| Term | Definition |
| Analogy | explaining something complex by comparing it to something more simple |
| Argument | the combination of reasons, evidence, etc that an author uses to convince an audience of their position |
| Aristotelian appeals | Three different methods of appealing to an audience of their position |
| Attitude | the writer's personal views or feelings about the subject at hand |
| Audience | who the author is directing his or her message towards |
| Compare and Contrast | discussing similarities and differences between two things to some persuasive or illustrative purposes |
| Connotation | the implied meaning of a word; they can be positive, negative, or neutral |
| Context | the extra-textual environment in which the text is being delivered |
| Counterargument | The argument (s) against the author's position |
| Deductive reasoning | a form of logical reasoning wherein a general principle is applied to a specific case |
| Denotation | the literal, dictionary definition meaning of a word |
| Diction | the style of language used; generally tailored to be appropriate to the audience and situation |
| Ethos | appeal to credibility |
| Evidence | the information presented meant to persuade the audience of the author's position |
| Figurative language | the use of language in a non-literal way (metaphor, simile, etc.) |
| Genre | the specific type of work being presented |
| Imagery | any descriptive language used to evoke a vivid sense or image of something; includes figurative language |
| Implication | when something is suggested without being correctly stated. |
| Inductive reasoning | making a generalization based on specific evidence at hand |
| Irony | saying the opposite of what you mean; also used to describe situations in which the results of an action are dramatically different than intended |
| Juxtaposition | placing two very different things together for effect. |
| Logos | logical reasoning |
| Occasion | the reason or moment for writing or speaking |
| Organization | how the different parts of an argument are arranged in a piece of writing or speech |
| Pathos | appeal to emotion |
| Purpose | the author's persuasive intention |
| Repetition | re-using a word or phrase repeatedly for effect or emphasis |
| Rhetoric | the use of spoken or written word (or a visual medium) to convey your ideas and convince an audience |
| Rhetorical triangle | the relationship between the author, the audience, the text/message, and the context |
| Speaker | the persona adopted by the author to deliver his or her message; may or may not acutally be the same person as the authorq |
| Style | the author's own personal approach to rhetoric in the piece; similar to voice |
| Symbolism | using a symbol to refer to an idea or concept |
| Syntax | sentence structure |
| Synthesis | combining sources or ideas in a coherent way in the purpose of a larger point |
| Themes | overarching ideas |
| Tone | the use of stylistic devices to reveal an author
s attitude toward a subject |
| Voice | an author's unique sound; similar to style |
| Alliteration | using words with the same first letter repeatedly close together in a phrase or sentence |
| Allusion | making a brief reference to the cultural cannon- EX: the Bible, Shakespeare, classical mythology, etc. |
| Anecdote | offering a breif narrative episode. |
| Concession | agreeing with a point of view |
| Didactic | a text with an instructive purpose, often moral |
| Euphamism | referring to something with a veiled phrase instead of directly saying it |
| Exemplification | providing examples in service of a point |
| Hyperbole | extreme exaggeration |
| Idiom | a commonly used phrase that signifies something entirely different than its meaning |
| Onomatopoeia | sound-effect words (BOOM! clap) |
| Paradox | a phrase or assertion that appears to contradict itself |
| Parallelism | repeated structural elements in a sentence |
| Parody | using the form or something to mimic and make fun of it |
| Personification | giving human characteristics or actions to non-human things |
| Sarcasm | mockingly stating the opposite of what you mean |
| Satire | a genre of humor and mocking criticism to expose the ignorance and/or ills of society |
| Synecdoche | referring to parts of something as a way to refer to the whole |
| Understatement | deliberately minimizing something, usually for humorous effect |
