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AP Language and Composition Terminology Flashcards

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6955338599AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
6955339063AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
6955342515AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
6955343214AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
6955343736AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
6955345046AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
6955346152AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
6955346775AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
6955348696AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
6955349251AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
6955354358AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
6955354847Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
6955355485ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
6955356211Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle).13
6955356665AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
6955357508AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.15
6955358410AsyndetonLeaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.16
6955359360AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.17
6955360025AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.18
6955398707AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.19
6955428750BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.20
6955429450CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.21
6955430999ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.22
6955434416Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.23
6955434854Colloquial/ismAn informal or conversational use of language.24
6955431996ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.25
6955434417Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.26
6955433433ConcessionA reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.27
6955432742ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).28
6955433825Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.29
6956933680CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as "and", or "but."30
6956933681CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.31
6956934639Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.32
6956935308DeductionReasoning from general to specific.33
6959850612DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.34
6959851358DictionWord choice.35
6959850613DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.36
6959850614ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.37
6959863943EpigramA brief, witty statement.38
6959867720EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos).39
6959859429Figurative language:The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.40
6959856449Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.41
6959855518HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.42
6959875515ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).43
6959877405Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.44
6959875516InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.45
6959876570InductionReasoning from specific to general.46
6959882532IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.47
6959894020JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.48
6959892284MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.49
6959893357LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos).50
6959901542MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.51
6959901543OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.52
6959901544ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.53
6959901545ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.54
6959906005ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.55
6959923829PathosA 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
6959923816PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.57
6959923817PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.58
6959928039PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.59
6959931019Polysyndeton:The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.60
6959931020Premise (major, 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
6959928040PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.62
6959946979PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.63
6959962077RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.64
6959961356RhetoricThe art of speaking or writing effectively.65
6959961357Rhetorical 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.66
6959967013Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.67
6959967913Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle).68
6959967014SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.69
6959967015Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.70
6959973495Sentence varietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.71
6959975213SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.72
6959974632Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.73
6959973496SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.74
6960156826SpeakerA 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
6960159689Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.76
6960156827SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.77
6960158070StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.78
6960163871Subordinate clauseA clause that modifies an independent clause, created by a subordinating conjunction.79
6960164970SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.80
6960164971SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor).81
6960163872SyntaxSentence structure.82
6960168012SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.83
6960175613ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.84
6960176291Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.85
6960176292ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.86
6960184101Topic 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.87
6960184886TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.88
6960184887UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.89
6960184102VoiceIn 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.90
6960184103ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.91

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