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AP Language and Composition Terms Flashcards

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4801988152ToneSimilar to mood, tone describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if ti were read aloud can help in identifying an author's tone. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, and somber.0
4802146137PersuadeEthos, Pathos, Logos1
4802148427DenotationThe strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion attitude, or color2
4802148428ConnotationThe nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. Connotations may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes.3
4802148429ColloquialThe use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.4
4802151187Contrastivesyntactically establishing a relationship of contrast between sentences or elements of a sentence5
4802151979Concretedetails that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events6
4802151980ABSTRACTa concept or idea not associated with any specific instance7
4802151981DidacticFrom the Greek, didactic literally means "teaching." Didactic works have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.8
4802152964Nostalgicunhappy at being away and longing for familiar things or persons9
4802152965Contemptuousshowing or expressing hatred or disdain; scornful10
4802153599Sardonicgrimly or scornfully mocking, bitterly sarcastic11
4802153600MoodThe emotion evoked by a text.12
4802153601Imageryvivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses.13
4802153602Settingthe time, place, and environment in which action takes place14
4802154393Figurative LanguageLanguage in which figures of speech (such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur.15
4802154394AllusionA brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional.16
4802154395SimileA figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduces by "like" or "as."17
4802155401Metaphor/Extended metaphorA figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.18
4802155402PersonificationA figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.19
4802155403HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; and extravagant statement.20
4802156393UnderstatementA figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.21
4802156394ParadoxA statement that appears to contradict itself.22
4802157380Dramatic Irony(theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play23
4802157381Verbal Ironya figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant24
4802157382AnalogyReasoning or arguing from parallel cases.25
4802158471AnecdoteA brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.26
4802158472AllegoryExtending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meaning that lie outside the text.27
4802158473DeductiveA method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises.28
4802158474InductiveA method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances.29
4802160015Cause/Effectexamination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon30
4802160881DescriptionA rhetorical mode based in the five senses. It aims to re-create, invent, or present something so that the reader can experience it.31
4802160882Process Analysisa pattern of writing or speaking which is characterized by it's explanation of how to do something or how something occurs. It presents a sequence of steps and shows how those steps lead to a particular result.32
4802160883NarrationA rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.33
4802161943Comparison/ContrastA rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects.34
4802161944ExpositionA statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or and explanation of an issue, subject, method, or idea).35
4802161945Persuasioninducement to act by argument or reasoning or entreaty36
4802163310RepetitionAn instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage-dwelling on a point.37
4802163311SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.38
4802163312First Persontold from the narrator's point of view, using "I"39
4802164154Second Persontold from the reader's point of view, using "you"40
4802164155Third PersonPoint of view in which the narrator is outside of the action/story41
4802164156Subjectiveinfluenced by personal opinion, biased42
4802164798Objectiveemphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation; without bias43
4802164799Sentence Lengthtelegraphic sentence, short, medium, long and involved44
4802164800AnaphoraThe repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.45
4802165961AntithesisThe juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.46
4802165962AsyndetonThe omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton).47
4802167572Polysyndetonthe use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural48
4802167573Parallel Sentencea sentence that shows similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words49
4802168201Periodic SentenceA long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax; subordinate phrases and clauses followed by a main clause.50
4802168202Loose SentenceA sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Contrast with periodic sentence.51
4802169202Interrupted SentenceAn interrupting phrase is a word group (a statement, question, or exclamation) that interrupts the flow of a sentence and is usually set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses. Also called an interrupter, an insertion, or a mid-sentence interruption.52
4802170162Balanced SentenceA balanced sentence is a sentence that employs parallel structures of approximately the same length and importance.53
4802170163Rhetorical QuestionA question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.54
4802170995InversionThe predicate comes before the subject in a sentence; opposite of the normal word order.55
4802170996AlliterationThe repetition of an initial consonant sounds.56
4802170997AssonanceThe identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.57
4802171982Consonancethe repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words58

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