AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP Language Summer Words Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
4490735337AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
4490735338AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
4490735339AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
4490735340AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
4490735341AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
4490735342AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
4490735343AntecedantThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
4490735344AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
4490735345AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
4490735346AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
4490735347AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
4490735348Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
4490735349ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
4490735350Aristotelian/Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.13
4490735351AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. One supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
4490735352AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.15
4490735353AsyndetonThe omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.16
4490735354AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.17
4490735355AudienceOne's listeners or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.18
4490735356AuthorityA reliable respected source.19
4490735357BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.20
4490735358CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.21
4490735359ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.22
4490735360Close readingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.23
4490735361Colloquial/-ismAn informal or conversational use of language.24
4490735362Common groundShared beliefs, values, or positions.25
4490735363Complex sentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.26
4490735364ConcessionA reluctant acknowledgement or yielding.27
4490735365ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning.28
4490735366ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.29
4490735367CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as "and" or "but."30
4490735368CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.31
4490735369Declarative sentenceA sentence that makes a statement.32
4490735370DeductionReasoning from general to specific.33
4490735371DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.34
4490735372DictionWord choice.35
4490735373DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.36
4490735374ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.37
4490735375EpigramA brief, witty statement.38
4490735376EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.39
4490735377Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.40
4490735378Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.41
4490735379HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.42
4490735380ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).43
4490735381Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.44
4490735382InductionReasoning from specific to general.45
4490735383InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.46
4490735384IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.47
4490735385JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis.48
4490735386LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.49
4490735387MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.50
4490735388MetonymyUse of an aspect of something to represent the whole.51
4490735389OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.52
4490735390ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.53
4490735391ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.54
4490735392ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.55
4490735393PathosA Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.56
4490735394PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.57
4490735395PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.58
4490735396PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually philosophy, politics, or religion.59
4490735397PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.60
4490735398Premise (major, minor)Two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major one and its subject from the minor one.61
4490735399PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.62
4490735400PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.63
4490735401RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.64
4490735402RhetoricThe art of speaking or writing effectively.65
4490735403Rhetoric modesPatterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; they include but are not limited to: narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation.66
4490735404Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than summon an answer.67
4490735405SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.68
4490735406Sentence patternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.69
4490735407Sentence varietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.70
4490735408SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.71
4490735409Simple sentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.72
4490735410SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.73
4490735411SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.74
4490735412Straw manA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.75
4490735413StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.76
4490735414SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.77
4490735415Subordinate clauseA clause that modifies an independent clause, created by a subordinating conjunction.78
4490735416SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.79
4490735417SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise.80
4490735418SyntaxSentence structure.81
4490735419SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.82
4490735420ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.83
4490735421Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work that may be explicit or implicit.84
4490735422ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.85
4490735423Topic 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.86
4490735424TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.87
4490735425UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.88
4490735426VoiceIn grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun. In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.89
4490735427ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs two or more words in a sentence, often in different, sometimes incongruent ways.90

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!