-
Allusion:
- a reference to an historical event, text, person etc.
- outside the text
-
Analogy:
a means of argument through the use of comparison
-
Arguments:
- Forensic (about the past),
- Deliberative (about the future),
- Epideictic/Ceremonial (about the present)
-
Audience:
the specific, identifiable ‘reader’ an author directs his/her argument toward
-
Authoritative testimony:
- expert testimony other than the author’s used to validate and support his/her claims
-
Assumptions:
unexamined beliefs
-
Definitions:
by synonym; by example (or ostensive); stipulative definitions
-
Ethos:
- ethical appeal or the author’s credibility: established by
- 1). Demonstrating knowledge of the subject;
- 2). Establishing common ground with the audience and
- 3). Considering opposing points of view; demonstrating fairness
-
Inference;
a conclusion about the unknown based on the known
-
-
Pathos:
emotional appeal; arguments from the heart
-
Rhetorical Situation:
the dynamic driven by the context in which an argument takes place, ie., the relationship between the author (and his or her purpose), subject, and audience
-
Stasis Theory:
- a means of investigating/analyzing a particular argument employing four basic questions
- 1.Did something happen (arguments of fact)?
- 2.What is the nature of the thing (arguments of definition)?
- 3.What is the quality of the thing (arguments of evaluation)?
- 4. What actions should be taken (proposal arguments)?
-
Syllogism:
- a form of reasoning with a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion that follows exclusively from the parameters of the two premises: it must be both valid (in its structure) and true (in the content of its premises)
- EX: All humans are mortal
- Socrates is a human
- Socrates is mortal.
-
Purpose:
- author’s rhetorical intention; what he or she is attempting to accomplish
- Cicero’s three major purposes: to delight, to teach, to move
-
Inductive reasoning:
- drawing general conclusions from specific observations (only probably
- true)
-
Deductive reasoning:
- syllogistic reasoning that draws a specific
- conclusion from stated premises (see syllogism)
-
-
Thesis
the main point of an essay
-
Subject:
topic of an essay
-
Persona:
the author’s self representation in an essay
|
|