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Rhetorical Terms
Mr. Easton's December 1st Test
58
Writing
Not Applicable
11/30/2004

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Cards

Term
Ad Hominem Argument
Definition
appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason)
Term
Allegory
Definition
an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor
Term
Alliteration
Definition
a poetic or literary effect achieved by using several words that begin with the same or similar consonants, as in “Whither wilt thou wander, wayfarer?”
Term
Allusion
Definition
a reference that is made indirectly, subtly suggested, or implied
Term
Ambiguity
Definition
an expression or statement that has more than one meaning
Term
Analogy
Definition
a comparison between two things that are similar in some respects, often used to help explain something or make it easier to understand
Term
Antecedent
Definition
a word or phrase that a subsequent word refers back to.
Term
Aphorism
Definition
a succinct statement expressing an opinion or a general truth
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
address to an absent or imaginary person
Term
Atmosphere
Definition
a prevailing emotional tone or attitude, especially one associated with a specific place or time
Term
Clause
Definition
A clause usually contains a verb and may or may not be a sentence in its own right.
Term
Colloquial/Colloquialism
Definition
characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
Term
Conceit
Definition
An imaginative poetic image or writing that contains such an image, especially a comparison that is extreme or far-fetched
Term
Connotation
Definition
an additional sense or senses associated with or suggested by a word or phrase.
Term
Denotation
Definition
the most specific or literal meaning of a word, as opposed to its figurative senses or connotations
Term
Diction
Definition
choice of words to fit their context
Term
Didactic
Definition
containing a political or moral message
Term
Euphemism
Definition
The phrase “collateral damage” is a euphemism for injury to civilians during a military operation.
Term
Extended Metaphor
Definition
a detailed and complex metaphor that extends over a long section of a work
Term
Figurative Language
Definition
language that displays the imaginative and poetic use of words (e.g., My love is like a red, red rose.)
Term
Figure Of Speech
Definition
one of many kinds of word-play, focusing either on sound and word-order (schemes) or on semantics (tropes). A figure of speech usually describes one thing in terms of another.
Term
Generic Conventions
Definition
the types of writing styles typical to a certain genre
Term
Genre
Definition
one of the categories that artistic works of all kinds can be divided into on the basis of form, style, or subject matter. For example, detective novels are a genre of fiction.
Term
Homily
Definition
a sermon on a moral or religious topic
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
Exaggeration
Term
Imagery
Definition
the figurative language, especially metaphors and similes, used in poetry, plays, and other literary works
Term
Inference/Infer
Definition
to suggest or lead to something as a conclusion
Term
Invective
Definition
An abusive expression or language used to attack or blame somebody
Term
Loose Sentence
Definition
a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows
Term
Metonymy
Definition
a figure of speech in which an attribute of something is used to stand for the thing itself, such as “laurels” when it stands for “glory” or “brass” when it stands for “military officers”
Term
Narrative
Definition
the part of a literary work that is concerned with telling the story
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
the formation or use of words that imitate the sound associated with the thing or action in question, for example, “hiss” and “buzz”
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
a phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect, for example, “wise fool” or “legal murder”
Term
Paradox
Definition
a statement or proposition that contradicts itself
Term
Parallelism
Definition
in writing, the deliberate repetition of particular words or sentence structures for effect
Term
Parody
Definition
a piece of writing or music that deliberately copies another work in a comic or satirical way
Term
Pedantic
Definition
marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
Term
Periodic Sentence
Definition
a sentence that begins with a series of dependent clauses describing or giving more information about the main sentence, which comes at the end.
Term
Personification
Definition
a representation of an abstract quality or notion as a human being
Term
Point Of View
Definition
the perspective on events of the narrator or a particular character in a story
Term
Predicate Adjectives
Definition
Adjectives that complete the meaning of the verb and modify the subject (The biscuit is delicious.)
Term
Predicate Nominative
Definition
a noun or pronoun which follows the verb and describes or renames the subject
Term
Prose
Definition
writing or speech in its normal continuous form, without rhythmic or visual line structure
Term
Rhetoric
Definition
the principles governing the use of language for effective speaking and writing.
Term
Rhetorical Modes
Definition
Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive/Argumentative
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
remarks that mean the opposite of what they seem to say and are intended to mock or deride
Term
Satire
Definition
the use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to attack the vices and follies of humankind
Term
Style
Definition
The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed
Term
Subject Compliment
Definition
A subject complement is a complement that is used to predicate a description of the subject of a clause. (Ambrose was holy)
Term
Subordinate Clause
Definition
dependent clause; can’t stand alone
Term
Syllogism
Definition
Reasoning from the general to the specific; deduction.
Term
Symbol/Symbolism
Definition
something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction
Term
Syntax
Definition
the ordering of and relationship between the words and other structural elements in phrases and sentences.
Term
Theme
Definition
a subject of a discourse, discussion, piece of writing, or artistic composition
Term
Thesis
Definition
a subject for an essay; a proposition advanced as an argument
Term
Transition
Definition
a process or period in which something undergoes a change and passes from one state, stage, form, or activity to another
Term
Understatement
Definition
A statement or a way of expressing yourself, that is deliberately less forceful or dramatic than the subject would seem to justify or require
Term
Wit
Definition
speech or writing that shows an apt, clever, and often humorous association of words
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