Glossary

A comparison between two unrelated items based on their shared qualities

In writing, an appeal is a strategy that a writer uses to support an argument.

Argumentation is a process of reasoning that asserts the reasonableness of a debatable position, belief, or conclusion. In argumentative writing, you are typically asked to take a position on an issue or topic and explain and support your position.

Arrangement is the organization and structure of ideas in your essay.

An audience is a group of readers who reads a particular piece of writing. As a writer, you should anticipate the needs or expectations of your audience in order to convey information or argue for a particular claim.

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair

Generating ideas without interruption

A cause is something that produces an action, event, or condition.

People who appear in a story

Organizing actions or events as they occurred in time

The Classical Argument was developed by a Greek philosopher, Aristotle. The goal of this model is to convince the reader about a particular point of view using appeals to persuade an audience.

The act of finding similarities between two or more things.

The Concluding Sentence summarizes the information to show unity within the paragraph.

The problem, challenge, or obstacle a character must face in a story; types of conflict include human vs. human, human vs. nature, and human vs. self

The feelings or attitudes that make up the extended definition of a word

Positive or negative association a word suggests in addition to its literal meaning; for example, blue is a color, but it also implies sadness

(Or substantive editing) A type of editing in which writers or editors make heavy changes to a text for better comprehensibility; this type of editing addresses conceptual intent, content, and organization.

The act of finding differences between two or more things

Contributory Causes are secondary circumstances that produce actions, events, or conditions. However, contributory causes alone cannot cause the action, event, or condition to occur.

Concerns the mechanics and grammar of an essay; this kind of editing focuses on grammar, spelling, style, and punctuation errors; in this step, writers and editors can address needless repetition and factual inconsistencies

A counterargument is an expressed acknowledgement of opposing views that are fair and accurate coupled with a response to the shortcoming in reasoning in the opposing views.

Principles or standards by which things are evaluated

The rhetorical mode that we use when our thesis includes a term that we define for our audience

The literal and explicit definition of a word

The literal, or dictionary, meaning of a word

Details an author uses to help readers relate to a story; these details are based on the five senses

Characteristics that are not shared or are dissimilar

A direct quote is text taken directly from a source, word-for-word. Use quotation marks ("") to indicate where a direct quote appears.

An effect is what results from an action, event, or condition.

Ethos is an appeal based on the writer’s creditability

Rhetorical mode that examines criteria in order to make a judgment about a subject or subjects.

Available facts or information

Writing a draft as quickly as possible

the process of simply writing down any and all ideas about the topic that pop into your mind, without worrying about format or organization

To gather evidence means to develop support for the point you're making

The facts, data, or reasoning on which a claim is based

The Hook engages your reader's interest. It can be in the form of a question, a quote, an anecdote or story, an interesting fact, or an original definition

To show or demonstrate something clearly

An essay which clearly demonstrates and supports a point using examples and evidence

Rhetorical mode in which the writer uses specific examples as supporting evidence for their point

Language that appeals to the physical senses

The Introduction is the first paragraph of an essay and plays an important role in writing an effective paper

The start of the writing process. Invention means to come up with an appropriate topic, to develop a main idea about that topic, and to gather supporting evidence for that main idea.

A conclusion based on evidence

(Or stylistic editing) A type of editing in which writers or editors look closely at each line in the text to correct syntax errors in order to ensure a consistent tone that is expressed in clear language; this kind of editing evaluates a writer's style and focuses on clarity of meaning and word choice

Logical appeal is the strategic use of logic, claims, and evidence to convince an audience of a certain point.
The writer uses logical connections between ideas, facts, and statistics.

The primary cause that produces an action, event, or condition. The main clause requires critical evaluation as it may or may not be immediately obvious.

A comparison between two things that are not usually related

Middle Ground is part of the structure of the Rogerian argument. It is a discussion of compromised solutions

Prewriting technique in which the writer takes 5 to 10 minutes to jot down all the ideas about the topic, making connections with lines or arrows

Storytelling; the written or spoken account of related events

A view or judgment, often not based on evidence and often biased

Restating someone else's ideas in your own words. It is approximately the same length as the original text.

Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, is an appeal to the reader’s emotion. The writer evokes the reader’s emotion with vivid language and powerful language to establish the writer’s belief.

The sequence of events in a story

The perspective through which a story is told; stories can be told in first person (I), second person (you), or third person (he, she, they)

The exercises that help you through the invention process

The final step in editing in which writers or editors review a polished essay for minor errors and make final edits before submission or publication of a text

The Qualifier is a component of the Toulmin argument that expresses limits to the claim.

In questioning, make a list of questions about your topic and try and answer them.  Start with the “who, what, when, why, how” type of questions.

Characterized by repetition or reoccurrence

A process by which an outline is created from a draft, which is then evaluated

The Rogerian Argument was developed by Carl Rogers. Rogerian argument is a negotiating strategy in which common goals are identified and opposing views are described as objectively as possible in an effort to establish common ground and reach an agreement.

Details an author includes that appeal to the five senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing, sight

Characteristics in common or that resemble one another

A comparison of two different things using the words like or as

Sketching involves drawing out your ideas using a pen and paper. Writers often use techniques like the Venn diagram to visualize ideas.

Organizing items by their physical location

A process of taking information from a comparatively longer chapter, theory, or write-up and creating a smaller version of it that covers all the facts and main points of the original version.

Supporting Sentences provide examples or facts to support the topic sentence of the paragraph.

The underlying idea, message, or lesson in a story

A proposition to be proved

The Thesis Statement expresses the overall point and main ideas that will be discussed in the body. It usually appears as the last sentence of the introduction and is usually one sentence.

The author's feelings or opinions on a topic that are revealed through the author's word choice

The Topic Sentence is usually the first sentence in the paragraph. It indicates what the paragraph will discuss and guides the writer and reader

The Toulmin Argument was developed by Stephen Toulmin. The method works best when there are no clear truths or solutions to a problem

A change from one subject, place, state, or time to another

Transition words and phrases are used to link together different ideas in your text.

A Warrant is a component of the Toulmin argument that connects the ground to the claim.