Rhetorical+Terms+and+Strategies

THIS LIST IS NOW UPDATED TO INCLUDE ALL TERMS FROM THE DECEMBER EXAM. THEY ARE IN ALPHABETIC ORDER, SO YOU NEED TO SCROLL THROUGH THE ALREADY-COMPLETED TERMS TO LOOK FOR 'BLANKS'! As usual, sign your name once you fill in a term.

Time for us to start learning more terminology! Add a term here, preferably one you have already looked up for your multiple choice tracking chart. Include the term, a short definition (in your own words AND INCLUDING THE EFFECT) and a small example -- then sign your name! PS. If you don't have a good term word, go to the Tone Words page, and add something there instead. And by the way, no one has added to our Spelling Errors page yet either. If I have corrected an error in any of your writing that is a 'repeatable' word (ie., not a bizarre word dependent on the context of a passage), then you MUST add it to that page!

Example: Finding out that you have an A in a class is just like eating a brownie: sweet, sweet bliss. Effect: Analogy gives imagery, although it can be easily misused if the example is not effective (false analogy). - Alex Zhang
 * Analogy**: A comparison, usually for the effect of explaining something.

Example: "The //long// cigarette that's //long// on flavor." —from an advertisement for Pall Mall cigarettes Effect: Antanaclasis is a common type of pun, and often used in slogans. It is a play on words, and usually catchy and memorable. - Crystal Toh
 * Antanaclasis**: The repetition of a word or phrase in a sentence with a different meaning each time.

**Anthropomorphic:** A type of personification where animals specifically are given human qualities. The hungry wolves envied the greedier Alpha Male, who kept the meat to himself. The use of anthropomorphic personification, can establish a common ground between the reader and the characters. It can also be used to give personality to an otherwise difficult to characterize subject. -Kevin Jou

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**Antimetabole -** When words are repeated later on in a sentence, in a different order. ====== Example: "I've got my mind on my AP Language homework, and AP Language homework on my mind" Effect: Using parallelism to establish a connection of two or more words or phrases. - Alex Zhang

Antonomasia - Substituting an epithet for a proper name. Example: 'The Dark Knight' for Batman Effect: Makes the user seem as though he/she understands the subject well by referring to the subject through an epithet. - Kevin Ma

Example: "My only love sprung from my only hate" - Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare) Effect: Highlights the contrast (meanings, ideas, etc.) between the two words or phrases through juxtaposition. - Kevin Ma
 * Antithesis** - Contrasting ideas in words or phrases presented in a parallel structure.

Example: The students were rude and ludicrous in the feude. Effect: The use of assonance gives a sentence internal rhythm and flow. It can also create emphasis on a topic and can be commonly found in poetry or advertising. - Tait
 * Assonance -** The repetition or similarity between the internal vowels of neighbouring words

Examples: “I came, I saw, I conquered." and "Be one of the few, the proud, the Marines." Effect: It creates a list that presents the ideas in a more direct manner, emphasizing the separate ideas the are mentioned. - Frank. MRS. ROSEN ADDS: It can add seriousness to a subject, and emphasizes that each element is equally important.
 * Asyndeton** : combining words or phrases without the use of conjunctions

**Colloquialism** (Cynthia): A word or phrase (including slang) used in every day conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing. Examples: "y'all", "ain't", "what's up" Effect: Gives writing a conversational, familiar tone.

**Conceit:** is an extended metaphor; however, it is usually a comparison that is startling or not expected Example: an extanded metaphor that compares people to chapters or books to heaven Effect: Because the metaphor is so unexpected, a larger emphasis is placed on the comparison being made - Juhi

Example: rest (v.) - a period of inactivity, ceasing work or movement Effect: Attaches a more explicit, definite meaning to a word -Vanessa
 * Dictionary Definition -** a literal definition of a word, often called denotation

Examples: Thomas Edison once proclaimed, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." Effect: Direct quotation can add authority, seriousness, facts, or direct opinions from someone else. Rhetorically, direct quotation can be used to argue a point, appeal to authority, or even to satirize the "authority figure". - Frank
 * Direct quotation:** Directly referencing words that were spoken, written, or used by someone else. Quotation marks are used.

Example: F. Scott Fitzgerald's __The Great Gatsby__ begins with a poem as an epigraph, entitled "Then Wear the Gold Hat" by Thomas Park D'Invilliers. Effect: An epigraph usually suggests the theme of the succeeding work and thus can be foreshadowing. -Dan
 * Epigraph:** A short quotation, poem or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter that serves as a preface or summary.

Examples: "Catherine the Great", "Richard the Lion-Hearted", "swift-footed Achilles" (Homer). Effect: Epithets can raise authority but the overuse of this rhetorical device can cause an unintentionally humorous effect. - Jean
 * Epithet:** an adjective which expresses a quality or attribute that is considered a characteristic of a person or an object. It is also a descriptive term which is common in historical titles.

Examples: kick the bucket instead of die; big-boned instead of fat; correctional facility instead of jail; sanitation worker instead of garbage man Effect: Euphemisms can be humorous or a way to reference a delicate subject politely, depending on the context. In the latter, the literal meaning of the term loses its offensiveness. -Dan
 * Euphemism:** A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh when referring to something unpleasant or embarassing.

(Bad) Example: Take, for example, Yao Ming. Yao was once a Chinese national. Now he lives in the US, plays basketball, and earns a lot of money. Look how happy he is. This just shows how the American Dream can be achieved. Effect: if in an opening, allows the reader to hypothesize the purpose of your essay, without the clunky feeling of explicitly the writer explicitly opening up with the purpose. Mainly used as evidence, that the reader can perhaps relate to. -Alex
 * Extended anecdote** - Could be considered a real-life example. Used only without superfluous details, and with a purpose in mind. For example, an extended anecdote about you to describe the benefits of living abroad, should only focus on what is relevant.

(Bad) Example: Recently, the legislation of Japan enacted a ban on lobster vending machines, after an incident where the President of Japan accidentally broke one, causing multiple lobsters to fall onto his feet. Although quite humorous, this inappropriate usage of government time in a ridiculous manner simply shows the ineffectiveness of legislative bodies today. They simply waste their time. Effect: Can be very effective in persuasion, by making the issue seem more lighthearted than serious. It can be used to lead into the seriousness of a topic, first by presenting it humorously, then by analyzing it more seriously. -Alex
 * Humor**: As a technique, used to appeal to one's sense of humor, for a purpose or intended effect

Above Terms- P.S. Sorry I was rushed. Don't know if I am right or wrong. Soz. -Alex Zhang

Example: "This I must see." - Crystal
 * Hyperbaton:** The inversion of the normal order of words for the sake of emphasis.

Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." Effect: Creates emphasis and stresses the topic to be considered. Also evokes strong impressions. -Michael
 * Hyperbole** : The use of exaggeration that are not to be taken literally.

Example: " __Down came the rain__ and washed the spider out" vs. " __The rain came down__ and washed the spider out" Effect: It places emphasis on the word(s) that now come first, in this case "down". - Dan
 * Inversion:** the syntactic reversal of the normal order of words (also called anastrophe)

Example: Going to a fancy dinner with a friend who's wearing ragged clothes and then saying "I see you dressed up for the occasion" Effect: Gives an effect that is similar to that of sarcasm, helps contrast two things (what is being said and what is implied), can add humour and drama - Tait (careful though - Tait's example IS better for sarcasm. Better would be that it turns out your friend wins a prize for best costume because 'dressy' actually meant 'dress UP'! Mrs. Rosen)
 * Irony** - an expression of words that is opposite to the actual meaning; words that say one thing but mean another

--> To use jargon will "depersonalize" a piece of writing because chances are the reader will not understand the jargon used. --> Mostly jargon will be used to make something which is perhaps difficult for readers to accept into something that readers will not understand so therefore they will tolerate. It almost can be used as a sort of "disguise" --> Often used by governments in information to civilians about wars, military jargon, etc. --> Jargon is intended to impress, but if used inappropriately or unnecessarily it can be ironic. - Emily Zhang
 * Jargon -** special words or phrases used by professionals or group and are difficult to for others to understand if you are not included.

- Kevin Jou
 * Logical Fallacy -** these are the holes in an argument. They can both kill an argument or strengthen it, depending whether or not the audience recognizes the use of a fallacy. An author can use fallacies if it is written so it is difficult for the audience to recognize it, or even worse name it. If the author names the fallacy themselves, then he/she can use that fallacy to strengthen their own passage. However, if the author does not recognize a fallacy, then it is a potential killer to an argument.
 * example:** (there are so many fallacies and different types, the best thing to do is to refer to your fallacy worksheets)

ex. You are not wrong - Nataly
 * Litotes**- these are figures of speech in which understatements are used; a version of minimalism created through the negative

Malapropism - When a word is misused due to its similar sound to other words, if the word/phrase creates meaning that was unintentional,or if the phrase/sentence ends up making no sense. Example: "As //Bob// is my //witless//." (i.e,//God//, //witness//) - Rugrats Effect: Humor, Nervousness Kevin Ma

Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." -//Tale of Two Cities// Effect(s): Makes readers think (unexpected insight), draws attention to whatever is being discussed -Cynthia
 * Paradox** - A statement that at first seems contradictory or absurd, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.

Example: The ball was kicked by Kyle. Effect: The passive voice stresses the action being done. It can disguise who or what is actually causing the action. - Wendy MRS. ROSEN ADDS: Unless you are doing it to create irony or other effect, avoid the passive voice!
 * Passive Voice-** When the object of the sentence becomes the subject, therefore whatever is doing the action is not the subject.

Example: If they argue, we will resist. If they fight, we will resist. If they invade, we will resist. Effect: Unlike anaphora and epistrophe where the emphasis is on either the beginning or ending respectively, symploce places an equal emphasis on all parts of the sentence. - Juhi
 * Symploce**: When both anaphora and epistrophe are used together simultaneously


 * Patterns:**
 * 1. Definition**
 * 2. argument**
 * 3. persuasion**
 * 4. comparison and contrast**
 * 5. narration**
 * 6. analysis**

(Sorry, I guess you are on your own to study the patterns for the exam! Mrs. Rosen)

Example: Basic statement: John gave his mother flowers.
 * Periodic Sentence** : the use of details(subordinate elements) before the basic statement (main clause)

 Periodic sentence: John, the tough one, the sullen kid who scoffed at any show of sentiment, gave his mother flowers. (taken from [|http://www.azed.us/students/languagearts/la68lessons/2la68s/sentences.html] ) Effect: It creates delay and suspense because the audience does not know the main point until the very final word. - Juhi

Example: The trees sat in silence as the wind howled angrily. - Crystal
 * Personification** - giving human characteristics to something that is nonhuman

(example) Whether it was from joy __or__ confusion __or__ sorrow __or__ boredom, he had a peculiar expression on his face. What is the effect? This is utilized to slow the reader down (usually to emphasize the significance of the details being presented). - Grace MRS. ROSEN ADDS: It can also speed up, adding to the lengthy feel of all the characteristics listed. Think //Alexander and the Horrible ...//"My shoes are ugly AND my brother is mean AND my pillow is flat AND the cat prefers the others to me"
 * Polysyndeton** : repetitive use of conjunctions

Example: No homework is fun. Some homework is reading. Some reading is not fun. The effect of this is that it creates basis and support for your argument/claim. Using a syllogism makes the reader aware of the reasoning and logic behind your argument and when it is used effectively, it makes your claim hard to argue against. However, in many cases syllogisms can be faulty. Example: Dr. House: Words have set meanings for a reason. If you see an animal like Bill and you try to play fetch, Bill's going to eat you, because Bill's a bear.
 * Syllogism -** a kind of deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed statements/premises. The two premises each share a term in common with the conclusion and also have terms in common with each other. Syllogisms are a type of logical argument or appeal.

Little Girl: Bill has fur, four legs, and a collar. He's a dog.

Dr. House: You see, that's what's called a faulty syllogism; just because you call Bill a dog doesn't mean that he is. . . a dog. (House M.D.) - Kim

Example: All animals are mortal. All men are animals. Therefore, all men are mortal. Effect: Syllogism is rhetorically used to persuade and argue by appealing to logic. - Frank (Uh...apparently we did the same one. I was working on my other term and then saw Kim did this one as well.)
 * Syllogism:** a logical argument in which a conclusion is inferred from two other statements (All A is C; all B is A; therefore all B is C.)

**Zeugm** **a:** two objects of a sentence attached to the same verb or noun to avoid repetition, usually the verb links two unlikely words with different contexts ex: " You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit." (Star Trek)

In this situation the effect of the zeugma is comical and a bit ironic, because of the two contrasting meanings of "execute" used together. - Ji Young-

Different Application: "Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave." It means something else to take a hat than to take a leave... (taking a leave is taking a vacation from a job) Appropriate for one: "He loved both his wife and his wallet" Love is too strong a word to describe his feelings for a wallet, therefore it is only appropriate to use it to describe his feelings for his wife. - Zara - (for some reason my post got deleted, but i had done Zuegma as well)
 * Zeugma:** When one word is used with two other words but it is only appropriate for one of them, or it applies to each one differently.

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Antithesis (Tait) - A figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of each other. Example: "Give me liberty or give me death"

Assonance (Jean): The use of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences (vowel rhyming). Example: "free as a breeze", "mad as a hatter", "high as a kite".

Asyndeton (Amelie): The combination of a variety of clauses or words without conjunctions. Example: “I expect from you courage, discipline, commitment, integrity.”

Colloquialism (Cynthia): A word or phrase (including slang) used in every day conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing. Examples: "y'all", "ain't"

Denotation (Lynette): The literal meaning of a word or expression without the feelings or suggestions that may be implied.  The definition you would get if you looked it up in a dictionary. Example: Heart - a hallow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system.

 Epistrophe (Emily)  :  repetition of the last word/phrase in the beginnings of sentences or paragraphs. This is like the opposite of an anaphora, but in contrast epistrophe places emphasis on the end  of each sentence/paragraph. Example: "When I was young a mountain was a mountain and a horse was a horse, as I grew older a mountain was not a mountain and a horse was not a horse, but as I am old now I realize that a mountain is a mountain and a horse is a horse."

Hyberbole (Michael): The use of exaggeration for emphasis and evoking of strong impressions. They are not to be taken literally. Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Inversion (Dan) - A syntactic reversal of the normal order of words in a sentence. (also called anastrophe) Example: "Told you, I did. Reckless is he." - Yoda

Metonymy (Alex Zhang) - the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. Metonymy is also the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it, such as describing someone's clothing to characterize the individual.

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword", or "The beef pie left without paying".

Paradox (Kim) - a statement of preposition that leads to a conclusion which seems contradictory or logically unacceptable. However, when examined further, it is found to contain great truth and insight. Example: "War is Peace", George Orwell, 1984

Parallel Structure (Nataly): having similar grammatical structure; a balance of two or more similar words, phrases, or clauses Example: She enjoys swimming, biking, and hiking.

Periodic Sentence (Juhi) - Using several additional details before the basic sentence/statement. e.g: A simple sentence: The cat ate the mouse. A periodic sentence: Suddenly, the brown, big, and chubby cat jumped out of the corner, attacked the timid, little mouse, and ate it in one gulp.

Polysyndeton (Kevin Ma) - The use of many, often repetitive conjunctions in a sentence (and, but, etc.) Ex. The emotion on his face and the movement and of his hands and the emphasis on his words were the reasons for his success as a public speaker.

Synecdoche (Alex S)- a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent a whole or a whole is used to represent a part. Ex. "The world treated him badly." -The whole world did not really treat him badly. (Demonstrating the whole is used as a part.) Ex. "Twenty sails came into the harbor." -Twenty ships came into the harbor. (Demonstrating a part used for the whole.)

Synesthesia (Scott) - It is when you link senses together that would not normally be mixed together. Ex. "An icy voice"

Zeugma (Zara)  -  When one word is used with two other words but it is only appropriate for one of them, or it applies to each word differently. Different Application: "Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave." Appropriate Usage: H e loved both his wife and his wallet.”