1. Persuasive Unit Vocabulary Definitions
English 2

2. Week 10
Persuasive writing: writing that attempts to convince the reader to agree with you
Argument: the main idea of a persuasive essay; the overall point you are trying to get the reader to agree with. Found in the thesis statement of your essay.
Claim: a specific reason why someone should agree with your argument. Found in the topic sentences and concrete details of your essay.
Counterargument: when you guess what someone who disagrees with you would say, then explain why they would be wrong. Also called “counterclaim”
Anecdotal evidence: using a single real-life example or personal story to prove a point.
Empirical evidence: things that have been proven true using the scientific method. Includes statistics, data, and research findings.
Logical evidence: using reasoning to prove a point. (If x is true, then y is true.)
Call to action: a phrase or sentence that urges the reader to do something immediately

3. Week 11
Citation: giving credit to the source where you found the words and/or ideas you are quoting or paraphrasing in your own work
MLA format: a set of rules for essay formatting and citations that is used in English-speaking countries. (MLA = Modern Language Association)
Works cited page: a bibliography; a list of the sources you have cited in your essay
Evaluate: to judge how useful and/or legitimate something is
Agenda: a political or ideological goal that guides someone’s behavior and is sometimes kept secret
Bias: (n) a prejudice for or against something. The adjective form is “biased.”
Credible: (adj) qualified to give information on a certain topic, due to education or experience
Reliable: (adj) describes a person or source that you can trust to give correct information, without letting their personal agenda or bias get in the way

4. Week 12
deter: (v) to discourage someone from doing something, typically by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences; to prevent by making people think twice about doing something
minute: (adj) small, tiny (pronounced mine-OOT or mine-YOOT)
obfuscate: (v) to make something confusing or unclear, especially by adding unnecessary information to purposefully distract someone from the truth
moratorium: (n) ban; a complete suspension of something
inconsistencies: (n) parts of something that disagree with each other; things that are not as expected
disparity: (n) a large inequality; a great difference
myriad: (n) a countless or extremely great number.
degrade: (v) to treat someone with disrespect; to bring something down to an inferior level

5. Week 13
outline: a bulleted list of ideas you will include in your essay
coherent: (adj) describes writing where all the ideas are logically connected and make sense together
rebuttal: a point that explains why someone else’s argument is wrong; contradicting someone else in order to prove them incorrect
analyze: to examine something carefully and in great detail
complexities: reasons why something is complicated; complications, intricacies; reasons why something isn’t simple
egregious: outstandingly bad; glaringly bad
primary source: a record of an event made by someone who participated in or witnessed the event firsthand. (diary, personal interview, documentary)
secondary source: a record of an event made by someone who was not there. (textbooks, reenactments)

6. Week 14
header: Text that is included at the top of a document before any other text and usually includes important information. In MLA format, this includes your name, the teacher’s name, the class, the date, and the essay title.
margin: the edges/borders of a page, where the white space is. In MLA format, they are one inch.
works cited page entry: a single citation listed on your works cited page, referring to one single source where you found information. In a research paper, your works cited page should include multiple entries, because your paper should cite multiple sources.
compose: to create and write a text
synthesize: to combine ideas from multiple sources into one coherent new product
perspective: a point of view; a way of looking at something, which is influenced by your personal experiences and opinions
word choice: the words an author chooses to create a specific effect in their writing through tone and mood. Sometimes called diction.
subtle: difficult to notice, perceive, or understand because it is so small or fine

7. Week 15
syllogism: an argument where a conclusion is reached by accepting two linked premises. (An apple is a fruit. All fruit is good. Therefore, apples are good.)
fallacy: an error in reasoning that makes your argument incorrect. (An apple is a fruit. All fruits are vegetables. Therefore, apples are vegetables.)
provocative: creating a strong negative emotional response, such as anger or annoyance, especially on purpose
plausible: seemingly true; appearing like it might actually work
erroneous: (adj) containing errors or mistakes; wrong; incorrect
discrepancy: (n) an inconsistency; a state where two things should add up, but don’t
contradict: (v) to speak against something; to say something that proves something else is false
generalize: (v) to infer a rule or principle, based on a small number of examples

8. Week 16
transition: words/phrases that connect one part of an essay to another in a smooth, coherent way
signal words: words/phrases that alert the reader that you are about to transition to a new idea. (first, second, third, next, last, in conclusion)
clarity: (n) clearness, precision
editorial: (n) an article in a newspaper where the author states their personal opinion on something
voice: the quality in a written text that makes it sound like it was written by an individual human, where you can recognize their specific personality behind the words.
irrelevant: (adj) not meaningful or important to what is currently being discussed
explicit: (adj) describes information that is clearly stated in a text. (You have terrible B.O.)
implicit: (adj) describes information that is not clearly stated in a text, but can be guessed from hints or clues. (I clipped some extra coupons for deodorant; want one?)