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AP Language and Composition: The Language of Composition General Terms Flashcards

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9920614380rhetorical appealsRhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are the ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).0
9920614381ethosGreek for "character." Speakers appeal to _____ to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. ______ is established by both who you are and what you say.1
9920614382counterargumentAn opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward.2
9920614383concession (concede)An acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.3
9920614384refutation (refute)A denial of the validity of an opposing argument.4
9920614385logosGreek for "embodied thought." Speakers appeal to ______ or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.5
9920614386connotationMeanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.6
9920614387pathosGreek for "suffering" or "experience." Speakers appeal to ______ to emotionally motivate their audience.7
9920614388Rhetorical TriangleA diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and the subject in determining a text.8
9920614389audienceThe listener, viewer, or reader of a text.9
9920614390contextThe circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.10
9920614391occasionThe time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.11
9920614392personaGreek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.12
9920614393polemicGreek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others.13
9920614394propagandaThe spread of ideas and information to further a cause. In its negative sense, propaganda is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.14
9920614395purposeThe goal the speaker wants to achieve.15
9920614396rhetoricAs 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.16
9920614397SOAPSToneA mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker, and Tone. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.17
9920614398speakerThe person or group who creates a text. This might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement.18
9920614399subjectThe topic of a text; what the text is about.19
9920614400textWhile this terms 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
9920614401dictionThe speaker's choice of words21
9920614402syntaxHow the words are arranged22
9920614403toneThe speaker's attitude toward's the subject as revealed by his or her choice of language23
9920614404moodHow the work makes the reader feel.24
9920614405metaphorFigure of speech that compares two things without using like or as; says one thing IS another.25
9920614406similesFigure of speech that compares two things using like or as.26
9920614407personificationAttribution of a human quality to an inanimate object or idea.27
9920614408hyperboleExaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken seriously28
9920614409parallelismSimilarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.29
9920614410juxtapositionPlacement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.30
9920614411antithesisOpposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.31
9920614412compound sentenceA sentence with more than one subject or predicate32
9920614413complex sentenceA sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses33
9920614414periodic sentenceSentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.34
9920614415cumulative sentenceSentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.35
9920614416imperative sentenceSentence used to command or enjoin.36
9920614417pacingHow fast a story unfolds. Does the author reveal details quickly or slowly? How does he or she build suspense?37
9920614418figures of speechA word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written passage38
9920614419zeugmaUse of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous meanings.39
9920614420satireThe use of irony or sarcasm to criticize40
9920614421anaphoraRepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.41
9920614422hortative sentenceSentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.42
9920614423alliterationRepetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.43
9920614424allusionBrief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.44
9920614425antimetaboleRepetition of words in reverse order.45
9920614426archaic dictionOld-fashioned or outdated choice of words.46
9920614427AsyndetonOmission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.47
9920614428inversionInverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order).48
9920614429oxymoronParadoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another.49
9920614430rhetorical questionFigure of speech in form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.50
9920614431synedocheFigure of speech that uses a part to represent a whole.51
9920614432imageryWhen a writer describes something using language that appeals to our five senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing)52
9920614433argumentA process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from claim to conclusion.53
9920614435claimAlso called an assertion or a proposition, a _____ states the argument's main idea or position. A _____ differs from a topic or subject in that a _______ has to be arguable.54
9920614436claim of factasserts that something is true or not true.55
9920614437claim of valueargues that something is good or bad, right or wrong.56
9920614438claim of policyproposes a change.57
9920614439closed thesisa statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.58
9920614440open thesisone that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay.59
9920614441counterargument thesisa summary of the counterargument, usually qualified by although or but, precedes the writer's opinion60
9920614442logical fallacy (fallacy)potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument. They often arise from a failure to make a logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it.61
9920614443red herringWhen a speaker skips to a new and irrelevant topic in order to avoid the topic of discussion62
9920614444ad hominemLatin for "to the man," this fallacy refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker.63
9920614445faulty analogyA fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable.64
9920614446straw manA fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.65
9920614447either/or (false dilemma)A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.66
9920614448hasty generalizationA fallacy in which conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.67
9920614449circular reasoningA fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence.68
9920614450first-hand evidenceEvidence based on something that the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events.69
9920614451second-hand evidenceEvidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation. It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data.70
9920614452post 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 clause just because it happened earlier.71
9920614453appeal to false authorityThis fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on a issue is cited as an authority.72
9920614454quantitative evidenceincludes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers-for instance, statistics, surveys, polls, census information.73
9920614455ad populum (bandwagon appeal)This fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do."74
9920614456introduction (exordium)Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion.75
9920614457narration (narratio)Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing.76
9920614458confirmation (confirmatio)Usually the major part of the text, the confirmation includes the proof needed to make the writer's case.77
9920614459refutation (refutatio)Addresses the counterargument. It is a bridge between the writer's proof and conclusion.78
9920614460conclusion (peroratio)Brings the essay to a satisfying close.79
9920614461inductionFrom 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 generalization.80
9920614462deductiona logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principal or universal truth (a major premise).81
9920614463syllogismA logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion.82

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