AP Lang - "Thank You for Arguing" Vocab

Accuracy

How true or correct the source where information came from is

Ad Hominem

means “to the man”, refers to the divisionary tactic of switching argument from the issue to the other speaker’s character

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, an event, or a place or to a work of art

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Annotate

Act of noting observations directly on text, to record ideas and impressions

Antithesis

Contradictory ideas that are juxtaposed, used with parallel grammar

Archaic Diction

Outdated choice of words

Archetype

Cultural symbol that has become universally understood & recognized

Argument

persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion

Assertion

statement that presents a claim or thesis

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words

Authority

Status of info in a text

Bias

prejudiced notion that prevents a person from approaching a topic in a neutral or an objective way

Brackets

signal that the word in brackets has been changed and is not apart of the original

Claim

assertion/proposition, claim states the arguments main idea or position

Claim of fact

asserts that something is true or not true

Claim of policy

propose a change

Claim of Value

argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong

Classical Ovation

5-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians

Introduction

introduces the reader to the subject under discussion announces the subject and purpose appeals to ethos

Narration

aka exposition. provides factual info and background material on the subject at hand and why subject is a problem

Confirmation

Major part of the text, develops the proof through evidence to support the writer’s claims

Refutation

addresses the counter-argument, bridge between proof & conclusion

Conclusion

brings essay to satisfying close

Coherence

quality of a paragraph where the ideas flow logically, one thought leading to the next

Colloquial Language

expression or language construction appropriate for casual informal speaking or writing

Commentary

explanation of why the evidence/questions are important to the development of a line of reasoning

Concession

An acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Concrete

refers to a specific, particular thing

Connotation

meaning of associations that readers bring to words beyond their dictionary definition

Counterargument

opposing argument is the one a writer is putting forward

Credibility

believability of a source

Dash

form of punctuation that adds another thought to a sentence

Deduction

logical process that reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth and applying it to a specific case

Denotation

literal definition of a word

Diction

writer’s choice of words in addition to choosing words w/ precise denotation & connotation

Ellipses

series of dots that can signal something is missing from a quote from a source

Evidence

support for a claim or argument

Analogies

Evidence that makes comparisons between two unrelated things as a way to clarify one of them

Anecdotes

stories about other people that the writer has either observed, been told about, or researched

Current Events

what is happening locally, nationally, and globally

Expert opinion

knowledge of experts whose jobs/experience give them knowledge

Historical information

verifiable facts that a writer knows from research gives context/establish ethos

Personal Experience

drawn from the writer’s own experience

Personal Observations

evidence the writer’s seen but not necessarily experienced

Quanlitative Evidence

supported by reason, tradition, or precedent

Quantitative Evidence

things that can be represented in numbers, through verbal explanations, or illustrations

Testimony

expression how the writers feels about a personal experience

1st Hand Evidence

something writer knows whether from personal experience, observation, or general knowledge of evidence

Hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis; an overstatement to make a point

Hyphen

connects words, making them into one combo-word cluster

Imagery

description of how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds; use figurative/literal language to appeal to sentences

Induction

“to lead into”, logical process of reasoning from particulars to universals

Inversion

inverted order of words in a sentence variation of sub-verb-obj

Irony

incongruity between expectation and reality

Dramatic Irony

tension created by the contrast between what a character/writer says or thinks and what the audience knows is true

Situational Irony

pointed discrepancy between what seems fitting or expected and what actually happens

Verbal Irony

“sarcasm”; figure of speech when speaker says something but means the opposite

Juxtaposition

placing 2 things side by side for the sake of comparison or contrast

Line of Reasoning

connections between the claims in the writer’s argument and the evidence presented to supported them

Logical Fallacies

potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument come from failure to make a logical connection between the claim & evidence

Ad Hominem

tactic of switching the argument from the issue to the character of the other speaker

Ad populum

“everybody’s doing it, so it must be a good thing to do”

Appeal to False Authority

when someone who has no expertise on an issue is cited as an expert

Begging the question

claim is based on evidence of support that is in doubt; “begs” a question whether support itself is sound

Circular Reasoning

argument repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

‘Either or” fallacy

speaker presents two extreme options as the only choices

Equivocation

uses a term w/ two meanings or more in an attempt to misrepresent or decieve

Faulty analogy

compares two things that are not comparable

Hasty Generalization

faulty conclusion is reach because of inadequate evidence

Post-Hoc Fallacy

it is incorrect to always claim that something happened because of a prior event

Red Herring

speaker relies on distraction to derail an argumen, usually by skipping to new topics

Straw Man

speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example to ridicule/refute an idea

Metaphor

compares two things without using like or as

Methods of Development

modes of expression writers use to achieve their purposes

Cause & Effect

method of development that relies on an analysis of the causes that lead to a certain effect or conversely the effects that result from a cause

Comparison & Contrast

juxtaposing 2 things to highlight their similarties & differences

Definition

converys details about a concept, event, or object to advance an argument

Description

evokes the sense by painting a picture of how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels

Narration

tells a story or recounts a series of real-life events

Mood

feeling or atmospher created

Oxymoron

paradox made up of seemingly contradictory words

Paradox

statement or situation that seems contradictory but actually reveals a surprising, hidden, or iconic truth

Parallel structure

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

Parenthetical

clause or phrase interrupting a sentence to provide information that is typically not essential to udnerstanding the writer’s main point

Passive Voice

sentence employs passive voice when the subject doesn’t act but rather is acted on

Persona

face/character that a speaker or writer shows to the audience

Personification

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

Perspective

writer’s view of a topic based on their writer’s background interest, and expertise

Polemic

“hostile'“, aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others

Position

statement of a writer’s persective on a topic that articulates an arguable claim

Propaganda

spread of ideas and info to further a cuase using rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage/promote a cause

Pun

play on words that derives of replacement that has a similar punctuation/spelling

Qualified Argument

argument is not absolute, acknowleges merits of opposing view but develoop a stronger case for its own postion

Qualifier

ex. usually, maybe, probably; makes claim less absolute

Rebuttal

presents a contrasting perspective on an argument or its evidence, proposing some or all of the opposing argument is unfounded

Refutation

denial of the validity of an opposing argument

Rhetoric

art of finding ways to persuade the audience

Rhetorical appeals

rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important/compelling

Ethos

“character”, demonstrates they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a topic