the listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple one.

When Mrs. Peebles speaks, we are her audience.

an acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument, it is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.

I know college is expensive, but it will be worth it in the long run.

meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition.  Usually positive or negative and they can greatly affect the author's tone. 

Dove symbolizes peace.

the circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

"Take out your dam letters" and someone might think I'm swearing because it's taken out of context.  But if you know we read letters related to a beaver dam, it would make more sense.

an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward.  Rather than ignoring one, a strong writer will usually address it through the process of concession and refutation.

A rebuttal or closing argument in court

Greek for "character".  Speakers appeal to this to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.  It is established by both who you are and what you say.

I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.

Greek for "embodied thought".  Speakers appeal to reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.

Erie is the 9th fattest city in America.

the time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.

Abraham Lincoln gave The Gettysburg Address to commorate the soldiers who gave their lives.

Greek for "suffering" or "experience".  Speakers appeal to emotionally motivate their audience.  More specific appeals might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes on one hand, or fears and prejudices on the other.

ASPCA animal abuse commercials, Stand Up to Cancer

Greek for "mask".  The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience. 

Obama dresses professionally to give off a serious persona.  His public persona is different than how he is on the golf course. 

Greek for "hostile".  An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others.  These generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.

Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell arguing on American Idol.

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause.  In its negative sense, it is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause. 

"Uncle Sam wants you!!"

the goal the speaker wants to achieve.

The goal of MKL's "I have a Dream Speech" is to gain civil rights for all citizens. 

a denial of the validity of an opposing argument.  In order to sound reasonable, these often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. 

"That's malarky" said Joe Biden in the vice presidential debate. 

As Aristotle defined the term, "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion."  In other words, it is the art of finding ways to persuade an audience.

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling.  The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).

"You're doing ok mom" - Johnson and Johnson baby commercial.

the topic of a text.  what the text is about.

while this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read" - meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated.  This includes fiction, nonfition, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.

Any book, speech, or literary piece.

repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.

Sally sells sea shells down by the sea shore.

brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.

When Diana's brother was talking to her during his eulogy. 

"Don't be a Scrooge."

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines to achieve an artistic effect. 

"I have a dream" part in the that speech is one that is repeated 7 or 8 times at the beginning of a section when he says all of the parts of his dream.

repetition of words in reverse order.

"Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Opposition or contrast of ideas or words in a parallel construction.  The structures of phrases and clauses are similar in order to draw the attention of the readers to the contrast or opposite concepts. 

"To err is human; to forgive devine."

Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness.

old-fashioned or outdated choice of words. Could be noted by decade styles

Thee, thou, groovy

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. Absence of conjunctions between parts of the sentences

We shall pay the price, bear any burdens, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.

This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely.

“This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you,

sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.

A type sentence structure
an independent clause followed by a series of dependent clauses (contrast with periodic sentence).

She was angry - more angry than she had ever been even though she had been to hell and back.  

sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action. Shows an urgency of need.

"Help us!"

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

sentence used to command or enjoin

"Let us work together for this common goal"

 (Difference between hortative and imperative is that imperative is a call to come together, join with others. Imperative could be to the individual to act.)

inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order).

United we stand; divided we fall 

How beautiful the sky is today. (Instead of The sky is beautiful today.)

placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.

There was a poignant juxtaposition between the boys laughing in the street and the girl crying on the balcony above.

In 2008 the government was elected; in 2008 the economy took a dive.

figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.

She's a brick house.

paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another. 

 an adjective contradicts the noun or other part of speech

Peaceful revolution

Jumbo shrimp

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

I enjoy reading, writing, and eating.  (not reading, writing, and to eat)

sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.

 Has many prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses to build an understanding of the main sentence.

With a clear shot and a steady hand, Odysseus fired his bow.

attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.

The trees danced in the breeze.

figure of speech in the form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer. 

"Do you really think so?", Atticus said.

synedoche

figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole

Nice wheels (to represent the car)!

a figure of speech where one word applies to multiple words within a sentence.

The woman's dress was blue and so was her mood.

You are free to execute your laws and your citizens as you see fit. 

latin for "against the man", this fallacy refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker.  Attacking a person's character or motivations rather than a position or argument.

Showing an innocent victim's face to persuade the jury of guilt rather than using evidence to show logical proof for guilt.  

this fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do!"

Ex. You should vote to elect Rachel Johnson - she has a strong lead in the polls. (Polling higher does not make Johnson the best candidate, only the most popular one.)

this fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority.  A TV star is not a medical expert even though pharmaceutical advertisements often use celebrity endorsements.

Adam Levine promoting Pro-Active acne treatment.

metonymy

using a whole to represent a part or individual.

a fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt. It "begs" a question whether the support itself is sound. 

Giving students easy access to a wealth of facts and resources online allows them to develop critical thinking skills.

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence.

X is true because of Y

Y is true because of X

You can't give me a C; I'm an A student!

The Bible is the word of God because God tells us it is....in the Bible

also called an assertion or proposition, a claim states the argument's main idea or position. It different from a topic or subject in that it has to be arguable.  

a claim which asserts that something is true or not true

The number of suicides and homicides committed by teenagers, most often young men, has exploded in the last three decades.  

a claim which proposes a change.

THe Death Penalty should be abolished because it does nothing to prevent murder from happening.

A claim of value argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong, ethical or unethical, moral or immoral.

The hunting of animals is a barbaric practice.

a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make. 

The three-dimensional characters, exciting plot, and complex themes of the Harry Potter series make them not only legendary childrens' books but also enduring literary classics.  

a logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (major premise) an applying it to a specific case (minor premise). The process of deduction is usually demonstrated in the form of a syllogism:

exercise contributes to better health

yoga is a type of exercise

yoga contributes to better health

a fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.

Examples:

If you vote for Gary Johnson, you will ensure a Trump victory so you must vote for Hillary to stop Trump.  

Either we agree to higher taxes, or our grandchildren will be mired in debt.  

a fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable.

To argue that because we put animals who are in irreversible pain out of their misery, we should do the same for people, asks the reader to ignore significant and profound differences between animals and people.  

evidence based on something that the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of the events.  

Ex. In the Dam letters, Tvedten uses rhetoric to point out the face that Price claims to have first-hand evidence but actually has never been out to see the dams. If he had, he would know they were built by beavers.  

a fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.

Smoking isn't bad for you. My great aunt smoked a pack a day and lived to be 90.

Latin for "to lead into"

reasoning that leads to a logical conclusion called a generalization

Ex. Regular exercise promotes weight loss, exercise lowers stress, exercise improves mood and outlook. Generalization: exercise contributes to better health.

potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument.  they often arise from a failure to make a logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it.  

 The umbrella of all fallacies.

one that does not list all of the points the writer intends to cover in an essay.

Ex. The popularity of the Harry Potter series demonstrates that simplicity trumps complexity when it comes to the taste of readers both young and old.

latin for "after which therefore because of which"

it is incorrect to always claim that something is the cause just because it happened earlier. One may losely summarize this fallacy by saying that correlation does not imply causation.

All of the problems Obama has had in his presidency are because of eight years of George Bush's presidency.

In the Toulmin model, it explains the terms and conditions necessitated by the qualifier.

Ex. Because (evidence as support), therefore (claim), since (warrant or assumption), on account of (backing), unless (reservation).  

based on the assumption that having a full understanding of an opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating.