A kinder way of expressing something either offensive or

    fragile/unpleasant.


  11. Litotes - a form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to affirm a positive.


  12. Oxymoron - A paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words.


  13. Syllepsis - a figure of speech in which a word is applied to two other words in different sentences.