Rhetorical Terms Review #4
Jargon, Analogy, Understatement,
Paradox, Antithesis, Satire
Jargon (Diction)
• DEF: Specialized/idiomatic diction
endemic to a group with a particular
interest. (ex. Profession or hobby)
• Characterized by precise and definitions
known to the group.
• Ex: Military, Science, Education
• Slang tends to be informal and inclusive.
Analogy (Detail, Structure)
• DEF: A comparison between two things:
one known and one to be defined.
• PURPOSE: The inference that if two
similar things are alike in some ways, they
will be alike in others.
Analogy Examples
• Teaching Kids to
share 
• Marathons require
incremental training
that builds skill and
endurance 
• Boys tend to solve
problems with fights 
• Incentives for charity
• Preparing for the AP
Test will take all year.
• Men in power solve
problems with war
Understatement (Diction)
• DEF: Deliberately expressing an idea as less
important than it is.
• PURPOSE: Determined by context (think about
“Wax Poetic”)
Tact and Politeness:
- Your uncle’s had a bit to drink.
- We’re having a little problem. (As your
house floods.)
- The recent hurricane has provided us with a
few challenges.
Understatement Con’t
Ironic and Comic Effect:
- Stalin killed a few people.
- Last week I saw a woman flayed, and
you will hardly believe how much it
altered her person for the worse.
--
Jonathan Swift
Antithesis (syntax)
• Presentation of Opposites in Parallel Form
• United we Stand; divided we fall.
• “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressor; it must be demanded by the
oppressed.” -MLK
Paradox
• A statement that seems contradictory on the
surface but reveals a deeper truth.
• “If we want peace, we must prepare for war.”
• “When the white man turns tyrant, it is his own
freedom he destroys.” - Orwell
• “…an individual who breaks an unjust law…is in
reality expressing the highest respect for the
law.” - MLK
Satire (TonePurpose)
• DEF: a style of writing that ridicules human vice
or weakness
• PURPOSE: to correct or criticize the subject of
the satire. (often persuasive in aim)
Satire usually takes something well-known and
draws absurd parallels or conclusions to show
flaws.
Satire can use many tactics including, wax poetic,
understatement, and mock-serious/heroic. Irony
is frequently present.
Satire Examples
• Headlines from The Onion
“Teen Lands Job With Fortune 500
Company”
“Majority Of Americans Never Use Physical
Education After High School”