Rhetorical terms

The circumstances of a piece of communication: who is speaking, to whom, about what, for what purpose, and in what context.

The problem, event or need that prompts a writer or speaker to communicate at a particular moment.

The people a text is meant to reach, whose beliefs, values and expectations shape the writer's choices.

What a writer wants a text to accomplish: to persuade, inform, move, warn, defend or call the audience to action.

The historical, cultural and immediate circumstances surrounding a text that shape how it is written and received.

An appeal based on the speaker's credibility, character or shared values with the audience.

An appeal to the audience's emotions, values or imagination to make them more receptive to an argument.

An appeal to reason through evidence, logic, data and clear chains of cause and effect.

The timeliness of an argument: making the right appeal at the right moment for a particular audience.

An arguable statement a writer asks the audience to accept, supported by reasons and evidence.

A thesis that takes a position on the prompt and can be supported with evidence and reasoning.

The logical sequence of claims that connects a thesis to its supporting evidence across an essay.

The writer's explanation of how a piece of evidence supports a claim; the analysis that follows a quotation or example.

The often unstated assumption that connects evidence to a claim and explains why the evidence counts as support.

An opposing view or objection to a writer's claim, which the writer may acknowledge and answer.

Acknowledging that part of an opposing argument is valid before explaining why one's own position still holds.

A response that answers a counterargument by showing it is flawed, incomplete or outweighed.

Limiting a claim to the conditions or cases where it holds, making it more precise and defensible.

Combining information and ideas from multiple sources to support an original argument.

A writer's word choice, including the level of formality, connotation and specificity of the words used.

The emotional or cultural associations a word carries in addition to its literal, dictionary meaning.

The arrangement of words, phrases and clauses in sentences, including sentence length, order and structure.

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through diction, syntax and detail.

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences or lines.

Using the same grammatical structure for related ideas in a sentence or series, for balance and clarity.

Placing contrasting ideas side by side in parallel structure to sharpen the contrast.

Placing two ideas, images or details close together to highlight a contrast or an unexpected connection.

A question asked for effect, often to lead the audience toward a conclusion it supplies itself.