Rhetorical Devices Vocabulary

Logos: Uses logic, reasoning, factual evidence, to support their argument and persuade the audience

Pathos: Appeals to the audiences’ emotions, aiming to evoke feelings such as pity, sadness, or sympathy

Ethos: Refers to the credibility or ethical appeal of the speaker or writer

Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, often utilizing various techniques to influence the audience's perception and response.

Statistic: A fact or piece of data from a study of a large quantity of numerical data

Rhetorical Question: Lays emphasis on some point being discussed when no real answer is expected

Anecdote: A short and often personal story used as a way to illustrate a point or engage the audience emotionally.

Ad Hominem: Involves attacking an opponent’s character, motive, or personal attributes instead of addressing the substance of their argument.

False Cause: It assumes that because one event follows another, the first event must have caused the second

Hasty Generalization: When someone draws a broad conclusion based on insufficient evidence or a limited sample size

Understatement: Intentionally makes something seem less important or impactful than it actually is

Concession: Where one acknowledges a point made by one’s opponent. It allows for different opinions and approaches toward an issue, indicating an understanding of what causes the actual debate or controversy

Logical Fallacy: Errors in peoples reasoning that can affect how someone thinks or feels about something.

Appeal to Bandwagon: Where a writer persuades readers to agree with the majority, that many people agree with, use too, or still do

Appeal to Patriotism: Where a writer appeals to the readers' sense of national pride or loyalty, encouraging them to support an idea, often in a way that evokes strong emotional responses.

Cliche Thinking: Overused phrases, descriptions, or plot elements that have lost their original impact through excessive repetition in literature.

Charges Language: Words or phrases used to express an opinion or evoke a certain emotion, usually anger

Stereotype: To construct the image of a person, group, clan, tribe, or region through generalization.

Slippery Slope: To instill fear or negative emotions in the audience. Claiming that relatively small changes will inevitably lead to significant and undesirable consequences is an example of a slippery slope argument.

Straw Man: Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.

False Dilemma: A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options when in reality more options are available. (Functional Fixedness)

Red Herring: Rhetorical device that diverts attention from the topic at hand

Appeal to Tradition: Reinforces cultural norms, beliefs, or societal practices