where the argument can begin. Stasis system. System of finding arguments by means of looking at ideas that are contradictory. Status quo. Latin: The generally accepted existing condition or state of affairs. Straw man. An argument that is a logical fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. Structural ambiguity. A sentence that may be interpreted in more than one way due to ambiguous structure. Studia humanitatis. Latin: Humanistic studies deemed indispensable in Renaissance-era education; rhetoric, poetics, ethics, politics. Syllepsis. A word modifying others in appropriate, though often incongruous ways. This is a similar concept to zeugma. Syllogism. A type of valid argument that states if the first two claims are true, then the conclusion is true. (For example: Claim 1: People are mortal. Claim 2: Bob is a person. Therefore, Claim 3: Bob is mortal.) Started by Aristotle. Syllogistic logic. Reasoning in the form of a syllogism. Symbol. A visual or metaphorical representation of an idea or concept. Symbolic inducement. Term coined by Kenneth Burke to refer to rhetoric. Sympheron. (Greek) Path that is to one's advantage. Symploce. A figure of speech in which several successive clauses have the same first and last words. Synchysis. Word order confusion within a sentence. Syncope. The omission of letters from the middle of a word, usually replaced by an apostrophe. Synecdoche. A rhetorical device where one part of an object is used to represent the whole. E.g., "There are fifty head of cattle." (Head is substituting for the whole animal). "Show a leg!" (naval command to get out of bed = show yourself) Syntactic ambiguity. A sentence that may be interpreted in more than one way due to ambiguous structure. T Tapinosis. Language or an epithet that is debasing. This term is synonymous with Meiosis (figure of speech). Taste. A learned admiration for things of beauty. Tautologia. The same idea repeated in different words. Taxis. The distribution of a proper adjunct to every subject. Techne. Greek for a true art. Terministic screens. term coined by Kenneth Burke to explain the way in which the world is viewed when taking languages and words into consideration. Theme. The central topic of discussion. Thesis. The major claim or premise made in an argument to be proved or dis-proved. Thesmos. Greek. The law that comes from the authority of kings. Tmesis. Separating the parts of a compound word by a different word (or words) to create