Glossary for AP Language and Composition course
Terms : Hide Images
| 8828991160 | alliteration | the repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables | 0 | |
| 8828991161 | allusion | an indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event (smart name-dropping) | 1 | |
| 8828991162 | analogy | an extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things | 2 | |
| 8828991163 | anaphora | the repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses | 3 | |
| 8828991164 | anecdote | a short account of an interesting event | 4 | |
| 8828991165 | annotation | explanatory or critical notes added to a text | 5 | |
| 8828991168 | antithesis | parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas, such as "you cannot live without learning, you cannot learn without living" or "you win some, you lose some" | 6 | |
| 8828991169 | aphorism | a short, astute statement of a general truth. Similar to an attention-getter | 7 | |
| 8828991170 | archaic diction | the use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language | 8 | |
| 8828991171 | ad hominem | a fallacy of logic in which the writer attacks the character of the arguer rather than discuss the ideas | 9 | |
| 8828991172 | argument | a statement put forth and supported by evidence | 10 | |
| 8828991173 | assertion | an emphatic statement; declaration. A/an _________ supported by evidence becomes an argument | 11 | |
| 8828991174 | assumption | a belief or statement taken for granted without proof | 12 | |
| 8828991175 | asyndeton | leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses to show the importance of what is being said or makes the author seem as though he or she is rushing because of the importance of the matter. "I came, I saw, I conquered." | 13 | |
| 8828991176 | attitude | the speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone | 14 | |
| 8828991177 | audience | one's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed | 15 | |
| 8828991178 | authority | a reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge | 16 | |
| 8828991179 | bias | prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue | 17 | |
| 8828991180 | cite | iIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source | 18 | |
| 8828991181 | claim | an assertion, usually supported by evidence | 19 | |
| 8828991182 | close reading | a careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text | 20 | |
| 8828991183 | colloquial/ism | an informal or conversational use of language | 21 | |
| 8828991184 | common ground | shared beliefs, values, or positions. An author may use this to appeal to the reader's pathos | 22 | |
| 8828991185 | concession | a reluctant acknowledgment or yielding. The debate equivalent of retreating or "waving the white flag" | 23 | |
| 8828991186 | connotation | that which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning | 24 | |
| 8828991187 | context | words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning AKA the blurb about the author and time period before a passage | 25 | |
| 8828991188 | counterargument | a challenge to a position; an opposing argument | 26 | |
| 8828991189 | credible | worthy of belief; trustworthy | 27 | |
| 8828991190 | declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a statement | 28 | |
| 8828991191 | denotation | the literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition | 29 | |
| 8828991192 | diction | word choice | 30 | |
| 8828991193 | elegiac | mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone | 31 | |
| 8828991194 | epigram | a brief witty statement | 32 | |
| 8828991195 | ethos | a Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals | 33 | |
| 8828991196 | figurative language | the use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect | 34 | |
| 8828991197 | hyperbole | exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis | 35 | |
| 8828991198 | imagery | vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing) | 36 | |
| 8828991199 | induction | reasoning from specific to general | 37 | |
| 8828991200 | deduction | reasoning from general to specific | 38 | |
| 8828991201 | irony | a contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result | 39 | |
| 8828991202 | juxtaposition | placement of two things side by side for emphasis | 40 | |
| 8828991203 | logos | a Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals | 41 | |
| 8828991204 | metaphor | a figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison | 42 | |
| 8828991206 | occasion | an aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing | 43 | |
| 8828991210 | paradox | a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true | 44 | |
| 8828991211 | parallelism | the repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns | 45 | |
| 8828991212 | parody | a piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule | 46 | |
| 8828991213 | pathos | a Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals | 47 | |
| 8828991214 | persona | the speaker, voice, or character taken on by the author of a piece of writing | 48 | |
| 8828991215 | personification | assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects | 49 | |
| 8828991216 | polysyndeton | the deliberate use of a series of conjunctions and the opposite of asyndenton. Purpose to show excitement or inability to choose sides. i.e. "My favorite student is Jerrieca, or Jaquorian, or Jamaira, or Johnathan, or Jessica, or everyone in my 4th period." | 50 | |
| 8828991217 | propaganda | a negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information | 51 | |
| 8828991218 | purpose | one's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing | 52 | |
| 8828991219 | refute | to discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument | 53 | |
| 8828991220 | rhetoric | the study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion" | 54 | |
| 8828991221 | rhetorical modes | patterns 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 | 55 | |
| 8828991222 | rhetorical question | a question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer | 56 | |
| 8828991223 | rhetorical triangle | a diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience | 57 | |
| 8828991224 | satire | an ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it | 58 | |
| 8828991225 | scheme | a pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect | 59 | |
| 8828991226 | sentence variety | using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect | 60 | |
| 8828991227 | simile | a figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things | 61 | |
| 8828991228 | speaker | a term used for the author or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing | 62 | |
| 8828991229 | straw man | a logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's positio. | 63 | |
| 8828991230 | style | the distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech | 64 | |
| 8828991231 | circular logic (or Begging the Question) | a logical fallacy in which the evidence makes the same claim as the argument, for example, if your claim was "I always get "A"s" and your evidence was "because I'm an "A" student" | 65 | |
| 8828991232 | hasty generalization | a fallacy of logic in which an argument is based on insufficient (not enough) evidence. i.e. "The juniors will outscore the seniors on the ACT because they seem smarter." | 66 | |
| 8828991233 | red herring | a fallacy of logic in which a desperate arguer often tries to change the ground of the argument by changing the subject | 67 | |
| 8828991234 | subject | in rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing | 68 | |
| 8828991235 | syllogism | a form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise | 69 | |
| 8828991236 | syntax | sentence structure | 70 | |
| 8828991237 | thesis | the central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer | 71 | |
| 8828991238 | tone | the speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience | 72 | |
| 8828991239 | trope | artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech | 73 | |
| 8828991240 | understatement | lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect | 74 | |
| 8828991241 | voice | in grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive) or in rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing | 75 | |
| 8828991242 | synecdoche | a rhetorical device in which a whole is represented by naming one of its parts | 76 | |
| 8828991245 | onomatopoeia | use of words whose sound correspond with their semantic value | 77 | |
| 8828991248 | oxymoron | placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another, such as "a small crowd," "jumbo shrimp," or "pretty ugly" (a compressed paradox) | 78 | |
| 8828991249 | apostrophe | a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction | 79 | |
| 8828991250 | treatise | a methodically and thoroughly written discussion of a topic | 80 | |
| 8828991251 | melodramatic | overly emotional or sentimental | 81 | |
| 8828991252 | ambivalence | lack of clarity; wavering; being undecided | 82 | |
| 8828991253 | nostalgic | wishing for a return to the way things used to be; longing for the past; homesick | 83 | |
| 8828991254 | euphemism | an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant. i.e. "he went to his final resting place," rather than "He died" | 84 | |
| 8828991255 | double entendre | a statement that has two meanings, one of which is dirty or vulgar | 85 | |
| 8828991256 | engender | to produce, cause, or bring about | 86 | |
| 8828991257 | analytical | intending to understand the nature of something | 87 | |
| 8828991258 | apologist | one who writes in defense of a cause or institution | 88 | |
| 8828991259 | epithet | an adjective or other descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place, or thing (a nickname) | 89 |
