Aristotelian/rhetorical triangle
A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.
audience
The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences.
concession
An acknowledgement 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 its dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are usually positive or negative, and they can greatly affect the author's tone.
context
The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.
counterargument
An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward. Rather than ignoring a counterargument, a strong writer will usually address it through the process of concession and refutation.
ethos
Greek for "character." Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by both who you are and what you want to say.
logos
Greek for "embodied thought." Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.
occasion
The time and 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. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.
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. Polemics generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.
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. In order to sound reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.
rhetoric
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 appeals
Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing that they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).
SOAPS
A mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.
speaker
The person or group who creates a text. This might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement.
subject
The topic of a text. What the text is about.
text
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, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, f