AP Lang Cumulative Vocabulary Sweepstakes

*Credit to Audrey Burt*

Rhetoric

The study of the elements of speaking or writing.

Pathos

An appeal to reason based on emotions.

Ethos

An appeal to reason based on credibility and morals.

Logos

An appeal to reason based on logic.

S-Subject

What is the subject?

O-Occasion (Exigence)

Why did the author write this? When is this being written?

A-Audience

To whom is this being written?

P-Purpose

What are you trying to accomplish?

S-Speaker

Who is speaking?

T-Tone

What is the author's tone of voice? Are they charming or offending me?

Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional), or logos (logic).

Point of View

The writer speaks in first or third person. (rarely second)

Diction

Kind of language used; word choice.

Syntax

Sentence structure or word arrangement.

Imagery

Appeals to the senses.

Figurative Language

Metaphors, similes, symbolism, irony.

Theme

What the writer is saying about the way the world is or the way people are.

Loathsome

(adj.) Hateful; detestable.

Pestilential

(adj.) Likely to cause disease.

Copious

(adj.) Plentiful, abundant.

Improvident

(adj.) Shortsighted; foolish.

Avarice

(noun) Greed for riches; greed.

Pacify

(verb) Calm; soothe.

Authoritarian

Refers to a Monarchy; strict obedience to authority.

Egalitarian

Refers to democracy; belief that everyone is equal.

Consent of the Governed

The people who are being led (being ruled over) are being led by someone they've chosen.

Calvinism

Calvin was among the leaders of the protestant reformation and two things that he emphasized were the sovereignty of God and innate depravity.

Sovereignty of God

God is active in human history.

Innate Depravity

All humans are born inherently flawed.

Omnipotent

(adj.) All-powerful.

Ineffable

(adj.) Inexpressible.

Dolorous

(adj.) Sad; mournful.

Fus

Fused sentence (two complete sentences are together).

Frag

Sentence fragment (an incomplete thought).

Awk

Awkward sentence (doesn't make sense or is clumsily crafted).

Agr

Subject/verb agreement (subject and verb must agree).

//

Parallelism (two sides of a phrase don't match or correspond with one another).

Cs

Comma splice (two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a conjunction).

Noun

Person, place, or thing.

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun.

Verb

Expresses action or state of being (Assert: says something about something).

Adjective

A descriptor, describes nouns (describes which, what kind, and how many).

Adverbs

Describes verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (tell how, when, where, or why).

Preposition

Connects (usually a small word), connects its (needed) object to the rest of the sentence.

Conjunction

Combine words, clauses, etc., doesn't need an object.

Interjection

Expresses a sudden feeling or emotion, has no grammatical value.

Transitive verb

Verbs that have an object.

Intransitive verb

Verbs that express action without objects.

Linking verb

Help to make a statement not by expressing action but by expressing a state or condition.

Principal parts of verbs

Infinitive, past tense, and past participle.

Verb tenses

Show how long an action has lasted; present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.

Verb conjugation

Present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.

Active voice

Subject is doing the work.

Passive voice

Object is doing the work.

Participle

A verb used as an adjective.

Gerund

A verb that functions as a noun.

Infinitive

The most basic form of a verb.

Direct object

The recipient of the action of a transitive verb.

Predicate nominative

Type of subject complement that describes the subject as a new noun or noun phrase.

Predicate adjective

Adjectives that modify or describe the subject of a sentence or clause.

Personal pronouns

I, me, he, him, you, she, her, it, we, us, they, them | my, mine, your(s), his, her(s), its, our(s), their(s).

Indefinite pronouns

All, another, any/anybody/anyone, both, each, either, everybody/everyone, few, many, most, neither, nobody, none, no one, one, other, several, some/somebody/someone, such.

Relative pronouns

Who, whom, which, that, whose.

Pronoun case

The form of a pronoun that indicates how it functions in a sentence.

Pronoun gender

Words used to refer to people, and they can indicate how someone identifies his gender.

Pronoun number

An indication of how many of the antecedents are present.

Coordinating conjunctions

A conjunction placed between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences of equal rank; FANBOYS.

Subordinating conjunctions

Used to begin subordinate clauses, usually adverb clauses.

Adverbial conjunctions

Word/phrase that functions as both an adverb and a conjunction.

Sentence

A group of words containing a verb that expresses a thought.

Clause

A group of words with a subject and a verb.

Phrase

A group of related words.

Inductive reasoning

The process of using a number of specific facts or observations to draw a logical conclusion.

Deductive reasoning

The process of applying a generalization (or generalized belief) to a series of specific cases.

Syllogism

basic reasoning form

Ad hominem

a personal attack on an opponent that draws attention away from the issues under consideration

Bandwagon

an argument saying, in effect, 'Everyone's doing or saying or thinking this, so you should, too.'

Begging the question (FALSE ASSUMPTION)

an argument that assumes what in fact needs to be proved

False authority

the assumption that an expert in one field can be credible in another

False cause

the assumption that because one event follows another, the first is the cause of the second

False dilemma

a statement that only two alternatives exist, when in fact there are more than two

Hasty generalization

a conclusion based on too little evidence or on exceptional or biased evidence

Slippery slope

the assumption that if one thing is allowed, it will be the first step in a downward spiral

Stereotyping

generalizing based on a type

Non sequitur

'it does not follow' one thing does not logically come after another thing

Tu quoque

'you too.' Answers a criticism with a criticism during an argument.

Red herring

somebody brings up something totally irrelevant but somewhat sensational that will get the opponent off track

Equivocation

standing with one foot each in two different boats and trying to keep them from going apart. The arguer needs to eventually settle on a decision.

Primitivism

the notion that man in his simplest form is at his best

Humanitarianism

every human being has value

Individualism

individuals are important. It views society from the bottom up

Natural Mysticism

the belief that nature was the source of spiritual health

Emotionalism

being intensely emotional is not a bad thing

Satire

literature that mocks

Autobiographies

present life events as the writer sees them

Aphorism

a short saying with a message

Arduous

(adj.) difficult

Vigilance

(n.) watchfulness

Disposition

(n.) management or nature

Foppery

(n.) foolishness