CLASSICAL ARGUMENT TEST AP LANG

Hostile

opposition, already disagrees with you

• Order changes: counterargument (longest) after narration, before partition & argument, exordium establishes connection w/ writer and audience, tone = respectful & calm

Sympathetic

primed to support you, agrees or is likely to agree with you, have knowledge of the topic

• Traditional order, simple exordium, little exigence, simple counterarguement

Disinterested/Uneducated

don’t know enough about the topic to have an informed opinion

• Traditional order, exordium needs to create interest/establish ethos, needs lots of background info, strong argument, anticipate opposition on counterargument, tone = inspiring & concerned but measured

Exordium

introduces the audience to the subject and the speaker, job is to hook the audience - typically uses ethos so the speakers credibility is established to the audience (introduction)

Narration

gives the background and context to your argument, key facts leading up to this moment, the exigency - uses appeals of pathos OR logos depending on the audience or subject (background)

Partition

1-2 sentences, states the CLAIM you are making AND previews how the rest of the paper will be structured (thesis)

Confirmation

presents and develops the reasons for your position and provides evidence to support each - uses appeals of logos, though pathos is an option (argument)

Concession

acknowledges that one point of the opposition has some validity

Refutation

proves that the claims of the opposition are wrong

Rebuttal

 Proves that the opposition’s point is weaker, shows how our argument is stronger

Peroration

summarizes the rhetoric's most important points, and has some apples to feelings or values, and may include a call to action (conclusion)

Argument

can refer to the main idea, OR can refer to the whole text in which you make a claim and support it

Claim

main idea that the author is trying to prove

Reasons

ideas and beliefs that the author presents to back up the claim

Evidence

supports the reasons, can be real world examples, facts, data, etc

Call to Action

directly asking the audience to do something in response to the argument

Objective

not influenced by personal feelings, neutral and unbiased

Subjective

influenced by personal feelings or preferences

Bias

personal preference that can influence one’s judgement

Fact

can be verified and proven true

Opinion

often based on a person's observations and experiences, but also influenced by emotions and other factors. They can be challenged or debated and should be supported with evidence

Preferences

a person’s likes or dislikes, reflect individual tastes, values, driven by emotions. More subjective

Informative

• Also called expository or explanatory

• Purpose is increase one’s understanding of the topic by describing ideas

• Usually objective - balanced & calm

• Facts, data

• Has a main idea, 3rd person, doesn’t show bias, little to no “loaded language”

• Ex: textbooks, news stories, public service announcements

Persuasive

• Also called argumentative or rhetorical or opinion

• Purpose is to convince an audience to think, feel, or do something using logical, emotional, and ethical arguments

• Usually subjective - emotional & inspiring

• Has a claim, 1st and 2nd person, shows bias, “loaded language” is present, is arguable

• Ex:  opinion articles, news stories, blogs, advertisements