A GUIDE TO RHETORICAL TERMS:

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A GUIDE TO RHETORICAL TERMS
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What is the Argument Pattern?

• Argument is writing that uses factual evidence
  and supporting ideas to convince readers to share
  the authors opinion on an issue, or to take some
  action the writer considers appropriate or
  necessary.
• Argument conveys information however, it does
  so not to explain but to induce readers to favor
  one side in a conflict or choose an appropriate
  course of action.

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How is an ARGUMENT supported?

• Examples
• Facts and figures
• Authority
• Personal experience

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CLASSIFICATION Pattern

• A natural neurological tendency
• Can be helpful or harmful
• Can clarify or mislead
• Can manage large amounts of information
• Can overlap

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Developing Categories

• Use transitions words to signal a new category
• type, sort , class, part, category, kind,
  aspect, subcategory, trait, species, element,
  subset, segment, characteristic, component, group

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How else to develop categories

• Name your categories
• Provide detailed examples
• Explain your categories

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Cliches tired, overused expressions

• Innocent as a lamb
• Thin as a rail
• Fat as a pig
• Dumb as an ox
• Sly as a fox

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How to Close my essay?

• Use signal words (finally, at last, thus, in
  conclusion)
• Change the tempo with varied sentence length
• Restate the central idea
• Use climax, saving the most important point for
  last
• Make suggestions
• Show the topics significance
• Echo the intro
• Use a rhetorical devicequote, metaphor,
  allusion, ironic comment, anecdote, brief
  dialogue

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Coherence

• When each word, sentence, paragraph, and major
  division grows out of those preceding them
• Coherence is aided by carefully chosen words
  (diction) and transitional devices

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Colloquial expressions

• Characteristic of conversation and informal
  writing, but should never be used in essays,
  writing done for college, business, or
  professional purposes considered formal
• Contractions are considered colloquial
• Slang is a lower form of colloquialism

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COMPARISON Pattern

• Another neurological tendency
• Used to highlight similarities and differences
• May be used to show the superiority of one thing
  over another
• May be used to evaluate
• May be used to explain the unfamiliar

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CONCRETE and ABSTRACT

• Concrete diction names something that exists as
  an entity in itself, something possible to
  perceive with the senses. (We can see, touch,
  hear and smell a horse, hence horse is a concrete
  word.
• Abstract diction does not have an independent
  existencesomething else must be strong or there
  is no strength. Hence, strength is an abstract
  word.

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CONNOTATION DENOTATION

• Denotation is the literal dictionary meaning of a
  word
• Connotation is the response a word arouses in the
  reader or listener
• Nazi! Fascist! Socialist!
  Racist!

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DESCRIPTION Pattern

• Uses sensory details to recreate people, places,
  qualities, emotions or moods
• Can distract you from your expository purpose
• Can be subjective or objective (like a scientific
  paper, business report or academic essay)

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Diction choice of words Good
diction can be analyzed for its

• Accuracy exact right word for the purpose
• Economy simplest, fewest words
• Emphasis fresh, vivid words, not vague!
• Appropriateness words that suit the subject
  matter, audience-reader, and purpose

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EMPHASIS can be achieved by

• Positioning most important material at beginning
  or end of sentence.
• Proportion important material receives more
  attention
• Repetition use sparingly, for greater effect.
• Flat statement just tell the reader what matters
  most!
• Mechanical devices italics, caps, exclamation
  points. (Again, use sparingly)
• By distinctiveness of style (Behavioral Sink???)

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What is an Essay?

• A brief prose composition on a single topic,
  communicating the authors personal ideas and
  impressions.
• Can be formal or informal
• Formal is more serious in tone and diction (like
  a rhetorical analysis or argument)
• Informal is more chatty, less elaborately
  organized, more personal (like a memory piece,
  rant or humorous explanation of something)

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What are Figures of Speech? Short vivid
comparisons, stated or implied

• Metaphor suggests comparison of two unlike things
• Simile compares unlike things directly
• Personification treats inanimate things as if
  they had human powers
• Allusion is a figurative reference to a famous or
  literary person, event or quote.
• Irony says one thing but means another
• Paradox seems contradictory but actually contains
  some truth

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INTRODUCTIONS

• Identify and limit the subject
• Interest the readers
• Set the tone
• May indicate the plan of organization

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Specific types of Introductions

• Stating the central theme
• Showing the significance of the subject
• Giving the background of the subject
• Focusing down to one aspect of subject
• Using a rhetorical device (anecdote, analogy,
  allusion, quote, paradox)
• Using a short, vivid comparison
• Posing a challenging question
• Referring to the writers experience with the
  subject
• Presenting a startling statistic or fact
• Making an unusual statement
• Making a commonplace remark (adage, truism,
  etc.)

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What is IRONY?

• It is saying one thing on the surface but meaning
  exactly or nearly the opposite
• Isnt our neighborhood a dump?

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What is a LOOSE SENTENCE?

• It is where the main point is stated early in the
  sentence, and is followed by dependent
  subordinate clauses
• The cavalry arrived after a long night of
  suspense and horror.

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What is a PERIODIC SENTENCE?

• A sentence in which the main point is held until
  the very end
• After a long night of suspense and horror, the
  cavalry arrived.

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• What is the NARRATIVE pattern? It is a story
  that explains a subject, presents conclusions, or
  supports an interpretation or a thesis.
• The NARRATIVE pattern can be used for the entire
  essay or as support within the essay.

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What goes into a Narrative?

• Who, what, when, where, how, why
• Recreation of events
• Helping readers to understand the significance of
  events

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OBJECTIVE V. SUBJECTIVE

• These are distinguishable by the extent to which
  they reflect the authors personal attitudes or
  emotions.
• The difference is usually one of degree (most
  writers dont try to be completely one or the
  other.)
• Mostly objective writing can be found in
  scientific reports, is impersonal, and is
  concerned almost exclusively with straight
  narration, logical analysis or description of
  external appearances.
• Subjective writing expresses beliefs, ideals or
  impressions of the author, emphasizing how the
  author sees/interprets something.

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What is Paradox (and how does it differ from
Antithesis and Oxymoron?)

• A paradox is a statement or remark that, although
  seeming to be contradictory or absurd, actually
  contains some truth.
• Antithesis is using opposite phrases in close
  conjunction. Examples might be, "I burn and I
  freeze," or "Her character is white as sunlight,
  black as midnight." The best antitheses express
  their contrary ideas in a balanced sentence. It
  can be a contrast of opposites "Evil men fear
  authority good men cherish it." Alternatively,
  it can be a contrast of degree "One small step
  for a man, one giant leap for all mankind.
• Oxymoron Using contradiction in a manner that
  oddly makes sense on a deeper level. Simple
  examples include jumbo shrimp, sophisticated
  rednecks, and military intelligence. The richest
  literary oxymora seem to reveal a deeper truth
  through their contradictions. See paradox.

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PARELLEL STRUCTURE

• A pair or series of verbs, prepositional phrases,
  or gerunds.
• Parallelism helps writers stress variety of
  profusion in a group of nouns/modifiers.
• Parallelism also emphasizes parallel ideas in two
  or more sentences or paragraphs.
• Parallelism can lend a poetic quality to prose.

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What is a PERSONA?

• A character created as the speaker in an essay or
  narrator of a story.
• The attitudes and character of a persona often
  differ from those of the author.
• The persona may be created as a way of submitting
  certain values or perspectives to examination and
  criticism.

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POINT OF VIEW in NON-FICTION

• In argument, POV is the authors opinion on an
  issue or the thesis being advanced.
• In exposition, POV is the position of the author
  in relation to the subject material.
• Example a ranch in a mountain valley is seen
  differently by the ranch hand in the corral, as
  by the gardener, or by the artist or by the
  geographer or engineer.

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PROCESS ANALYSIS Pattern

• Focuses on how something happens
• In expos, it most often appears as instructions
  or explanations.

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AUTHORS PURPOSE

• Why did the author write this book or essay?
• Was he/she trying to show us that cities are bad?
  That one president is better than another? That
  Americans trust one another? That bragging is
  good and bad?

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What is QUALIFICATION?

• It is the tempering of broad statements to make
  them more valid and acceptable.
• In analyzing an argument, it can be your way to
  say you agree with parts of the argument but
  disagree with other parts.

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What is REFUTATION?

• Summarizes the opposing POV along with a
  discussion of its inadequacies.
• 3 Strategies for REFUTATION are
• Point out weaknesses in evidence
• Point out errors in logic
• Question the relevance of an argument
• Refutations should be moderate in tone!

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RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

• Are posed with no expectation of receiving an
  answer.
• Are used for launching a discussion.
• Are used for furthering a discussion.
• Are used to achieve emphasis.

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What is SATIRE?

• It is ridicule for the purpose of correction.
• There are two main types of satire.
• Horatian satire is gentle and smiling and aims to
  correct by invoking laughter and sympathy.
• Juvenalian satire is sharper and points with
  anger, contempt and/or moral indignation, to
  corruption and evil.

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SENTIMENTALITY BAD

• An exaggerated show of emotion, whether
  intentional or caused by lack of restraint.
• Using sentimentality may cause readers to resent
  or be amused at a perceived attempt to play upon
  their emotions.

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SPECIFIC AND GENERAL

• Relative terms.
• Which is most specific apple, fruit, or Winesap?
• Usually, the more specific the better
• But you may not want to make this statement more
  specific There was no vehicle in sight.

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STYLE AND TONE

• Your eyes, dearest, reflect a thousand sparkling
  candles of heaven.
• Them eyes of yoursin this lightthey sure do
  turn me on.
• Same tones, different styles
• Tone is attitude of the writer towards the
  subject.
• Style expresses the authors individuality
  through diction, syntax, selection and
  arrangement of details.

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SYMBOLS

• Refers to anything that although real itself also
  suggests something broader or more
  significantnot just in greater numbers, however.
• Symbols can be natural, personal or conventional.

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Symbols, continued

• Natural symbols the symbolic meaning is inherent
  in the thing itself. (sunrises symbolize
  beginnings, cannons suggest war, islands suggest
  isolation)

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Personal Symbols

• Personal symbols are meaningless to others unless
  told about it.
• Citizen Kanes sled symbolized his lost
  childhood, but only to him.
• The odor of marigolds to me suggests the time I
  pruned a bees nestouch!

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Conventional Symbols

• Conventional symbols started as personal, but
  continued usage helped them evolve so we all
  recognize them now

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SYNTAX arrangement of words in a sentence

• Good syntax implies the use not only of correct
  grammar, but also of effective patterns.
• These patterns depend on sentences with good
  unity, coherence, and emphasis.
• Also on the use of parallelism and subordination.
• Also on economy and variety
• Also on a variety of sentence patterns

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THE THESIS

• In an argument essay, the central theme is often
  refereed to as the thesis, and is often summed up
  in a thesis statement.
• The thesis matters because it is the center of
  the argument and the whole essay is designed to
  make the reader agree with it and hence, with the
  authors view.

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TRANSITIONS

• The relating of one topic to the next
• A smooth transition adds to coherence of a
  sentence, paragraph or entire piece of writing.
• Transitions are identifying landmarks that keep
  your readers on the path you are leading them
  down.

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TRANSITION TYPES

• Providing an echo from the preceding paragraph
• Devising a whole sentence or paragraph to bridge
  other important paragraphs/divisions
• Using parallel structure
• Using standard transitional expressions (to
  establish time, place, result, comparison,
  addition, example)

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UNITY the one-ness

• Unity is the one-ness in which all parts
  contribute to an overall effect.
• Your intro and conclusion contribute to unity
• Also your consistent POV, tone and style
• Also recurring analogy or symbolism
• Also natural time boundaries
• Most importantly, your central theme