AP Lang Study Guide

Speaker

The author of a text.

Purpose

The reason the speaker is writing or speaking (to persuade, inform, entertain, etc.).

Audience

The specific group the speaker is trying to reach.

Context

The circumstances surrounding the text (time period, events, culture, situation).

Exigence

The problem, issue, or situation that prompted the text to be written.

QUANTifiable

Evidence that can be measured or counted (statistics, numbers, percentages).

QUALifiable

Non-numerical info such as observations and testimonials used to support claims through description and rather than statistics

Qualification

To avoid absolute language or generalization. (Ex. instead of saying something is always true you say things like in some cases or mostly)

Descriptive / Comparative

Evidence that explains, describes, or compares ideas to show similarities or differences.

Ethos

Appeals to credibility.

Pathos

Appeal to the audience’s emotions.

Logos

Appeal to logic and reasoning (facts, statistics, cause-effect).

Tone

The speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience. (Ex. formal, optimistic, or sarcastic are examples of this)

Diction

The speaker’s word choice. (Ex. a formal (vocab word) in a passage would say “Respectfully, I must disagree with your proposal.”)

Imagery

Language that appeals to the five senses. Sensory details help readers feel, see, or experience the scene.

Details

Specific information the speaker includes to support ideas or create emphasis.

Either Or

Presenting only two options when more exist. (Ex. You’re either a cat person or a dog person. Nobody loves them both equally.)

Bandwagon

Claiming something is true or good because many people believe it. (Ex. If all of your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?)

Ad Hominem

Attacking the person instead of their argument. (Ex. That’s can’t be true because you’re an idiot.)

Straw Man

If you are arguing something related to the topic, but avoiding the actual topic. (Ex. Person A: we should redirect some of the budget to improve school lunches. Person B: so you want to leave our schools, un defended and cut funding for security?)

Non Sequitur

A conclusion that does not logically follow from the evidence. (Ex. When a politician outlines their plan for education reform. Suddenly they mentioned a recent vacation they took.)

Appeal to Authority

Using an authority who is not qualified as proof. It becomes a fallacy if the entire premise of argument is that “a famous person believes it so it must be true.” Or if your endorser doesn’t have anything to do with the topic. (Ex. People buying a shampoo because the Rock bought it so it must be good.)

Appeal to Pity

Trying to win an argument by making the audience feel sorry. (Ex. I should get the job because I’ve been unemployed for a year and my family is struggling.)

Appeal to Ignorance

Claiming something is true/ false because it hasn’t been proven false (or vice versa). (Ex. I didn’t see you studying today so you must not have been productive today.)

Hasty Generalization

Drawing a conclusion based on too little evidence. (Ex. Of course they lied. All politicians are liars!)

Slippery Slope

That taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ridiculous consequences. (Ex. If you fail this class, you won’t graduate from school.)

Faulty Causality

Assuming one event caused another without proof. (Ex. My child was diagnosed with autism after being vaccinated. Therefore vaccines cause autism.)

Weak Analogy

Comparing two things that are not truly similar. (Ex. Plants are green and that’s why they photosynthesize. If you paint yourself green you will get more energy from the sun.)

Cause and Effect

Explains why something happened and/or what resulted from it.

Narration

Telling a story or sequence of events.

Compare and Contrast

Showing similarities and/or differences between two or more things.

Definition/ Description

Explaining what something is and describing its characteristics.

Parts of a Works Cited Page

Author last, first name. “Article or web page.” Website title. Publisher. Date of publication, URLcontainer (website/book), publisher, date, URL (formatted in MLA style).

How to Cite Websites

Author (if available), page title, website name, publication date, URL.

Counterclaim

The opposing argument.

Concession

Acknowledging part of the opposing argument is valid.

Rebuttal

Explaining why the counterclaim is incorrect or weak.

Refutation

Directly disproving an opposing argument with evidence.

Absolute Language

Words that allow no exceptions (always, never, everyone).