EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology & Handbook for College Writers

Glossary 483 projection an automatized method of reading and encountering the world by which a person allows their current assumptions to determine the content and nature of their encounters. Contradicts genuine learning. See confirmation bias. Adopted from Jane Gallop. purpose the intended result of a piece of rhetoric. Can be stated using an infinitive verb phrase (“to entertain,” “to persuade,” “to explain”). Every text has at least one purpose, sometimes declared explicitly, and other times implied or hidden. recency effect a psychological effect experienced by most audiences: the concluding statements of a text are more memorable than much of the content because they are more recent in the audience’s memory. See primacy effect. reference a connection a text makes to another text. Can be explicit or implicit; might include allusion, allegory, quotation, or parody. Referencing text adopts some characteristics of the referenced text. reflection a rhetorical gesture by which an author looks back, through the diegetic gap, to demonstrate knowledge or understanding gained from the subject on which they are reflecting. May also include consideration of the impact of that past subject on the author’s future—“Looking back in order to look forward.” research question/path of inquiry a question, series of questions, or inquisitive topic that guides an inquiry-based research project. response a mode of writing that values the reader’s experience of and reactions to a text. Should also unpack what parts of the text contribute to that experience in an effort to practice analytical thinking.