Download Academic Vocabulary

Academic
Vocabulary
Argumentation Terms
Argumentation Terms
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diction: a writer's or speaker’s choice of words, as well as the
syntax, or order of the words
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emotional appeals (pathos): messages that evoke strong
feelings—such as fear, pity, or vanity—in order to persuade,
instead of using facts and evidence to make a point
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Trustworthy appeals (ethos): establish a writer’s credibility and
trustworthiness with an audience
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logical appeal (logos): relies on logic and facts appealing to
people’s reasoning or intellect rather than to their values or
emotions
Argumentation Terms
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hyperbole: figure of speech in which the truth is
exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous
effect; overstatement.
repetition: a sound, word, or phrase is
repeated for emphasis or unity; helps reinforce
meaning and create an appealing rhythm
tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the
reader, a subject, or a character.
Argumentation Terms
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propaganda: uses emotional appeals and
often biased, false, or misleading
information to manipulate people to think
or act in a certain way
thesis: sentence that clearly states your
position or controlling idea
Persuasive Terms
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persuasive essay: uses logic and reasoning to
persuade readers to adopt a certain point of
view or take action
propaganda: uses emotional appeals and
often biased, false, or misleading information to
manipulate people to think or act in a certain
way
thesis: sentence that clearly states your
position or controlling idea
Argumentative/Persuasive
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counterargument: acknowledging
readers’ divergent views and refuting them
call to action: how you want the reader to
think or act
supporting evidence: details, such as
facts, expert opinions, or quotations that
logically support your argument
Argumentative/Persuasive
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connotation: the emotional response
evoked by a word
denotation: the literal meaning of a word
Rhetorical Slanters:
words chosen to put a
negative or positive spin on what the speaker or writer is saying
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rhetorical analogy: use of a figurative comparison
(ex. metaphor or simile) to convey a positive or
negative feeling toward the subject Example: “The
environment needs global warming like farmers need
a drought.”
rhetorical definition: use of emotively charged
language to express or elicit an attitude about
something Example: Capital punishment is
“government-sanctioned murder.”
Rhetorical Slanders
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rhetorical explanation: expressing an
opinion as if it were fact, and doing so in
biased language Example: Joe “didn’t have
the guts to fight back” as compared to Joe “did
not take a swing.”
innuendo: use of language to imply that a
particular inference is justified, as if saying “go
ahead and read between the lines.” Example:
“Think carefully about whom you choose; you
want a president who will be ready to do the
job on day one.”
Rhetorical Slanders
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downplayers: use of qualifier words or phrases to make
someone or something look less important or significant.
Example: “She got her “degree” from a correspondence
school.”
truth surrogates: hinting that proof exists to support a
claim without actually citing that proof. Example: “There’s
every reason to believe that …”
ridicule/sarcasm: use of language that suggests the
subject is worthy of scorn. Example: “…the news media
themselves are impervious to the predispositions and
prejudice that afflict their audience.”
Types of Analytical Essays
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analytical essay: explores a topic by supplying relevant
information in the form of facts, reasons, and valid inferences
to support the writer’s claims. It has a clear thesis with facts
and information that support that thesis.
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compare-and-contrast: explores similarities and differences
between two or more things for a specific purpose and offers
clear, factual details about the subject
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cause-and-effect: traces the results of an event or describes
the reasons an event happened. It gives precise examples
that support the relationship between the cause and effect
Types of Analytical Essays
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classification: organizes a subject into categories and
explains the category into which an item falls. Example: a
classification essay about video games might discuss three
types of video games- action, adventure, and arcade
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problem-solution: presents a problem and then offers
solutions to that problem
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pro-con: examines the arguments for and against an idea
or topic
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informative: supply relevant information about a topic by
analyzing the topic’s elements
Literary Terms
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Class, you will be held accountable not only for
the definitions of these items, but also for the
function and use of them.
These notes should be placed in the Glossary
section of your binder.
You will be referring and adding to this list all
year.
These terms and their application are key to
your success in English IV.
Warm Up- Please put these in your
academic vocabulary.
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alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words, which helps unify the lines.
Example: The wind whipped wildly through the trees.
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allusion: an indirect reference to a person, place,
event, or literary work with which the author believes
the reader will be familiar: literature, history, religion,
myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts.
Example: She gave a Herculean effort in the race.
Academic Vocabulary
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Personification: A figure of speech in
which an inanimate object or abstraction is
endowed with human qualities or abilities.
metaphor: Figure of speech that makes a
comparison between two things that have
something in common without using a
connective word such as like, as, than, or
resembles. Example: She is such a bear in
the morning.
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Irony: The use of words to convey the
opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or
situation where the meaning is contradicted by
the appearance or presentation of the idea.
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Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which
incongruous or contradictory terms appear side
by side. Example: icy hot, jumbo shrimp
Academic Voc:
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conflict: struggle or clash between
opposing characters, forces, or emotions
that is the basis of the story’s plot; can be
external or internal.
connotation: the emotional or personal
response evoked by a word.
denotation: the literal meaning of a word,
the dictionary definition.
foreshadow: a writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events
that will occur later in the story; creates suspense and prepares
the reader for what is to come
imagery: words and phrases that create vivid sensory
experiences for the audience. (Think of intense descriptions of
sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound)
Writing Tip: "Good writing starts with a profound
respect for words--their denotations, their
connotations, their force, their rhythm. Once you learn
to respect them, you'll develop a passion for using
them thriftily. Why use three or four words if one says
the same thing? Why say 'in the event that' when you
can say 'if'? Or 'in order to' when you can say 'to'? Or,
'for the reason that' when you can say 'since'? Why
write 'They speak with great bitterness' when you can
write 'They speak bitterly'?
"A skilled writer writes as if she were paid a dime for
each word she deletes. Her prose is concise."
(John R. Trimble, Writing With Style: Conversations on
the Art of Writing, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, 2000)
Writer’s Tip:"The artist's life nourishes itself
on the particular, the concrete. . . . Start with the
mat-green fungus in the pine woods yesterday:
words about it, describing it, and a poem will
come. . . . Write about the cow, Mrs.
Spaulding's heavy eyelids, the smell of vanilla
flavouring in a brown bottle. That's where the
magic mountains begin."
(Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of
Sylvia Plath, edited by Karen Kukil, Anchor,
2000)
protagonist: The main character in a work of
literature who is involved in the central conflict of the
story, and is the one with whom the reader is meant to
identify. Usually, he changes after the climax of the
central conflict. The person is not necessarily “good”
by any conventional moral standard, but he/she is the
person in whose plight the reader is most invested.
antagonist: the principal character (or a force of
nature) in opposition to the protagonist, or hero of a
narrative or drama; the person may not be “bad” or
“evil” by any conventional moral standard