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AP Language & Composition Summer Assignment Terms Flashcards

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7098669409AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
7098669410AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
7098669411AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
7098669412AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
7098669413AnastropheAlso known as inversion, is a literary technique in which one changes the syntax (structure) of a sentence such that the subject, object, verb, adjectives, etc. are in an unusual grammatical order.4
7098669414AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.5
7098669415AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.6
7098669416AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.7
7098669417AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.8
7098669418AntithesisA kind of parallelism in which two opposite ideas are put together in parallel structures. The structures of phrases and clauses are similar in order to draw the attention of the listeners or readers.9
7098669419AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.10
7098669420AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.11
7098669421Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.12
7098669422ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.13
7098669423Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.14
7098669424AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.15
7098669425AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.16
7098669426AsyndetonLeaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.17
7098669427AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.18
7098669428AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.19
7098669429AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.20
7098669430BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.21
7098669431Chiasmusa rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form. The only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings.22
7098669432CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.23
7098669433ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.24
7098669434Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.25
7098669435Colloquial/ismAn informal or conversational use of language.26
7098669436Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.27
7098669437Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.28
7098669438ConcessionA reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.29
7098669439ConduplicatioFigure of repetition in which the key word or words in one phrase, clause, or sentence is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases; repetition of a key word over successive phrases or clauses.30
7098669440ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).31
7098669441ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.32
7098669442CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.33
7098669443Cumulative sentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.34
7098669444Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.35
7098669445DeductionReasoning from general to specific.36
7098669446DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.37
7098669447DictionWord choice.38
7098669448DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.39
7098669449ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.40
7098669450EpigramA brief witty statement.41
7098669451Epithetan adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.42
7098669452EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.43
7098669453Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.44
7098669454Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.45
7098669455HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.46
7098669456ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).47
7098669457Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.48
7098669458InductionReasoning from specific to general.49
7098669459InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.50
7098669460IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.51
7098669461JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.52
7098669462LitotesSimilar to understatement, emphasizing its point by using a word opposite to the condition.53
7098669463LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.54
7098669464MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.55
7098669465MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.56
7098669466OccasionAn aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.57
7098669467OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.58
7098669468ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.59
7098669469ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.60
7098669470ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.61
7098669471PathosA Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.62
7098669472PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.63
7098669473PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.64
7098669474PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.65
7098669475Premisemajor, 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.66
7098669476Procatalepsisalso called prolepsis or prebuttal, is a figure of speech in which the speaker raises an objection to their own argument and then immediately answers it. By doing so, they hope to strengthen their argument by dealing with possible counter-arguments before their audience can raise them.67
7098669477PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.68
7098669478PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.69
7098669479RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.70
7098669480RhetoricThe study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."71
7098669481Rhetorical 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.72
7098669482Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.73
7098669483Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.74
7098669484SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.75
7098669485SchemeA pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.76
7098669486Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.77
7098669487SententiaFigure of argument in which a wise, witty, or pithy maxim or aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.78
7098669488SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.79
7098669489Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.80
7098669490SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.81
7098669491SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.82
7098669492Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.83
7098669493StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.84
7098669494SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.85
7098669495Subordinate clauseCreated by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.86
7098669496SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.87
7098669497SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise.88
7098669498SyntaxSentence structure.89
7098669499SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.90
7098669500ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.91
7098669501Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.92
7098669502ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.93
7098669503Topic 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.94
7098669504Tricolona rhetorical term for a series of three words, phrases, clauses, or sentences that are parallel in structure, length and/or rhythm.95
7098669505TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.96
7098669506UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.97
7098669507VoiceIn 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.98
7098669508ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.99

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