Academic Vocabulary

3. use of author’s own status, professionalism, trustworthiness, background, or that of their sources;
4. an answer that negates or disproves the counterclaim
6. an examination of how the writer wrote a piece, not what the author wrote; a breaking down of the text into the parts (tools, devices, strategies) used to convey the argument
8. the author’s attitude toward the subject matter of the text or the audience
13. to break something down into its parts
14. statements or assertions that express an arguable position or viewpoint; the main argument in a text; (similar to a thesis)
16. a general term for any strategy employed by an author to advance an argument or strengthen a persuasive appeal
17. a word’s literal and direct (dictionary) meaning
18. an author’s intentional word choice

1. an author’s attempt to earn audience approval to make the argument more persuasive
2. the context in which communication occurs (think SOAPSTone); it helps shape how messages are crafted and received
3. an idea or feeling (connection) that a word invokes; a word’s implications, nuances, shades of meaning
5. appeals to the audience’s emotion, feelings, values
6. the process of using logical thinking and evidence to support a claim or reach a conclusion; (similar to commentary)
7. an educated guess or interpretation based on observations and/or prior knowledge
9. information or data that supports a claim (examples: facts, examples, quotes)
10. something that can be perceived by the senses
11. an opposing argument or viewpoint to the claim/thesis
12. the art of speaking or writing effectively and persuasively
15. use of logic and reasoning