Ap English Language And Composition Study Vocab - Mac

Front 1

Ad Hominem

Back 1

Criticizes an idea by pointing out the person who holds the idea

"Of course that writer supports gun control; she's a Demoncrat!"

Front 2

Argument from authority

Back 2

tempts the reader to agree with the writer's assumptions based on the authority of a famous person or entity or on his or her own character

"It is absurd to believe that professional baseball players have used steroids because the most famous slugger of our time has repeatedy asserted that such a claim is false."

Front 3

Faulty causality

Back 3

the setting up of a cause-and-effect relationship when none exsts.

"Violent crime among adolescents has risen in the past decade, and that is the result of increased sales of violent video games"

Front 4

Straw Man

Back 4

an oversimplification of an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack.

"Students who want to eliminate the scshool uniform are exhibitionists who want to show off bare midriffs."

Front 5

Sentimental Appeal

Back 5

attempts to appeal to the "hearts" of readers so that they forget to use their "minds"

"The assignment that I gave you last night was much too long, but just think how pleased your parents and I will be when you score a 5 on the AP exam. Think about the pride you'll feel when tears of joy stream down our faces!"

Front 6

Red Herring

Back 6

attempts to shift attention away from an imprtant issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand.

"My opponent talks about the poor quality of military intelligence, but this is a time for decisiveness, not for weakness. We must stick together and present a common frot as the other nations look on. If we do not, we could jepordize our position as a global leader."

Front 7

Scare Tactics

Back 7

used to frighten readers or listeners into agreeing with the speaker; often, the speaker has no logical argument on which to fall back.

"My opponent talks about the need to explore stem cell research, but this would bring about an end to ethical uses of technology, and, before long, scientists will be creating superraces - the Nazi dream of an Aryan Nation will ensue!"

Front 8

Appeal to ignorance

Back 8

based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true (or, similarly, whatver has not been proven true must be false).

"No one can prove that the Loch Ness monster exits (or does not exist); therefore the Loch Ness monster does not exist (or exists)."

Front 9

Begging the question

Back 9

argument which someone assumes that parts (or all) of what the person claimes to be proving are proven facts.

"The Loch Ness monster spoke to me in my dreams, so it must exist."

Front 10

Hasty generalization

Back 10

when a writer deliberately leads the reader to a conclusion by providing insufficient, selective evidence.

"Ping-pong is an extremely dangerous sport; last year, my friend got hit in the eye with a ping-pong ball and almost lost his vision in that eye."

Front 11

Non sequitur

Back 11

a statement that does not relate logically to what comes before it.

"If you really wanted to earn a 5 on the AP English Language and Composition exam, you wouldn't spend so much time reading Isabel Allende's novels."

Front 12

Flase Dichotomy

Back 12

consists of a combination of only two extremes when there are one or more intermediate possibilities

"AP Calculus BC class is impossible; either you get it or you don't"

Front 13

Slippery Slope

Back 13

suggest dire consequences from relatively minor causes

"If we stop wear coats and ties in the dining room, pretty soon they'll start coming in dressed in beachwear."

Front 14

Bandwagon Appeals

Back 14

encourages the listener to agree with a position because everyone else does.

"It's time for our county to repeal the ban on strip mining - every other county in the state has already done so!"

Front 15

Dogmatism

Back 15

does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question

"We are members of the Wombat Party and, as such, know that we are right when we asser that Wombats are the best!"

Front 16

Equivocation

Back 16

telling part of the truth, while deliberately hiding the entire truth

"Hey, does your dog bite."
"No"
[pets dog]
"Hey, it bit me!"
"That's not my dog."

Front 17

assertion

Back 17

a declaration or statement

Front 18

cogent

Back 18

concinving; reasonable

Front 19

didactic

Back 19

intended to instruct

Front 20

discourse

Back 20

verbal expression or exchange; conversation

Front 21

fluid

Back 21

easily flowing

Front 22

implication

Back 22

the act of suggesting or hinting

Front 23

lucid

Back 23

easily understood; clear

Front 24

exculpate

Back 24

to free from guilt or blame

Front 25

penitent

Back 25

expressing remorse for one's misdeeds

Front 26

despotic

Back 26

exercising absolute power; tyrannical

Front 27

disdain

Back 27

to look down on

Front 28

haughty

Back 28

arrogant; vainly proud

Front 29

imperious

Back 29

arrogantly domineering or overbearing

Front 30

cryptic

Back 30

difficult to understand

Front 31

futile

Back 31

have no useful purpose; pointless

Front 32

quandary

Back 32

a state of uncertainty or perplexity

Front 33

indolent

Back 33

lazy

Front 34

insipid

Back 34

uninteresting; unchallenging

Front 35

listless

Back 35

lacking energy

Front 36

torpor

Back 36

laziness; inactivity; dullness

Front 37

disparity

Back 37

inequality in age, rank, or degree; difference

Front 38

opulent

Back 38

exhibiting a display of great wealth

Front 39

poignant

Back 39

profoundly moving; touching

Front 40

ebullience

Back 40

intense enthusiasm

Front 41

effusive

Back 41

emotionally unrestrained; gushy

Front 42

egregious

Back 42

conspiciously bad or offensive

Front 43

auspicious

Back 43

favorable; promising

Front 44

mollify

Back 44

to calm or soothe

Front 45

sanction

Back 45

to give official authorization or approval

Front 46

slander

Back 46

false charges and malicious oral statements about someone

Front 47

spurious

Back 47

not genuine

Front 48

astute

Back 48

shrwed; clever

Front 49

clandestine

Back 49

secretive

Front 50

coup

Back 50

a brilliantly executed plan

Front 51

wily

Back 51

cunning

Front 52

ambiguous

Back 52

open to more than more interpretation

Front 53

ambivalent

Back 53

simutaneously having opposed feelings; uncertain

Front 54

arbitrary

Back 54

determined by impulse rather than reason

Front 55

capricous

Back 55

impulsive and unpredictable

Front 56

trivial

Back 56

of little importanceor significance

Front 57

assiduous

Back 57

hard-working

Front 58

dogged

Back 58

stubbornly preservering

Front 59

intrepid

Back 59

courageous; fearless

Front 60

maverick

Back 60

one who is independent and resists adherence to a group

Front 61

obdurate

Back 61

stubborn; inflexible

Front 62

malleable

Back 62

easily shaped or formed; easily influenced

Front 63

subdue

Back 63

to restrain

Front 64

conviction

Back 64

a fixed or strong belief

Front 65

inherent

Back 65

inborn; built-in

Front 66

innate

Back 66

possessed from birth

Front 67

inveterate

Back 67

long established; deep-rooted; habitual

Front 68

omnipotent

Back 68

all-powerful

Front 69

elusive

Back 69

difficuly to capture

Front 70

transient

Back 70

passing away with time; passing from one place to another

Front 71

transitory

Back 71

short-lived or temporary

Front 72

affable

Back 72

easy-going; friendly

Front 73

amenable

Back 73

responsive; agreeable

Front 74

lament

Back 74

express grief for; mourn

Front 75

dillettante

Back 75

one with an amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge

Front 76

eclectic

Back 76

made up of a variety of sources or styles

Front 77

decorous

Back 77

proper; marked by good taste

Front 78

equanimity

Back 78

the quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure

Front 79

staid

Back 79

unemotional; serious

Front 80

disparage

Back 80

to speak of in a slighting way or negatively; to belittle

Front 81

vilify

Back 81

to mkae vicous statements about

Front 82

busque

Back 82

rudely abrupt

Front 83

caustic

Back 83

bitingly sarcastic or witty

Front 84

fractious

Back 84

quarrelsome; unruly

Front 85

incorrigible

Back 85

unable to be reformed

Front 86

insolent

Back 86

insulting in manner or speech

Front 87

enmity

Back 87

mutual hatred or ill-will

Front 88

malfeasance

Back 88

wrongdoing, misconduct

Front 89

rancorous

Back 89

hateful

Front 90

archaic

Back 90

characteristic of an earlier period; old-fashioned

Front 91

hackneyed

Back 91

worn out through overuse

Front 92

austere

Back 92

without decoration; strict

Front 93

ponderous

Back 93

extremely dull

Front 94

apprehension

Back 94

anxiety or fear about the future

Front 95

harbringer

Back 95

something that indicates what is to come

Front 96

ominous

Back 96

menacing; threatening

Front 97

trepidation

Back 97

uncertainty; apprehension

Front 98

nascent

Back 98

strikingly new or unusual

Front 99

candor

Back 99

sincerity; openness

Front 100

conflagration

Back 100

a widespread fire

Front 101

sonorous

Back 101

producing a deep or full sound

Front 102

ample

Back 102

describing a large amount of something

Front 103

copious

Back 103

plentiful

Front 104

permeated

Back 104

spread ir flowing throughout

Front 105

pervasive

Back 105

dispersed throughout

Front 106

prodigious

Back 106

enormous

Front 107

replete

Back 107

abundantly supplied; filled to capacity

Front 108

laudatory

Back 108

giving praise

Front 109

paramount

Back 109

of chief concern or importance

Front 110

venerated

Back 110

highly respected

Front 111

fastidious

Back 111

possessing careful attention to detail; difficult to please

Front 112

solvent

Back 112

able to pay one's debts

Front 113

anachronism

Back 113

something out of place in time or sequence

Front 114

anthropomorphism

Back 114

the attribute of humanlike characteristics to innimate objects, animals, or forces of nature

Front 115

apposition

Back 115

a grammar construction in which a noun (or noun phrase) is plced with another as an explanation

Front 116

archtype

Back 116

a perfect example

Front 117

chiasmus

Back 117

an inversion in the second of two parallel phrases

Front 118

metonymy

Back 118

s type of figuative language in which one term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated

Front 119

panegyric

Back 119

statement of high praise

Front 120

period

Back 120

long, complex, grammatically correct sentence

Front 121

pernicious

Back 121

causing great harm

Front 122

propitious

Back 122

presenting favorable circumstances

Front 123

sardonic

Back 123

disdainfully or ironically humorous

Front 124

syllogism

Back 124

a form of deductive reasoning: a minor premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

Front 125

synecdoche

Back 125

a form of metonymy that's resticted to cases where a part is usd to signify the whole

Front 126

Faulty analogy

Back 126

an illogical, misleading comparison between two things

"Why should we invade that county?"
"Let me explain it to you like this. What if you looked out the window and saw a 20-dollar bill in the street? Wouldn't you go outside and take it?"