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AP Language and Composition Flashcards

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7216852191AlliterationThe repetition of the same sounds or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
7216852192AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
7216852193AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things2
7216852194AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses3
7216852195AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
7216852196AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
7216852197AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
7216852198AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
7216852199AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
7216852200AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
7216852201AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
7216852202Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
7216852203ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
7216852204Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle).13
7216852205AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
7216852206AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof. Asyndeton: Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.15
7216852207AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.16
7216852208AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.17
7216852209AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.18
7216852210BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.19
7216852211CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.20
7216852212ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.21
7216852213Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.22
7216852214Colloquial/ismAn informal or conversational use of language.23
7216852215Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.24
7216852216Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Concession: A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.25
7216852217ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).26
7216852218ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.27
7216852219CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but.28
7216852220CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.29
7216852221Cumulative sentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.30
7216852222Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.31
7216852223DeductionReasoning from general to specific.32
7216852224DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.33
7216852225DictionWord choice.34
7216852226DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.35
7216852227ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.36
7216852228EpigramA brief witty statement.37
7216852229EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos).38
7216852230Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.39
7216852231Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.40
7216852232HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.41
7216852233ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).42
7216852234Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.43
7216852235InductionReasoning from specific to general.44
7216852236InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.45
7216852237IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.46
7216852238JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.47
7216852239LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos)48
7216852240MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.49
7216852241MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.50
7216852242OccasionAn aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.51
7216852243OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.52
7216852244ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.53
7216852245ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.54
7216852246ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.55
7216852247PathosA Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos).56
7216852248PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.57
7216852249PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.58
7216852250PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.59
7216852251PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.60
7216852252Premisemajor, minor Two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise. Major premise: All mammals are warm-blooded. Minor premise: All horses are mammals. Conclusion: All horses are warm-blooded (see syllogism).61
7216852253PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information. Purpose: One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.62
7216852254RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.63
7216852255RhetoricThe study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."64
7216852256Rhetorical modesPatterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation.65
7216852257Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.66
7216852258Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle).67
7216852259SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.68
7216852260SchemeA pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.69
7216852261Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.70
7216852262Sentence varietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.71
7216852263SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.72
7216852264Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.73
7216852265SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.74
7216852266SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.75
7216852267Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.76
7216852268StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.77
7216852269SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.78
7216852270Subordinate clauseCreated by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.79
7216852271SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.80
7216852272SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor). Syntax: Sentence structure.81
7216852273SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.82
7216852274ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.83
7216852275Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.84
7216852276ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.85
7216852277Topic sentenceA sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis.86
7216852278TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.87
7216852279UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.88
7216852280VoiceIn grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.89
7216852281ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.90

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