logical fallacies and rhetorical devices (ap lang)

Ad Hominem

this is an attack on the person or their character rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."

Ad populum

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

begging the question

A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt

circular reasoning

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

false analogy

When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.

hasty generalizations

A conclusion, or a claim, that is based on insufficient evidence. This happens when the arguer rushes to a conclusion before having enough relevant facts.

non-sequitur

A statement that does not follow logically from evidence

post hoc (ergo proper hoc)

"After this, therefore, because of this;" assuming causation too readily on the basis of succession in time

red herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Slippery Slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

straw man

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

Euphemism

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

ex. shut the front door, "letting" someone go vs. firing

allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

ex. it's like my kriptonite, it was my golden ticket out of here, I wish I could click my heels together and get out of here

apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction

ex."O'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?", "dear death, I may be proud but..."

paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

ex. "This statement is false." If the statement is true, then it must be false as stated, but if it's false, then it must be true.

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

ex. "I got new wheels" wheels=car "mouths to feed" mouths=people

"all hands on deck" hands=workers

metonymy

substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it,

ex. "crown" to refer to a king, "tongue" to refer to a language,

understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

ex. "9/11 was lowkey a tragedy"

anaphora

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

ex. "together we can build. together we can fight. together we can succeed."

antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure

ex. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

ex. "live, laugh, love." "we tried. we failed. we learned."

chiasmus

a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, appears symmetrical

ex. "she has all my love; my heart belongs to her." "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"

parallelism/parallel structure

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. words having the same ending within the sentence.

ex. "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." "I love singing more than drawing."

litotes

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

ex. "not the sharpest tool in the shed." "it's not the best weather today" during a hurricane "you're not wrong" meaning your right, "i'm not unfamiliar with the subject" they know a lot about the subject