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AP Language and Composition Midterm Flashcards

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5829961248audiencethe listener, viewer, or reader of a text; most texts are likely to have multiple.0
5829961249concessionan acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable; in a strong argument, this is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.1
5829961250connotationmeaning or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation; usually positive or negative, and they can greatly affect the author's tone.2
5829961251contextthe circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.3
5829961252counterargumentan opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward; rather than ignoring these, a strong writer will usually address it through the process of concession and refutation.4
5829961253ethosgreek for "character"; speakers appeal to this to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic; this is established both by who you are and what you say.5
5829961254logosgreek for "embodied thought"; speakers appeal to this by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.6
5829961255occasionthe time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.7
5829961256pathosgreek for "suffering" or "experience"; speakers appeal to this to emotionally motivate their audience; more specific appeals might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices on the other.8
5829961257personagreek for "mask"; the face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.9
5829961258polemicgreek for "hostile"; an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others; generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.10
5829961259propagandathe spread of ideas and information to further a cause; in its negative sense, it is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.11
5829961260purposethe goal the speaker wants to achieve.12
5829961261refutationa denial of the validity of an opposing argument; in order to sound reasonable, these often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.13
5829961262rhetoricas Aristotle defined the term, "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." In other words, it is the art of finding ways to persuade an audience.14
5829961263rhetorical appealsrhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling; the three major appeals are to ethos, logos, and pathos.15
5829961264rhetorical triangle (Aristotelian triangle)a diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.16
5829961265SOAPSa mnemonic device that stand for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker; a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.17
5829961266speakerthe person of group who creates a text; this might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, a an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement.18
5829961267subjectthe topic of a text.19
5829961268textwhile this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read"-meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.20
5829961269alliterationrepetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.21
5829961270allusionbrief reference to a person,e vent, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.22
5829961271anaphorarepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.23
5829961272antimetabolerepetition of words in reverse order.24
5829961273antithesisopposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.25
5829961274archaic dictionold-fashioned or outdated choice of words.26
5829961275asyndetonomission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.27
5829961276cumulative sentencesentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.28
5829961277hortative sentencesentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.29
5829961278imperative sentencesentence used to command or enjoin.30
5829961279inversioninverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order).31
5829961280juxtapositionplacement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.32
5829961281metaphorfigure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.33
5829961282oxymoronparadoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another.34
5829961283parallelismsimilarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.35
5829961284periodic sentencesentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.36
5829961285personificationattribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.37
5829961286rhetorical questionfigure of speech in the form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.38
5829961287synedochefigure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole.39
5829961288zeugmause of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings.40
5829961289ad hominemlatin for "to the man," the fallacy refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker.41
5829961290ad populumbandwagon appeal; this fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do."42
5829961291appeal to false authoritythis fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority.43
5829961292argumenta process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion.44
5829961293backingin the Toulmin model, consists of further assurance or data without which the assumption lacks authority.45
5829961294begging the questiona fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt; it "begs" a question whether the support itself is sound.46
5829961295circular reasoninga fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence.47
5829961296claimalso called an assertion or a proposition, a states the argument's main idea or position; differs from a topic or subject in that it has to be arguable.48
5829961297claim of factasserts that something is true or not true.49
5829961298claim of policyproposes a change.50
5829961299claim of valueargues that something is good or bad, right or wrong.51
5829961300classical orationfive-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians; includes: introduction (exordium), narration (narratio), confirmation (confirmando), refutation (refutatio), and conclusion (peroratio).52
5829961301introduction (exordium)classical oration; introduces the reader to the subject under discussion.53
5829961302narration (narratio)provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing.54
5829961303confirmation (confirmando)usually the major part of the text; includes the proof needed to make the writer's case.55
5829961304refutation (refutatio)addresses the counterargument; a bridge between the writer's proof and conclusion.56
5829961305conclusion (peroratio)brings the essay to a satisfying close.57
5829961306closed thesisa statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.58
5829961307deductiona logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (major premise) and applying it to a specific case (minor premise); usually demonstrated in the form of a syllogism.59
5829961308either/or (false dilemma)a fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.60
5829961309faulty analogya fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable.61
5829961310first-hand evidenceevidence based on something the write knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events.62
5829961311hasty generalizationa fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.63
5829961312inductionfrom the Latin inducere, "to lead into"; a logical process whereby the writer reasons from particulars to universals, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization.64
5829961313logical fallacypotential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument, often arising from a failure to make logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it.65
5829961314open thesisa thesis that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay.66
5829961315post hoc ergo propter hocthis fallacy is Latin for, "after which therefore because of which," meaning that it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier; correlation does not imply causation.67
5829961316qualifierin the Toulmin model, uses words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely to temper the claim, making it less absolute.68
5829961317quantitative evidenceincludes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers.69
5829961318rebuttalin the Toulmin model, gives voice to possible objections.70
5829961319reservationin the Toulmin model, explains the terms and condition necessitated by the qualifier.71
5829961320Rogerian argumentsbased on the assumption that having a full understanding of an opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating.72
5829961321second-hand evidenceevidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation; includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data.73
5829961322straw mana fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.74
5829961323syllogisma logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion.75
5829961324Toulmin modelan approach to analyzing and constructing arguments; template: Because (evidence as support), therefore (claim), since (warrant or assumption), on account of (backing), unless (reservation).76
5829961325warrantin the Toulmin model, expresses the assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience.77

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