AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Terms Glossary

Vocabulary flashcards covering the rhetorical devices, logical fallacies, essay strategies, and structural concepts for AP English Language & Composition.

CHELPSS

A strategy for Q3 (Argument Essay) representing evidence sources: Current Events, History, Experiences, Literature, Pop Culture, Sports, and Science.

ad hominem fallacy

(Latin, "to the man")—a fallacy of logic in which a person's character or motive is attacked instead of that person's argument.

ad populum fallacy

(Latin, "to the crowd")—a fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true or right; e.g., "The Corolla is the most widely sold car in the world; therefore, it must be the best."

allegory

A story in which the people, places, and things represent general concepts or moral qualities; adj., allegorical.

allusion

A brief reference to a person, place, event, or passage assumed to be sufficiently well known to be recognized by the reader; e.g., "She turned the other cheek after she was cheated out of a promotion."

analogy

A comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple; e.g., comparing a year-long profile of the stock index to a roller-coaster ride.

anecdote

A short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical; adj., anecdotal.

anticlimax

A sudden drop from the dignified or important thought or expression to the commonplace or trivial, often for humorous effect; adj., anticlimactic.

appeal to authority

Citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writer's arguments.

argumentation

Exploration of a problem by investigating all sides of it; persuasion through reason.

begging the question

A fallacy of logical argument that assumes as true the very thing that one is trying to prove; e.g., Killing people is wrong, so the death penalty is wrong.

cause and effect

Examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon; e.g., Essay topics such as "What causes obesity?"

chronological ordering

Arrangement in the order in which things occur; may move from past to present or in reverse chronological order, from present to past.

classification as a means of ordering

Arrangement of objects according to class; e.g., media classified as print, television, radio.

colloquial expression

Words and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing; e.g., Jack was bummed out about his chemistry grade, instead of Jack was upset about his chemistry grade.

damning with faint praise

Intentional use of a positive statement that has a negative implication; e.g., Your new hairdo is so … interesting.

deduction (deductive reasoning)

A form of reasoning that begins with a generalization, then applies the generalization to a specific case or cases; opposite to induction (see syllogism).

digression

Temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing.

ellipsis

1. In grammar, the omission of a word or words necessary for complete construction but understood in context; e.g., "If (it is) possible, (you) come early." 2. The punctuation (…) indicating something has been left out of a quotation; e.g., "To be or not… that is the question."

euphemism

The use of a word or phrase that is less direct but that is also less distasteful or less offensive than another; e.g., "he is at rest" is a euphemism for "he is dead"; adj., euphemistic.

expository writing

Writing that explains or analyzes.

false dilemma

A fallacy of logical argument which is committed when too few of the available alternatives are considered and all but one are assessed and deemed impossible or unacceptable.

hyperbole

An extravagant exaggeration of fact, used either for serious or comic effect; adj., hyperbolic.

imagery

Lively descriptions which impress the images of things upon the mind; figures of speech.

induction (inductive reasoning)

A form of reasoning which works from a body of fact to the formulation of a generalization; opposite to deduction; frequently used as the principal form of reasoning in science and history.

inverted syntax

Reversing the normal word order of a sentence; e.g., "Whose woods these are I think I know."—Robert Frost

irony

A method of humorous or sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words is the opposite of their usual meaning; e.g., saying that a cold, windy, rainy day is "lovely".

litotes

(Pronounced like "little tease")—in rhetoric, a figure in which an affirmative is expressed by a negation of the contrary. A "citizen of no mean city" is, therefore, "a citizen of an important or famous city."

metaphor

A figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another by being spoken of as though it were that thing; e.g., "… a sea of troubles."'—William Bradford

non sequitur

A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.

order of importance

A method of organizing a paper according to the relative significance of the subtopics.

oxymoron

A figure of speech in which contradictory terms or ideas are combined; e.g., "jumbo shrimp".

parable

A short story from which a lesson may be drawn; Christ used the parable to teach his followers moral truths.

parallel syntactic structures

Using the same part of speech or syntactic structure in (1) each element of a series; (2) before and after coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS); and (3) after each of a pair of correlative conjunctions (not only…but also, neither…nor, both…and, etc.).

paradox

A statement which seems self-contradictory but which may be true in fact.

parody

A literary composition which imitates the characteristic style of a serious work or writer and uses its features to treat trivial, nonsensical material in an attempt at humor or satire.

pedantry

A display of narrow-minded and trivial scholarship or arbitrary adherence to rules and forms.

personification

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstract concept is endowed with human attributes; e.g., the hand of fate.

periodic sentence structure

A sentence written so that the full meaning cannot be understood until the end; e.g., Across the stream, beyond the clearing, from behind a fallen tree, the lion emerged.

persuasion

Taking a single position for the purpose of getting others to accept that position; may appeal to emotion or reason.

point of view

The way in which something is viewed or considered by a writer or speaker; in fiction, it is the relationship assumed between the teller of a story and the characters in it, usually demonstrated by the author's use of either first or third person.

post hoc fallacy

(From Latin, post hoc, ergo propter hoc, meaning "after this, therefore because of this")—fallacy of logic that occurs when the writer assumes that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident.

rhetoric

The art of using words effectively in writing or speaking so as to influence or persuade.

rhetorical question

A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point, no answer being expected; e.g., "Is that the way to speak to your mother?"

satire

A text in which vices, abuses, absurdities, etc., are held up to ridicule and contempt; use of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc., to expose vices, abuses, etc.; adj., satirical.

simile

A figure of speech involving a comparison using like or as; e.g., "O my love is like a red, red rose."—Robert Burns

spatial ordering

Organization of information using spatial cues such as top to bottom, left to right, etc.

syllogism

A form of reasoning in which two statements (or premises) are made and a logical conclusion is drawn from them; a form of deductive reasoning.

symbol

Something that stands for another thing; frequently an object used to represent an abstraction; e.g., the dove is a symbol of peace.

syntax

In grammar, the arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship; also called "sentence structure"; adj., syntactical.

tone

A way of wording or expressing things that expresses an attitude.

understatement

Deliberately representing something as much less than it really is.