5526727585 | audience | One's listener or readership; those to whom text is addressed | 0 | |
5526727586 | concession | An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point | 1 | |
5526727587 | context | Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning | 2 | |
5526727588 | counterargument | An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward | 3 | |
5526727589 | occasion | The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written | 4 | |
5526727590 | persona | The face or character that a speaker shows to his/her audience | 5 | |
5526727591 | polemic | Controversial argument, esp. one attacking a specific idea | 6 | |
5526727592 | propaganda | Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause. | 7 | |
5526727593 | purpose | One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing. | 8 | |
5526727594 | refutation | a denial of the validity of an opposing argument | 9 | |
5526727595 | rhetoric | The art of using language effectively and persuasively | 10 | |
5526727596 | rhetorical appeals | Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion) | 11 | |
5526727597 | rhetorical triangle | A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle) | 12 | |
5526727598 | speaker | A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a text | 13 | |
5526727599 | subject | In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of text | 14 | |
5526727600 | text | Any cultural product that can be "read", meaning consumed, comprehended, and investigated. Fiction, Nonfiction, poetry, speeches, fine art, cartoons, cultural trends, performances, etc | 15 | |
5526727601 | tone | Attitudes and presuppositions of the author that are revealed by their linguistic choices (diction, syntax, rhetorical devices) | 16 | |
5526727602 | antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses. | 17 | |
5526727603 | archaic diction | The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language. | 18 | |
5526727604 | cumulative sentence | A sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases (main clause is at the beginning). | 19 | |
5526727605 | hortative sentence | A sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action. | 20 | |
5526727606 | imperative sentence | A sentence that requests or commands. | 21 | |
5526727607 | inversion | The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase. | 22 | |
5526727608 | juxtaposition | Placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast. | 23 | |
5526727609 | metaphor | A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared, does not use like or as. | 24 | |
5526727610 | parallelism | Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. | 25 | |
5526727611 | periodic sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. | 26 | |
5526727612 | rhetorical question | A figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer | 27 | |
5526727613 | synecdoche | A rhetorical trope involving a part of an object representing the whole, or the whole of an object representing a part. | 28 | |
5526727614 | ad populum | Latin for "to the crowd." A fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true. Bandwagon appeal. | 29 | |
5526727615 | argument | A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion. | 30 | |
5526727616 | assumption | A fact or statement that is taken for granted rather than tested or proved. | 31 | |
5526727617 | backing | Support or evidence for a claim in an argument. | 32 | |
5526727618 | begging the question | A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt. | 33 | |
5526727619 | the classical oration | A five-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians. The five parts are introduction, narration, confirmation, refutation, conclusion. | 34 | |
5526727620 | introduction (exordium) | Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion. | 35 | |
5526727621 | narration (narratio) | Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing. | 36 | |
5526727622 | confirmation (confirmatio) | Usually the major part of the text, the confirmation includes the proof needed to make the writer's case. | 37 | |
5526727623 | refutation (refutatio) | Addresses the counterargument. It is a bridge between the writer's proof and conclusion. | 38 | |
5526727624 | conclusion (peroratio) | Brings the essay to a satisfying close. | 39 | |
5526727625 | deduction | A logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise) and applying it to a specific case (a minor premise). The process of deduction is usually demonstrated in the form of a syllogism. | 40 | |
5526727626 | either/or (false dilemma) | A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices. | 41 | |
5526727627 | first-hand evidence | Evidence based on something the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events. | 42 | |
5526727628 | induction | A method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances. | 43 | |
5526727629 | qualifier | Words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely that are used to temper claims a bit, making them less absolute. | 44 | |
5526727630 | rebuttal | refutation; opposing response to an argument | 45 | |
5526727631 | reservation | An unstated doubt that prevents you from accepting something wholeheartedly. | 46 | |
5526727632 | Rogerian arguments | Developed by psychiatrist Carl Rogers, these are based on the assumption that fully understanding an opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating. | 47 | |
5526727633 | second-hand evidence | Evidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation. It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data. | 48 | |
5526727634 | straw man | A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea. | 49 | |
5526727635 | syllogism | A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. A syllogism is the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. | 50 | |
5526727636 | Toulmin model | An approach to analyzing and constructing arguments created by British philosphopher Stephen T in his book the Uses of Argument; "Because (evidence as support), therefore (claim), since (warrant or assumption), on account of its waterproof material, unless, of course, there is a hole in it." | 51 | |
5526727637 | warrant | The warrant expresses the assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience. | 52 | |
5526727638 | personification | A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. | 53 | |
5526727639 | oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. | 54 | |
5526727640 | allusion | A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. | 55 | |
5526727641 | pathos | Appeal to emotion; Achieved by evoking feelings like sympathy, anger, pity, or compassion. | 56 | |
5526727642 | ethos | Appeal to an audience's sense of morality/trust or ethics; Achieved by projecting an image of credibility which supports the speaker's position | 57 | |
5526727643 | logos | Appeal to an audience's sense of intellect or logic; Achieved by providing valid and relevant facts which support the speaker's position | 58 | |
5526727644 | asyndeton | Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence. Asyndeton takes the form of X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y and Z | 59 | |
5526727645 | anaphora | A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences. | 60 | |
5526727646 | antimetabole | Figure of emphasis in which the words in one phrase or clause are replicated, exactly or closely, in reverse grammatical order in the next phrase or clause; a chiasmus on the level of words (A-B, B-A). For example, "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" (JFK). | 61 | |
5526727647 | alliteration | Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables; it is used to emphasize meaning or to improve flow through rhythm. | 62 | |
5526727648 | connotation | An implied meaning of the word. | 63 | |
5526727649 | denotation | A literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word. | 64 | |
5526727650 | hyperbole | A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor | 65 | |
5526727651 | zeugma | The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one. | 66 | |
5526727652 | ad hominem | An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack. | 67 | |
5526727653 | red herring | An argument that distracts the reader by raising issues irrelevant to the case. It is like being given too many suspects in a murder mystery. | 68 | |
5526727654 | hasty generalization | A fallacy that presents a generalization that is either not supported with evidence or is supported with only weak evidence. | 69 | |
5526727655 | circular reasoning | A fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence. | 70 | |
5526727656 | anecdote | A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event. | 71 | |
5526727657 | bandwagon appeal | A claim that a listener should accept an argument because of how many other people have already accepted it. | 72 | |
5526727658 | post hoc ergo propter hoc | This 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. One may loosely summarize this fallacy by saying that correlation does not imply causation. | 73 | |
5526727659 | claim of fact | A claim that asserts something exists, has existed, or will exist, based on data that the audience will accept as objectively verifiable. | 74 | |
5526727660 | claim of policy | A claim asserting that specific courses of action should be instituted as solutions to problems. | 75 | |
5526727661 | claim | An assertion or a proposition that states the argument's main idea or position. | 76 | |
5526727662 | faulty analogy | An illogical, misleading comparison between two things. | 77 | |
5526727663 | straw man fallacy | This fallacy involves changing or exaggerating an opponent's position or argument to make it easier to refute. | 78 | |
5526727664 | either/or fallacy | A statement that identifies two alternatives and falsely suggests that if one is rejected, the other must be accepted | 79 | |
5526727665 | second hand evidence | Evidence accessed through research, reading, and investigation. (Facts and quantitative data). | 80 | |
5526727666 | first hand evidence | Evidence based on something the writer knows, whether its from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events. | 81 | |
5526727667 | appeal to false authority | This fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority. | 82 | |
5526727668 | logical fallacy | An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. Generally occurs in arguments that fail to make concrete, logical claims for support. | 83 | |
5526727669 | quantitative evidence | Evidence that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers (surveys, census information, polls, statistics, etc.) | 84 | |
5526727670 | open thesis | A statement of the main idea of the argument that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover. | 85 | |
5526727671 | counterargument thesis | A summary of the counterargument usually qualified by although or but precedes the writer's opinion. This type of thesis statement has the advantage of immediately addressing the counterargument. | 86 | |
5526727672 | thesis | In an argument, an expression of the claim that the writer or speaker is trying to support. In an essay, an expression of the main idea or purpose of the piece of writing. | 87 | |
5526727673 | closed thesis | A statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make. | 88 | |
5526727674 | claim of value | A claim maintaining that something is good or bad, beneficial or detrimental, or another evaluative criterion. | 89 |
AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards
Primary tabs
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!