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AP Language and Composition vocab Flashcards

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7158062903AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
7158062904AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event1
7158062905AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
7158062906AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
7158062907AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
7158062908AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
7158062909AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
7158062910AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
7158062911AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
7158062912AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
7158062913AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
7158062914Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
7158062915ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
7158062916Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle).13
7158062917AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
7158062918AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.15
7158062919AsyndetonLeaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.16
7158062920AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.17
7158062921AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.18
7158062922AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.19
7158062923BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.20
7158062924CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.21
7158062925ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.22
7158062926Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.23
7158062927ColloquialismAn informal or conversational use of language.24
7158062928Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.25
7158062929Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.26
7158062930ConcessionA reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.27
7158062931ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).28
7158062932ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.29
7158062933CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but.30
7158062934CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.31
7158062935Cumulative sentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.32
7158062936Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.33
7158062937DeductionReasoning from general to specific.34
7158062938DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.35
7158062939DictionWord choice.36
7158062940DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.37
7158062941ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.38
7158062942EpigramA brief witty statement.39
7158062943EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos).40
7158062944Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect41
7158062945Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.42
7158062946HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.43
7158062947ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste,touch, hearing).44
7158062948Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.45
7158062949InductionReasoning from specific to general.46
7158062950InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.47
7158062951IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.48
7158062952JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.49
7158062953LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos) .50
7158062954MetaphoA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.51
7158062955MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.52
7158062956OccasionAn aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.53
7158062957OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.54
7158062958ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.55
7158062959ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.56
7158062960ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.57
7158062961PathosA 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).58
7158062962PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.59
7158062963PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.60
7158062964PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.61
7158062965PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.62
7158062966Premise: major, minorTwo parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of asyllogism takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise.63
7158062967Major premiseAll mammals are warm-blooded.64
7158062968Minor premiseAll horses are mammals.65
7158062969ConclusionAll horses are warm-blooded (see syllogism).66
7158062970PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.67
7158062971PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.68
7158062972RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.69
7158062973RhetoricThe study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle,use of the "available means of persuasion."70
7158062974Rhetorical 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.71
7158062975Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.72
7158062976Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle).73
7158062977SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.74
7158062978SchemeA pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.75
7158062979Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.76
7158062980Sentence varietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.77
7158062981SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.78
7158062982Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.79
7158062983SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.80
7158062984SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.81
7158062985Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.82
7158062986StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.83
7158062987SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.84
7158062988Subordinate clauseCreated by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.85
7158062989SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.86
7158062990SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor).87
7158062991SyntaxSentence structure.88
7158062992SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.89
7158062993ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.90
7158062994Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.91
7158062995ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.92
7158062996Topic 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.93
7158062997TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.94
7158062998UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.95
7158062999VoiceIn 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.96
7158063000ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.97

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