Literary and Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
(363 cards)
1
Q
Active Voice: Definition
A
The subject of the sentence performs the action.
2
Q
Active Voice: Example
A
“Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house.”
3
Q
Active Voice: Effect
A
More direct
4
Q
Allusion: Definition
A
An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.
5
Q
Allusion: Example
A
“Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.”
6
Q
Allusion: Effect:
A
Helps the reader understand something by having it be compared to something familiar.
7
Q
Alter-ego: Definition
A
A character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author
speaks directly to the audience through a character.
8
Q
Alter-ego: Example
A
In Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest, Shakespeare
talks to his audience about his own upcoming retirement, through the main character in the play, Prospero.
9
Q
Alter-ego: Effect
A
The speaker can talk to the audience directly.
10
Q
Anecdote: Definition
A
A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
11
Q
Anecdote: Example
A
A politician who is arguing for a different type of healthcare program includes an anecdote about a little girl who was not able to have a transplant due to insurance.
12
Q
Anecdote: Effect
A
often inserted into fictional or non
fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor.
13
Q
Antecedent: Definition
A
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
14
Q
Antecedent: Example
A
“If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it.”
15
Q
Antecedent: Effect
A
Replaces a word or phrase that may be too complex.
16
Q
Classicism: Definition
A
Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures
17
Q
Classicism: Example
A
Shakespeare in poetry and theatre
18
Q
Classicism: Effect
A
To show the traditional structure of writing
19
Q
Comic relief: Definition
A
when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood
somewhat.
20
Q
Comic relief: Example
A
“gatekeeper scene” in Macbeth
21
Q
Comic relief: Effect
A
to lighten the mood in writing
22
Q
Diction: Definition
A
Word choice, particularly as an element of style.
23
Q
Diction: Example
A
An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang.
24
Q
Diction: Effect
A
The word choice has a big effect on the piece of writing.
25
Colloquial: Definition
Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
26
Colloquial: Example
“She's out” for “She is not at home.”
27
Colloquial: Effect
Makes the phrases shorter and into what people normally say.
28
Connotation: Definition
Rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a
word.
29
Connotation: Example
“policeman,” “cop,” and “The
| Man”
30
Connotation: Effect
Implies the meaning instead of the literal meaning.
31
Denotation: Definition
The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.
32
Denotation: Example
Police man- a member of a police force.
33
Denotation: Effect
Gives literal meaning instead of implying it.
34
Jargon: Definition
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.
35
Jargon: Example
Lawyers speak using particular jargon, as do soccer players.
36
Jargon: Effect
Only those people in that specific group know what is being said.
37
Vernacular: Definition
Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech
38
Vernacular: Example
How some people from a certain states talk differently that other people in other states.
39
Vernacular: Effect
Diversity of how people may talk.
40
Didactic: Definition
A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
41
Didactic: Example
Most books written for children
42
Didactic: Effect
teaches a lesson or moral
43
Adage: Definition
A folk saying with a lesson.
44
Adage: Example
“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
45
Adage: Effect
Teaches a lesson
46
Allegory: Definition
A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent
qualities or concepts.
47
Allegory: Example
Animal Farm, by George Orwell,
48
Allegory: Effect
The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an
abstraction or a truth.
49
Aphorism: Definition
A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.
50
Aphorism: Example
“God helps them that help themselves,”
51
Aphorism: Effect
memorable summation of the author's point.
52
Ellipsis: Definition
The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
53
Ellipsis: Example
“The whole day, rain, torrents of rain.”
54
Ellipsis: Effect
used to show omitted text in a quotation.
55
Euphemism: Definition
A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.
56
Euphemism: Example
“Physically challenged,” in place of “crippled.”
57
Euphemism: Effect
used to exaggerate correctness to add humor.
58
Figurative Language: Definition
writing that is not meant to be taken literally.
59
Figurative Language: Example
The world is my oyster.
60
Figurative Language: Effect
To be taken not so serious and sometimes lighten the mood.
61
Analogy: Definition
comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables.
62
Analogy: Example
“America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle.”
63
Analogy: Effect
argues that the relationship between the first pair of variables is the same as the relationship between the second pair of variables.
64
Hyperbole: Definition
Exaggeration.
65
Hyperbole: Example
“My mother will kill me if I am late.”
66
Hyperbole: Effect
To show exaggeration.
67
Idiom: Definition
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
68
Idiom: Example
“I got chewed out by my coach.”
69
Idiom: Effect
To not be taken literally
70
Metaphor: Definition
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
71
Metaphor: Example
“My feet are popsicles.”
72
Metaphor: Effect
to compare two things
73
Metonymy: Definition
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
74
Metonymy: Example
“Relations between London and Washington have been strained,”
75
Metonymy: Effect
Developing literally symbolization
76
Synecdoche: Definition
A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its
parts, or vice versa.
77
Synecdoche: Example
“The cattle rancher owned 500 head.”
78
Synecdoche: Effect
used as a rhetorical device
79
Simile: Definition
Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very
different things.
80
Simile: Example
“My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles.”
81
Simile: Effect
spark your reader's imagination while getting the information across
82
Synesthesia: Definition
a description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
83
Synesthesia: Example
“A purplish scent filled the room.”
84
Synesthesia: Effect
one sense is described using terms from another.
85
Personification: Definition
Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
86
Personification: Example
“The tired old truck
| groaned as it inched up the hill.”
87
Personification: Effect
connects readers with the object that is personified
88
Foreshadowing: Definition
When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story.
89
Foreshadowing: Example
character's thoughts can foreshadow
90
Foreshadowing: Effect
adds dramatic tension to a story by building anticipation about what might happen next
91
Genre: Definition
The major category into which a literary work fits.
92
Genre: Example
prose, poetry, and drama.
93
Genre: Effect
what kind of writing it is
94
Gothic: Definition
Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death.
95
Gothic: Example
Dracula
96
Gothic: Effect
how the piece of writing is written
97
Imagery: Definition
Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind.
98
Imagery: Example
The familiar tang of his grandmother's cranberry sauce reminded him of his youth.
99
Imagery: Effect
Uses the five senses to compare things
100
Invective: Definition
A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
101
Invective: Example
I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.
102
Invective: Effect
device used to insult a person or thing.
103
Irony: Definition
When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.
104
Irony: Example
someone who talks a lot having nothing to say when asked a question
105
Irony: Effect
intended to provoke the reader into thinking harder and analyzing a situation
106
Verbal irony: Definition
- When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.
107
Verbal irony: Example
"walk in the
| park"
108
Verbal irony: Effect
expresses humor, affection, or emotion, by saying the opposite of what they mean to somebody who is expected to recognize the irony.
109
Dramatic irony: Definition
When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the
character doesn't and would be surprised to find out.
110
Dramatic irony: Example
horror movies, we (the
| audience) know who the killer is, which the victim-to-be has no idea who is doing the slaying.
111
Dramatic irony: Effect
effective tool to sustain and excite the readers’ interest
112
Situational irony: Definition
Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie. Sometimes it makes you laugh because it's funny how things turn out.
113
Situational irony: Example
example, Johnny spent two hours
| planning on sneaking into the movie theater and missed the movie.
114
Situational irony: Effect
To lighten the mood while being ironic.
115
Juxtaposition: Definition
Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.
116
Juxtaposition: Example
juxtapose the average day of a
| typical American with that of someone in the third world in order to make a point of social commentary
117
Juxtaposition: Effect
Authors often use juxtaposition
| of ideas or examples in order to make a point.
118
Mood: Definition
The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice
119
Mood: Example
mood of most horror films is eerie.
120
Mood: Effect
evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions
121
Motif: Definition
a recurring idea in a piece of literature.
122
Motif: Example
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea that “you never really
| understand another person until you consider things from his or her point of view” is a motif,
123
Motif: Effect
to suggest a mood, theme, or even a moral.
124
Oxymoron: Definition
When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox
125
Oxymoron: Example
“wise fool,”
126
Oxymoron: Effect
produces a dramatic effect in both prose and poetry
127
Pacing: Definition
The speed or tempo of an author’s writing.
128
Pacing: Example
author’s pacing can be fast, sluggish, stabbing, vibrato, staccato, measured
129
Pacing: Effect
controls the pace of the story.
130
Paradox: Definition
A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true
131
Paradox: Example
“You can't get a job without
| experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job.”
132
Paradox: Effect
makes statements that often summarize the major themes of the work they are used in
133
Parallelism: Definition
Sentence construction which
| places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns.
134
Parallelism: Example
“Cinderella swept the
| floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs.”
135
Parallelism: Effect
used to add emphasis, organization, or sometimes pacing to writing.
136
Anaphora: Definition
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row.
137
Anaphora: Example
“I came, I saw, I conquered.”
138
Anaphora: Effect
helps make the writer's point more
| coherent.
139
Chiasmus: Definition
When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed.
140
Chiasmus: Example
“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
141
Chiasmus: Effect
used for emotional aesthetic
142
Antithesis: Definition
Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.
143
Antithesis: Example
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
144
Antithesis: Effect
proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect
145
Zuegma (Syllepsis): Definition
When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the
meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies.
146
Zuegma (Syllepsis): Example
“I quickly dressed myself and the salad.”
147
Zuegma (Syllepsis): Effect
produces a unique artistic effect, making the literary works more interesting and effective
148
Parenthetical Idea: Definition
Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence.
149
Parenthetical Idea: Example
“In a short time (and the time is getting shorter by the gallon) America will be out of oil.”
150
Parenthetical Idea: Effect
used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence.
151
Parody: Definition
An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes.
152
Parody: Example
The Simpsons often parody Shakespeare plays.
153
Parody: Effect
to entertain people
154
Persona: Definition
The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.
155
Persona: Example
The Old Man and Sea (By Ernest Hemingway).
156
Persona: Effect
voice chosen by the author for a particular artistic purpose.
157
Poetic device: Definition
A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.
158
Poetic device: Example
hyperbole
159
Poetic device: Effect
tools/enhancements used to, well, enhance your writing
160
Alliteration: Definition
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
161
Alliteration: Example
“Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore”
162
Alliteration: Effect
to add artistic style to a poem or other literary form
163
Assonance: Definition
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.
164
Assonance: Example
“From the molten-golden notes”
165
Assonance: Effect
to accelerate the musical effect in the poems
166
Consonance: Definition
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.
167
Consonance: Example
“Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door"
168
Consonance: Effect
provides the structure of poetry with a rhyming effect
169
Onomatopoeia: Definition
The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.
170
Onomatopoeia: Example
Snap, rustle, boom, murmur
171
Onomatopoeia: Effect
making the description more expressive and interesting.
172
Internal rhyme: Definition
When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line.
173
Internal rhyme: Example
“To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!”
174
Internal rhyme: Effect
makes a poem or story unified
175
Slant rhyme: Definition
When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar.
176
Slant rhyme: Example
“I sat upon a stone, / And found my life has gone.”
177
Slant rhyme: Effect
create a certain rhythm to a poem without using direct rhyme.
178
End rhyme: Definition
When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.
179
End rhyme: Example
“Roses are red, violets are blue, / Sugar is sweet, and so are you.”
180
End rhyme: Effect
it makes language sound more beautiful and thoughtfully-composed, like music
181
Rhyme Scheme: Definition
The pattern of a poem’s end rhymes.
182
Rhyme Scheme: Example
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? a
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. a
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. b
183
Rhyme Scheme:Effect
used to create balance and relieve tension, manage flow, create rhythm, and highlight important ideas
184
Stressed and unstressed syllables: Definition
In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force
than the other syllable(s).
185
Stressed and unstressed syllables: Example
In the name “Nathan,” the first syllable is stressed.
186
Stressed and unstressed syllables: Effect
Emphasizes syllables in words or doesn't emphasize syllable in words.
187
Meter: Definition
A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.
188
Meter: Example
Twelfth Night (By William Shakespeare)
189
Meter: Effect
gives poetry a rhythmical and melodious sound.
190
Free verse: Definition
Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.
191
Free verse: Example
Walt Whitman's "I Dream'd in a Dream.".
192
Free verse: Effect
do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules, yet still provide artistic expression.
193
Iambic pentameter: Definition
Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.
194
Iambic pentameter: Example
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
195
Iambic pentameter: Effect
allows poetry to be full of movement, imagery, and a musical quality.
196
Sonnet: Definition
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.
197
Sonnet: Example
"How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
198
Sonnet: Effect
has a great adaptability to different purposes and requirements. Rhythms are strictly followed
199
Polysyndeton: Definition
When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.
200
Polysyndeton: Example
“I walked the dog, and fed
| the cat, and milked the cows.”
201
Polysyndeton Effect
The overuse of conjunctions in close succession helps achieve rhythm
202
Pun: Definition
When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way.
203
Pun: Example
“I was stirred by his cooking lesson.”
204
Pun Effect
being witty and humorous, puns add profound meanings to texts, and shape the way in which the text is interpreted by the readers
205
Rhetoric: Definition
The art of effective communication.
206
Rhetoric: Example
Creation (By Hladia Porter Stewart)
207
Rhetoric: Effect
tool for writers and orators which empowers them to convince their readers and listeners about their point of view
208
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle: : Definition
The relationships, in any piece of writing,
| between the writer, the audience, and the subject
209
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle: : Example
writer
subject audience
210
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle: Effect
All analysis of writing is essentially an analysis of the relationships between the
points on the triangle.
211
Rhetorical Question: Definition
Question not asked for information but for effect.
212
Rhetorical Question: Example
“The angry parent asked the
| child, ‘Are you finished interrupting me?’”
213
Rhetorical Question: Effect
to lay emphasis on some point being discussed, when no real answer is expected
214
Romanticism: Definition
Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature.
215
Romanticism: Example
Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen)
216
Romanticism: Effect
recurrent themes in the evocation or criticism of the past
217
Sarcasm: Definition
A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.
218
Sarcasm: Example
Road not taken (By Robert Frost)
219
Sarcasm: Effect
source of humor or simply as a way to prove a point
220
Satire: Definition
- A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect.
221
Satire: Example
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (By Mark Twain)
222
Satire: Effect
targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions.
223
Sentence : Definition
A sentence is group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.
224
Sentence : Example
I ate breakfast.
225
Sentence : Effect
Makes a complete thought
226
Appositive: Definition
A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.
227
Appositive: Example
“Bob, the lumber yard worker, spoke with Judy, an accountant from the city.”
228
Appositive: Effect
defines or explains another noun
229
Clause: Definition
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
230
Clause: Example
“Other than baseball, football is my favorite sport.”
231
Clause: Effect
it's a grammatical unit
232
Balanced sentence: Definition
A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each
other like equal weights on a scale.
233
Balanced sentence: Example
“If a free
| society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
234
Balanced sentence: Effect
help provide perspective for an audience to understand the message being conveyed in a given statement.
235
Compound sentence: Definition
Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent
| clauses.
236
Compound sentence: Example
We won the game, but my uniform was muddy.
237
Compound sentence: Effect
compound sentences express more than one complete though
238
Complex sentence: Definition
Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent
clause.
239
Complex sentence: Example
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aurelian Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”
240
Complex sentence: Effect
elevates a writer's credibility
241
Cumulative sentence: Definition
When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.
242
Cumulative sentence: Example
Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream by Joan Didion
243
Cumulative sentence: Effect
setting a scene or for panning, as with a camera, a place or critical moment, a journey or a remembered life, in a way not dissimilar to the run-on
244
Periodic sentence: Definition
When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence.
245
Periodic sentence: Example
In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued.
246
Periodic sentence: Effect
promotes energy, as it preserves the unity of the sentence and concentrates its strength in a single point
247
Simple sentence: Definition
Contains only one independent clause.
248
Simple sentence: Example
Joe waited for the train.
249
Simple sentence: Effect
Simple sentences sometimes play a role in a literary device known as segregating style, where a writer employs a number of short, balanced sentences in a row for emphasis
250
Declarative sentence: Definition
- States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question.
251
Declarative sentence: Example
“The ball is round.”
252
Declarative sentence: Effect
simply states a fact or argument, states an idea, without requiring either an answer or action from the reader, it does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question
253
Imperative sentence: Definition
Issues a command.
254
Imperative sentence: Example
“Kick the ball.”
255
Imperative sentence: Effect
gives instruction or advice
256
Interrogative sentence: Definition
Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns
257
Interrogative sentence: Example
“To whom did you kick the ball?”
258
Interrogative sentence: Effect
gather information and clear up confusion as well as engage in interesting conversations with others
259
Style: Definition
The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. Style may be conscious or unconscious.
260
Style: Example
speaking formally
261
Style: Effect
It’s what sets one author apart from another and creates the “voice” that audiences hear when they read
262
Symbol: Definition
Anything that represents or stands for something else.
263
Symbol: Example
the jungle in Heart of Darkness
264
Symbol: Effect
has the effect of making a literary work more complex
265
Syntax/sentence variety: Definition
Grammatical arrangement of words.
266
Syntax/sentence variety: Example
The boy jumped happily. The boy happily jumped. Happily, the boy jumped.
267
Syntax/sentence variety: Effect
enhances its meanings, and contributes toward its tone
268
Theme: Definition
The central idea or message of a work.
269
Theme: Example
Love, Death, Good vs. Evil
270
Theme: Effect
give the central idea/lesson/moral
271
Thesis: Definition
The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning,
or proposition.
272
Thesis: Example
In (title of work), (author) (illustrates, shows) (aspect) (adjective).
273
Thesis: Effect
gives the main purpose of the writing
274
Tone: Definition
A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and
organization.
275
Tone: Example
playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal
276
Tone: Effect
expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience
277
Understatement: Definition
The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant
than it is.
278
Understatement: Example
“Our defense played valiantly, and held the other team to merely eight touchdowns in the first quarter.”
279
Understatement: Effect
used to change the perspective of the subject
280
Litotes: Definition
a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used.
281
Litotes: Example
(The flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable).
282
Litotes: Effect
uses two negative terms to express a positive,
283
Argument: Definition
An argument is a piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion.
284
Argument: Example
Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen)
285
Argument: Effect
reasoning of something
286
Premises: Definition
Statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion are premises.
287
Premises: Example
Premise: All Spam is pink
Premise: I am eating Spam
Conclusion: I am eating something that is pink
288
Premises: Effect
useful for developing and writing an outline for a debate
289
Conclusion: Definition
A conclusion is the end result of the argument – the main point being made.
290
Conclusion: Example
“My position is 100% correct. I have collected both primary and secondary sources to prove it. The essay proves that violent video games may motivate adolescents to take part in school bullying and even commit crimes.”
291
Conclusion: Effect
the ending of an argument
292
Aristotle’s appeals: Definition
The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one’s ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else's.
293
Aristotle’s appeals: Example
ethos, pathos, and logos.
294
Aristotle’s appeals: Effect
to persuade an audience
295
Ethos (credibility): Definition
means being convinced by the credibility of the author.
296
Ethos (credibility): Example
commercial in which a celebrity endorses a product
297
Ethos (credibility): Effect
a writer tries to convince the
| audience the he or she someone worth listening to
298
Pathos: Definition
means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions.
299
Pathos: Example
As we approach the start of the line, for the first time I hear the steady pop, pop, pop of live animals being stunned
300
Pathos: Effect
uses emotion to persuade the audience
301
Logos: Definition
means persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid
arguments.
302
Logos: Example
All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal
303
Logos: Effect
uses logic to persuade the audience
304
Concession: Definition
Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint.
305
Concession: Example
If the government gives tax credits to special interest groups, the tax credits are an example of a concession
306
Concession: Effect
Often used to make one’s own argument
stronger by demonstrating that one is willing to accept what is obviously true and reasonable, even
if it is presented by the opposition.
307
Conditional Statement: Definition
A conditional statement is an if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent and a
consequent.
308
Conditional Statement: Example
“If you studied hard, then you will pass the test.”
309
Conditional Statement: Effect
tells the “conditions” in which something happens
310
Contradiction: Definition
A contradiction occurs when one asserts two mutually exclusive propositions
311
Contradiction: Example
"the towering midget"
312
Contradiction: Effect
the argument goes against itself.
313
Counterexample: Definition
A counterexample is an example that runs counter to (opposes) a generalization, thus falsifying it.
314
Counterexample: Example
Premise: Jane argued that all whales are endangered.
Premise: Belugas are a type of whale.
Premise: Belugas are not endangered.
Conclusion: Therefore, Jane’s argument is unsound.
315
Counterexample: Effect
to (opposes) a generalization,
316
Ad hominem: Definition
Latin for "against the man". Personally attacking your opponents instead of their
arguments.
317
Ad hominem: Example
A lawyer who argues that his client should not be held responsible for theft because he is poor.
318
Ad hominem: Effect
is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than
intellect.
319
Appeal to authority: Definition
The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be
right.
320
Appeal to authority: Example
advertisement
321
Appeal to authority: Effect
is often used in advertising.
322
Appeal to the bandwagon: Definition
The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or
used to believe it, or do it.
323
Appeal to the bandwagon: Example
In the 1800's there was a widespread belief that bloodletting cured
sickness.
324
Appeal to the bandwagon: Effect
based on the assumption that the opinion of the majority is always valid
325
Deductive argument: Definition
An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the
conclusion.
326
Deductive argument: Example
All men are mortal
327
Deductive argument: Effect
are intended to provide support for the
conclusion that is so strong that, if the premises are true, it would be impossible for the conclusion
to be false.
328
Fallacy: Definition
A fallacy is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.
329
Fallacy: Example
Appeal to Ignorance
330
Fallacy: Effect
Writers do not want to make obvious fallacies in their reasoning, but they are often used unintentionally, or when the writer thinks they can get away with faulty logic.
331
Appeal to emotion: Definition
An attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience’s
emotions.
332
Appeal to emotion: Example
an appeal to sympathy, an appeal to revenge, an appeal to patriotism
333
Appeal to emotion: Effect
uses the manipulation of the emotions rather than valid logic to win an argument
334
Bad analogy: Definition
an appeal to sympathy, an appeal to revenge, an appeal to patriotism
335
Bad analogy: Example
“We have pure
food and drug laws regulating what we put in our bodies; why can't we have laws to keep
musicians from giving us filth for the mind?”
336
Bad analogy: Effect
used in enhancing the meaning of a composition and is also used in helping the readers in creating a visual image in their minds
337
Cliche thinking: Definition
Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no
exceptions.
338
Cliche thinking: Example
“I say: ‘America: love it or leave it.’ Anyone who disagrees with anything our country does must hate America. So maybe they should just move somewhere else.”
339
Cliche thinking: Effect
it's the same thing as something else
340
False cause: Definition
Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.
341
False cause: Example
“Before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons. Therefore women’s suffrage must have led to nuclear weapons.”
342
False cause: Effect
does not provide an adequate logical ground for a causal conclusion
343
Hasty generalization: Definition
A generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data.
344
Hasty generalization: Example
“My uncle didn’t go to college, and he makes a lot of money. So, people who don’t go to college do just as
well as those who do.”
345
Hasty generalization: Effect
A generalization
346
Non Sequitur: Definition
A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument.
347
Non Sequitur: Example
“Hinduism is one of the world’s largest religious groups. It is also one of the world’s oldest
religions. Hinduism helps millions of people lead happier, more productive lives. Therefore the
principles of Hinduism must be true.”
348
Non Sequitur: Effect
an invalid argument.
349
Slippery slope: Definition
The assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme
possible outcome.
350
Slippery slope:Example
“If you drink a glass of wine, then you’ll soon be drinking all the time, and then you’ll become a homeless alcoholic.”
351
Slippery slope: Effect
an assumption
352
Inductive argument: Definition
An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth
of the conclusion.
353
Inductive argument: Example
Joe wore a blue shirt yesterday. Joe's shirt today is blue. Joe will wear a blue shirt tomorrow as well.
354
Inductive argument: Effect
based on your ability to recognize meaningful patterns and connections
355
Sound argument: Definition
A deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions: First, that the line of reasoning from the premises to the conclusion is valid. Second, that the premises are true.
356
Sound argument: Example
All multiples of ten are multiples of five.
357
Sound argument: Effect
stress certain sounds and create musical effects.
358
Unstated premises: Definition
Not every argument is fully expressed.
359
Unstated premises: Example
If it snows, then it’s cold
360
Unstated premises: Effect
can effect the overall argument
361
Valid argument: Definition
An argument is valid if the conclusion logically follows from the premises.
362
Valid argument: Example
Premise: Either Elizabeth owns a Honda or she owns a Saturn. Premise: Elizabeth does not own a Honda.
Premise: Therefore, Elizabeth owns a Saturn.
363
Valid argument: Effect
the argument is true
