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AP Language Terms Flashcards

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2820556525AuthorityThe quality that is put through by the author; the author has previous knowledge on the subject, so they are viewed as an accepted source of information0
2820556526AudienceThe listeners or spectators at a speech or performance, or the intended readership for a piece of writing.1
2820557614BackingMoral support that is given to one particular point of the conflict, it is only meant to affect the reader psychologically or emotionally.2
2820557615AssertionSomething that the author either suggests or claims is true, but has no real evidence supporting his claim.3
2820558326Logical FallaciesErrors that appear in arguments, but may be making your logic less relevant in your argument, they usually lack evidence that support your claim.4
2820558824Generalization (L.F.)When a writer basis a claim on an isolated example or asserts a claim as certain rather than probable5
2820558825Begging the question (L.F.)Circular reasoning in which one assumes to be true what one is supposed to be proving .6
2820559348Ad hominem (L.F.)Argument against the man [or person]"; a fallacy that involves replying to an argument or assertion by attempting to discredit the person offering the argument or assertion.7
2820560114Either-or-Reasoning (L.F.)When the writer reduces an argument or issue to two polar opposites and ignores any alternatives.8
2820562200Non-sequitur (L.F.)Latin for "it does not follow" when one statement isn't logically connected to another.9
2820562201Red herring (L.F.)Something that draws attention away from the central issue.10
2820562776Post hoc (L.F.)In or of the form of an argument in which one event is asserted to be the cause of a later event simply by virtue of having happened earlier11
2820562777False dilemma (L.F.)Qhen two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection for the two12
2820564385The Aristotelian AppealsAristotle's "ingredients for persuasion" are known by the names of ethos, pathos, and logos; They are all means of persuading others to take a particular point of view.13
2820563282Logos (A.A.)(Logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning; can also be the facts and statistics used to help support the argument.14
2820564946Ethos (A.A.)(Credibility), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author; the speaker's/author's authority15
2820565939Pathos (A.A.)(Emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions; vivid language, emotional language and numerous sensory details.16
2820565940PurposeThe reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. Then, once a topic is selected, the author must decide whether his purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his ideas to the reader.17
2820566434Describe (Purpose)Contains many descriptive details (adjectives) and imagery; You can get a clear visual image of whatever is being described.18
2820566435Explain (Purpose)When the author uses senses to tell a story or event, giving reasons to let one know what has happened.19
2820567020Inform (Purpose)The author uses facts in their piece, but is not trying to make an argument instead they are trying to teach.20
2820567021Persuade (Purpose)Contains mostly opinions; The author is trying to get you to do something, support a certain cause, or buy something *Examples would be advertisements and political speeches. Also called convince.21
2820567539Entertain (Purpose)The author is simply telling a story; writing to amuse the audience; Short stories and poems are often written for this purpose.22
2820567540ToneAn attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience; generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.23
2820568113Didactic ToneInstill a particular piece of literature or article with a specific philosophical concept meant to teach a specific message or a moral lesson besides giving information and pleasure; It is specifically used for literary pieces that are full of morality and target a specific audience.24
2820568772Nostalgic ToneReveals a kind of homesickness for the past, a desire to return to "the good ole days"25
2820570665Pedantic ToneAn adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish26
2820570666Trite ToneStale; worn out; overused27
2820571086Contemptuous ToneInsulting someone or dismissing them in a hateful way scornful; expressing in disgrace28
2820571087Sardonic ToneScornfully or cynically mocking; sarcastic29
2820571558Benevolent ToneCharacterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings; desiring to help others; charitable; intended for benefits rather than profit30
2820572316Effusive ToneUnrestrained and excessive in emotional expression31
2820572317Compassionate ToneFeeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.32
2820572664Urban Tonesophisticated, elegant33
2820572665DictionStyle of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer.34
2820573313Denotation (Diction)The strict, literal dictionary definition or a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color.35
2820573314Connotation (Diction)The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. Involve ideas,emotions, or attitudes.36
2820573748Colloquial DictionThe use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.Give conversational, familiar tone.37
2820573749Formal DictionUsing words that are obeying normal standards that are correct and do not have any casual or familiar forms.38
2820574081Informal DictionThe relaxed, conversational language that we use every day.39
2820574819Metonymy (Diction)A term from the greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name"; a figure of speech which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.40
2820574820Monosyllabic (Diction)Using words that are only composed of one syllable; being to the point and straight forward41
2820575404Polysyllabic (Diction)Using words that have multiple syllable; mainly having syllables that have four or more syllables.42
2820575405Contrastive (Diction)Having words that contrast with each other, and oppose the meaning of what they literally mean.43
2820576000Synecdoche (Diction)Literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part.44
2820576001Concerete (Diction)Language that describes qualities that can be perceived with the five senses as opposed to using abstract or generalized language e.g. calling a fruit "pleasant" or "good" is abstract, while calling a fruit "cool" or "sweet" is concrete.45
2820576455Abstract (Diction)Language that describes qualities that cannot be perceived with the five senses. e.g. calling something "pleasant" is abstract, while calling something yellow or sour is concrete.46
2820576888Ambiguous (Diction)Occurs when something is open to more than one interpretation.47
2820581156DetailWhen images and image production make elements distinguishable so it can make a virtual illustration.48
2820582071Mood (Detail)A literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions.49
2820582072Imagery (Detail)The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions; [visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory or olfactory imagery.]50
2820582760Setting (Detail)The location and time frame in which the action of a narrative takes place.51
2820584125Figurative LanguageWriting or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.52
2820584503Allusion (F.L)A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance; Does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers; Just a comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.53
2820584504Simile (F.L)figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. That explicit comparison often takes the form of the word "like" or "as".54
2820585288Metaphor (F.L)Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it. Example: *Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage. Shakespeare, Macbeth *. . . while he learned the language (that meager and fragile thread . . . by which the little surface corners and edges of men's secret and solitary lives may be joined for an instant now and then before sinking back into the darkness. . . ) Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! *From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. W. Churchill55
2820585289Personification (F.L)A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inatimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.56
2820585673Hyperbole (F.L)A figure of speech using diliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Have a comic effect; however,a serious effect is possible.57
2820585674Understatement (F.L)Understatement the ironic minimalizing of fact; presents something as less significant that it is.58
2820586185Paradox (F.L)A statement that appears to be self contradictory or opposed tocommon sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.59
2820587765Dramatic Irony (F.L)Occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not. Because of this understanding, the words of the characters take on a different meaning.60
2820595164Verbal Irony (F.L)Irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.61
2820597967Analogy (F.L)A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them; Can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar.62
2820597968Anecdote (F.L)A short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh.63
2820599765Allegory (F.L)The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.64
2820599766OrganizationRefers to the order in which a writer chooses to present his or her ideas to the reader; the arrangement of ideas, incidents, evidence, or details in a perceptible order in a paragraph or essay.65
2820600226Deductive OrganizationBegins with a general assertion and then presents specific details and examples in support of the generalization.66
2820602755Inductive OrganizationBegins with a number of examples and then concluding with a general truth or principle67
2820604075Idea/ Example (Organization)This is when the major ideas are presented with evidence or details that help support this idea.68
2820604602Cause/ Effect (Organization)Used to show the different causes and effects of various conditions; This pattern is particularly effective when writing a persuasive document in which the writer advocates some action to solve a problem, because it demonstrates important relationships between variables.69
2820604984Description (Organization)Presents general information about a class of persons, places, things, and events; Identifies characteristics or attributes70
2820606400Process Analysis (Organization)Presents a chronological sequence of steps that explain how something is done, how something happens, or how readers can do something.71
2820613617Narration (Organization)Organizes information to tell a story72
2820614876Comparison/ Contrast (Organization)Arranges information according to how two or more things are similar to or different from one another (or both); This is an effective pattern to use when the reader can better understand one subject when it is described in relation to another.73
2820616022Exposition (Organization)Writing that is mainly meant to give information and to explain things, usually in detail.74
2820616023Persuasion (Organization)Type of writing (rhetoric) whose main purpose is to convince the audience to think, act, or feel a certain way; It involves appealing to reason (logos), to emotion (pathos), and/or to a sense of ethics (ethos).75
2820617272Repetition (Organization)The use of any element, such as a sound, word, clause, phrase or sentence more than once.76
2820617744Syllogism (Organization)Starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it draws conclusion about something more specific. e.g. general argument that "All men are mortal," we know that "John is a man" so "John is mortal.77
2820618228Point of viewThe perspective, the vantage point from which the story is told.78
2820618542Subjective POVOne based on opinion rather than fact, upon which reasonable people could disagree.79
2820621208Objective POVWriter tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue; facts80
2820621209Participant POVSometimes called "First-Person" point of view; Uses first person pronouns (I, we, me, my, our); The narrator is a character in the story81
2820621568Observer POVDoes not take place in plot of the story, but is usually narrator, and presents what others are doing and how they act.82
2820621569SyntaxRefers to the actual way in which words and sentences are placed together in the writing.83
2820622296Sentence length (Syntax)The number of words in a sentence84
2820624097Anaphora (Syntax)Repetition of a certain word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines of writing or speech.85
2820624439Antithesis (Syntax)Emphasizes the idea of contrast by parallel structures of the contrasted phrases or clauses; Used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another. *e.g. "Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind."86
2820625085Asyndeton (Syntax)Writing style where conjunctions are omitted in a series of words, phrases or clauses; It is used to shorten a sentence and focus on its meaning. *e.g. "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?"87
2820625773Polysyndeton (Syntax)A literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed.88
2820626298Parallel sentence (Syntax)Repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.89
2820626299Loose sentence (Syntax)Also called a cumulative sentence; begins with a main clause that is followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause; These phrases or clauses add information to the main or independent clause. *e.g. "I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall." "I like everything about this painting, even though I usually don't like this particular artist."90
2820626893Periodic sentence (Syntax)Has the main clause or predicate at the end of the sentence; This is used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made; It can also create suspense or interest for the reader. *e.g. "In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued."91
2820627504Rhetorical question (Syntax)Is a question that you ask without expecting an answer. The question might be one that does not have an answer; It might also be one that has an obvious answer but you have asked the question to make a point, to persuade or for literary effect.92
2820627505Inverted syntaxOccurs when lines do not follow traditional sentence patterns, for example when the subject and verb or the object and subject are reversed. *Placing an adjective after the noun it qualifies e.g. "the soldier strong" *Placing a verb before its subject e.g. "shouts the policeman" *Placing a noun before its preposition e.g. "worlds between"93
2820628415Alliteration (Syntax)A literary device where two or more words in a phrase or line of poetry share the same beginning sound; Usually the beginning consonants in the words are used for the alliteration. *e.g. "But a better butter makes a batter better"94
2820628416Assonance (Syntax)Repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences *e.g. "Go and mow the lawn."95
2820628969Consonance (Syntax)a poetic device characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession *e.g. "pitter patter" "all mammals named Sam are clammy"96

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