Terminology
- audience- the listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences
- concession- an acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument a concession is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument
- connotation- meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond the dictionary definition, or denotation
- context- the circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text
- counterargument- an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward.
- ethos- Greek for character. speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic
- logos- Greek for embodied thought speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up
- occasion- the time and a place a speech is given or a piece is written
- pathos- Greek for suffering or experience. speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience
- persona- Greek for mask. the face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience
- polemic- Greek for hostile. an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others
- propaganda- the spread of ideas and information to further a cause. in its negative sense, propaganda is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause
- purpose- the goal the speaker wants to achieve
- refutation- a denial of the validity of an opposing argument
- rhetoric- the faculty of observing in any give case the available means of persuasion
- rhetorical appeals- rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three main appeals are ethos, logos, and pathos
- rhetorical triangle (Aristotelian triangle)- a diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text
- SOAPS- a mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker
- speaker- the person or group who creates a text
- subject- the topic of a text. What the text is about