Rhetorical Terms

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Alliteration

Back 1

The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.

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Allusion

Back 2

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.

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Anaphora

Back 3

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

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Ad hominem

Back 4

Literally argument to the man; to attack another's argument as weak because of human failing that is not logically part of the argument (e.g. How can you run for student council, you can't even tie your shoes?)

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Allegory

Back 5

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Thus, it represents one thing in the guise of another.

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Ambiguous

Back 6

When the meaning of a statement is not clear, or when it may be understood in several different senses.

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Analogy

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A comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple (e.g. comparing a year-long profile of the stock index to a roller-coaster ride)

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Analysis of cause

Back 8

Identifying the forces responsible for an effect.

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Anecdote

Back 9

A short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical (e.g. Richard Wright often uses this narrative structure).

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Anticipate an objection

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To anticipate an objection, addressing it before the opposition can raise the objection.

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Antithesis

Back 11

Opposition or contrast emphasized by parallel structure (e.g. "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.")

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Aphorism

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A brief statement, usually one sentence long, that expresses a general principle or truth about life. (e.g. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.)

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Apostrophe

Back 13

A turning away. You "turn away" from your audience to address someone new-God, the angels, heaven, or anyone not present. (e.g. Death where is thy sting?)

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Appeal

Back 14

An address to the audience usually through the pronoun "you" or "we" used to link speaker to listeners (see ethos-pathos-logos)

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Appeal to authority

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Citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writer's arguments.

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Archetype

Back 16

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is though to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response.

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Assertion

Back 17

To suggest for consideration as true or possible.

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Asyndeton

Back 18

A condensed for of expression in which elements customarily joined by conjunctions are presented in series without the conjunctions. (e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered")

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Asyndeton

Back 19

A condensed for of expression in which elements customarily joined by conjunctions are presented in series without the conjunctions. (e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered")