a field of inquiry concerned with the ideological underpinnings of commonly held assumptions. Praedicandi, Ars. Latin, Preaching. Praecisio. The act of breaking off abruptly, aposiopesis. Praegnans constructio. A form of brachylogy in which two clauses or two expressions are condensed into one. Pragmatism. Approach based on practical consideration and immediate perception to the exclusion of moral (in the sense of 'should') and ethic arguments. Pragmatographia. Description of an action (such as a battle, a feast, a marriage, a burial, etc.). Praise sandwich. Delivering criticism together with praise. Presence. In Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, choosing to emphasize certain facts and ideas instead of others, leading the audience along that path. Presumption. An idea is reasonable or acceptable only until it is sufficiently challenged. Preterition. Mentioning something by professing to omit it. Priamel. A series of compared alternatives which serve as foils to the true subject of a poem. Progymnasmata. A series of preliminary rhetorical exercises that began in ancient Greece and continued during the Roman Empire. Prolepsis. In argumentation, the speaker answers the opponent's possible objections before they can be made. It is also a literary device in which a future state is spoken of in the present; for example, a condemned man may be called a "dead man walking". Also called procatalepsis. Proof surrogate. An expression used to suggest that there is evidence or authority for a claim without actually citing such evidence or authority. Prosopopoeia. Speaking as another person or object; in a sense, the inverse of apostrophe. Pronuntiato. Latin: The delivery of an oration or an argument in a manner befitting the subject matter and style, while maintaining control of voice and body. Protreptic. Greek, the potential to persuade through language. Prudence. Judging practically. Psogos. Greek for blame. Psychagogos. Greek for a poet. Psyche. Greek for the mind or soul. Public sphere. Place where individuals can engage in discussion without the political or state interests interfering. Purpose. What the speaker or writer is trying to do with language. Q Quadrivium. The major subjects taught in medieval times: geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Quaestiones. Debatable points around which disputes are centered. R Reasoning by contraries. Where the first statement of two opposite statements directly proves the second. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "Or how should you expect a person whose arrogance has been insufferable in private life, to be agreeable and not forget himself when in power...?" Repetition, repetition,