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| A fallacy of logic in which a person's character or motive is attacked instead of that person's argument. |
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| A brief or indirect reference to a person, place, event, or passage in a work of literature or the Bible assumed to be sufficiently well known to be recognized by the reader; e.g. "I am Lazarus, come from the dead." T.S. Elliot |
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| A comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple; e.g. comparing a year-long profile of the stock index to a roller-coaster ride. |
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| The repitition of introductory words or phrases for effect. "Let freedom ring from the snowcapped mountains of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California." |
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| A short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical (Wright's narrative structure is anecdotal.) |
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| Opposition or contrast emphasized by parallel structure. "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the *heat of injustice and oppression*, will be transformed into *an oasis of freedom and justice*." |
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| Citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writer's arguments. As my friend Mick Jagger says, "You can't always get what you want." |
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| Fallacy of logical argument that assumes as true the very thing one is trying to prove; e.g. 1. The Bible is the infallible word of God. 2. The Bible says that God exists. Therefore, 3. God exists. (The REAL question of whether or not God exists goes begging for an answer.) |
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| Examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon. |
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| Classification as a Means of Ordering |
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| Arrangement of objects according to class; e.g. media classified as print, television, and radio. |
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| Damning with Faint Praise |
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| Intentional use of a positive statement that has a negative implication; e.g. "Your new hairdo is so...interesting." |
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| Deduction (Deductive Reasoning) |
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| A form of reasoning that begins with a generalization, then applies the generalization to a specific case or cases; opposite to induction. |
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| A temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing. |
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| The use of a word or phrase that is less direct, but that is also less distasteful or less offensive than another; e.g. "He is at rest" is a euphemism for "he is dead". |
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| A fallacy of logical argument which is committed when too few of the available alternatives are considered, and all but one are assessed and deemed impossible or unacceptable; e.g. A father speaking to his son says "aRe you going to go to college and make something of yourself, or are you going to end up being an unemployable bum like me?" The dilema is the son's supposed choice limitation: either he goes to college or he will be a bum. The dilema is false, because the alternative of not going to college but still being employable has not been considered. |
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| Lively descriptions which impress the images of things upon the mind; figures of speech. |
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| Induction (inductive reasoning) |
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| A form of reasoning which works from a body of fact to the formulation of a generalization; opposite to deduction; frequently used as the principal form of reasoning in science and history. |
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| A method of expression, sometimes humorous or sarcastic, in which the intended meaning of the words is the opposite of their usual meaning: e.g. saying that a cold, windy, rainy day is "lovely". |
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| A figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another by being spoken as though it were that thing: e.g. "a sea of troubles". |
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| A statement that does not follow logically from what preceeded it. |
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| A figure of speech in which contradictory terms or ideas are combined: e.g. thunderous silence. |
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| A short story from which a lesson may be drawn; Christ used the parable to teach his followers moral truths. The parable of the Sower and the Good Samaritan are examples of his parables. |
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| A statement which seems self-contradictory, but which may betrue in fact. |
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| A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point, no answer being expected. |
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| Use of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. to expose vices, abuses, etc. |
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| Organization of information using spatial cues such as top to bottom, left to right, etc. |
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A form of reasoning in which two statements or premises are made and a logical conclusion is drawn from them; a form of deductive reasoning. Example:
J & G Construction builds unsafe buildings
J & G Constructin built the Tower Hotel.
The Tower Hotel is an unsafe building. |
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| In grammar, the arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship. |
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| A way of working or expressing things that expresses an attitude; the tone may be angry, matter-of-fact, pedantic, ironic, etc. |
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| The division of an idea into three harmonious parts, usually of increasing power. "Government of the people, by the people, and for people." |
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| Deliberately representing something as much less than it really is. Johnathan Swift wrote "Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her appearance. |
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