Unit 2 AP Lang Exam

Accusatory

suggesting that someone has done something wrong

Acerbic

sharp and straight-forward

Acquiescent

ready to accept something without protest

Adamant

refusing to be persuaded; stuborn

Admonishing

to warn or reprimand firmly

Aloof

distant and unfriendly

Anachronistic

old-fashioned

Austere

strict; straightforward

Blunt

truthful; straightforward

Bureaucratic

relating to authority and government

Candid

truthful

Circuitous

indirect; longer than the most efficient route

Conciliatory

intended to pacify

Condescending

to feel or act as if patronizingly superior

Contemptuous

showing contempt; scornful

Delusory

giving a false impression

Didactic

intended to teach (esp. morals)

Diplomatic

relating to profession or skill of managing international relations

Disdainful

showing contempt

Dispassionate

rational; not influenced by strong emotions

Dubious

suspicious; hesitant

Indict

formally accusing of a crime

Indignant

feeling anger at unfair treatment

Injudicious

showing very poor judgement; unwise

Irrefutable

impossible to disprove or deny

Jingoistic

extremely patriotic

Marginalized

(of a person or group) treated as insignificant

Munificent

larger or more generous than is usual or necessary

Pejorative

expressing contempt or disapproval

Placative

intended to make people less hostile

Precedent

something that comes before

Supercilious

behaving as if better than others

Trepidity

the state of being timid

Unassailable

unable to be attacked, questioned, or defeated

Urbane

courteous and refined in nature

Absolute Language

Lacking degrees --> confident, self-assured tone

Ad Hominem Fallacy

"against the person"; attacks character of opposition

Allusion

in direct reference to pop culture/history --> comparative tool to appeal to emotions

Anadiplosis

repeating the last word/phrase of a sentence in the beginning of the following one

Analogy

comparison of different things to make something more familiar; more vivid and intellectually engaging

False Analogy

analogy to justify an argument by making it appear similar to another valid argument

Anaphora

repeating a word/phrase at the beginning of clauses --> emphasis

Anecdote

narrative meant to capture attention or support claim/theme

Antimetabole

repetition of SAME words/phrase in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order

Antiphrasis

using word in contradictory circumstances (dry humor)

Antithesis

juxtaposition of contrasting words in parallel structure (e.g. "ice cream is nutritionally deficient and spiritually nourishing")

Aphorism

concise statement to convey principle/idea

Argumentum Ad Baculum

argument based on false or perceived threat to make audience accept conclusion; forceful

Argumentum ad Misericordiam

argument from pity

Asyndeton

rhythmic series of clauses without conjunctions (listing)

Bandwagon Fallacy

peer pressure; appeals to sense of belonging

Chiasmus

crossing parallelism; AB, BA

Colloquial Language

informal language

Complex Sentence

a sentence with an independent and dependent clause

Conditional Sentence

"If ___"; appeals to logic

Concession

acknowledging validity of opposing viewpoint

Cumulative Sentence

"loose sentence"; independent clause followed by modifying phrase

Declarative Sentence

makes a statement to appear confident

Either-Or Fallacy

suggest only two sides to an issue

Epistrophe

repetition of group of words at the end of successive clauses

Ethos

establish credibility as knowledgeable or trustworthy

Exclusive Language

language that ostracizes others; creates "us" vs. "them" mentality

Exemplum

using an example to illustrate a point

Generalization

a statement allowing for no exceptions

Hyperbole

an exaggeration for effect or to make a point

Imagery

language that evokes rich sensations or memories; uses sensory details

Imperative Sentence

direct command

Inclusive Language

language that reaches out to establish community; "us" and "we"

Independent Clause

subject and predicate

Juxtaposition

placing two ideas close to create an ironic meaning

Logos

structures argument to appear well reasoned (syllogisms, evidence, premising, etc.)

Metaphor

comparison of two unlike things without "like" or "as"

Metonymy

figure of speech where something is represented by something else (e.g. "The White House made a decision")

Narrative Pace

pace determined by mood and emphasis on significant information

Oversimplification

offers easy solution for complex problems

Parallelism

similarly structured words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence or paragraph with equal importance

Parody

exaggerated version of another's work to highlight tropes or themes

Pathos

appeal to emotions

Periodic Sentence

lots of modifying subordinated phrases leading up to a independent clause

Personification

figurative language that gives human qualities to non-human entities

Polysyndeton

conjunctions to manipulate narrative pace; usually to slow down momentum

Pun

humor based on similar pronunciation of words with different meanings

Qualifier

words limiting or specifying a word, phrase, or clause

Red Herring Argumentative Fallacy

a point introduced to distract audience from issue/problem

Reductio Ad Absurdum

disproving arguments by following same logic with absurd conclusion

Rhetorical Question

question asked by writer to affirm/deny point; not answered

Simile

comparison between two unlike things using "like" and "as"

Slippery Slope Fallacy

assumes one action will lead to another and will ultimately result in something undesirable

Subordinate Clause

Subject + verb that needs an independent clause; independent clause

Superlative Form Adjective

comparison to the highest/lowest degree

Syllogism

statements in which a logical conclusion is drawn with inarguable premises

Synecdoche

part of something is used to refer to its whole ("Cleveland won the World Cup" where Cleveland = Cleveland's soccer team)

Tone

attitude of speaker's expression, usually as a part of ethos

Litotes

understatement

Voice

textual features (diction, sentence structure, etc.) that convey a persona

Toulmin Warrant

general rule that is supported by evidence and specific claim

Zeugma

one word (preposition/verb) combines two unrelated elements

Curtail

to restrict or reduce

Rapacious

aggressively greedy

Despotic

tyrannical