This is a combination of the AP English Language and Composition Hit Parade, A Working Vocabulary of Fundamental Terms, and Rhetorical/Literary Terms and Definitions vocab lists.
Terms : Hide Images
| 89820304 | assertion | a declaration or statement | |
| 89820305 | clarity | clearness in thought or expression | |
| 89820306 | cogent | convincing; reasonable | |
| 89820307 | coherent | logically connected | |
| 89820308 | cohesive | condition of sticking together | |
| 89820309 | didactic | intended to instruct | |
| 89820310 | discourse | verbal expression or exchange; conversation | |
| 89820311 | eloquence | the ability to speak vividly or persuasively | |
| 89820312 | emphasize | to give special attention to something, to stress | |
| 89820313 | fluid | easily flowing | |
| 89820314 | implication | the act of suggesting or hinting | |
| 89820315 | lucid | easily understood; clear | |
| 89820316 | rhetoric | the art of using language effectively and persuasively | |
| 89820317 | arbiter | a judge who decides a disputed issue | |
| 89820318 | biased | prejudiced | |
| 89820319 | exculpate | to free from guilt or blame | |
| 89820320 | impartial | not in favor of one side or the other, unbiased | |
| 89820321 | incontrovertible | not able to be denied or disputed | |
| 89820322 | integrity | trustworthiness; completeness | |
| 89820323 | objectivity | treating facts without influence from personal feelings or prejudices | |
| 89820324 | penitent | expressing remorse for one's misdeeds | |
| 89820325 | plausible | seemingly valid or acceptable; credible | |
| 89820326 | substantiated | supported with proof or evidence; verified | |
| 89820327 | vindicated | freed from blame | |
| 89820328 | condescending | treating people as weak or inferior | |
| 89820329 | contemptuous | feeling hatred; scornful | |
| 89820330 | despotic | exercising absolute power; tyrannical | |
| 89820331 | dictatorial | domineering; oppressively overbearing | |
| 89820332 | disdain | contempt, scorn | |
| 89820333 | disdain | to regard or treat with contempt; to look down on | |
| 89820334 | haughty | arrogant; vainly proud | |
| 89820335 | imperious | arrogantly domineering or overbearing | |
| 89820336 | patronizing | treating in a condescending manner | |
| 89820337 | convoluted | intricate; complex | |
| 89820338 | cryptic | difficult to comprehend | |
| 89820339 | futile | having no useful purpose; pointless | |
| 89820340 | impede | to slow the progress of | |
| 89820341 | obscure | relatively unknown | |
| 89820342 | obscure | to conceal or make indistinct | |
| 89820343 | quandary | a state of uncertainty or perplexity | |
| 89820344 | indolent | lazy | |
| 89820345 | insipid | uninteresting; unchallenging | |
| 89820346 | listless | lacking energy | |
| 89820347 | torpor | laziness; inactivity; dullness | |
| 89820348 | alienated | removed or disassociated from (friends, family, or homeland) | |
| 89820349 | alliance | a union of two or more groups | |
| 89820350 | disparity | inequality in age, rank, or degree; difference | |
| 89820351 | servile | submissive; like a servant | |
| 89820352 | suppressed | subdued; kept from being circulated | |
| 89820353 | embellish | to make beautiful by ornamenting; to decorate | |
| 89820354 | florid | describing flowery or elaborate speech | |
| 89820355 | opulent | exhibiting a display of great wealth | |
| 89820356 | ornate | elaborately decorated | |
| 89820357 | ostentatious | describing a showy or pretentious display | |
| 89820358 | poignant | profoundly moving; touching | |
| 89820359 | ebullience | intense enthusiasm | |
| 89820360 | effusive | emotionally unrestrained; gushy | |
| 89820361 | egregious | conspicuously bad or offensive | |
| 89820362 | flagrant | extremely or deliberately shocking or noticeable | |
| 89820363 | frenetic | wildly excited or active | |
| 89820364 | gratuitous | given freely; unearned; unwarranted | |
| 89820365 | superfluous | extra; unnecessary | |
| 89820366 | alleviate | to ease a pain or burden | |
| 89820367 | asylum | a place of retreat or security | |
| 89820368 | auspicious | favorable; promising | |
| 89820369 | benevolent | well-meaning; generous | |
| 89820370 | benign | kind and gentle | |
| 89820371 | mollify | to calm or soothe | |
| 89820372 | reclamation | the act of making something useful again | |
| 89820373 | sanction | to give official authorization or approval | |
| 89820374 | dubious | doubtful; of unlikely authenticity | |
| 89820375 | fabricated | made; concocted to deceive | |
| 89820376 | hypocrisy | the practice of pretending to be something one is not; insincerity | |
| 89820377 | slander | false charges and malicious oral statements about someone | |
| 89820378 | spurious | not genuine | |
| 89820379 | astute | shrewd; clever | |
| 89820380 | clandestine | secretive | |
| 89820381 | coup | a brilliantly executed plan | |
| 89820382 | disingenuous | not straightforward; crafty | |
| 89820383 | ruse | a crafty trick | |
| 89820384 | stratagem | a clever trick used to deceive or outwit | |
| 89820385 | surreptitiously | done by secretive means | |
| 89820386 | wary | on guard | |
| 89820387 | wily | cunning | |
| 89820388 | ambiguous | open to more than one interpretation | |
| 89820389 | ambivalent | simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain | |
| 89820390 | apathetic | feeling or showing little emotion | |
| 89820391 | arbitrary | determined by impulse rather than reason | |
| 89820392 | capricious | impulsive and unpredictable | |
| 89820393 | equivocate | to avoid making a definite statement | |
| 89820394 | indifferent | not caring one way or the other | |
| 89820395 | spontaneous | unplanned; naturally occurring | |
| 89820396 | whimsical | subject to erratic behavior; unpredictable | |
| 89820397 | inconsequential | unimportant | |
| 89820398 | superficial | concerned only with what is on the surface or obvious; shallow | |
| 89820399 | tenuous | having little substance or strength; shaky; unsure, weak | |
| 89820400 | trivial | of little importance or significance | |
| 89820401 | assiduous | hard-working | |
| 89820402 | compelling | forceful; urgently demanding attention | |
| 89820403 | diligent | marked by painstaking effort; hard-working | |
| 89820404 | dogged | stubbornly persevering | |
| 89820405 | endure | to put up with; to survive a hardship | |
| 89820406 | intrepid | courageous; fearless | |
| 89820407 | maverick | one who is independent and resists adherence to a group | |
| 89820408 | obdurate | stubborn; inflexible | |
| 89820409 | obstinate | stubbornly adhering to an opinion or a course of action | |
| 89820410 | proliferate | to grow or increase rapidly | |
| 89820411 | tenacity | persistence | |
| 89820412 | vitality | energy; power to survive | |
| 89820413 | assimilation | to absorb; to make similar | |
| 89820414 | consensus | general agreement | |
| 89820415 | context | circumstances of a situation; environment | |
| 89820416 | derived | copied or adapted from a source | |
| 89820417 | incumbent | imposed as a duty; obligatory | |
| 89820418 | inevitable | certain to happen, unavoidable | |
| 89820419 | malleable | easily shaped or formed; easily influenced | |
| 89820420 | subdue | to restrain; to hold back | |
| 89820421 | acquired | developed or learned; not naturally occurring | |
| 89820422 | conception | the ability to form or understand an idea | |
| 89820423 | conviction | a fixed or strong belief | |
| 89820424 | dogmatic | stubbornly adhering to unproved beliefs | |
| 89820425 | enlightening | informative; contributing to one's awareness | |
| 89820426 | impression | a feeling or understanding resulting from an experience | |
| 89820427 | intuition | the power of knowing things without thinking; sharp insight | |
| 89820428 | misconception | an incorrect understanding or interpretation | |
| 89820429 | perception | awareness; insight | |
| 89820430 | perspective | point of view | |
| 89820431 | profound | having great depth or seriousness | |
| 89820432 | inherent | inborn; built-in | |
| 89820433 | innate | possessed from birth; inborn | |
| 89820434 | inveterate | long established; deep-rooted; habitual | |
| 89820435 | omnipotent | all-powerful | |
| 89820436 | proximity | closeness | |
| 89820437 | elusive | difficult to capture, as in something actually fleeting | |
| 89820438 | emigrate | to leave one country or region and settle in another | |
| 89820439 | transient | passing away with time; passing from one place to another | |
| 89820440 | transitory | short-lived or temporary | |
| 89820441 | affable | easy-going; friendly | |
| 89820442 | amenable | responsive; agreeable | |
| 89820443 | camaraderie | good will between friends | |
| 89820444 | cordial | friendly; sincere | |
| 89820445 | facetious | playfully humorous | |
| 89820446 | impinge | hinder; interfere with | |
| 89820447 | lament | express grief for; mourn | |
| 89820448 | melancholy | sadness; depression | |
| 89820449 | sanction | an economic or military measure put in place to punish another country | |
| 89820450 | truncated | shortened; cut off | |
| 89820451 | aesthetic | having to do with the appreciation of beauty | |
| 89820452 | anthology | a collection of literary pieces | |
| 89820453 | contemporary | current, modern; from the same time | |
| 89820454 | dilettante | one with an amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge | |
| 89820455 | eclectic | made up of a variety of sources or styles | |
| 89820456 | excerpt | a selected part of a passage or scene | |
| 89820457 | genre | describing a category or artistic endeavor | |
| 89820458 | medley | an assortment or a mixture, especially of musical pieces | |
| 89820459 | mural | a large painting applied directly to a wall or ceiling surface | |
| 89820460 | narrative | characterized by the telling of a story | |
| 89820461 | narrative | a story | |
| 89820462 | parody | an artistic work that imitates the style of another work for comic effect | |
| 89820463 | realism | artistic representation that aims for visual accuracy | |
| 89820464 | virtuoso | a tremendously skilled artist | |
| 89820465 | decorous | proper; marked by good taste | |
| 89820466 | equanimity | the quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure | |
| 89820467 | modest | quiet or humble in manner or appearance | |
| 89820468 | propriety | appropriateness of behavior | |
| 89820469 | prudent | exercising good judgment or common sense | |
| 89820470 | serene | calm | |
| 89820471 | staid | unemotional; serious | |
| 89820472 | stoic | indifferent to pleasure or pain; impassive | |
| 89820473 | condemn | to express strong disapproval of; denounce | |
| 89820474 | discredit | to cause to be doubted | |
| 89820475 | disparage | to speak of in a slighting way or negatively; to belittle | |
| 89820476 | pejorative | describing words or phrases that belittle or speak negatively of someone | |
| 89820477 | plagiarism | the act of passing off the ideas or writing of another as one's own | |
| 89820478 | vilify | to make vicious statements about | |
| 89820479 | brusque | rudely abrupt | |
| 89820480 | caustic | bitingly sarcastic or witty | |
| 89820481 | fractious | quarrelsome; unruly | |
| 89820482 | incorrigible | unable to be reformed | |
| 89820483 | ingrate | an ungrateful person | |
| 89820484 | insolent | insulting in manner or speech | |
| 89820485 | notorious | known widely and usually unfavorably; infamous | |
| 89820486 | pugnacious | combative; belligerent | |
| 89820487 | reprehensible | worthy of blame | |
| 89820488 | brittle | easily broken when subjected to pressure | |
| 89820489 | deleterious | having a harmful effect; injurious | |
| 89820490 | enmity | mutual hatred or ill-will | |
| 89820491 | heinous | hatefully evil; abominable | |
| 89820492 | malfeasance | wrongdoing, misconduct | |
| 89820493 | malice | extreme ill-will or spite | |
| 89820494 | putrid | rotten | |
| 89820495 | rancorous | hateful; marked by deep-seated ill-will | |
| 89820496 | toxic | poisonous | |
| 89820497 | archaic | characteristic of an earlier period; old-fashioned | |
| 89820498 | hackneyed | worn out through overuse; trite | |
| 89820499 | medieval | referring to the Middle Ages; old-fashioned | |
| 89820500 | obsolete | no longer in use; old-fashioned | |
| 89820501 | austere | without decoration; strict | |
| 89820502 | mediocrity | the state or quality of being average; of moderate to low quality | |
| 89820503 | mundane | commonplace; ordinary | |
| 89820504 | ponderous | extremely dull | |
| 89820505 | prosaic | unimaginative; dull | |
| 89820506 | sedentary | not migratory; settled | |
| 89820507 | apprehension | anxiety or fear about the future | |
| 89820508 | harbinger | something that indicates what is to come; a forerunner | |
| 89820509 | ominous | menacing; threatening | |
| 89820510 | premonition | a feeling about the future | |
| 89820511 | timorous | timid; fearful about the future | |
| 89820512 | trepidation | uncertainty; apprehension | |
| 89820513 | innovative | introducing something new | |
| 89820514 | naive | lacking sophistication | |
| 89820515 | nascent | coming into existence; emerging | |
| 89820516 | novel | strikingly new or unusual | |
| 89820517 | novice | a beginner | |
| 89820518 | candor | sincerity; openness | |
| 89820519 | frank | open and sincere in expression; straightforward | |
| 89820520 | arid | describing a dry, rainless climate | |
| 89820521 | conflagration | a widespread fire | |
| 89820522 | nocturnal | of or occurring in the night | |
| 89820523 | sonorous | producing a deep or full sound | |
| 89820524 | ample | describing a large amount of something | |
| 89820525 | comprehensive | large in scope or content | |
| 89820526 | copious | plentiful; having a large quantity | |
| 89820527 | permeated | spread or flowing throughout | |
| 89820528 | pervasive | dispersed throughout | |
| 89820529 | prodigious | enormous | |
| 89820530 | replete | abundantly supplied: filled to capacity | |
| 89820531 | exemplary | commendable; worthy of imitation | |
| 89820532 | idealize | to consider perfect | |
| 89820533 | laudatory | giving praise | |
| 89820534 | paramount | of chief concern or importance | |
| 89820535 | venerated | highly respected | |
| 89820536 | catalog | to make an itemized list of | |
| 89820537 | facile | done or achieved with little effort; easy | |
| 89820538 | fastidious | possessing careful attention to detail; difficult to please | |
| 89820539 | hierarchy | a group organized by rank | |
| 89820540 | meticulous | extremely careful and precise | |
| 89820541 | pragmatic | practical | |
| 89820542 | solvent | able to pay one's debts | |
| 89820543 | abstract | not applied to actual objects | |
| 89820544 | anachronism | something out of place in time or sequence | |
| 89820545 | anthropomorphism | the attribution of humanlike characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or forces of nature | |
| 89820546 | apology | defense of an idea | |
| 89820547 | apparatus | equipment; a group of machines | |
| 89820548 | apposition | a grammar construction in which a noun (or noun phrase) is placed with another as an explanation | |
| 89820549 | archetype | a perfect example; an original pattern or model | |
| 89820550 | chiasmus | an inversion in the second of two parallel phrases | |
| 89820551 | gesticulating | making gestures while speaking | |
| 89820552 | hypothetical | existing only as an assumption or speculation | |
| 89820553 | lexicon | a word book describing language with definitions; a dictionary | |
| 89820554 | metonymy | a type of figurative language in which one term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated | |
| 89820555 | oxymoron | an apparent contradiction of terms | |
| 89820556 | panegyric | statement of high praise | |
| 89820557 | paradigm | an example or model | |
| 89820558 | parallelism | a grammar construction in which two identical syntactic constructions are used | |
| 89820559 | period | long, complex, grammatically correct sentence | |
| 89820560 | pernicious | causing great harm | |
| 89820561 | phenomenon | an unusual, observable event | |
| 89820562 | propitious | presenting favorable circumstances; auspicious | |
| 89820563 | rational | logical; motivated by reason rather than feeling | |
| 89820564 | sardonic | disdainfully or ironically humorous; harsh, bitter, or caustic | |
| 89820565 | syllogism | a form of deductive reasoning; a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion | |
| 89820566 | synecdoche | a form of metonymy that's restricted to cases where a part is used to signify the whole | |
| 89820567 | theoretical | lacking application or practical application | |
| 89820568 | active voice | the opposite of passive voice; essentially any sentence with an active verb | |
| 89820569 | ad hominem | an attack on the person rather than the issues at hand (a common fallacy) | |
| 89820570 | alliteration | the repetition of a phonetic sound at the beginning of several words in a sentence | |
| 89820571 | allusion | a reference that recalls another work, another time in history, another famous person, and so forth | |
| 89820572 | anadiplosis | a wonderful technique of repetition in which the last word of the clause begins the next clause, creating a connection of ideas important to the author's purpose in some way | |
| 89820573 | analogy | a term that signifies a relational comparison of or similarity between two objects or ideas | |
| 89820574 | anaphora | the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive poetic lines, prose sentences, clauses, or paragraphs | |
| 89820575 | anastrophe | the reversal of the natural order of words in a sentence or line of poetry | |
| 89820576 | antithesis | an observation or claim that is in opposition to your claim or an author's claim | |
| 89820577 | aphorism | a brief statement of an opinion or elemental truth | |
| 89820578 | apostrophe | prayer-like, this is a direct address to someone who is not present, to a deity or muse, or to some other power | |
| 89820579 | appositive | also called a noun phrase, this modifies the noun next to it | |
| 89820580 | argument from ignorance | an argument stating that something is true because it has never been proven false | |
| 89820581 | asyndeton | the deliberate omission of conjunctions from a series of related independent clauses | |
| 89820582 | bandwagon | also called vox populi, this argument is the "everyone's doing it" fallacy | |
| 89820583 | begging the question | this argument occurs when the speaker states a claim that includes a word or phrase that needs to be defined before the argument can proceed | |
| 89820584 | cause and effect | another fallacy, this is also known as post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin for "after this, therefore because of this"), and it falls under the general umbrella of a causality fallacy or false cause | |
| 89820585 | chiasmus | this is an ABBA syntactical structure rather than the more common parallel ABAB structure | |
| 89820586 | complex sentence | a sentence structure that is a combination of a dependent clause and an independent clause | |
| 89820587 | compound sentence | a sentence structure made up of two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction | |
| 89820588 | compound-complex sentence | a combination of a compound and a complex sentence | |
| 89820589 | connotation | the associations or moods that accompany a word | |
| 89820590 | declarative sentence | a basic statement or an assertion; the most common type of sentence | |
| 89820591 | deductive | a form of logical argumentation that uses claims or premises, where the author assumes that you will accept the claims as true and that you will then deduce the correct conclusion from the accepted premises at the outset | |
| 89820592 | denotation | the opposite of connotation; quite literally the dictionary meaning of a word | |
| 89820593 | dependent clause | this clause contains a noun and a verb but is set up with a subordinate conjunction, which makes the clause an incomplete thought | |
| 89820594 | dialect | a regional speech pattern; the way people talk in different parts of the world | |
| 89820595 | diction | the particular words an author uses in an essay | |
| 89820596 | distractor | a possible answer that seems to be correct, but is either wrong or is not as good as other answers | |
| 89820597 | ellipsis | three dots that indicate words have been left out of a quotation; they also can be used to create suspense | |
| 89820598 | epanalepsis | like chiasmus, this figure repeats the opening word or phrase at the end of the sentence to emphasize a statement or idea, but it is not an ABBA reversal | |
| 89820599 | epistrophe | a minor device, this is the ending of a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words | |
| 89820600 | ethos | one of the fundamental strategies of argumentation identified by Aristotle; basically an appeal to credibility | |
| 89820601 | etymology | the study of the origin of words and their historical uses | |
| 89820602 | euphemism | to use a safer or nicer word for something others find inappropriate or unappealing | |
| 89820603 | exclamatory sentence | a sentence that conveys excitement or force | |
| 89820604 | fallacy | a failure of logical reasoning | |
| 89820605 | false analogy | an argument using an inappropriate metaphor | |
| 89820606 | false dilemma | also known as an either/or fallacy; the suggestion is made in the argument that the problem or debate only has two solutions; can also be called the fallacy of the excluded middle | |
| 89820607 | gerund | a verb ending in "ing" that serves as a noun | |
| 89820608 | hyperbole | an exaggeration, fairly common in nonfiction prose arguments, that bolsters an argument | |
| 89820609 | imagery | any time one of the five senses (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory) is evoked by what you have read, you have encountered this | |
| 89820610 | imperative sentence | a command | |
| 89820611 | independent clause | a clause that can stand alone as a sentence; it must have a noun and a verb (subject and predicate) | |
| 89820612 | inductive | a form of logical argumentation that requires the use of examples | |
| 89820613 | infinitive | the word "to" plus a verb, usually functioning as a noun, and often as a predicate in a sentence | |
| 89820614 | interrogative sentence | a question | |
| 89820615 | irony | the use of words to express something other than and often the opposite of the literal meaning | |
| 89820616 | jargon | a pattern of speech and vocabulary associated with a particular group of people | |
| 89820617 | juxtaposition | making one idea more dramatic by placing it next to its opposite | |
| 89820618 | logos | an appeal to reason; one of the fundamental strategies of argumentation identified by Aristotle | |
| 89820619 | loose sentence | an independent clause followed by all sorts of debris, usually dependent clauses | |
| 89820620 | malapropism | a wonderful form of word play in which one word is mistakenly substituted for another that sounds similar | |
| 89820621 | metaphor | a figure of speech in which what is unknown is compared to something that is known in order to better gauge its importance | |
| 89820622 | metonymy | a minor figure of speech in which the name of one thing is substituted for another with which it is closely associated | |
| 89820623 | non sequitur | this literally means "it does not follow"; this is an argument by misdirection and is logically irrelevant | |
| 89820624 | object | a noun toward which thought, feeling, or action is directed | |
| 89820625 | onomatopoeia | a minor figure of speech in which a sound imitates the thing or action associated with it | |
| 89820626 | oxymoron | two words that together create a sense of opposition | |
| 89820627 | paradox | a major figure of speech in rhetorical analysis that seeks to create a mental discontinuity, which then forces the reader to pause and seek clarity | |
| 89820628 | parallel syntax (or parallelism) | a pattern of speech or language that creates a rhythm of repetition often combined with some other language of repetition | |
| 89820629 | parentheticals | phrases, sentences, and words inside parentheses ( ) | |
| 89820630 | participle | a verbal (expressing action or a state of being) that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed | |
| 89820631 | passive voice | the opposite of active voice; in this voice, something happens to someone | |
| 89820632 | pathos | an appeal to emotion; one of the fundamental strategies of argumentation identified by Aristotle | |
| 89820633 | periodic sentence | a sentence with several dependent clauses that precede the independent clause | |
| 89820634 | personification | giving human attributes to non-human things | |
| 89820635 | phrase | a grouping of words that define or clarity; a group of words that is not a sentence because there is no verb | |
| 89820636 | point of view | the perspective from which the writer chooses to present his or her story (fiction) or essay (nonfiction) | |
| 89820637 | poisoning the well | a person or character is introduced with language that suggests that he is not at all reliable before the listener/reader knows anything about him | |
| 89820638 | polysyndeton | the use of consecutive coordinating conjunctions even when they are not needed | |
| 89820639 | predicate | the formal term for the verb that conveys the meaning or carries the action of the sentence | |
| 89820640 | predicate adjective | an adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies the subject of the sentence | |
| 89820641 | predicate nominative | a noun or pronoun that uses a linking verb to unite, describe, or rename the noun in the subject of the sentence | |
| 89820642 | premise | another word for a claim; a statement of truth, at least to the person making the argument | |
| 89820643 | prompt | in essay questions, this has two definitions: the correct one and the common one; the correct one is that this is the paragraph or language that defines the essay task (doesn't include the passage itself); the common definition of this is one you will hear teachers and consultants use to refer to any and all parts of an essay question | |
| 89820644 | pun | a play on words; in an argument, this usually calls humorous attention to a particular point | |
| 89820645 | red herring | an argument that distracts the reader by raising issues irrelevant to the case | |
| 89820646 | repetition | a fundamental form of rhetorical stress that calls the reader's attention to a particular word, phrase, or image for emphasis of meaning | |
| 89820647 | rhetorical question | a question whose answer is assumed, this is designed to force the reader to respond in a predetermined manner and is a significant tool in the study of rhetoric | |
| 89820648 | rhetorical shift | this occurs when the author of an essay significantly alters his or her diction, syntax, or both | |
| 89820649 | simile | a crucial figure of speech in an argument when what is unknown is compared to something that is known using the word "like," or "as," or "than" in order to better perceive its importance | |
| 89820650 | simple sentence | an independent clause; has a subject and a verb, and that's pretty much it | |
| 89820651 | slippery slope (also called domino theory) | this fallacy of argumentation argues that one thing inevitably leads to another | |
| 89820652 | stem | in the multiple-choice section, this is the question you are asked to complete with the given possible answers | |
| 89820653 | straw man | this occurs when a person engaging in an argument defines his opponent's position when the opponent is not present and defines it in a manner that is easy to attack | |
| 89820654 | subject | the formal term for the noun that is the basic focus of the sentence; it is who or what is doing the action in the sentence | |
| 89820655 | subordinate conjunction | a conjunction that makes an independent clause into a dependent clause | |
| 89820656 | syllogism | in its basic form, this is a three-part argument construction in which two premises lead to a truth | |
| 89820657 | synecdoche | a minor figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole | |
| 89820658 | syntax | the study of the rules of grammar that define the formation of sentences | |
| 89820659 | synthesis | to unite or synthesize a variety of sources to achieve a common end | |
| 89820660 | theme | the basic message or meaning conveyed through elements of character and conflict; appears often in literature and is paralleled in nonfiction prose by an argument's thesis | |
| 89820661 | thesis | the writer's statement of purpose; the focal intent of the essay | |
| 89820662 | tricolon | a sentence with three equally distinct and equally long parts | |
| 89820663 | understatement | this creates exaggeration by showing restraint; it is the opposite of hyperbole | |
| 89820664 | zeugma | a minor device in which two or more elements in a sentence are tied together by the same verb or noun; these are especially acute if the noun or verb does not have the exact same meaning in both parts of the sentence | |
| 89820665 | rhetoric | the study of the effective use of language; the art of using language effectively and persuasively | |
| 89820666 | ethos | appeal based on the character of the speaker | |
| 89820667 | logos | appeal based on logic or reason | |
| 89820668 | pathos | appeal based on emotion | |
| 89820669 | rhetorical triangle | author, audience, purpose | |
| 89820670 | tone | the manner in which a writer expresses his/her attitude toward the subject and audience; mainly expressed through diction, syntax, and POV | |
| 89820671 | simile | a statement using 'like' or 'as' to compare two unlike objects | |
| 89820672 | figurative language | imaginative language that compares one thing to another in ways that aren't necessarily logical but that are nevertheless striking, original, and 'true'; often departs from the literal meaning | |
| 89820673 | connotation | the moods/associations/implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning | |
| 89820674 | denotation | the literal meaning of a word; the dictionary definition | |
| 89820675 | satire | the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, and humor in exposing or denouncing vice or folly | |
| 89820676 | euphemism | substitution of an expression that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver with an agreeable or less offensive expression or to make it less troublesome for the speaker | |
| 89820677 | ambiguity | the presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage; not clear | |
| 89820678 | irony | the use of language to suggest the opposite of the literal meaning or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs | |
| 89820679 | oxymoron | two words that create a sense of opposition; a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side-by-side | |
| 89820680 | paradox | a statement or a proposition that seems senseless or self-contradictory, but in reality, it may be true | |
| 89820681 | fallacy | a failure of logical reasoning | |
| 89820682 | exemplification | showing by example | |
| 89820683 | description | rhetorical strategy that uses sensory details to portray a person, place, or thing | |
| 89820684 | narration | telling a story; a specific way of telling a story | |
| 89820685 | compare/contrast | the process of identifying similarities and differences between things | |
| 89820686 | division/classification | dividing a subject into categories and analyzing the characteristics of each category | |
| 89820687 | cause/effect | two events where one event brings about or caused the other; the first event is the cause, the second is the effect; it explains why something happens or is likely to happen | |
| 89820688 | absolutes | a choice in which something must be one way or the other - there is no middle ground | |
| 89820689 | rapport | a relationship that individuals build | |
| 89820690 | process analysis | a descriptive chronology of the stages in the development of a process | |
| 89820691 | definition | the formal statement of the meaning of a word or phrase | |
| 89820692 | argumentation | the process of forming reasons, justifying beliefs, and drawing conclusions with the aim of influencing the thoughts and/or actions of others | |
| 89820693 | double-bind | a situation of conflict from which there is no escape; an irresolvable dilemma | |
| 89820694 | emotional words | also known as loaded words, these can demonstrate a writer's intense feelings or emotions; they display an author's voice | |
| 89820695 | humor | a specific tone or attitude a writer may use in an essay by attempting to be comedic or amusing |
