Rhetorical Terms 4
rhetorical question: question posed for effect that does not require an answer. PLEASE stop using rhetorical questions as support in your arguments. They can create voice & style, but they cannot support your argument or close your claim!
scheme: artful syntax, any deviation from or manipulation of normal order of words (parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, etc.)
simile: an explicit comparison between two things using “like” or “as.” A metaphor using like or as.
syllepsis: using 1 word in different contexts or causing 1 word to mean different things even though it is used in the same way.
Example: She lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes and his hopes.
syllogism: structure that uses the major premiseand minor premise to reach a conclusion.
syncrisis: a compare/contrast statement usually given in parallel clauses.
Example: Give him an inch, he takes a mile.
synecdoche: understanding one thing with another; the use of a part for the whole, or the whole for the part.
Example: Tyner won the state championship. (Instead of, “The members of the Tyner football team won the state championship.”)*How is this different from metonymy?
synesis: the agreement of words according to logic or what makes sense rather than according to a rule of syntax or grammar. This HAS to be intentional or it just looks like it’s incorrect. This differs from anacoluthon, which is changing expected sequence or agreement to create disruption. Synesis is used to create a sense of completion. (Remember hysteron proteron?).
tapinosis: name calling to make something seem less important. Litotes can be tapinosis, but not all tapinosis is a form of litotes.
tautology: when an idea is repeated within a phrase, sentence or paragraph to give an impression that the writer is providing extra information (think of it as hiding a lack of information by artfully repeating the same thing).
trope: artful diction (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, etc.).
understatement: something presented as less important than it is. In rhetoric, this can be used to make the topic MORE important through sarcasm, irony, etc.
zeugma: syllepsis
synthesis: combining different ideas and evidence to create a new idea.
dichotomy: the division or splitting into two opposing things, usually creating conflict.
didactic: something that intends to teach (think of a lecture). An argument or point can be didactic.
allusion: referencing something, not the same as citing or quoting something.
antecedent: the “subject” of a pronoun.
Example: Shanna lost her cell phone charger. If you find one, it belongs to her. (Shanna is the antecedent for the pronoun “her”).
cliché:an idea or phrase that is overused and unoriginal.
colloquialism: informal, common speech (think of how this affects tone and ethos).