7380690049 | Alliteration | The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables. Ex: Sally sells seashells down by the seashore. | ![]() | 0 |
7380690050 | Allusion | An indirect reference, often to another text or a historic event. Ex: Jeanne d'Arc's smile rivaled that of the Mona Lisa. | ![]() | 1 |
7380690051 | Analogy | An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Ex: A butterfly's wing is as aerodynamic as a bird's wing. | ![]() | 2 |
7380690052 | Anaphora | The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses. Ex: The house is very spacious. The house has a very big backyard. The house is two stories high. | ![]() | 3 |
7380690053 | Anecdote | A short account of an interesting event. Ex: They lived happily ever after, the end. | ![]() | 4 |
7380690054 | Annotation | Explanatory or critical notes added to a text. Ex: The A.V.I.D. Cornell notes must be very well annotated. | ![]() | 5 |
7380690055 | Antecedent | The noun to which a later pronoun refers. Ex: They celebrated their anniversary in a restaurant, it would be an afternoon to cherish forever. The event is the noun to which the later pronoun, it, would refer to. It, is the antecedent. | ![]() | 6 |
7380690056 | Antimetabole | The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast. Ex: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."-President John F. Kennedy | ![]() | 7 |
7380690057 | Antithesis | Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. Ex: Smile and frown. Happiness and sadness. Courage and cowardness. | ![]() | 8 |
7380690058 | Aphorism | A short, astute statement of a general truth. Ex: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. | ![]() | 9 |
7380690059 | Appositive | A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun. Ex: John, an account, loves finance. An accountant, is the appositive to John. | ![]() | 10 |
7380690060 | Archaic diction | The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language. Ex: Thou shalt not commit a crime, which means; you shall not commit a crime. | ![]() | 11 |
7380690061 | Argument | A statement put forth and supported by evidence. Ex: You lost the game of Kahoot because you did not act fast enough. The evidence is: "Because you did not act fast enough." | ![]() | 12 |
7380690062 | Aristotelian Triangle | A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle). Ex: The Aristotelian Triangle consists of the subject, the speaker, and the audience, such as that of a speech where the speaker talks about a certain subject to his audience. | ![]() | 13 |
7380690063 | Assertion | An emphatic statement; declaration, of which is supported by evidence and becomes an argument. Ex: You got fired from your job because you arrived late every day. The evidence is: "Because you arrived late every day." | ![]() | 14 |
7380690064 | Assumption | A belief or statement taken for granted without proof. Ex: You are a very tall person so you should be very good at playing basketball. | ![]() | 15 |
7380690065 | Attitude | The speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone. Ex: The protagonist's ecstatic voice and tone about the event could be seen throughout the whole book. | ![]() | 16 |
7380690066 | Audience | One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed. Ex: The people who came to see the play at the theatre were blown away by the performance that was given. | ![]() | 17 |
7380690067 | Authority | A reliable, respected source-someone with knowledge. Ex: The administrators at school should be the first to contact if something were to happen at school. The authority, are the school administrators. | ![]() | 18 |
7380690068 | Bias | Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue. Ex: Gasoline fueled cars are better than electric cars, I should know because I've always owned one. | ![]() | 19 |
7380690069 | Cite | Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source. Ex: "It was a pleasure to burn"(Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451) | ![]() | 20 |
7380690070 | Claim | An assertion, usually supported by evidence. Ex: Buy home insurance because every 10 seconds a home is broken into. The claim is that you should buy home insurance because every 10 seconds a home is broken into and yours might be one of them. | ![]() | 21 |
7380690071 | Close reading | A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text. Ex: After writing any piece of writing you should always proofread it. Ex: Authors after writing a book have people that proofread them. | ![]() | 22 |
7380690072 | Colloquial/ism | An informal or conversational use of language. Ex: Ain't; You ain't allowed to talk with anybody else about the matter. | ![]() | 23 |
7380690073 | Common ground | Shared beliefs, values, or positions. Ex: Having things in common. Ex: The two boys realized that they both liked to play soccer. | ![]() | 24 |
7380690074 | Complex sentence | A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Ex: Myself, as a junior will accomplish outstanding grades this academic year. The independent clause is "Myself." The dependent clause is "As a junior will accomplish outstanding grades this academic year." | ![]() | 25 |
7380690075 | Concession | A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding. Ex: They both shook hands as an agreement. | ![]() | 26 |
7380690076 | Connotation | That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation). Ex: You are a pig every time you eat. | ![]() | 27 |
7380690077 | Context | Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning. Ex: What, when, where, how, and why. | ![]() | 28 |
7380690078 | Coordination | Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but. Ex: F.A.N.B.O.Y.S (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so) | ![]() | 29 |
7380690079 | Counterargument | A challenge to a position; an opposing argument. Ex: Yay or nay Ex: Salads are better than hamburgers because they are healthier for you. | ![]() | 30 |
7380690080 | Cumulative sentence | An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail. Ex: He fell, as he got up after tripping he kept on walking. | ![]() | 31 |
7380690081 | Declarative sentence | A sentence that makes a statement. Ex: My name is Joseph. Ex: I am your teacher. Ex: I am your boss. | ![]() | 32 |
7380690082 | Deduction | Reasoning from general to specific. Ex: The Scientific Method; ask a question, do research, form a hypothesis, test your hypothesis via an experiment, and analyze the data and draw a conclusion on your hypothesis. | ![]() | 33 |
7380690083 | Denotation | The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition. Ex: Car: a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people. | ![]() | 34 |
7380690084 | Diction | Word choice. Ex: What kind and what type of words you want to have in your writing. | ![]() | 35 |
7380690085 | Documentation | Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing. Ex: The bibliography in a piece of writing. Bibliography: the last page where you state the sources that you used in your writing. | ![]() | 36 |
7380690086 | Elegiac | Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone. Ex: The man feels melancholic after his friend's death. | ![]() | 37 |
7380690087 | Epigram | A brief witty statement. Ex: Death is eminent. | ![]() | 38 |
7380690088 | Ethos | A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos). Ex: Is the source where you are getting your information for your claims credible? | ![]() | 39 |
7380690089 | Figurative language | The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect. Ex: Similes, oxymorons, idioms, hyperbole, alliteration, personification, puns, onomatopoeia, and metaphors. | ![]() | 40 |
7380690090 | Figure of speech | An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning. Ex: Similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and idioms. | ![]() | 41 |
7380690091 | Hyperbole | Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. Ex: I am so hungry that I could eat a horse. It is implying that he/she can eat a whole horse in one meal, which is impossible due to the size ratio of that of a human and a horse. | ![]() | 42 |
7380690092 | Imagery | Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing). Ex: The use of the five senses; sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. | ![]() | 43 |
7380690093 | Imperative sentence | A sentence that requests or commands. Ex: Do all of your chores. It is demanding that you should do what you have been told since it is a command and not a suggestion. | ![]() | 44 |
7380690094 | Induction | Reasoning from specific to general. Ex: When you observe, make a generalization, and provide an example on it. I looked into a bag, I opened it up and found it full of action figures, I realized they were my brother's. | ![]() | 45 |
7380690095 | Inversion | A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject. Ex: Normal sentence: They are such wonderful players that no one can beat them. Inversion sentence: Such wonderful players are they that no one can beat them. | ![]() | 46 |
7380690096 | Irony | A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result. Ex: Wonderful weather is expected for today, yet it starts to rain immediately when I go outside and check. | ![]() | 47 |
7380690097 | Juxtaposition | Placement of two things side by side for emphasis. Ex: Fire and water. Red and blue. A straight line and a crooked line. | ![]() | 48 |
7380690098 | Logos | A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.(see ethos and pathos) Ex: Refers to the appeal and use of logic. Ex: Would you still buy a fur coat after you have seen what they do to those poor animals? | ![]() | 49 |
7380690099 | 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. Ex: He is as tall as a building. It is implying he is very tall in comparison to others, yet he does not surpass 6 feet. | ![]() | 50 |
7380690100 | Metonymy | Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole. Ex: The Golden Gate Bridge represents San Francisco. The Hollywood sign represents Los Angeles. The Statue of Liberty represents New York. | ![]() | 51 |
7380690101 | Occasion | An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing. Ex: What is the reason behind the action. Ex: Calling a meeting to discuss an issue with your co-workers. | ![]() | 52 |
7380690102 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms. Ex: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"-Mark Twain It is implying that Twain experienced cold temperatures when he visited San Francisco, yet it was not in the winter time. | ![]() | 53 |
7380690103 | Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. Ex: When there is a stop sign, but there is another that says to keep on going. | ![]() | 54 |
7380690104 | Parallelism | The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns. Ex: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."-President John F. Kennedy | ![]() | 55 |
7380690105 | Parody | A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule. Ex: Saturday Night Live does a lot of comical parodies about many controversial topics. | ![]() | 56 |
7380690106 | 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 (see ethos and logos). Ex: The use of emotion to convey a message. The use of a dog in a shelter being melancholy so you can adopt him/her or others. | ![]() | 57 |
7380690107 | Persona | The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing. Ex: A character that the author gives himself or plays. | ![]() | 58 |
7380690108 | Personification | Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. Ex: Giving cars the ability to talk and think. | ![]() | 59 |
7380690109 | Polemic | An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion. Ex: The manager thinks he has power over his employees yet he has forgotten that he has a boss. | ![]() | 60 |
7380690110 | Polysyndeton | The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions. Ex: Joe likes pizza, and hamburgers, and hotdogs. Correct way-Joe likes pizza, hamburgers, and hotdogs. | ![]() | 61 |
7380690111 | Premise | Major, minor, two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism that takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise. Ex: Most birds that have wings can fly. All penguins are birds and have wings. Therefore, all penguins should be able to fly. | ![]() | 62 |
7380690112 | example of major premise | All mammals are warm-blooded. | 63 | |
7380690113 | example of minor premise | All horses are mammals. | 64 | |
7380690114 | example of conclusion | All horses are warm-blooded. | 65 | |
7380690115 | Propaganda | A negative term for writing that is designed to sway opinion rather than present information. Ex: "Together we can do it!" | ![]() | 66 |
7380690116 | Purpose | One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing. Ex: The author's purpose is to inform, entertain, persuade, and describe. | ![]() | 67 |
7380690117 | Refute | To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument. Ex: Refuting an argument: I am convinced that the idea will not work. | ![]() | 68 |
7380690118 | Rhetoric | The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion." Ex: Smoking causes cancer, and if you smoke you can be its next victim. | ![]() | 69 |
7380690119 | 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. Ex: The use of description, narration, example/illustration, process, cause and effect, classification, comparison and contrast, and persuasion/argumentation. | ![]() | 70 |
7380690120 | Rhetorical question | A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer. Ex: Why so serious? | ![]() | 71 |
7380690121 | Rhetorical triangle | A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle). Ex: The Rhetorical triangle consists of the subject, the speaker, and the audience. | ![]() | 72 |
7380690122 | Satire | An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it. | ![]() | 73 |
7380690123 | Scheme | A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect. Ex: Roses are red. Violets are blue. I am out of my head with thinking of you. | ![]() | 74 |
7380690124 | Sentence patterns | The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. Ex: Active sentence: Joe gave Mary a ring. Passive sentence: A ring was given to Mary by Joe. | ![]() | 75 |
7380690125 | Sentence variety | Using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect. Ex: Using diction to create the sentence structure that you want in your writing. | ![]() | 76 |
7380690126 | Simile | A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things. Ex: She is as tall as a tree. | ![]() | 77 |
7380690127 | Simple sentence | A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause. Ex: The boy played with his toys. | ![]() | 78 |
7380690128 | Source | A book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information. Ex: A school resource database. | ![]() | 79 |
7380690129 | Speaker | A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing. Ex: The host of a television show such as Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel. | ![]() | 80 |
7380690130 | Straw man | A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position. Ex: Turning one's words against him/her. | ![]() | 81 |
7380690131 | Style | The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech. Ex: The way you want your writing to be. | ![]() | 82 |
7380690132 | Subject | In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing. Ex: What the writing will be about and will consist of. | ![]() | 83 |
7380690133 | Subordinate clause | Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause. Ex: Main clause(I knew), subordinate clause(that she wanted to go home.) | ![]() | 84 |
7380690134 | Subordination | The dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence. Ex: Main clause(I want), subordinate clause(to go to an amusement park. | ![]() | 85 |
7380690135 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor). Ex: Penguin-"Birds can fly, I am a bird, therefore, I should be able to fly." | ![]() | 86 |
7380690136 | Syntax | Sentence structure. Ex: Normal syntax-Jane ate a cake. Inverted syntax-A cake, Jane ate. | ![]() | 87 |
7380690137 | Synthesize | Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex. | ![]() | 88 |
7380690138 | Thesis | The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer. | ![]() | 89 |
7380690139 | Thesis statement | A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit. Ex: The central idea you are writing about to which all parts of your work will refer to. | ![]() | 90 |
7380690140 | Tone | The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience. Ex: Happy, sad, content, mad, excited, etc. | ![]() | 91 |
7380690141 | Topic sentence | A 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 |
7380690142 | Trope | Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech. Ex The use of a word, phrase, or image in a way not intended by its normal signification. | ![]() | 93 |
7380690143 | Understatement | Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect. Ex: "It is a bit cold today." "You don't say." | ![]() | 94 |
7380690144 | Voice | In 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. Ex: Active voice-You stole that cookie from the cookie jar. Passive voice-The cookie was stolen from the cookie jar. | ![]() | 95 |
7380690145 | Zeugma | A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes in congruent ways—two or more words in a sentence. Ex: She (ran) out of time, and towards her doom. | ![]() | 96 |
7380690146 | Asyndeton | Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses. Ex: I ate. I played. I slept. | ![]() | 97 |
AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards
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