Argument Terms

A detailed vocabulary list covering core persuasion terminology, types of evidence, rhetorical appeals, organizational styles, and logical fallacies based on class notes.

Persuasion

An appeal in order to compel some action.

Argumentation

Forming reasons, drawing conclusions, and applying them to a case in debate.

Claim / Assertion / Proposition / Position / Thesis

Something asserted or maintained; the main point or position of your argument.

Subclaim

A subordinate point to a larger claim or position in your argument.

Support / Evidence

Support or evidence used to help strengthen your argument, such as facts, anecdotes, descriptions, statistics, or details.

Concession

Conceding, acknowledging, or admitting an opponent's point.

Refutation / Counter Argument / Counter Claim

To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.

Fact

An actual occurrence.

Statistic

A collection of quantitative data.

Example / Anecdote

An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern, usually a short narrative of a relevant episode.

Opinion

A judgment, view, or appraisal formed in the mind.

Analogy / Comparison

A comparison to a directly parallel case where a writer argues that a claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the analogous case.

Authority / Expertise

Support from an authority on the subject; expert advice or opinion.

Shared Beliefs / Values

When a writer argues that if something is widely believed or valued, then readers should accept it.

Causal Relationship (C/R)

An assertion by a writer that one thing results from another.

Call to Action (CTA)

Words that urge the reader or listener to take action, which can also be implied.

Emotional Appeal (Pathos)

An appeal based on emotion.

Logical Appeal (Logos)

An appeal based on logic or reason.

Ethical Appeal (Ethos)

An appeal based on character or reputation of the speaker or author.

Kairos

An appeal based on the timeliness or right moment of the argument.

Sentimental Appeal

Evoking sorrow or pity, often resulting from an excess of pathos.

Syllogism (Classical Argument)

A tool for developing an argument consisting of a major proposition, a minor proposition, followed by a conclusion.

Rogerian Arrangement

An organizational approach designed to solve a problem by compromise where both sides of the issue are presented, rather than trying to win an argument.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning in the form of if A, then B, usually organized as premise, inference, and conclusion.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning that starts specific and moves to general (if B, then A).

Ad Hominem

A fallacy that attacks the personality of the individual instead of dealing with arguments and issues.

Ad Populum

Latin for 'appeal to the people'; a proposition held to be true because it is widely held to be true by a sector of the population.

Ad Vericundium

Latin for 'to wisdom'; belief that something said by a great person is true, even if times have changed, proved wrong, or they are not authorities on the subject.

Nonsequitur

Latin for 'it does not follow'; when one statement isn't logically connected to another.

False Analogy

A fallacy occurring when two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.

Post Hoc

An attempt to prove something by showing that because a second event followed a first event, the second event is a result of the first event.

Hasty / Sweeping / Over Generalization

Using too few examples needed to reach a valid conclusion.

Stereotyping

An oversimplified conception that one is regarded as embodying a set type.

Begging the Question

Assuming something to be true that needs proof; also known as circular reasoning.

False Authority

A fallacy committed when the person in question is not a legitimate authority on the subject.

Slippery Slope

Asserting that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question.

Equivocation

Use of expressions susceptible to double meaning with a capacity to mislead or confuse, occurring when a key term is used in an ambiguous way.

Oversimplification

When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument.

Double Standard

A set of principles permitting greater opportunity or liberty to one than to another.

Either/Or Reasoning

Reasoning that does not allow for any shades of meaning, compromise, or intermediate cases.

Smoke Screen

A method of argument in which an opponent creates a weakened, incomplete, and often distorted version of an argument, then destroys it.

Red Herring

A distractor used in an argument.

Purple Patch

Overly ornate writing.