AP language rhetorical terms list Essay Example for Free

AP language rhetorical terms list Essay Look up the words and fill in the chart as best as you can. Some of the terms are review and some are new. We will use this list throughout the year so keep an updated copy with you in class. You may choose to make note cards for study but they are not required for a grade. Periodically, you will be quizzed on how well you know the terms by using in your writing and recognizing in text. Terms When do I use it? Define it Can I recognize it? Can I use it in my writing? ad hominen argument appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect ad populum fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or most people believe it. allegory literary device The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. alliteration style The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables allusion rhetoric device reference ambiguity tone Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation analogy Similarity of functions or properties; likeness antecedent grammar A preceding occurrence, cause, or event. antithesis opposite aphorism A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage apostrophe The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition. attitude essay A state of mind or a feeling; disposition atmosphere A dominant intellectual or emotional environment or attitude begging the question type of informal fallacy in which an implicit premise would directly entail the conclusion; in other words, basing a conclusion on an assumption that is as much in need of proof or demonstration as the conclusion itself chiasmus A rhetorical inversion of the second of two parallel structures clause A group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence. colloquialism Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal. conceit A favorable and especially unduly high opinion of ones own abilities or worth. concrete detail Specific details that form the backbone or core of the body paragraphs. Synonyms for concrete details include facts, specifics, examples, descriptions, illustrations, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrases, or plot references. connotation An idea or feeling that a word invokes person in addition to its literal or primary meaning denotation The action or process of indicating or referring to something by means of a word, symbol, etc descriptive detail devices A turn of phrase intended to produce a particular effect in speech or a literary work diction Word choice didactic ntended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive euphemism Mild expression in place of a severe one extended metaphor An extended metaphor, also called a conceit, is a metaphor that continues into the sentences that follow. It is often developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work, and are especially effective in poems and fiction. false analogy An informal fallacy applying to inductive arguments, in which the similarity in one respect of two concepts, objects, or events is taken as sufficient to establish that they are similar in another respect in which they actually are dissimilar figurative language Language that communicates ideas beyond the ordinary or literal meaning of the words. figure of speech A figure of speech is a use of a word that diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it such as a metaphor, simile, or personification. genre A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter hasty- over/ generalization A general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases homily genre type of sermon, serious talk, speech or lecture hyperbole exaggeration imagery Visually descriptive or figurative language, esp. in a literary work inference/ infer A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning invective diction Strong use of language used to attack irony/ironic The expression of ones meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect verbal Relating to or in the form of words situational A term denoting a tactic or combo that can only be used under certain circumstances and cannot be done in a neutral state where both characters are on the ground. dramatic Sudden or striking juxtaposition The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect language The method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way loose sentence A loose sentence is a type of sentence in which the main idea is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases. metaphor in literature and rhetoric, an analogy between two objects or ideas, conveyed by using a word instead of another word metonymy Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. mood the affective setting of a piece of literature narrative A narrative (or story) is any account of connected events, presented to a reader or listener in a sequence of written or spoken words, or in a sequence of (moving) pictures. narrative devices Methods to help convey the message in the story narrative technique The methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts. Narrative technique is a general term (like devices, or resources of language) that asks you to discuss the procedures used in the telling of a story. onomatopoeia the use of imitative and naturally suggestive words for rhetorical, dramatic, or poeticeffect. oxymoron a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictoryeffect, as in â€Å"cruel kindness† or â€Å"to make haste slowly. † paradox a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in realityexpresses a possible truth. parallelism Parallel comparison parody Mocking imitation pedantic tone Overly scholarly, academic, or bookish periodic sentence A periodic sentence is a sentence that is not grammatically complete until the final clause or phrase. Personification the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstractnotions, especially as a rhetorical figure. persuasive devices Techniques the author uses to influence the way you feel persuasive essay Persuasive writing, known as creative writing or an argument, is a piece of writing in which the writer uses words to convince the reader that the writers opinion is correct with regard to an issue. point of view(know all) narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration post hoc fallacy Post hoc ergo propter hoc, Latin for after this, therefore because of this, is a logical fallacy (of the questionable cause variety) that states Since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one. prose Prose is a form of language which applies ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure (as in traditional poetry). red herring Red herring is an English-language idiom, a logical fallacy that misleads or detracts from the issue. It is also a literary device that leads readers or characters towards a false conclusion, often used in mystery or detective fiction. repetition Repetition is the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular placement of the words, in order to provide emphasis. rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers that attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. rhetorical appeal Ethos, pathos, logos logos Originally a word meaning a ground, a plea, an opinion, an expectation, word, speech, account, reason, ethos Cultures guiding ideals pathos Appealing to the audience’s emotions rhetorical features his may involve the use of elaborate words or phrases that create a particular set of sounds. Perhaps puns, double meanings,alliteration, assonance or unusual grammatical forms may be used. rhetorical modes describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. compare/ contrast Evaluate differences and similarities definition Expressing the nature of something cause/effect Cause is why something happens and effect is what happens division/ classification Organize into category example/illustration or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea. exposition type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea. process analysis A method of paragraph or essay development by which a writer explains step by step how something is done or how to do something. argumentation/persuasive Social influence description a statement, picture in words, or account that describes; descriptive representation. rhetorical question A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point. rhetorical situation The Rhetorical Situation is the context of a rhetorical event that consists of an issue, an audience, and a set of constraints. sarcasm harsh or bitter derision or irony. satire a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up toscorn, derision, or ridicule. simile a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared sentence structures Grammatical arrangement of words in sentences simple Easy to understand compound combinations of two or more elements complex In general usage, complexity tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement. inverted word order style variation in language use to which social meanings are attributed stylistic devices In literature and writing, a stylistic device is the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling to the literal or written. syllogism a piece of deductive reasoning from the general to the particular symbol/ symbolism something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representingsomething, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign. synecdoche a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for thegeneral or the general for the special syntax the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language. theme the unifying subject or idea of a story thesis Central argument tone a literary technique which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work that is compatible with the other drive transition general aspects of writing style that signal changes in a story understatement Understatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than what would be expected. litotes In rhetoric, litotes (or) is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical effect, principally via double negatives. meiosis reproduction wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny.