AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards

6076159508	audience	One's listener or readership; those to whom text is addressed	0
6076159509	concession	An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point	1
6076159510	context	Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning	2
6076159511	counterargument	An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward	3
6076159512	occasion	The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written	4
6076159513	persona	The face or character that a speaker shows to his/her audience	5
6076159514	polemic	Controversial argument, esp. one attacking a specific idea	6
6076159515	propaganda	Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.	7
6076159516	purpose	One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.	8
6076159517	refutation	a denial of the validity of an opposing argument	9
6076159518	rhetoric	The art of using language effectively and persuasively	10
6076159519	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
6076159520	rhetorical triangle	A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle)	12
6076159521	speaker	A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a text	13
6076159524	tone	Attitudes and presuppositions of the author that are revealed by their linguistic choices (diction, syntax, rhetorical devices)	14
6076159525	antithesis	An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses.	15
6076159526	archaic diction	The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.	16
6076159528	hortative sentence	A sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.	17
6076159530	inversion	The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase.	18
6076159531	juxtaposition	Placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast.	19
6076159532	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared, does not use like or as.	20
6076159533	parallelism	Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.	21
6076159534	periodic sentence	A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.	22
6076159535	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	23
6076159536	synecdoche	A rhetorical trope involving a part of an object representing the whole, or the whole of an object representing a part.	24
6076159537	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.	25
6076159538	argument	A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion.	26
6076159539	assumption	A fact or statement that is taken for granted rather than tested or proved.	27
6076159540	backing	Support or evidence for a claim in an argument.	28
6076159541	begging the question	A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt.	29
6076159543	introduction	Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion.	30
6076159547	conclusion	Brings the essay to a satisfying close.	31
6076159548	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.	32
6076159549	either/or (false dilemma)	A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.	33
6076159550	first-hand evidence	Evidence based on something the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events.	34
6076159551	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.	35
6076159552	qualifier	Words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely that are used to temper claims a bit, making them less absolute.	36
6076159553	rebuttal	refutation; opposing response to an argument	37
6076159554	reservation	A stated or unstated doubt that prevents you from accepting something wholeheartedly.	38
6076159558	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.	39
6076159561	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.	40
6076159562	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	41
6076159563	allusion	A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.	42
6076159564	pathos	Appeal to emotion; Achieved by evoking feelings like sympathy, anger, pity, or compassion.	43
6076159565	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	44
6076159566	logos	Appeal to an audience's sense of intellect or logic; Achieved by providing valid and relevant facts which support the speaker's position	45
6076159567	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	46
6076159568	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.	47
6076159569	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).	48
6076159570	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.	49
6076159571	connotation	An implied meaning of the word.	50
6076159572	denotation	A literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word.	51
6076159573	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	52
6076159574	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.	53
6076159575	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.	54
6076159576	red herring	An argument that distracts the reader by raising issues irrelevant to the case.	55
6076159577	hasty generalization	A fallacy that presents a generalization that is either not supported with evidence or is supported with only weak evidence.	56
6076159578	circular reasoning	A fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence.	57
6076159579	anecdote	A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.	58
6076159580	bandwagon appeal	A claim that a listener should accept an argument because of how many other people have already accepted it.	59
6076159581	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.	60
6076159582	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.	61
6076159583	claim of policy	A claim asserting that specific courses of action should be instituted as solutions to problems.	62
6076159584	claim	An assertion or a proposition that states the argument's main idea or position.	63
6076159585	faulty analogy	An illogical, misleading comparison between two things.	64
6076159586	straw man fallacy	This fallacy involves misrepresenting, exaggerating, or oversimplifying an opponent's position or argument to make it easier to refute.	65
6076159587	either/or fallacy	A statement that identifies two alternatives and falsely suggests that if one is rejected, the other must be accepted	66
6076159590	appeal to false authority	This fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority.	67
6076159591	logical fallacy	An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. Generally occurs in arguments that fail to make concrete, logical claims for support.	68
6076159592	quantitative evidence	Evidence that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers (surveys, census information, polls, statistics, etc.)	69
6076159593	open thesis	A statement of the main idea of the argument that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover.	70
6076159594	counterargument thesis	A summary of the counterargument usually qualified by "although" or "but" and precedes the writer's opinion. This type of thesis statement has the advantage of immediately addressing the counterargument.	71
6076159595	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.	72
6076159596	closed thesis	A statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.	73
6076159597	claim of value	A claim maintaining that something is good or bad, beneficial or detrimental, or another evaluative criterion.	74