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| 14674993913 | allusion | An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. | 0 | |
| 14675012124 | antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. The AP Language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences. "If I could command the wealth of the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it." An AP question may read: "What is the antecedent for 'it'?" | 1 | |
| 14681663668 | diction | Word choice, particularly as an element of style. | 2 | |
| 14681670223 | colloquial | Ordinary or familiar type of conversation. A "colloquialism" is a common or familiar type of saying, similar to an adage or an aphorism" | 3 | |
| 14681686528 | connotation | Rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning. Ex: "House" vs. "Home" | 4 | |
| 14681700426 | denotation | The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations. | 5 | |
| 14681710535 | didatic | A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking. | 6 | |
| 14681721584 | allegory | A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. "Animal Farm", by George Orwell. | 7 | |
| 14681745806 | aphorism | A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle. It can be a memorable summation of the author's point. Ben Franklin wrote many of these in "Poor Richard's Almanac", such as "God helps them help themselves," and "A watched pot never boils." | 8 | |
| 14681767845 | euphemism | a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. Ex: "physically challenged" vs "crippled" | 9 | |
| 14681778941 | figurative language | It is the opposite of "Literal Language." It is not to be taken literally. Ex: Hyperbole | 10 | |
| 14681789687 | analogy | It is a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables. Ex: "America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle." | 11 | |
| 14681808182 | hyperbole | extreme exaggeration. Ex: "My mother will kill me if I am late." | 12 | |
| 14681816818 | metaphor | Making an implied comparison, not using like or as. Ex: "My feet are popsicles." | 13 | |
| 14681827271 | extended metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. An elaborate this is called a conceit. | 14 | |
| 14681839666 | synesthesia | A description involving a "crossing of the senses." Examples: "A purplish scent filled the room." "I was defeated by his brightly-colored clothing." | 15 | |
| 14682349503 | imagery | Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually involves the five senses. Authors often use it in conjunction with metaphors, similes, or figures of speech. | 16 | |
| 14682349504 | invective | A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language. | 17 | |
| 14682349505 | irony | when the opposite of what you expect to happen does. Ex: Verbal Irony | 18 | |
| 14682349506 | parallellism | Sentence consruction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. Ex: "Cinderella swept the floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs." | 19 | |
| 14682349507 | parody | An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. It burrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it. This is also a form of allusion. Ex: Satuday Night Live parodies famous persons and events. | 20 | |
| 14682349508 | alliteration | The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. Ex: "Sally sells sea shells." | 21 | |
| 14682349509 | rhetoric | The art of effective communication. | 22 | |
| 14682349510 | satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions. Good satire usually has three layers: serious on the surface; humorous when you discover that it is satire instead of reality; and serious when you discern the underlying point of the author. | 23 | |
| 14682349511 | clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. | 24 | |
| 14682349512 | subordinate clause | It cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. Ex: "Other than baseball, football is my favorite sport." In this sentence, the independent clause is "football is my favorite sport." And the dependent clause is "Other than baseball." | 25 | |
| 14682349513 | style | The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. It may be conscious or unconscious. | 26 | |
| 14682349514 | symbolism | Anything that represents or stands for something else. It it is usually used for something more concrete such as an object, actions, character... that represents something more abstract. Ex: the Whale in Moby Dick. | 27 | |
| 14682349515 | syntax | Grammatical arrangement of words. | 28 | |
| 14682349516 | theme | The central idea of a message of a work. It may be directly stated in nonfiction works, although not necessarily. It it is rarely stated directly in fiction. | 29 | |
| 14682349517 | thesis | The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. It should be short and clear. | 30 | |
| 14682349518 | tone | A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization. To identify tone, consider how the piece would sound if read aloud. | 31 | |
| 14682349519 | litotes | A particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used. Ex: "Hitting the telephone pole certainly did not do your car any good." | 32 | |
| 14682349520 | ambiguity | The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. | 33 | |
| 14682349521 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. Ex: when Macbeth speaks to the dagger. | 34 | |
| 14682349522 | atmosphere | The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. | 35 | |
| 14682349523 | figure of speech | A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Ex: apostrophe | 36 | |
| 14682349524 | generic conventions | This term describes traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example, they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing. On the AP language exam, try to distinguish the unique features of a writer's work from those dictated by convention. | 37 | |
| 14682349525 | homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | 38 | |
| 14682349526 | inference | to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. | 39 | |
| 14682349527 | paradox | A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Ex: Less is more. | 40 | |
| 14682349528 | pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. | 41 | |
| 14682349529 | point of view | In literature, the perspective from which a story is told. There are two general divisions of point of view, and many subdivisions within those. (1) first person narrator tells the story with the first person pronoun, "I," and is a character in the story. This narrator can be the protagonist, a secondary character, or an observing character. (2) third person narrator relates the events with the third person pronouns, "he," "she," and "it." There are two main subdivisions to be aware of: a. third person omniscient, in which the narrator, with godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters b. third person limited omniscient, in which the narrator presents the feelings and thoughts of only one character, presenting only the actions of all the remaining characters. In addition, be aware that the term point of view carries an additional meaning. When you are asked to analyze the author's point of view, the appropriate point for you to address is the author's attitude. | 42 | |
| 14682349530 | prose | One of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms. In prose the printer determines the length of the line; in poetry, the poet determines the length of the line. | 43 | |
| 14682349531 | rhetorical modes | This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. | 44 | |
| 14682349532 | 1. Exposition | to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion. | 45 | |
| 14682349533 | 2. Argumentation | It is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader. | 46 | |
| 14682349534 | 3. Description | It is to recreate, invent, or visually, present a person, place, event or action so that the reader can picture that being described. | 47 | |
| 14682349535 | 4. Narration | It is to tell a story or narrate an event or series of events. | 48 | |
| 14682349536 | semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another. | 49 | |
| 14682349537 | subject complement | The word (with any accompanying phrases) or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it (the predicate nominative) or (2) describing it (the predicate adjective). These are defined below: (1) the predicate nominative - a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject. It, like the predicate adjective, follows a linking verb and is located in the predicate of the sentence. | 50 | |
| 14682349538 | syllogism | From the Greek for "reckoning together," it (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first one called "major" and the second called "minor") that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. A frequently cited example proceeds as follows: major premise: All men are mortal. minor premise: Socrates is a man. conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is a mortal. A syllogism's conclusion is valid only if each of the two premises is valid. Syllogisms may also present the specific idea first ("Socrates") and the general second ("all men"). Adapted from V. Stevenson, Patrick Henry High School, and Abrams' Glossary of Literary Terms | 51 | |
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