Chapter 1: Rhetorical Terms

Front 1

Audience

Back 1

Listener, viewer, or reader of a text

Front 2

Concession

Back 2

Acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Front 3

Connotation

Back 3

Meanings or associations readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition

Front 4

Context

Back 4

Circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text

Front 5

Counterargument

Back 5

Opposing argument to the one the writer is putting forward

Front 6

Ethos

Back 6

Greek for "character." Speaker appeals to the audience by demonstrating their credibility

Front 7

Logos

Back 7

Greek for "embodied thought." Speaker appeals to logic or reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.

Front 8

Occasion

Back 8

When and where a text is written/takes place

Front 9

Pathos

Back 9

Greek for "suffering" or "experience." Speaker appeals to the emotions of the audience.

Front 10

Persona

Back 10

Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to their audience.

Front 11

Polemic

Back 11

Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others.

Front 12

Propaganda

Back 12

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. In its negative form, propaganda is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.

Front 13

Purpose

Back 13

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Front 14

Refutation

Back 14

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument.

Front 15

Rhetoric

Back 15

The art of finding ways to persuade an audience.

Front 16

Rhetorical Appeals

Back 16

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).

Front 17

Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotelian triangle)

Back 17

Diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

Front 18

SOAPS

Back 18

Mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker.

Front 19

Speaker

Back 19

Person or group who creates a text.

Front 20

Subject

Back 20

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Front 21

Text

Back 21

Any cultural product that can be "read"- not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated.