AP Lang Vocab

argument

a process of reasoned inquiry and rational discourse seeking common ground

claim

an assertion the puts forward a proposition that states the argument’s main idea or position. Has to be arguable, to state an agreeable position

types of claims

claims of fact, value, and policy

six types of evidence

anecdotes, quantitative evidence, (TBD)… sryyy

inductive reasoning

arranging an argument so that it leads from particulars to universals, thesis first

deductive reasoning

arranging an argument so that it leads from universals to particulars, thesis last

syllogism

often in deductive reasoning and uses both a major and minor premise to reach a logical conclusion

logical fallacy

vulnerabilities in an argument caused by faulty reasoning or incorrect use of evidence, a failure to make a logical connection between claim and evidence

red herring

a speaker skips to a new and irrelevant topic to avoid the topic of discussion

ad hominem fallacy

Latin for “to the man,” a tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the other speaker

faulty analogy

focuses on irrelevant or inconsequential similarities between things

straw man fallacy

a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute the opponents view

either or fallacy/false dilemma

the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible options, and closes off the possibility for nuance

hasty generalization

repeating the claim as a way to provide evidence, resulting in having no evidence

post oc ergo propter hoc/after which therefore of which

it is incorrect to claim something is a cause for something just because is happened earlier (correlation doesn’t equal causation)

appeal to false authority

someone who has no expertise to speak on a topic is cited as an authority

bandwagon appeal/ad poplum fallacy

when evidence boils down to “everyone’s doing it so it must be a good thing to do”