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AP Language and Composition Terms Flashcards

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7099542756AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
7099543135AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
7099542982AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
7099543372AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
7099544632AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
7099544801AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
7099545169AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
7099546314AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
7215748688AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
7215749574AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
7215750123AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
7215750837Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
7215751670ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
7215752414Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.13
7215753622AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
7215754428AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.15
7215755702AsyndetonLeaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.16
7215762740AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.17
7215763923AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.18
7215764791AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.19
7215765696BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.20
7215791838CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.21
7215792484ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.22
7215793064Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.23
7215794938ColloquialismAn informal or conversational use of language.24
7215795510Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.25
7215826655Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.26
7215827643ConcessionA reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.27
7215828528ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).28
7215829254ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.29
7215829946CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but.30
7215831045CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.31
7215831928Cumulative sentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.32
7215832534Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.33
7215833121DeductionReasoning from general to specific.34
7215834602DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.35
7215835081DictionWord choice.36
7215837526DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.37
7215838217ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.38
7215838951EpigramA brief witty statement.39
7215839732EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.40
7215844588Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.41
7215845593Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.42
7215846224HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.43
7215847068ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).44
7215847989Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.45
7215848935InductiveReasoning from specific to general.46
7215867359InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.47
7215869193IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.48
7215869929JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.49
7215870078LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.50
7215871924MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.51
7215872989MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.52
7215873614OccasionAn aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.53
7215874280OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.54
7215875137ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.55
7215876347ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.56
7215877870ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.57
7215878557PathosA Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.58
7215879098PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.59
7215880359PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.60
7215880970PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.61
7215881718PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.62
7215882680PremiseMajor, 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.63
7215884047Major premiseAll mammals are warm-blooded.64
7215884964Minor premiseAll horses are mammals.65
7215890192PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.66
7215891212PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.67
7215892152RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.68
7215893104RhetoricThe study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."69
7215893814Rhetorical 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.70
7215894913Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.71
7215897120Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle).72
7215898347SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.73
7215899129SchemeA pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.74
7215899798Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.75
7215901077Sentence varietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.76
7215901667SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.77
7215902535Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.78
7215903449SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.79
7215903946SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.80
7215904818Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.81
7215906003StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.82
7215906632SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.83
7215907138Subordinate clauseCreated by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.84
7215908065SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.85
7215909051SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise.86
7215918788SyntaxSentence structure.87
7215909956SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.88
7215910913ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.89
7215911925Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.90
7215912570ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.91
7215913525Topic 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.92
7215914389TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.93
7215915324UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.94
7215916092VoiceIn 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.95
7215919828ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.96

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