AP Lang: Rhetorical Devices/Argument Fallacies

Ad Hominem

An attack on the character of a person rather than their opinions.

Example: "Why should we listen to her argument about healthcare when she has been divorced five times?"

Argument from Authority

Form of argument in which the opinion of an authority figure is used as evidence to support an argument.

Example: "Dr. X recommends this supplement, so it must be effective."

Appeal to Ignorance

Fallacy that occurs when you argue that your conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it.

Example: "No one has ever proven that ghosts aren't real, so they must be real."

Begging the Question

An argument where the conclusion is assumed in one of the premises.

Example: "God exists because the Bible says so, and the Bible is the word of God."

Hasty Generalization

A conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence.

Example: "I met two rude people from New York, therefore, all people from New York are rude."

Non Sequitur

When one statement isn’t logically connected to another.

Example: "She is wearing a red shirt, so she must be good at math."

False Dichotomy

Fallacy that presents two options as the only possibilities when in fact more alternatives exist.

Example: "You are either with us, or you are against us."

Slippery Slope

A conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, B, C,…, Z will happen.

Example: "If we legalize marijuana, then eventually everyone will start using hard drugs."

Faulty Causality

Assumption of a cause-and-effect relationship between two events based without sufficient evidence.

Example: "Every time I wash my car, it rains. Therefore, washing my car causes it to rain."

Straw Man Argument

Oversimplifies an opponent’s viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument.

Example: "My opponent wants to increase spending on education, so he must want to defund the military."

Sentimental Appeals

When emotion is used to distract/manipulate the audience from the facts to win an argument.

Example: "Think of the children! We must ban this movie to protect them."

Red Herring

A diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues.

Example: "We should not worry about climate change because what about the economy."

Scare Tactics

Trying to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening them.

Example: "If you don't support this policy, then you are endangering the safety of your family."

Bandwagon Appeals

Urges the audience to accept a position because majority of people already do.

Example: "Everyone is buying this new phone, so you should too."

Dogmatism

Tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or opinions of others.

Example: "I am right because I am always right, and that's final."

Equivocation

Fallacy where a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way.

Example: "The sign said 'fine for parking here', and since it was fine to park there, I parked there."

Faulty Analogy

Assuming that because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect.

Example: "Cars need maintenance, so humans need maintenance too."

Diction

A writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language.

Example: A writer using "loquacious" instead of "talkative" to create a formal tone.

Syntax

Structure of sentences and/or phrases.

Example: The arrangement of subject, verb, and object in a sentence.

Style

Choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes.

Example: Hemingway's concise and straightforward sentences.

Tone

Use of stylistic devices that reveal an author’s attitude towards a subject.

Example: A sarcastic tone in an essay criticizing political policies.

Point of View

Perspective from which a story is told.

Example: First-person perspective in "The Catcher in the Rye."

Rhetoric

Art of effective communication, specifically use of language to persuade, inform, or motivate an audience.

Example: A politician using persuasive language in a speech.

Imagery

Words that create a picture in the reader's mind, involving the five senses.

Example: "The crimson sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with fiery hues."

Denotation

Literal, explicit meaning of a word.

Example: The denotation of "blue" is the color blue.

Connotation

Associations suggested by a word, beyond its dictionary definition.

Example: The connotation of "home" includes feelings of warmth and comfort.

Oxymoron

Contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox.

Example: "Living dead"

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

Example: "The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know."

Rhetorical Question

Questions not asked for information but for effect.

Example: "Is rain wet?"

Bombast

Inflated language that sounds impressive, but lacks substance.

Example: "His magnanimous pronouncements illuminated the assembly with scintillating grandiloquence."

Pun

A word that has two or more meanings used in a humorous way.

Example: "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!"

Theme

Central idea or message of a work.

Example: The theme of love and sacrifice in

Aphorism

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.

Example: "The early bird gets the worm."

Malapropism

Incorrect words used in place of correct words, often for comedic effect.

Example: "Dance a flamingo" instead of "Dance a flamenco."

Circumlocution

Using more words than necessary to communicate meaning.

Example: "The vehicle that I use to transport myself to work" instead of "my car."

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words.

Example: "Passed away" instead of "died."

Verbal Irony

When the literal meaning of what someone says differs from what they actually mean.

Example: Saying "Oh, that's just great" when something bad happens.

Situational Irony

When the outcome of a situation is contrary to what is expected.

Example: A fire station burning down.

Satire

Work that reveals a critical attitude towards some element of life to humorous effect.

Example: "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

Alliteration

The repetition of a sound at the beginning of neighboring words.

Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Allusion

An indirect or passing reference to someone or something.

Example: "He was a real Romeo with the ladies."

Amplification

Restating a word or idea and adding more detail.

Example: "We have to fix the piping, ALL of the piping, not just the section by the boiler."

Anadiplosis

The last word of one sentence repeats at the beginning of the next.

Example: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."

Analogy

A comparison between two things for explanation or clarification.

Example: "The structure of an atom is like a solar system."

Anaphora

Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

Example: "We shall not fail. We shall not falter. We shall not yield."

Apostrophe

The speaker or writer directly addresses an absent person or idea.

Example: "Oh, Death, where is thy sting?"

Asyndeton

Omitting conjunctions for rapid prose.

Example: "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Catachresis

Using mixed metaphors incorrectly or inappropriately.

Example: "The writing on the wall was a sea of troubles."

Chiasmus

Repeating words in reverse order.

Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Climax

Words or phrases arranged in order of increasing intensity.

Example: "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!"

Conduplicatio

Repetition of a key word at the beginning of successive clauses.

Example: "This law changed our lives. This law brought hope."

Diazeugma

A single subject with multiple verbs.

Example: "The man sings, dances, and paints."

Distinctio

Reference to a particular meaning to remove ambiguity.

Example: "By 'organic', I mean food grown without pesticides."

Epanalepsis

Emphasis where the same word begins and ends a phrase.

Example: "The king is dead, long live the king!"

Exemplum

Using an example to illustrate a point.

Example: "Consider the case of Nelson Mandela, who fought against apartheid."

Expletive

A word intended to emphasize surrounding words.

Example: "There are, in fact, three reasons why."

Hyperbole

Intentional exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.

Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

Hypophora

Posing a question and promptly answering it.

Example: "Why is education important? Because it opens doors to opportunity."

Hypozeugma

A zeugma with the governing word at the end.

Example: "Withhold no sacrifice, perform no labor, claim no reward."

Litotes

Understatement by denying the opposite statement.

Example: "She's no fool."

Mesozeugma

A zeugma with the governing word in the middle.

Example: "Patience is a virtue; possess it if you can, neglect it if you must."

Metabasis

A transitional statement explaining what has been and what will be said.

Example: "Now that we have discussed X, let's move on to Y."

Metaphor

Implicitly compares two unrelated things.

Example: "The world is a stage."

Metonymy

Replaces the name of an object or concept with a related term.

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword."

Onomatopoeia

A word pronounced the same way as the sound it represents.

Example: "Buzz"

Parallelism

Two or more elements in a sentence with the same grammatical structure.

Example: "Reading is good, writing is good, learning is good."

Personification

Describing non-human things with human attributes.

Example: "The wind howled in the night."

Polysyndeton

Creating a list separated by conjunctions.

Example: "We have ships and men and money and stores."

Procatalepsis

Pointing out problems with counterarguments before they are presented.

Example: "Some may argue X, but they are wrong because of Y."

Prozeugma

A zeugma with the governing word at the beginning.

Example: "Pride oppresseth humankind, some with riches, some with poverty."

Simile

Direct comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

Example: "As brave as a lion."

Syllepsis

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words.

Example: "He took his coat and his leave."

Synecdoche

Substituting a part