- Amplification Strategies (page one)
- Argumentation Techniques (below)
- Balance, Antithesis, and Paradox (page three)
- Emotional Appeals (Pathos) (page three)
- Metaphorical Substitutions and Puns (page three)
- Omission of Words, Phrases, and Clauses (page three)
- Repetition of Letters, Syllables, and Sounds (page four)
- Repetition of Words, Phrases, Clauses, and Ideas (page four)
Argumentation Techniques
- accismus
Coyness: a form of irony in which a person feigns a lack of interest in something that he or she actually desires. - allegory
Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text. - analogy
Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases. - anecdote
A short account of an interesting or amusing incident, often intended to illustrate or support some point. - anticipation
General name for argumentative strategies whereby a speaker or writer foresees and replies to objections. - antirrhesis
Rejecting an argument because of its insignificance, error, or wickedness. - apophasis
The mention of something in disclaiming intention of mentioning it--or pretending to deny what is really affirmed. - aporia
The expression of real or simulated doubt or perplexity. - aposiopesis
An unfinished thought or broken sentence. - argument
A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood. - categoria
Direct exposure of an adversary's faults. - chleuasmos
A sarcastic reply that mocks an opponent, leaving him or her without an answer. - confirmation
The main part of a speech or text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated. - concession
Argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer concedes a disputed point or leaves a disputed point to the audience or reader to decide. - dehortatio
Dissuasive advice given with authority. - deliberative
Speech or writing that attempts to persuade an audience to take (or not to take) some action. - demonstrative rhetoric
Persuasion that deals with values that bring a group together; the rhetoric of ceremony, commemoration, declamation, demonstration, play, and display. - diatyposis
Recommending useful precepts or advice to someone else. - distinctio
Explicit references to various meanings of a word--usually for the purpose of removing ambiguities. - enthymeme
An informally stated syllogism with an implied premise. - epicrisis
Circumstance in which a speaker quotes a passage and comments on it. - epimone
Frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point. - epiplexis
Asking questions to reproach rather than to elicit answers. - erotesis
A rhetorical question implying strong affirmation or denial. - ethopoeia
Putting oneself in place of another so as to both understand and express his or her feelings more vividly. - ethos
Persuasive appeal based on the character or the projected character of the speaker or writer. - evidence
Facts, documentation, or testimony used to strengthen a claim or reach a conclusion. - exordium
The introductory part of an argument in which a speaker or writer establishes credibility (ethos) and announces the subject and purpose of the discourse. - fable
A short narrative meant to teach a moral lesson. - hyperbole
An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect. - hypocrisis
Exaggerating the gestures or speech habits of another in order to mock him. - hypophora
Raising questions and answering them. - identification
Any of the wide variety of means by which an author may establish a shared sense of values, attitudes, and interests with his or her readers. - innuendo
An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation. - invective
Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something. - kairos
The opportune time and/or place, the right time to say or do the right thing. - judicial
Speech or writing that considers the justice or injustice of a certain charge or accusation. - logos
In classical rhetoric, the means of persuasion by demonstration of the truth, real or apparent. - meiosis
To belittle, use a degrading epithet, often through a trope of one word; rhetorical understatement. - metaphor
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. - metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty"). - narratio
The part of an argument in which a speaker or writer provides a narrative account of what has happened and explains the nature of the case. - parable
A short and simple story that illustrates a lesson. - paradox
A statement that appears to contradict itself. - paralepsis
Emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it. - parody
A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. - pathos
The means of persuasion in classical rhetoric that appeals to the audience's emotions. - prolepsis
(1) Foreseeing and forestalling objections in various ways. (2) Figurative device by which a future event is presumed to have already occurred. - proverb
Short, pithy statement of a general truth, one that condenses common experience into memorable form. - refutation
The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view. - rhetorical situation
The context of a rhetorical act. - sarcasm
A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark. - simile
A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common. - skotison
Intentionally obscure speech or writing. - sprezzatura
The rehearsed spontaneity, the studied carelessness, the well-practiced naturalness that lies at the center of convincing discourse of any sort. - syllogism
A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. - synecdoche
A figure of speech is which a part is used to represent the whole, the whole for a part, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or the material for the thing made from it. - testimony
A person's account of an event or state of affairs.
