Rhetorical devices used to enhance the plausibility of one's argument; Aristotle's appeals included ethos, logos, and pathos. Apposition. The placement of two words or phrases side by side with one element serving to define or modify the other. Arete. Virtue, excellence of character, qualities that would be inherent in a "natural leader", a component of ethos. Argument. Discourse characterized by reasons advanced to support conclusions. Argumentum ad baculum. Settling a question by appealing to force. Argumentum ad hominem. Using what you know about your opponent's character as a basis for your argument. Arrangement. See: dispositio. Ars arengandi. Teaching of forensic speaking during the Medieval rhetorical era. Ars dictaminis. The art of writing letters, introduced and taught during the Medieval rhetorical era. Ars poetica. Medieval teaching of grammar and style through analysis of poetry. Ars praedicandi. The art of preaching based on rhetorical ideas and introduced during the Medieval rhetorical era during an increasing intersection between rhetoric and religion. Artistic proofs. Rhetorically produced methods for persuasion. For Aristotle, three possibilities would be ethos, pathos, and logos. Assonance. Words that repeat the same vowel sound. Asyndeton. The deliberate omission of conjunctions that would normally be used. Audience. Real, imagined, invoked, or ignored, this concept is at the very center of the intersections of composing and rhetoric. Aureation. The use of Latinate and polysyllabic terms to "heighten" diction. Auxesis. To place words or phrases in a certain order for climactic effect. Axioms. The point where scientific reasoning starts. Principles that are not questioned. B Backing. Supporting an argument's merit. Barbarism. Use of a non-standard word, expression or pronunciation in a language, particularly one prescriptively regarded as an error in morphology. Bases. The issues at question in a judicial case. Bathos. An emotional appeal that inadvertently evokes laughter or ridicule. Bdelygmia. Expression of hatred or contempt. Belles lettres. Written works considered quality because they are pleasing to the senses. Belletristic movement. Movement of rhetoric in the late 18th and early 19th centuries emphasizing stylistic considerations of rhetoric. It also expanded rhetoric into a study of literature and literary criticism and writing. Bomphiologia. Bombastic speech: a rhetorical technique wherein the speaker brags excessively. Brachylogia. Brevity of diction. Brevitas. Concise expression. Burden of proof. Theory of argument giving the obligation of proving a case to the asserting party. Buzzword. A word or phrase used to impress, or one that is fashionable. C Canon. A term often