AP Lang Flashcards
rhetorical appeals
Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling.
ethos
Greek for “character.” Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic
pathos
Greek for “suffering” or “experience.” Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience’s values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other
logos
Greek for “embodied thought.” Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up
diction
A speaker’s choice of words. Analysis of diction looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker’s message.
periodic sentence
Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.
cumulative sentence
Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.
denotation
the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.
connotation
Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are often positive or negative, and they often greatly affect the author’s tone.
metaphor
Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.
simile
A figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using the words like, as, or as though
personification
Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.
analogy
A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Often, an analogy uses something simple or familiar to explain something unfamiliar or complex.
allusion
Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.
paradox
A statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth.
irony
A figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable incongruity.
hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point.
syntax
The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.
parallel structure
using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance
antithesis
Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction
tone
A speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by the speaker’s stylistic and rhetorical choices.
claims of fact
A claim of fact asserts that something is true or not true.
claims of value
A claim of value argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong.
claims of policy
A claim of policy proposes a change
anecdote
A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.
testimony
a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.
qualitative evidence
Evidence supported by reason, tradition, or precedent
quantitative evidence
Quantitative evidence includes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers — for instance, statistics, surveys, polls, census information.
inductive reasoning
a method of drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general
deductive reasoning
a method of drawing conclusions by going from the general to the specific
classical argument
Five-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians
exordium
Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion
narratio
Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing.
confirmatio
Usually the major part of the text, the confirmation includes the proof needed to make the writer’s case.
refutatio
Addresses the counterargument. It is a bridge between the writer’s proof and conclusion.
peroratio
Brings the essay to a satisfying close.
framing quotes
you are placing around your quotes includes background information before the quote and analysis after the quote
integrating quotes
Introduce a quotation and have subsequent sentences that expand on the relevance
synthesis
the combination of ideas to form a theory or system.
perspective
particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view
relevance
the quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate.
bias
A prejudice or preconceived notion that prevents a person from approaching a topic in a neutral or an objective way.
parody
an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
claim
Also called an assertion or proposition, a claim states the argument’s main idea or position. A claim differs from a topic or subject in that a claim has to be arguable.
position
person’s point of view or attitude toward something.
Incongruity
the state of being incongruous or out of keeping.
Verbal irony
using language in an indirect, non-literal manner, with an intended meaning that is different from (and often opposite to) the literal meanings of the words
Situational irony
the irony of something happening that is very different to what was expected
Dramatic irony
a literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters
