AP Lang Midterm

Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple

Concession

an acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument, it is likely accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. Usually positive or negative and they can greatly affect the authors tone

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Counterargument

an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward. Rather than ignoring it, a strong author will usually address it through the process of refutation and concession.

Ethos

Speakers appeal to this to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Established by both who you are and what you say

Greek for character

Character

What is ethos Greek for?

Embodied thought

What is logos Greek for?

Logos

Speakers appeal to this by offering clear ration ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics or expert testimony to back them up

Occasion

the time and place a speech is given or a piece is written

Pathos

Speakers power to emotionally motivate their audience. Might play on values desires and hopes on one hand and fears and prejudice on the other

Suffering or experience

What is pathos Greek for?

Persona

the face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience

Mask

What is persona Greek for

Polemic

an aggressive argument against a specific opinion. Tries to establish superiority of one opinion over all others. generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit

Hostile

What is polemic Greek for

Propaganda

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. In its negative sense, the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.

Purpose

the goal the speaker wants to achieve

Refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable, often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.

Rhetoric

Defined by Aristotle: the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion

Rhetoric appeals

rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. 3 major: ethos (character), pathos (emotion), logos(reason)

rhetorical triangle (Aristotelian triangle)

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

Speaker

the person who creates a text.

subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. The same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, events or place (real of fictitious) or to a work of art

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Antimetabole

The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.

Antithesis

opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction

archaic diction

old-fashioned or outdated choice of words

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Cumulative sentence

sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on

horative sentence

sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action

Imperative sentence

sentence used to command or enjoin

Inversion

Inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-ver-object order)

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Metaphor

Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as

Oxymoron

paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another

Parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Periodic sentence

sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end

Personification

attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea

Rhetorical question

A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer

Synecdoche

figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole

Zeugma

use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings

ad hominem

this fallacy refers to the specific diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker

Against the man

What is ad hominem Latin for?

ad populum (bandwagon appeal)

This fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do."

argument

A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion.

Circular reasoning

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

claim

An assertion, usually supported by evidence

claim of fact

Asserts something that is true or not true

Claim of policy

Proposes a change

Claim of value

Argues that something is good or bad right or wrong

faulty analogy

a fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable

first-hand evidence

evidence based on something the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience observations or general knowledge of events

Logical fallacy

Potential vulnerabilities or weakness in an argument. They often arise from a failure to make a logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it

Post hocergo propter hoc

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.

After which therefore because of which

What is Post hocergo propter hoc latin for?

second-hand evidence

Evidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation. It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data.

straw man fallacy

A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute and idea

Text

any cultural product that can be "read" - meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.

appeal to false authority

This fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority.

assumption

A belief or statement taken for granted without proof.

backing

Support or evidence for a claim in an argument

bandwagon appeal

taps into people's desire to belong

classical oration, the

five-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians

Introduction, narration, confirmation, refutation, conclusion

exordium

introduction

Narratio

Confirmation

Confirmatio

Confirmation

Refutation

Refutatio

Peroratio

Conclusion

Introduction

Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion

Narration

Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing

Confirmation

Usually the major part of a text, includes the proof needed to make the writers case

Refutation

Addresses the counter argument. A bridge between writers proof and conclusion

Conclusion

Brings the essay to a satisfying close

Closed thesis

A statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews that major points that the writer intends to make

Deduction

Logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth and applying it to a specific case. The process of deduction is usually demonstrated in form of syllogism

Either/or (false dilemma)

A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choice

Hasty Genderalization

A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence

Induction

A logical process whereby the writer reasons from particulars to universals, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization

Open thesis

One that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay

qualifier

In the toulmin model, it uses words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely to temper the claim, making it less absolute

Quantitative evidence

Includes things that can be measured, cited, counted or otherwise represented in numbers

Rebuttal

In the Toulmin model, a rebuttal gives voice to possible objections

Reservation

In the toulmin model, it explains the terms and conditions necessitated by the qualifier

Roger Ian arguments

Developed by psychiatrist Carla rogers. Based on the assumption that having a full understanding of an opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating

Syllogism

A logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion

major premise

the first part of a syllogism, consisting of a general statement about the subject of your argument

Minor premise

Second part of a syllogism; a statement about a specific case related to the general characteristics of the major premise

Toulmin model

an approach to analyzing and constructing arguments

Created by British philosopher Stephan Toulmin in his book The Uses of Arguements

Can be stated as a template

warrant

In the toulmin model, it expressed the assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience