Annotation

Definition: Explanatory or critical notes added to a text.

Aristotelian Triangle

Definition: A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker. the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle).

Anadiplosis

Definition: The repetition of a prominent (usually the final) word of a phrase, clause, line, or stanza at the beginning of the next.

Example: “…looking from the car to the tire and from the tire to the observers in a pleasant, puzzled way.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 53)

Explanation: The prominent, final word in this situation is the word 'tire'. It is used at the end of the first thought and then at the beginning of the next thought. This puts emphasis on the word and also on what the character is doing.

Analogy

Definition: An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.

 Example: “Nor do I believe that management rules by divine right or the undiluted force of superior knowledge, as the ‘surveys’ demand you acknowledge.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 112)

Explanation: Erenreich is comparing the management to a divine person or, likewise, a God. 

Anaphora

Definition: The repetition of words at the beginnng of successive clauses.

Example: “’Fred., come help me to cant this timber here.’-‘Fred., come carry this timber yonder.’-‘Fred., bring that roller here.’-‘Fred., come help saw off the end of this timber…’” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 94)

Explanation: At the beginning of each of these sentences is the name 'Fred'. It is short for Frederick who is the main character in the novel. It points the reader's attention towards how much Frederick was needed by these people. It puts emphasis on the crazy-ness of the situation as well. 

Anecdote

Definition: A short account of an interesting event.

Example: “I wouldn’t be surprised of complaints have gotten back to Ted about on particular joyride where the driver (who will not even be identified by her made-up name, lest some other characteristic give her away) decided to go screeching around a neighborhood containing several of our houses, blaring out a rap tape consisting largely of the words “F*** YOU, ***HOLE” and kinky permutations thereof, while an owner type pushing a stroller cringed on the sidewalk.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 107-108)

Explanation: Ehrenreich was talking about her current situation at the maid service in Maine when she decided to talk about an interesting event that occurred while she was in service of the maids. It was very short but proved its point and was certainly very interesting.

Antecedent

Definition: The noun to which a later pronoun refers.

Example: “Mr. Douglass has frankly disclosed the place of his birth, the names of those who claimed ownership of his body and soul, and the names also of those who committed the crimes which he has alleged against them.” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, XVII) 

Explanation: 'Mr. Douglass' was the noun that the pronouns, 'his' and 'he' refered to. Furthermore, 'them' refers to the 'names also of those who commited the crimes'.

Antimetabole

Definition: The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.

Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address)

Explanation: JFK reversed the order in which the subjects appear. The first part is emphasis on what one could obtain from the country. The second part has emphasis on what one could obtain for the country.

Aphorism

Definition: A short, astute statement of a general truth.

Example: “Dad kept telling me that he loved me, that he never would have let me drown, but you can’t cling to the side your while life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is ‘If you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.’” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 66)

Explanation: The astute statement in this case is 'if you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim'. It is a general truth about life. How you can't go around being lazy and not working if you want to survive. 

Appositive

Definition: A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.

Examples: “The first step in tracking down Dad was going next door to the Freemans, who let us use their phone if we paid a dime, and calling Grandpa to ask if Dad was there.” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 181)

Explanation: The phrase that renames the Freemans here is 'who let us use their phone if we paid a dime'. This phrase allows the reader to now refer to the Freemans as the ones who lent their phone. It is used as an identifier.

Archaic Diction

Definition: The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.

 Example: “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.” (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 1)

Explanation: The word 'forebears' is an old term referring to the men that founded our country and signed the Declaration of Independence and documents of the like. The use of the term makes JFK seem more presidential and knowledgeable about the history of America. It also makes him seem more respectable. 

Argument

Definition: A statement put forth and supported by evidence.

 Example: “As to my own treatment while I lived on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, it was very similar to that of the other slave children. I was not old enough to work in the field, and there being little else than field work to do, I had a great deal of leisure time. The most I had to do was to drive up the cows at evening, keep the fowls out of the garden, keep the front yard clean, and run of errands for my old master’s daughter, Mrs. Lucretia Auld.” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 29)

Explanation: Frederick Douglass provides the argumentative  tatement of that being a slave with this owner 'was very similar to that of the other slave children'. This is his argument and he follows it up with an explanation of what he has to do on this property and these statements are used as evidence. 

Assertion

Definition: An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.

 Example: “Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering.” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 23)

Explanation: This sentence is an opinion of Frederick Douglass which means, though, that if it were supported with conclusive evidence, it would become an argument. Without any evidence, it is just an opinion of Frederick Douglass. In the case of this novel, it is alright to throw in a lot of opinions.

Assonance

Definition: The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a line or passage.

 Example: “All right...I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 21)

Explanation: In this sentence, there is a repeated 'i' and 'a' sound in the middle of many of the words. This makes a reader focus in on this sentence and it also flows better.

Assumption

Definition: A belief of statement taken for granted without proof.

Example: "I turned ten that spring, but birthdays were not a big deal around our house." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 116)

Explanation: Jeannette Walls assumes that birthdays aren't a big deal around their house. Although, on the outer levels, this could be proved, it can't be proved on a deeper and more emotional level. It is possible that her parents feel so bad about their financial situation that they didn't want to make birthdays a big deal when they were young so they wouldn't be disappointed when they were old.

Asyndeton

Definition: Leaving out conjuntions between words, phrases, clauses.

Example: "Mr. Gore was a grave man, and, though a young man, he indulged in no jokes, said no funny words, seldom smiled." (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 24)

Explanation: In this sentence, to make it a more normal sentence, an 'and' should have been added after 'words'. By omitting  he word 'and', the sentence seems a lot more serious which makes sense when we understand what the sentence it trying to tell us.

Attitude

Definition: The speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.

Example: "Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering. He was artful, cruel, and obdurate. He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man." (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 23)

Explanation: Douglass sounds rather sour when he saying this line and this reveals his attitude towards the subject, Mr. Gore. 

Audience

Definition: One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.

Example: "Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change." (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 1)

Explanation: Although the Inaugural Address is addressed to all of America as a country, JFK specifically addressed a few choice, important people at the very beginning of the speech. 

Authority

Definition: A reliable, respected source - someone with knowledge.

Example: "Margaret Talbot reports in the New York Times Magazine that "personality testing in the workplace is at an all-time high" and now supports a $400-million-a-year industry (October 17, 1999, p. 28)." (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 58).

Explanation: Throughout Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich references various sources through footnotes which add extra information to the story.

Bias

Definition: Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.

Example: "Just bear in mind, when I stumble, that this is in fact the best-case scenario: a person with every advantage that ethnicity and eduaction, health and motivation can confer attempting, in a time of exuberant prosperity, to survive in the economy's lower depths." (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 10).

Explanation: In this example, Ehrenreich is showing large bias towards herself and other people of her ethnicity along with other similar characteristics. She shows this by saying that this matchup of traits would be 'the best-case scenario'.

Cacophany

Definition: Discordant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables which are grating to the ear.

 Example: “By midnight the hilarity had increased. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers people were doing “stunts” all over the garden, while happy, vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 37).

Explanation: This scene describes a very loud scene in which it is easy to hear the ruckus that was going on. We can pick up on the sounds with the words such as 'vacuous' and 'laughter'.

Chiasmus

Definition: An inverted parallelism; the reversal of the order of corresponding words or phrases.

 Example: “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of  the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 64).

Explanation: This is simply the reversal of the order of the words. It takes a thought and reverses it back to create a new thought which really flips the argument back at the accuser. 

Cliché

Definition: An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect.

 Example: “ ‘She’s got an indiscreet voice,’ I remarked. ‘It’s full of—‘ I hesitated. ‘Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 120)

Explanation: Although the phrase, 'Her voice is full of money', has never been used before, it still qualifies as a cliché because of the way he uses it. It is used just as a cliché would be used; it's just that he came up with an original cliché.

Colloquial/ism

Definition: An informal or conversational use of language.

Example: "Would I maybe like to go for a walk on the beach someday after work? Yeah, OK--and I bound back to brace myself for lunch." (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 65)

Explanation: Most dialogue could be classified as colloquialism because most of us don't speak all elegant most of the time. In this instance, Ehrenreich's use of 'OK' and 'Yeah' make this piece of dialogue a very colloquial piece.

Complex Sentence

Definition: A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Example: "In a very short time after I went to live at Baltimore, my old master's youngest son Richard died;" (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 47)

Explanation: 'In a very short time after I went to live at Baltimore' is the dependent clause and the rest of it is the independent clause. This adds to the piece because it adds depth to the sentence and adds more background information too.

Conceit

Definition: An elaborate, usually intellectually ingenious poetic comparison or image, such as an analogy or metaphor.

Example: "He'd say he was going to get her a ring even fancier than the one he pawned. That was why he had to find gold. To get Mom a new wedding ring. That and so we could build the Glass Castle." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 28)

Explanation: The Glass Castle represents, in a very poetic fashion, the image of the kind of life they could have. It is ingenious to disguise  heir deepest wishes and desires in the form of this unattainable object.

Concession

Definition: A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.

 Example: “Four days later, when Dad still hadn’t come home, Mom sent me to go find him. ‘Why do I always have to get Dad?’ I asked. ‘Because he likes you the best,’ she said. ‘And he’ll come home if you tell him to.’” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 181)

Explanation: This is one of many instances in which Jeannette yields to her mother. This shows the dominance in the family and how willing Jeannette really is to stand up for herself.

Coordination

Definition: Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjuntion such as and, or but.

Example: "She told me that Joan was still living in her van and that Stu had been fired from the Hearthside." (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 49)

Explanation: The conjunction 'and' both connects the two pieces of the sentence but also compares two ideas to one another. The similarity between both of these ideas is the fact that it has to do with what happened to people that she knew.

Cumulative Sentence

Definition: An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.

 Example: “In the hottest summer and coldest winter, I was kept almost naked—no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees.” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 29)

Explanation: The part before the dash could have easily been alone and kept as a simple sentence. However, listing off and describing exactly what 'naked' meant helped add a lot of meaning to the sentence.

Common Ground

Definition: Shared beliefs, values, or positions.

Example: “Guilt, you may be thinking warily. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to feel? But guilt doesn’t go anywhere near far enough; the appropriate emotion is shame—shame at our own dependency, in this case, on the underpaid labor of others.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 221)

Explanation: Ehrenreich is implying that everyone who read the novel felt guilt or thought about feeling guilty. This would be the common ground between everyone involved in the book. This makes it easier for the reader to connect to the story.

Context

Definition: Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.

 Example: “The late afternoon sky bloomed in the window for a moment like the blue honey of the Mediterranean—then the shrill voice of Mrs. McKee called me back into the room.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 34)

Explanation: If we, say, wanted to determine the meaning of 'blue honey' in this context, we could determine, by using context clues, that it has to do with the Mediterranean which is an ocean and it has to do with being outside meaning it is probably the ocean itself. Readers can use the context of the reading to better understand terms and phrases in a work.

Counterargument

Definition: A challenge to a position; an opposing argument.

Example: “But since we couldn’t afford to pay the town’s trash-collection fee, our garbage was really piling up. One day Dad told us to dump it in the hole.

‘But that’s for the Glass Castle,’ I said.”

'It's a temporary measure,' Dad told me. He explained that he was going to hire a truck to cart the garbage to the dump all at once." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 155)

Explanation: Jeannette brought up the point to her father that the soon-to-be trash hole was for the Glass Castle. Her father's counterargument was that it was going to be temporary. Without counterarguments, there wouldn't be very much to an argument.

Credible

Definition: Worthy of belief; trustworthy.

 Example: “According to Marc Linder and Ingrid Nygaard, authors of Void Where Prohibited: Rest Breaks and the Right to Urinate on Company Time (Cornell University Press, 1997), …” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 37)

Explanation: It is important for an author to prove themselves credible and to also prove people they may quote from as credible. Without this, information might be a little hard for the reader to believe.

Declaritive Sentence

Definition: A sentence that makes a statement.

 Example: “I chose Maine for its whiteness.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 51)

Explanation: This sentence is very short and to the point. Readers don't always want long, complex sentences. It is good to use declarative sentences when you want an idea to stand out as well.

Deduction

Definition: Reasoning from general to specific.

 Example: “I chose Maine for its whiteness… Not only were the professors and students white, which is of course not uncommon; so were the hotel housekeepers, the panhandlers, and the cab drivers, who, in addition to being white, also spoke English, or at least some r-less New England variant thereof. This might not make Maine an ideal setting in which to hunker down for the long haul, but it made it the perfect place for a blue-eyed, English-speaking Caucasian to infiltrate the low-wage workforce, no questions asked.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 51)

Explanation: This example explains, in detail, why Ehrenreich chose Maine. She could deduce that that was going to be a good spot because of those reasons. Deductions help the reader with the reasoning behind a character's actions.

Didactic

Definition: Poetry which is clearly intended for the purpose of instruction.

Example: "Every tune was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains." (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 14)

Explanation: In Frederick Douglass's novel, he tells of slaves that sing and there are different instructional messages in the songs. Some tell of how to be free and other of how to keep up hope. Authors use this hidden instruction in poetry to add depth to a work.

Documentation

Definition: Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.

Example: “Long-term motel residents are almost certainly undercounted, since motel owners often deny access to census takers and the residents themselves may be reluctant to admit they live in motels, crowded in with as many as four people or more in a room (Willoughby Mariano, “The Inns and Outs of the Census,” Los Angeles Times, May 22,2000)" (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 140)

Explanation: In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich always remembers to document the sources of which she got her information. Authors do this to stay credible and be respectful to the original person whose idea it belongs to.

Elegiac

Definition: Mornful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.

Example: "I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed." (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, 43)

Explanation: Frederick Douglass is mournful over having been dehumanized, lost many years of his life, and thinking about killing himself. We can tell all this about his tone with is described as elegiac.

Ethos

Definition: A greek term refering to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Example: "'Someone ought to do the old-fashioned kind of journalism--you know, go out there and try it for themselves.'" (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 1)

Explanation: This quote is an example of one that builds Ehrenreich's character. The reason is because she looks to be a go-getter. Authors try to boost their character, usually, so they are more loved by the audience.

Euphemism

Definition: The substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something unpleasant.

 Example: “Myrtle Wilson’s body, wrapped in a blanket, and then in another blanket, as though she suffered from a chill in the hot night, lay on a work-table by the wall, and Tom, with his back to us, was bending over it, motionless.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 138)

Explanation: The phrase 'as though she suffered from a chill' and what preceded it is a nice way of describing the way she looked. It softens the blow on the readers and even possibly shows the way that Tom sees it in his head.

Figurative Language

Definition: The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.

 Example: “The whole town is desolate. All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath, and there’s a persistent wail all night along the north shore.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 9)

Explanation: This literary effect is exaggeration. The author used hyperboles to express how much everyone back home missed Daisy. This gives depth and humor to the piece.

Figure of Speech

Definition: An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.

 Example: “The prolonged and tumultuous argument that ended by herding us into that room eludes me, though I have a sharp physical memory that, in the course of it, my underwear kept climbing like a damp snake around my legs and intermittent beads of sweat raced cool across my back.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 166)

Explanation: It is obvious that Gatsby's underwear was not a damp snake around his legs. It is a good way of describing what it felt like to him and it also provided some comic relief.

Fragment

Definition: A word, phrase, or clause that does not form a full sentence.

 Example: “I couldn’t get a word out of him except the most minimal directions—‘up there,’ ‘that way’—in a voice I could hardly hear.” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 142)

Explanation: Although it is very hard to find a good example in our reading selection, the phrases 'up there' and 'that way' are not full sentences and are therefore called fragments. These are often used in conversation and show hurriedness.

Dicto Simplictor

Definition: An argument based on an unqualified generalization.

 Example: “...I reasoned, when you give white people a whole state to themselves, they treat one another real nice.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 52)

Explanation: The above statement is not backed up by any facts. It is simply an observation by Ehrenreich which really has no value. People use these to provide radical ideas and also their own opinions. It gives character to the work. 

Hasty Generalization

Definition: When a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is not large enough.

 Example: “There are two kinds of low-rent motel rooms in America: the Hampton Inn type, which are clearly calibrated, rather than decorated, to produce an atmosphere of menacing sterility—and the other kind, in which history has been allowed to accumulate in the form of carpet stains, lingering deposits of cigarette smoke, and Cheeto crumbs deep under the bed.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 53)

Explanation: In order to prove this statement true, a researcher would have to go to substantially more motels than Ehrenreich has been to. Ehrenreich didn't mean for this statement to be fully factual but she is definitely generalizing the quality of motels.

Post Hoc

Definition: When it is concluded that one event causes another simply because the proposed cause occurred before the proposed effect.

 Example: “Or maybe you lose your home because you’ve been living with a mother or a sister who throws you out when her boyfriend comes back or because she needs the bed or sofa you’ve been sleeping on for some other wayward family member. And there you are. And here I am—as clueless and alone as I have ever been in my grown-up life.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 52-53)

Explanation: Ehrenreich is assuming that a person who was thrown out of their home is utter ably alone because their parent or sibling kicked them out. This isn't necessarily true. Said persons could live with friends if they had good social relations and if they are older than 18, they should be out on their own anyway. Authors don't purposely try to include post hoc in their work but, as a reader, it is important to look for it.

Contradictory Premises

Definition: Conclusions are drawn from the interactions of premises: where two premises contradict each other, there can be no interaction and hence no conclusion.

 Example: “Into what shape of hole would a round square fit?”

Explanation: It is extremely hard to find a good contradictory premise in our reading but the above example is one of the more famous ones. The phrase doesn't make logical sense because there is no way a round square could possibly exist. Therefore, the question is irrelevant. 

Ad Misericordiam/bathos

Definition: When a person substitutes a claim intended to create pity for evidence in an argument.

 Example: “Mrs. W. is not in fact happy to see us, grimacing with exasperation when the black nanny ushers us into the family room or sunroom or den or whatever kind of specialized space she is sitting in… No, she doesn’t want to take us around the house, because she already explained everything to the office on the phone, but Maddy stands there, with Rosalie and me behind her, until she relents.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 81)

Explanation: The whole scene with Mrs.W. was included to make the reader feel sympathy towards the low-wage workers. However, Ehrenreich is using this sympathetic scene to say that all the rich white people are evil and nobody treats the low-wage like they should. There is no factual truth but it is able to capture the reader's emotion and the reader will usually tend to believe it.

False Analogy

Definition: Incorrectly making an analogical connection between two unconnected items.

Example: "Her singing is atrocious. Its like a bale of pickles being eaten by a hungry farmer." (Myself).

Explanation: There is no logical connection that can be drawn between the two things being compared. Most of those funny southern analogies are funny because they are false analogies.

Hypothesis Contrary To Fact

Definition: A poorly supported claim about what might have happened in the past or future if circumstances or conditions were other than they actually were or are.

Example: "I taught you logic. So, if I hadn't taught you logic, you never would have learned logic at all." (Max Schulman, Love is a Fallacy).

Explanation: This is drawing false conclusions. Just because someone teaches another someone something, it doesn't mean that that second someone wouldn't have learned said learned skill. There are other variables at play.

Poisoning The Well

Definition: Trying to discredit what a person might later claim by presenting unfavorable information (be it true or false) about the person.

 Example: “You might think that unskilled jobs would be a snap for someone who holds a Ph.D. and whose normal line of work requires learning entirely new things every couple of weeks. Not so.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 192)

Explanation: The underlined selection is an example of Ehrenreich trying to predict future arguments but she does so in a rude way. She is making it sound like we are stupid for thinking that it would be easier for an educated woman to get along rather than an uneducated one. Arguments usually have predictions as to what the other person is going to say but it becomes a bad thing when an author downs the credibility of the one he/she is arguing with.

Scare Tactic

Definition: Creating fear in people to use as evidence in a claim.

Example: "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail).

Explanation: Before this quote, King had gone on a very emotional rant about the frustrations of being rejected by society. He then said this line which does induce fear. It sounds almost like a threat or, more accurately, a foreshadowing.

Either or Choice

Definition: A claim that presents an artificially limited range of choices.

Example: "Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail).

Explanation: King implies that there are only two things that time can be and that is either destructive or constructive. Those aren't necessarily the only two options esspecially considering that time isn't a tangible thing and therefore cannot be USED for any one thing.

Slippery Slope

Definition: If one step or action is taken it will invariably lead to similar steps or actions, the end results of which are negative or undesirable.

Example: "If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail)

Explanation: This is an exaggeration. Although it may turn out to be true, it is quite an assumptuous leap.

Bandwagon

Definition: A threat of rejection by one's peers (or peer pressure) is substituted for evidence in an "argument."

Example: "In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letters from Birmingham Jail)

Explanation: This is almost opposite of the definition but what King is doing is dissing all of the subject's peer which then peer pressures the subject into being the better Christian man.

Appeal to False Authority

Definition: To justify an argument by citing a highly admired or well-known (but not necessarily qualified) figure who supports the conclusion being offered.

Example:  "Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?" (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail)

Explanation: King mentions God and Jesus multiple times throughout his essay. He believes that God and Jesus believe in peaceful assembly and fighting for what's right. However, it could be argued that these men are not reliable sources since many believe that they do not, in fact, exist.

Dogmatism

Definition: Arguments that do not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his beliefs are beyond question.

Example: "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually..." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail)

Explanation: This is stated as a fact even though it is just a generalization and would not be able to be proven. It allows for no commenting or argumentation.

Moral Equivalence

Definition: A person who suggests that one act of serious wrongdoing does not differ from a minor offence.

Example: "If government is going to impose restrictions on smoking for health reasons then they much impose the same restrictions on drinking and eating of fatty foods." (uwec.edu)

Explanation: This is like an exaggeration. Smoking is way more harmful than eating foods. The two cannot be compared logically.

Ad Hominem

Definition: Attempts to refute an argument by indicting the source of the argument, rather than the substance of the argument itself.

Example: "Here's what I think about what you have written: anyone who opposes the death penalty for murder is a criminal at heart." (uwec.edu).

Explanation: This is an attack on the person or source rather than on the argument. This statement did nothing to support the second person's argument. It just looks like a last ditch effort.

Begging the Question

Definition: Making an argument, the conclusion of which is based on an unstated or unproven assumption.

Example: "You can't give me a C; I'm an A student." (uwec.edu).

Explanation: This argument has no real value. Just because a student was able to have all A's beforehand, doesn't mean that said student isn't capable of doing worse.

Equivocation

Definition: Allows a key word or term in an argument to shift its meaning during the course of the argument.

Example: "I finished all of my homework (for my English class)." (Myself).

Explanation: This statement isn't techincally a lie. However, it also isn't the full truth.

Non Sequitar

Definition: Any argument which fails to establish a connection between the premises and the conclusion; irrelevant reasons are offered to support a claim.

Example: "American students' relatively poor performance in foreign language and geography examinations means that they should be subjected to regular standardized tests in these two areas each year throughout their mandatory period of schooling." (uwec.edu).

Explanation: There is no proof that says giving students more mandatory tests would boost their grades. It might sound like a logical solution but there is no proof to back it up.

Idiom

Definition: An expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up.

 Example: “We were always doing the skedaddle, usually in the middle of the night.” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 19)

Explanation: The word 'skedaddle' is not a real word and so we have to figure out what it means. In order to do this, we must recognize that it is an idiom for 'leave'. We use idioms to add culture to pieces of work and to add depth and understanding. It also makes the piece more interesting.

Imperative Sentence

Definition: A sentence that requests or commands.

Example: "'Tell us a story about yourself, Dad!'" (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 24)

Explanation: The children in this example are not asking and it isn't a sentence stating a fact. It is a sentence said to another person telling them to do something. 

Facts

Definition: Information that is true or demonstrable.

 Example: “Dad was in the air force, and Mom was in the USO, but when they met, she was on leave visiting her parents at their cattle ranch near Fish Creek Canyon.” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 26)

Explanation: Assuming the parents weren't lying, these statements are facts. This is because the information could be looked up and verified. There is no opinion in them. Arguments can't be made out of strictly opinions.

Epigram

Definition: A brief witty statement.

Example: “Dark is a way and light is a place, / Heaven that never was/ Nor will be ever is always true.” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, Intro)

Explanation: This is a brief excerpt from the poem at the beginning of the novel. It is witty because it describes the whole situation of the Glass Castle in a very smart way. We use these to add depth and additional meaning to a piece.

Explication

Definition: Explanation of a text's meaning through an analysis of all of its constituent parts, including the literary devices used; also called close reading.

Dialectical Journal

Definition: A double-column journal in which one writes a quotation in one column and relections on that quotation in the other column.

Introduction

Definition: Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion.

Narration

Definition: Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand.

Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Chapter 1, Book 1, 7)

Explanation: Dickens is our narrator here and we can tell by this whole first paragraph of the novel. It establishes point of view and the style at which the story will be told.

Confirmation

Definition: The major part of the text, includes the development or the proof needed to make the writer’s case.

Refutation

Definition: Addresses the counterargument, is in many ways a bridge between the writer’s proof and conclusion.

Example: Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail

Explanation: Multiple times throughout the letter, he makes references to possible counterarguments and then goes on to explain why they are wrong. There are many examples but it would take up too much space to actually quote one. Just trust me that they are there and are really well done arguments. 

Conclusion

Definition: Brings the essay to a satisfying close.

Close Reading

Definition: A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.

Claim

Definition: An assertion, usually supported by evidence.

Example: "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here" (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 3).

Explanation: The above is Luther's 'hypthesis' so-to-speak. It is what he believes to be true and throughout the letter he provides evidence for his claim.

Cite

Definition: Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.

Induction

Definition: Reasoning from specific to general.

Example: "I want to try and answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms" (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1).

Explanation: Luther starts out by addressing a specific group but soon gets more general about the people he is talking to and the ideas that are being discussed.

Invective

Definition: A bitter, abusive satire in prose or verse attacking an individual.

Example: "Dad stuck his head out the window as he drove hollering at mom calling her a "stupid whore" and a "stinking c**t"." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 93).

Explanation: This is definitely an example of a character attacking another verbally. It makes the reader feel for one character or the other and, in this case, it brings about a case of seriousness.

Inversion

Definition: A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.

Example: "like build the Glass Castle" (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 25).

Explanation: "Build" is the verb and "Glass Castle" is the subject. We can easily see that the verb does in fact come before the subject in this case.

Irony

Definition: A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.

Example: "I lay this curse upon him, that the wrench/ in wretchness and misery may live" (Sophecles, Oedious the King, lines 248-249)

Explanation: This is ironic because Oedipus ends up being the one that gets cursed.

Jargon

Definition: A characteristic language of a particular group.

Example: "Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town." (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 3).

Explanation: Priests tend to use a lot of religious terms in their everyday speaking habits which makes it hard for a normal person without religious background to understand.

Juxtaposition

Definition: Placement of two things side by side for emphasis.

Example: "Beauty and the Beast" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby,38)

Explanation: By placing "beauty" and "beast" side by side, it shows the stark contrast between the two which then emphasizes one and the other. 

Litote/meiosis

Definition: A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary, as in "not unhappy" or "a poet of no small stature."

Example: "Not bad" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 31).

Explanation: This means good. However, by saying it like this, it almost has a negative connotation to it because he is using a negative term.

Logos

Definition: A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Example: "Jesus Christ was an extremist" (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 31).

Explanation: This is using very witty and true logic. He is appealing to what his audience believes in but is also disproving their argument at the same time.

Metonymy

Definition: Use of an aspect of something to repesent the whole.

Example: "A struggle against the common enemies of man" (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 22).

Explanation: "Man" represents not just men but everybody in America. This word is oftentimes used to represent just people of the human race.

Modifier

Definition: A word, phrase, or clause that qualifies or describes another word, phrase, or clause.

Example: "On Sunday morning while church bells rang..." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 61).

Explanation: The beginning part describes the setting for the rest of the sentence. Without it, the sentence might have a slightly different meaning or effect.

Narration

Definition: Retelling an event or series of events.

Nominalization

Definition: Tuning a verb or adjective into a noun.

Example: "...will rest the final success or failure of our course" (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 21).

Explanation: Failure comes from the verb "fail" but it has been turned into a noun.

Omniscient Narrator

Definition: An all-knowing, usually third-person narrator.

Example: The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien.

Explanation: Throughout the novel, O'Brien dives into the minds of other characters and explains their life stories even though he, as his own character in the book, wouldn't be able to do the same.

Onomatopoeia

Definition: This is the process of creating or using words that imitate sounds.

Example: "Small wind, fine rain, hsiao, hsiao" (Li Ching-Choa, "On Plum Blossoms", Line 13).

Explanation: I had to analyze this poem once and we learned that the underlined is supposed to represent the sound of the rain.

Occasion

Definition: An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.

Example: "To John, for convincing me that everyone who is interesting has a past." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle)

Explanation: In Jeannette's acknowledgements, she mentions John who was the one who convinced her to write this novel. Had it not been for family support, this book would never have been written and no one would have known her story.

Parallelism

Definition: The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

Example: "To those..." (John F. Kennedy, Inagural Address, 6,7,8,9,10,11)

Explanation: Kennedy's whole Inaugural Address has a parallel structure to it especially because of his use of the above quote. It makes the audience feel "addressed" and creates a nice organization to the essay.

Parody

Definition: A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.

Example: "Nourished by the Negro's frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigble 'devil'" (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail)

Explanation: King is exaggerating who the clergymen really are and all throughout his letter he almost makes fun of them or mocks them for who they are.

Pathos

Definition: A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.

Example: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?" (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail,14).

Explanation: Luther hugely appeals to emotion in this section of the letter. Not only does he imploy the use of an innocent child, he also directly and blatently describes the problem without any softening courtesy words.

Periodic Sentence

Definition:  A sentence that builds toward and ends with the main clause.

Example: "A couple of times we sneaked up close and tried to look in the windows, but they were painted black." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 63).

Explanation: The stuff before the comma just adds detail to the main point that is found in the stuff after the comma.

Persona

Definition: The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.

Example: "'What you doing, Nick?' 'I'm a bond man.'" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 10)

Explanation: The author, Fitzgerald uses Nick as his own voice. He blames all the thoughts and narrations on Nick but, really, Nick is nothing more than the author's own thoughts and narrations.

Personification

Definition: Assigning lifelike charcteristics to inanimate objects.

Example: "She already fought the fire once and won" (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 15)

Explanation: Fire cannot literally fight anybody or anything. This means that this is a personification of fire: giving it the qualities a human might have. 

POD: Narration

Definition: Telling of a story or recounting a series of events.

POD: Description

Definition: Emphasizes the senses by painting a picture of how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.

Example: "His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 50)

Explanation: Description is just a simpler or another way of saying imagery. This line gives us basic detail about what the character looks like.

POD: Process Analysis

Definition: Explains how something works, how to do something, or how something was done.

Example: "So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here." (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1)

Explanation: There was a lot of preliminary to this statement but, basically, Luther was explaining how he got to where he is now.

POD: Exemplification

Definition: Turns a general idea into a concrete one making your argument both clearer and more persuasive to a reader.

Example: "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 3)

Explanation: The general idea is that parents are very embarrassing. Instead of skipping this whole chapter by saying exactley that, she explains a specific example as to why parents are embarrassing using her own mother as the subject. This makes her argument much more valid. No daughter wants to see her mom rooting through a trash can.

POD: Comparison/Contrast

Definition: Juxtaposing two things to highlight their similarities and differences.

Example: Comparing the sounds of nature to the quiet hum of home.

Explanation: The point of an essay on this topic would be to compare and contrast the two ideas and show the authors opinions on each.

POD: Classification/Division

Definition: To sort material or ideas into major categories.

Example: " I. A Woman on the Street, II. The Desert, III. Welch, IV. New York City" (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle)

Explanation: Walls devides her novel up into parts based on where she lived. Different life values were found in each place she lived. Therefore, these life values are catagorized into chapters and the chapters are catagorized into chapters that make the story very easy to follow. 

POD: Definition

Definition: The process of defining a term in order to analyze material.

Example: "My Dear fellow Clergy Men" (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1)

Explanation: This is more deep than a simple definition of a term but rather Luther is defining who he is speaking to. This definition helps us understand why he choses certain words and why he creates the tone that he does.

POD: Cause and Effect

Definition: Analyzing the causes that lead to a certain effect or, conversely, the effects that result from a cause is important in argument.

Example: "... Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program... I am here because I was invited" (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 2).

Explanation: Although Luther was using a bit of sarcasm here, it still holds true. Luther explains the reason for him coming to Birmingham and then the effect it had (him ending up in jail). 

Polysyndeton

Definition:The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.

Example: "The Chedles and the O.R.P. Schraeders, and the Stonewall Jackson Abroms of Georgia, and..." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 62).

Explanation: Fitzgerald names off a huge list of names and uses "and" between them all. To the reader, it makes the list seem much longer and makes it seem like it drags on more than it really does. 

Premise; major, minor

Definition: Two parts of a syllogism.The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major pemise and its subject from the minor premise.

     Major Premise: All mammals are warm-blooded.

     Minor Premise: All horses are mammals.

     Conclusion: All horses are warm-blooded.

Pronoun

Definition: A word used to replace a noun or noun phrase.

Example: "Her cheekbones were still high and strong," (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 3)

Explanation: "Her" is a pronoun that is used to represent a certain female, most likely her mother. Authors use pronouns so a person's name isn't used insistently to the point where it becomes rediculus.

Propaganda

Definition: A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.

Example: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (Martin Luther King Jr's letter from Birmingham Jail, 4).

Explanation: King is using fear to pursuade the people. There isn't any evidence that injustice in one place leads to injustice in every other place. This isn't a very logical sentence when taken literally. It is used to provoke emotion.

Purpose

Definition: One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.

Example: "For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solem oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago" (John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, 1).

Explanation: The point of his speech was to swear in as president and to reasure the public. Both are shown in this quote. This quote shows us the purpose or, at least, the most outwardly purpose. 

Refute

Definition: To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.

Rhetorical Triangle

Definition: The interaction among subject, speaker, and audience as well as how this interaction determines the structure and language of the argument.

Example: "I never saw this great-uncle..." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 3)

Explanation: We know that the speaker is Nick. Nick is directly speaking to us, his audience and, furthermore, he is talking about Gatsby which is the main subject of the novel. This shows all three points of the triangle.

Rhetorical Question

Definition: A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.

Example: "Do you want to commit suicide?" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 54).

Explanation: This is a question that can't possibly call for an answer for no one would answer a question such as that. Also, in the context it was used in, it is obvious there is no answer required. 

Simile

Definition: A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.

Example: "She loved the dry, crackling heat, the way the sky at sunset looked like a sheet of fire..." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 21) 

Explanation: This line compares the sky to a sheet of fire by use of the word "like". 

Simple Sentence 

Definition: A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.

Example: "One day Dad told us to dump it in the hole" (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 155).

Explanation:  This is a simple sentence. This is an extremely simple sentence like, literally. 

Straw Man

Definition: A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable positon; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.

Example: Children need to exercise more but parents need to eat healthier. If parents ate healthier, then kids would be healthier too which would mean that they wouldn't need to exercise more.

Explanation: Whether or not parents eat healthy is completely off topic and irrelevant. Bringing it up and then disproving it is not doing anything for the argument at hand.

Subordinate Clause

Definition: Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.

Example: "Why - any statement to give out" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 97).

Explanation: This is a subordinate clause because it follows a subordinate conjunction.

Subordination

Definition: The dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.

Example: "Why not?" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 49)

Explanation: "Why not" relies on a previous sentence or part of a sentence to make sense.

Syllogism

Definition: A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise.

Example: Flavius: Have you forgot me, sir?

Timon: Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men;
Then, if thou grant'st thou'rt a man, I have forgot thee.
(William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act Four, scene 3)

Explanation: These are just like the if-then statements from math.

Synecdoche

Definition: A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole or the whole for a part, as wheels for automobile or society for high society.

Example: "White and colored" (Martin Luther King Jr, Letter From Birmingham Jail, 14).

Explanation: These two words represent two huge different groups of people. It is a crude classification which is why Luther used it: to get the reader to realize how wrong it sounded.

Pacing

Definition: The relative speed or slowness with which a story is told or an idea is presented.

Polemic

Definition: An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.

Scheme

Definition: A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.

Example: "Let both sides..." (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address,15)

Explanation: First of all, he repeats this throughout his speech to get his ultimate meaning across. Secondly, this is a pattern of words that emphasizes the importance of unity.

Sentence Patterns

Definition: The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions – such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.

Example: "I stayed late that night, Gatsby asked me to wait until he was free, and I lingered in the garden until the inevitable swimming party had run up, chilled and exalted, from the black beach, and they were estinguished in the guest rooms overhead."

Explanation: This is an extended sentence. He uses a lot of these in his work. If he isn't using extended sentences, then he is using really choppy ones to signify the intensitiy of a situation.

Sentence Variety

Definition: Using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.

Example: "'In the morning, in the evening, ain't we got fun----,' Outside the wind was loud and there was a faint flow of thunder along the sound..." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 95)

Explanation: Fitzgerald uses incomplete sentences mixed with full sentences to capture the essence of what the room sounded like with all the music and the people and the weather. 

Source

Definition: A book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.

Example: Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed 

Explanation: We have used this novel as a source for our flashcards.

Speaker

Definition: A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.

Example: "I told her how I had stopped..." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 9)

Explanation: Every good story needs dialogue because it connects the reader to the piece and it gives a sense of now. It is also imperitive, though, that we know who the speaker is and in this case it is obvious. 

Stream Of Consciousness

Definition: A narrative technique in which action and external events are conveyed indirectly through a fictional character's extended mental soliloquy of thoughts and feelings.

Example: "If any boy was interested in me, I wondered if I'd have the wherewithal to tell him, when he tried to go too far, that I was not that kind of girl. But the truth was, I didn't need to worry much abount fending off advances, seeing how-- as Earnie Goad told me on every available occasion-- I was pork-chop ugly." (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 200)

Explanation: This is an interior monologue from the author. These tell us how she feels and her concerns. It also gives us clues as to her character and innermost morales. 

Style

Definition: The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.

Example: "They turned into the wine-shop, which was closed for it was mid-night, and where Madame Defarge immediately took her post at her desk..." (Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities, Book 2, 234)

Explanation: The style of Dickens is one of huge description and ongoing explaining of things that do not need to be explained.

Subject

Definition: In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.

Example: "I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham" (Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 2)

Explanation: The subject is the incarceration of MLKJ. This is a direct introduction of that subject. 

Synthesize

Definition: Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.

Example: "They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn't know me now at." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 96)

Explanation: There are 3 seperate parts to this sentence. This is a shallow look at the possibilities of synthesize as we can use it in argumentative essays. Those can get really complicated. 

Thesis

Definition: The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.

Example: "For man holds in his mortal hands to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life" (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 3)

Explanation: JFK's main purpose in this speech is stressing equality and peace and economic stability. All of this is mentioned in the above quote. This statement is the thesis of the document. 

Thesis Statement

Definition: A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.

Topic Sentence

Definition: A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph’s idea and often unites it with the work’s thesis.

Trope

Definition: Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.

Example: "... each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident, argument which pulled me back, as if with ropes, into my chair" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 35).

Explanation: This is, specifically, an example of personification but it is also imagery along with other things. This makes it an example of a trope because he did use very artful diction.

Voice

Definition: In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun. In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.

Zeugma

Definition: A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs – often in different, sometimes incongruent ways – two or more words in a sentence.

Example: "There was a wholesome bulkiness about his person and his position." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 51)

Explanation: The word "bulkiness" is used to describe both his person and his position.

Rhetoric

Definition: The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the available means of pursuasion.

Example: JFK's Inaugural Address

Explanation: JFK uses lots of rhetorical devices throughout his speech to capture the attentions and trust of the American people.

Juxtaposition

Definition: Placement of tow things side by side for emphasis.

Example: "Beauty and the Beast" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 38).

Explanation: This is comparing Beauty and the Beast but by putting these two totally opposite descriptions together, it exemplifies the stark contrast between the two.