AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards

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