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AP Language Terms and Techniques Flashcards

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14650569718ad hominem fallacya fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true or right; for example, "The Escort is the most widely sold car in the world; therefore, it must be the best."0
14650573127alliterationRepetition of initial consonant sounds1
14650573983allusiona passing reference to something or someone outside the immediate scope of the work; clarifies or explains the situation2
14650574918ambiguouscapable of many interpretations3
14650575457analogyan extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things4
14650576075anecdotea short account of interesting events5
14650576539antecedentthe noun to which a later pronoun refers6
14650577733antithesisin direct opposition or contrast. Used in literature to form a contrast within the structure of a sentence, as in "Give me liberty or give me death."7
14650579771appeal to authoritycitation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writer's arguments8
14650582201asyndetonleaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses9
14650583925begging the questiona fallacy of logical argument that assumes as true the everything that one is trying to prove; for example: 1. The Bible is the infallible word of God. 2. The Bible says that God exists. Therefore, 3. God exists.10
14650587302colloquial expressionwords and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing and speaking11
14650587965complex sentencea sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause12
14650589448connotationan association that a word calls to mind in addition to its dictionary/literal meaning13
14650591211denotationa word's objective meaning (dictionary meaning)14
14650592936dialectthe language and/or word pronunciation specific to a region or group15
14650594089didacticoriginally used to mean any instructive rhetoric, it has taken on the pejorative meaning of dull or overly formal16
14650595635elegiacmournful over what has passed or been lost17
14650606415ethosthe qualities of character, intelligence, and goodwill in an arguer that contribute to an audience's acceptance of the claim18
14650607874euphemisma word or phrase that takes the place of a harsh, unpleasant, or impolite reality. The use of passed away for died, and let go for fired are two examples.19
14650611440explicationa detailed examination covering all aspects of a work20
14650622394fallacyan error of reasoning bsed on faulty use of eidence of incorrect inference21
14650622785false analogyassuming without sufficient proof that if objects or processes are similar in other ways as well22
14650623586false dilemmaa fallacy of logical argument which is committed when too few of the available alternatives are considered, and all but one are assessed and deemed impossible or unacceptable; for example: "Are you going to college to make something of yourself, or are you going to end up being an unemployable bum like me?"23
14650626059hasty generalizationsdrawing conclusions from insufficient evidence24
14650626581hyperbolea deliberate exaggeration or overstatement25
14650626868inversionreversal of the normal order of words for emphasis or dramatic effect; often used in poetry: "Never will I yield."26
14650633573juxtapositionplacing two unlike persons, places, or things next to each other to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish a purpose27
14650635553meonymya figure of speech that substitutes something closely related for the thing actually meant. In the opening line of "The Lost Leader," Robert Browning says, "Just for a handful of silver he left us," using silver to refer to money in the form of a government grant28
14650637922non sequitura statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it29
14650640003parallelisma sentence, paragraph, line of verse, etc., which expresses a comparison giving equal stress and weight to ideas, concepts, phrases, etc.30
14650641972periodic sentence structurea sentence written so that the full meaning cannot be understood until the end; for example: Across the stream, beyond the clearing, from behind the fallen tree, the lion emerged.31
14650643264qualifiera claim restriction that limits the claim by stating the claim may not always be true as stated32
14650644215rhetoricany type of eloquent, learned, effective use of language (written or spoken), especially designed to persuade33
14650650286satirewriting that ridicules or holds up to contempt the faults of individuals or of groups. A satirist may use a sympathetic tone or an angry, bitter tone.34
14650660058sentence patternsthe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions-such as simple, compound, complex or compound-complex35
14650662572simple sentencea statement containing a subject and a predicate; an independent clause36
14650662898subordinate clausea clause that modifies an independent clause, created by a subordinating conjunction37
14650664498syllogisma logical argument based on a major and a minor premise to a conclusion: All elephants are gray. Tonka is an elephant. Tonka is gray.38
14650666544synecdochea figure of speech in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole. The word "wheels" refers to a car; "smokes" for cigarettes, and "keys" to a piano.39
14650670693syntaxthe pattern or arrangement of words into a coherent thought40
14650670955tonethe writer's attitude toward the readers and toward the subject. A writer's tone may be formal or informal, friendly or distant, personal or pompous.41
14650674473understatementdeliberately representing something as much less than it really is. Jonathon Swift wrote, "Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her appearance."42
14650676252voiceIn writing, a metaphor drawn from the spoken, encompassing the writer's tone, style, and manner43

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