Exigence

 Definition: the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition

Example: Racism is an example of the first type of exigence, one where discourse is required to remove the problem. 

Audience

Definition: the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert

Example: "Your readers, those people you are trying to reach with your writing, constitute your audience. The relationship between your audience's needs--based on its knowledge and level of expertise--and your own selection and presentation of evidence is important. Much of what you say and how you say it depends on whether your audience is a group of experts or a more general audience consisting of diverse people interested in your topic.

Purpose

Definition: thereason for which something exists or is done, made, used.

Example: "Writers often confuse their business purpose (or the problem to be solved) with their writing purpose. The business purpose is the issue they are addressing; the writing purpose is why they are writing the document. If they focus only on the business purpose, they easily fall into the trap of telling the story of what happened. Readers usually want to know what you learned, not what you did."

Ethos

Definition: the moral element in dramatic literature that determines a character's action rather than his or her thought or emotion.

Example: "As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results."

Pathos

Definition: the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion.

Example: "If we don’t move soon, we’re all going to die! Can’t you see how dangerous it would be to stay?"

Logos

Definiton: reason or the rational principle expressed in words and things, argument, or justification; esp personified as the source of order in the universe

Example: "The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently turned a profit year-over-year, even in spite of market declines in other areas."

Analogy

Definition: a comparison shown for similarity

Example:Life is like a box full of chocolates. 

Cause and Effect

Definition: Noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of other or others.

Example: Not doing your homework will have an effect on your grade.

Chronological/Sequenced

Definition: arranged in the order of time/the following of one thing after another; succession.

Example: Your paper must be in chronological order in order for your readers to understand the time and date. 

Classification

Definition: one of the groups or classes into which things may be or have been classified.

Example: In science, you must classify your evidence in order to be organized. This is exactly like classifying your evidence in writing to have a smooth paper.

Compare/Contrast

Definiton: to examine (two or more objects, ideas, people, etc.) in order to note similarities and differences

Example: Day/Night, PB&J

Definiton

Definition: the act of making definite, distinct, or clear; a defining

Example: If something is unclear to your readers, then you must be able to define it for them. The paper must be smooth in fluency and word choice. 

Elaboration/Description

Definition: a statement or account that describes; representation in words

Example: In order for your reader to visual your story, you must be able to give an elaborate description. 

Problem/Solution

Definition: a question proposed for solution or discussion/theactof solving a problem,question,etc

Example: If a problem in your writing occurs then you may ask a peer to edit it for you; this will help you solve your problem.

Definition: a systematic series of actions directed to some end

Example: circle maps, pre-write, rough draft, corrections, and final draft. Writing is a process that takes time.

Allusion

Definition: An allusion is a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Example: It’s no wonder everyone refers to Mary as another Mother Teresa in the making; she loves to help and care after people everywhere- from the streets to her own friends.

Antithesis 

Definition: An antithesis is used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another. 

Example: When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon it might have been one small step for a man but it was one giant leap for mankind.

Apostrophe

Definition: The act of addressing some abstractation or personification that is not physically present

Example: "Oh death be not proud!"

Figurative Language

 Definition: Speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a spcial effector meaning, speech or writing employing figures of speech. 

Example: "My love's like a red, red rose"

Hyperbole/Overstatement

Definition: A hyperbole is a literary device wherein the author uses specific words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the basic crux of the statement in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect. 

Example: "I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far."

Irony

Definition: The use of irony in literature refers to playing around with words such that the meaning implied by a sentence/word is actually different from the literal meaning derived. 

Example: “Oh! What fine luck I have!”

Meiosis

Definition: Understatement, the opposite of exaggeration 

Example: "I was somewhat worried when the pyschopath ran toward me with the chainsaw"

Metonymy

Definition: the practice of not using the formal word for an object/subject and instead referring to it by using another word that is intricately linked to the formal name/word.

Example: When we use the name “Washington D.C” we are talking about the U.S’ political hot seat by referring to the political capital of the United States.

Paradox

Definition: the use of concepts/ ideas that are contradictory to one another, yet, when placed together they hold significant value on several levels. 

Example: High walls make not a palace; full coffers make not a king.

Symbolism

Definition: literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight, and is representative of several other aspects/ concepts/ traits than those that are visible in the literal translation alone.

Example: The phrase “a new dawn” does not talk only about the actual beginning of a new day but also signifies a new start, a fresh chance to begin and the end of a previous tiring time.

Tone

Definition: The tone of a literary work is the perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regards to a specific character, place or development. 

Example: In her Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling has taken an extremely positive, inspiring and uplifting tone towards the idea of love and devotion.

Understatement/Litotes

Definition: This literary device refers to the practice of drawing attention to a fact that is already obvious and noticeable.

Example: The phrase, “Oh! I wonder if he could get any later; I am free all day long”. Said in a sarcastic tone it indicates that the speaker obviously means the opposite of the literal meaning.

Denotation

Definition: Denotation refers to expressing a meaning or the significance of a part of a story in a straightforward, clear-cut manner.

Example: He packed his bags and made his way out of the house, leaving his old life behind forever.

Conotation

Definition: Connotation is a complex literary device wherein the intended meaning is not stated clearly and is instead conveyed through covert, indirect means.

Example: And once again, the autumn leaves were falling.

Cliché/Euphemism

Defintion: The term ‘euphemism’ is used to refer to the literary practice of using a comparatively milder or less abrasive form of a negative description instead of its original, unsympathetic form.

Example: Using “to put out to pasture” when one implies retiring a person because they are too old to be effective.

Colloquialism/Slang

Definition: A word or phrase used in everyday plain speech but not in formal writing

Example: "Greetings, how are you?" vs. "Hey, what's up?"

Parallelism

Definition: the fact of being similar in development or form

Example: There is some degree parallelism between the lives of the two women.

Isocolon 

Definition: A rhetorical term for a succession of clauses or sentences of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.

Example: "I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, we're a Pepper--
Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too? Dr. Pepper!"

Antithesis 

Definition: An antithesis is used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another.

Example: "His words were in perfect keeping with his looks, and his looks were in perfect keeping with his words."

Anastrophe

Definition: Anastrophe is a form of literary device wherein the order of the noun and the adjective in the sentence is exchanged.

Example: He spoke of times past and future, and dreamt of things to be.

Definition: one of a pair of marks ( ) that are used around a word, phrase, sentence, number, etc. — usually plural

Example: "Write a three page essay on the subject 'What I Shall Do With My Life' (with a brief account of its chief events to date and a plan for the future).

Apposition

Definition: The placement side-by-side of two coordinate elements (noun phrases), the second of which serves to identify or rename the first.

Example: "This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air."

Elipses

Definition: In grammar and rhetoric, the omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader.

Example: "The streets were deserted, the doors bolted."

Asyndeton

Definition: Asyndeton refers to a practice in literature whereby the author purposely leaves out conjunctions in the sentence, while maintaining the grammatical accuracy of the phrase. 

Anadiplosis

Defintion: A rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses. 

Example: "Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing."

Anaphora

Definition: A grammatical term for the use of a pronoun or other linguistic unit to refer back to another word or phrase. 

Example: "In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons."

Epistrophe

Definition: A  rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Example: "Don't you ever talk about my friends! You don't know any of my friends. You don't look at any of my friends. And you certainly wouldn't condescend to speak to any of my friends."

Antimetabole

Definition: In rhetoric, a verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the words in reverse grammatical order (A-B-C, C-B-A).

Example: "I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better."

Polyptoton

Definition: A rhetorical term for repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings

  Example: "Choosy Mothers Choose Jif"

Balance

Definition: A sentence made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure

Example: "Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun."

Inverted/Unusual Order

Definition: In grammar, a reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of the subject

Example: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

Omission

Definiton: Something deleted or left out

Example: In an essay, an omission would never be a good thing. 

Repetition

Definition: Repetition is the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular placement of the words

Example: "My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,and every tongue brings in a several tale,and every tale condemns me for a villain."

Active Voice

Definition: the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.

Example: "The dog bit the boy."

Passive Voice

Definition: Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen

Loose (aka Cumulative)

Defintion: begins with the man clause, followed by one or more subordinate clauses

Example: The cat sat on the mat, purring softly, after it licked it paws

Balanced

Definition: sentence of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance

Example: Vision without

action is day dream; action without vision is nightmare  

Periodic

Definition: main clause at the end of the sentence

Example: And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing

Centered

Definition: main clause occupies the middle of the sentence

Example: Having wanted to walk on the sea like St. Peter, he had taken an involuntary bath, losing his mitre and the better part of his reputation

Convoluted

Definition: main cause is split in two, subordinate parts intruding

Example: White men, at the bottom of their hearts, know this.

Explore

Definiton: to look into closely; scrutinize; examine:

Example: When starting any sort of paper, you are constantly exploring your brain for new fresh ideas. 

Entertain

Definition: to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.

Example: In order for your paper to be pleasurable, it must be entertaining to the audience and the reader. 

Inform

Definiton: to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to

Example: When writing an essay, you always want to inform the reader of your topic and your purpose for defending it or not. 

Persuade/Convince

Definiton: to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging

Example: In a persuasive essay, you are always trying to defend your point and inform the reader of your opinion. 

Appeal to Ignorance (Ad Ignorantum)

Definition: A fallacy based on the assumption that a statement must be true if it cannot be proved false.

Example: There is intelligent life in outer space, for no one has been able to prove that there isn't.

Arguing by Association

Definition: The association fallacy is an informal version of the fallacious argument known as affirming the consequent.

Example: -Positive

1. Martin Luther King was a Baptist.

 2. King was a good person. 

3. Therefore, Baptists are good.

Backed by a Stick (Ad Baculum)

Definition: fallacy that occurs when threat of force is made, either implicity or explicity

Example: I'm willing to discuss this in even more depth, but if you don't come around soon, then there might be dire consequences

Bandwagon

Definition: a party, cause, movement, etc., that by its mass appeal or strength readily attracts many followers

Example: An example of a bandwagon would be 'Campo Crazie' t-shirts, everybody wants them because they are the "in thing" for Campo. 

Begging the Question

Definition: informal fallacy in which an implicit premise would directly entail the conclusion; in other words, basing a conclusion on an assumption that is as much in need of proof or demonstration as the conclusion itself

Example: 'The reason there's such a big demand is because everyone wants to get in them.' In other words, there is a big demand because there is a big demand."

Equivocation

Definition: Stems from the ambiguos meaning of certain words

Example: No woman is a man. 

False Analogy

Definition: A false analogy is a faulty instance of the argument from analogy. 

Example: Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees.

False Authority

Definition: Using a biased, suspicious, or incredible source to defend a conclusion

Example: Abortion is moral because the Supreme Court said so. 

False Causality

Definition: The fallacy is that an event or action influences another that is not reasonably related.

Example: "There were many strangers in the room, so naturally they began to argue."

False Dilemma

Definition: type of informal fallacy that involves a situation in which limited alternatives are considered, when in fact there is at least one additional option.

Example: "Either the nobles of this country appear wealthy, in which case they can be taxed for good; or they appear poor, in which case they are living frugally and must have immense savings, which can be taxed for good."

Half-Truths

Definition: deceptive element that includes some element of truth

Example: "You should not trust Peter with your children. I once saw him smack a child with his open hand."

Hasty Generalization 

Definition: The habit of arriving at a bold conclusion based on a limited supply of evidence. This often occurs with statistics. 

Example: Robin: I guess you can never trust a woman.
Batman: You've made a hasty generalization, Robin. It's a bad habit to get into.

Oversimplification

Definition: When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument

Example: We should pull the troops out today. After all, if the soldiers are home, they will not get killed

Poisoning the Well (Ad Hominem)

Definiton: adverse information about a target is pre-emptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that the target person is about to say.

Example: If Adam tells Bob, "Chris is a fascist so don't listen to him", then Adam has committed the fallacy of poisoning the well.

Red Herring

Definition: idiom that refers to a logical fallacy that misleads or detracts from the actual issue.

Example: Me: Mom, can I go to a party tonight? 
Mom: How can I be sure you won't drink alcohol?
Me: Oh mom, how can you even think that when I've been doing homework all day!

Scare Tactics

Definition: Coercing a favorable response by preying upon the audience's fears. 

Example:This is your brain. These are drugs. This is your brain on drugs. 

Slippery Slope

Definition: Relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant effect, much like an object given a small push over the edge of a slope sliding all the way to the bottom.

Example: Political power: The hassle of registration may reduce the number of gun owners, and thus the political power of the gun-ownership bloc.

Analogy

Definition: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Polysyndeton 

Definiton: A rhetorical term for a sentence style that employs many coordinating conjunctions (the opposite of asyndeton)

Example: "[I]t is respectable to have no illusions--and safe--and profitable--and dull."

Alliteration

Definition: The repetition of an initial constant sound, as in "a peck of pickled peppers."

       Example: "You'll never put a better bit of      butter on your knife."