AP Lang Flashcards #1

close reading?

An in depth analysis of a text. 

voice

Perspective of a text. (ex: first person, third person limited). A distinctive sound or style of writing of an author.

What is evidence

is back-up for a claim to help prove your point.

What is cause and effect?

something that organizes evidence to show what's happened. It can lead to a causation-correlation fallacy.

What is exposition?

a detailed description of the background of a story. Includes setting, main characters and essential plot.

Aristotelian Triangle

a model that shows the three fundamental elements of persuasive speaking (subject/logos, speaker/ethos and audience/pathos).

inductive reasoning

logically forming a conclusion based on research/evidence. In an argument the evidence is presented before the thesis.

deductive reasoning

when you take two true statements to form a conclusion. Thesis is presented before evidence in an argument.

emotional appeal

a persuasive technique that is used to create a emotional response to further get their claim across.

logical appeal

a form of persuasion that is based on evidence and reasoning.

Who was Immanuel Kant?

German philosopher. believed actions should be judged based on how they adhere to morality.

Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?

Swiss philosopher. believed that humans were born good and then “turned evil” by social applications

Who was John Locke?

English philosopher and physician; he condemns rhetoric for it’s emotional appeals, believing it could mislead and manipulate others through emotional appeal. Though he acknowledged that rhetoric can be used positively since it advocates for clear reasoning and change.

Who was Aristotle?

a Greek philosopher who built the foundation of rhetoric; defining rhetoric as a practical art of persuasion and established its key principles: ethos, pathos, and logos

Bertrand Russell?

 British philosopher and mathematician who used rhetoric in his writing by focusing on the misleading nature of ordinary language, using logical analysis to reveal philosophical truths. He was a pacifist/anti-war activist, also believing that religion did more harm than good. (He has an analogy that a teapot could be floating in space to counter Christian beliefs.)

To what does “a voice crying out in the wilderness” refer?

John the Baptist. Is now a metaphor for someone calling for a necessary change for a significant event, often in an unpopular/ignored manner. Comes from Jesus returning in the Bible

To what does “there’s the rub” refer?

Originally from Hamlet. It refers to a difficulty, an obstacle or a problematic aspect of a situation that prevents it from being straightforward or ideal.

“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” refer?

The meaning is that once you cross this threshold, there is no going back or finding a way out. It’s inscribed onto the gates of hell.

To what does “deep six” refer?

a saying that refers to destroying something irretrievably.

“pushing the envelope”

means going beyond conventional or established limits to do something new or risky