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AP English Language and Composition Exam: 101 Key Terms Flashcards

Mrs. Nethercutt, Mrs. Spriggs

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4177529938Ad HominemAn argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack.0
4177529939AdjectiveThe part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun.1
4177529940AdverbThe part of speech (or word class) that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.2
4177529941AllegoryExtending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.3
4177529942AlliterationThe repetition of an initial consonant sound.4
4177529943AllusionA brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional.5
4177529944AmbiguityThe presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage.6
4177529945AnalogyReasoning or arguing from parallel cases.7
4177529946AnaphoraThe repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.8
4177529947AntecedentThe noun or noun phrase referred to by a pronoun.9
4177529948AntithesisThe juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.10
4177529949Aphorism(1) A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. (2) A brief statement of a principle.11
4177529950ApostropheA rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing.12
4177529951Appeal to AuthorityA fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.13
4177529952Appeal to IgnoranceA fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness.14
4177529953ArgumentA course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood.15
4177529954AssonanceThe identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.16
4177529955AsyndetonThe omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton).17
4177529956CharacterAn individual (usually a person) in a narrative (usually a work of fiction or creative nonfiction).18
4177529957ChiasmusA verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.19
4177529958Circular ArgumentAn argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove.20
4177529959ClaimAn arguable statement, which may be a claim of fact, value, or policy.21
4177529960ClauseA group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.22
4177529961ClimaxMounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events.23
4177529962ColloquialCharacteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English.24
4177529963ComparisonA rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects.25
4177529964ComplementA word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence.26
4177529965ConcessionAn argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point.27
4177529966ConfirmationThe main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated.28
4177529967ConjunctionThe part of speech (or word class) that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.29
4177529968ConnotationThe emotional implications and associations that a word may carry.30
4177529969CoordinationThe grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance. Contrast with subordination.31
4177529970DeductionA method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises.32
4177529971DenotationThe direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings.33
4177529972DialectA regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary.34
4177529973Diction(1) The choice and use of words in speech or writing. (2) A way of speaking, usually assessed in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution.35
4177529974DidacticIntended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively.36
4177529975EncomiumA tribute or eulogy in prose or verse glorifying people, objects, ideas, or events.37
4177529976EpiphoraThe repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. (Also known as epistrophe.)38
4177529977Epitaph(1) A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. (2) A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration.39
4177529978EthosA persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator.40
4177529979EulogyA formal expression of praise for someone who has recently died.41
4177529980EuphemismThe substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.42
4177529981ExpositionA statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea.43
4177529982Extended MetaphorA comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.44
4177529983FallacyAn error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.45
4177529984False DilemmaA fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available.46
4177529985Figurative LanguageLanguage in which figures of speech (such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur.47
4177529986Figures of SpeechThe various uses of language that depart from customary construction, order, or significance.48
4177529987FlashbackA shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological development of a story.49
4177529988GenreA category of artistic composition, as in film or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content.50
4177529989Hasty GeneralizationA fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence.51
4177529990HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.52
4177529991ImageryVivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses.53
4177529992InductionA method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances.54
4177529993InvectiveDenunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something.55
4177529994IronyThe use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.56
4177529995IsocolonA succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.57
4177529996JargonThe specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders.58
4177529997LitotesA figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.59
4177529998Loose SentenceA sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Contrast with periodic sentence.60
4177529999MetaphorA figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.61
4177530000MetonymyA figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").62
4177530001Mode of DiscourseThe way in which information is presented in a text. The four traditional modes are narration, description, exposition, and argument.63
4177530002Mood(1) The quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. (2) The emotion evoked by a text.64
4177530003NarrativeA rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.65
4177530004NounThe part of speech (or word class) that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action.66
4177530005OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.67
4177530006OxymoronA figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.68
4177530007ParadoxA statement that appears to contradict itself.69
4177530008ParallelismThe similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.70
4177530009ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.71
4177530010PathosThe means of persuasion that appeals to the audience's emotions.72
4177530011Periodic SentenceA long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax.73
4177530012PersonificationA figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.74
4177530013Point of ViewThe perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information.75
4177530014PredicateOne of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.76
4177530015PronounA word (a part of speech or word class) that takes the place of a noun.77
4177530016ProseOrdinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse.78
4177530017RefutationThe part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view.79
4177530018RepetitionAn instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage--dwelling on a point.80
4177530019RhetoricThe study and practice of effective communication.81
4177530020Rhetorical QuestionA question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.82
4177530021Running StyleSentence style that appears to follow the mind as it worries a problem through, mimicking the "rambling, associative syntax of conversation"--the opposite of periodic sentence style.83
4177530022SarcasmA mocking, often ironic or satirical remark.84
4177530023SatireA text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity.85
4177530024SimileA figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as."86
4177530025StyleNarrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing.87
4177530026SubjectThe part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.88
4177530027SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.89
4177530028SubordinationWords, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) another. Contrast with coordination.90
4177530029SymbolA person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself.91
4177530030SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for a part.92
4177530031Syntax(1) The study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. (2) The arrangement of words in a sentence.93
4177530032ThesisThe main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence.94
4177530033ToneA writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality.95
4177530034TransitionThe connection between two parts of a piece of writing, contributing to coherence.96
4177530035UnderstatementA figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.97
4177530036VerbThe part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.98
4177530037Voice(1) The quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice). (2) The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator.99
4177530038ZeugmaThe use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one.100

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