Rhetoric, grammar, and essay structure concepts tested on the CLEP College Composition exam. Front: the term or rule. Back: a plain-language definition.
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- Ethos
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An appeal based on the credibility, trustworthiness, or authority of the speaker or writer.- Pathos
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An appeal to the audience's emotions, values, or personal experiences.- Logos
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An appeal based on logic, facts, evidence, and rational reasoning.- Tone
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The writer's attitude or emotional stance toward the subject matter.- Voice
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The distinctive personality and characteristic manner of expression of a writer.- Diction
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The choice and use of words in writing or speech.- Audience analysis
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Examining the characteristics, knowledge, and expectations of the intended readers to shape writing accordingly.- Rhetorical situation
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The context in which communication occurs, including the writer, audience, purpose, subject, and constraints.- Parallelism
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The use of similar grammatical structures or patterns in a series of words, phrases, or clauses.- Subject-verb agreement
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A verb must agree in number with its subject: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs.- Comma splice
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An error in which two independent clauses are joined with only a comma, without a coordinating conjunction or semicolon.- Sentence fragment
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An incomplete sentence that lacks either a subject, a predicate, or both.- Run-on sentence
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Two or more independent clauses joined without appropriate punctuation or connecting words.- Misplaced modifier
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A word or phrase that is placed too far from the word it is meant to modify, creating confusion.- Dangling modifier
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A word or phrase that lacks a clear noun to modify, leaving its meaning ambiguous or illogical.
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