10426201426 | active voice | when the subject is doing the acting. ex: Clarke killed Finn. | 0 | |
10426208199 | adage | a traditional saying that conveys a common experience or observation. ex: The early bird gets the worm. | ![]() | 1 |
10426217256 | ad hominem | directed against a person's character rather than the position they are maintaining (argument or reaction) | 2 | |
10426229238 | allegory | a literary work in which the characters and events represent a hidden meaning that relate to morals, religion, or politics. | 3 | |
10426229239 | alliteration | (used especially in poetry) the use of the same sound or sounds, usually consonants, at the beginning of several words that are close together. | ![]() | 4 |
10426230327 | allusion | a casual or indirect reference to something, | 5 | |
10426230328 | ampersand | the sign & (standing for and) | 6 | |
10426231456 | anadiplosis | repetition of the words or phrase at the end of a sentence or clause at the beginning of the next. | 7 | |
10426307872 | analogy | a comparison between things that have similar features, often used to help explain a principle idea. | 8 | |
10426309775 | anaphora | the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses | 9 | |
10426309776 | anectdote | a short account of a specific incident or event, especially of an interesting nature | 10 | |
10426310062 | antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. | 11 | |
10426310063 | antithesis | the direct opposite, a sharp contrast | 12 | |
10426310064 | aphorism | A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. | 13 | |
10426831977 | apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. | 14 | |
10426833201 | appositive | A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun. ex: Raven, the smart engineer, was the best engineer in camp. | 15 | |
10426833202 | archetype | a very typical example of a certain person or thing. | 16 | |
10426834392 | argumentation | writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation. | 17 | |
10426835335 | assonance | the similarity of sounds. | 18 | |
10426879527 | asyndeton | omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. | 19 | |
10426890696 | auditory imagery | sense of hearing | 20 | |
10426891710 | balanced sentence | a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast. | 21 | |
10426891711 | burlesque | an absurd or comically exaggerated imitation of something, especially in a literary or dramatic work; a parody. | 22 | |
10426891712 | cacophony | A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds | 23 | |
10426892119 | caricature | a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect. | 24 | |
10426892120 | chiasmus | a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form | 25 | |
10426892876 | colloquialism | spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech. | 26 | |
10426892877 | compound sentence | a sentence composed of at least two coordinate independent clauses. | 27 | |
10426892878 | complex sentence | a sentence made up of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause. | 28 | |
10426894156 | compound-complex sentence | a sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. | 29 | |
10426894157 | connotation | an idea that is implied or suggested | 30 | |
10426894158 | consonance | repetition of consonants, usually at the ends of words. | 31 | |
10426894159 | concession | something that is allowed or given up, in order to end a disagreement or the act of allowing or giving this. | 32 | |
10426895571 | conditional statement | a sentence in which one half expresses something which depends on the other half. (often starting with if or unless) | 33 | |
10426895572 | counterargument | an argument offered in opposition to another argument. | 34 | |
10426896735 | cumulative sentence | sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on (also known as a loose sentence) | 35 | |
10426897096 | denotation | the literal meaning of a word. | 36 | |
10427783544 | deduction | the act of subtracting from a whole. | 37 | |
10427783545 | diction | the choice of words and phrases used in a speech or writing | 38 | |
10427783546 | discourse | communication in speech or writing | 39 | |
10427783547 | dramatic irony | situation in which the audience of a play knows something that the characters don't know. | 40 | |
10427783792 | ellipsis | the omission of parts of words or sentences, but the sentence can still be understood. | 41 | |
10427783793 | ethos | set of ideas and attitudes that is associated with a particular group of people or a particular type of activity. | 42 | |
10427783794 | epanalepsis | the repetition of a word or phrase at regular intervals. | 43 | |
10427783960 | euphemism | a word or phrase used to replace one that is considered offensive or too harsh. | 44 | |
10427783961 | euphony | any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds | 45 | |
10427784536 | exposition | a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory. | 46 | |
10427838106 | extended metaphor | a metaphor introduced and then further developed. | 47 | |
10427838885 | figurative language | Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or insights. | 48 | |
10427838886 | foreshadowing | providing vague hints and advance indications; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. | 49 | |
10427838887 | gustatory imagery | sense of taste | 50 | |
10427839124 | hyperbole | a description that is exaggerated, usually not meant to be taken literally. | 51 | |
10427839125 | hypophora | raising a question and immediately answers it. | 52 | |
10427839548 | idiom | a phrase or expression that has a meaning in which differs from the literal meaning of its part taken together. | 53 | |
10427839549 | induction | from specific to general | 54 | |
10427839550 | inference | A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning | 55 | |
10427839551 | inversion | situation in which something is changed so that it is the opposite of what it was before. | 56 | |
10427839552 | isocolon | a figure of speech in which parallelism is reinforced by members that are of the same length, rhythm and structure. | 57 | |
10427839553 | jargon | vocabulary distinctive to a particular profession or group, difficult for others to understand. | 58 | |
10427839971 | juxtaposition | the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect. | 59 | |
10427839972 | kairos | Building a sense of urgency for your cause | 60 | |
10427840370 | kinesthetic imagery | sense of touch, temperature, movement, and feelings. | 61 | |
10427840597 | litotes | the use of a negative statement in order to emphasize the positive meaning. | 62 | |
10427958676 | logical fallacy | an error in reasoning proves an argument invalid. | 63 | |
10427958677 | loose sentence | A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows (also known as a cumulative sentence) | 64 | |
10427959042 | logos | a way of persuading an audience with reason, using facts and figures. | 65 | |
10427959569 | metaphor | comparison made without using like or as (different from a simile) | 66 | |
10427959570 | metonymy | the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant ex: we need some new faces over here. | 67 | |
10427959571 | mood | How the reader feels about the text while reading. | 68 | |
10427959572 | motif | (n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design | 69 | |
10427959722 | non-sequitur | A statement that does not follow logically from evidence | 70 | |
10427959723 | olfactory imagery | sense of smell | 71 | |
10427959724 | onomatopoeia | the formation of a word by imitation of the natural sounds of a thing. | 72 | |
10427959916 | oxymoron | two opposite terms used together to create an effect. | 73 | |
10427959917 | parable | a short story that teaches or explains an idea, especially a moral or religious lesson. | 74 | |
10427959918 | paradox | 75 | ||
10427959919 | parallelism | similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses | 76 | |
10427960166 | parody | an imitation of the original, making the features or qualities of the original more noticeable in a way that is humorous or exaggerated. | 77 | |
10427960167 | passive voice | the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb | 78 | |
10427960168 | pathos | a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating emotional response to an impassioned plea or a convincing story. | 79 | |
10431922609 | periodic sentence | sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end | 80 | |
10431925208 | personification | A figure of speech in which human behavior and qualities are given to an object or animal. | 81 | |
10431925209 | point of view | the perspective in which the story or situation is told | 82 | |
10431925210 | first person | A narrator who is a character in the story and tells the tale from his or her point of view. | 83 | |
10431926141 | stream of consciousness | a style of writing that portrays the inner workings of a character's mind. | 84 | |
10431926142 | omniscient | knowing everything; having unlimited awareness or understanding | 85 | |
10431926730 | limited omniscient | A Third person narrator who generally reports only what one character sees, and who only reports the thoughts of that one privileged character. | 86 | |
10431926731 | third person | Narrator is outside of the story, more like an observer. | 87 | |
10431926732 | polysyndeton | the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural | 88 | |
10431927179 | premise | the basis for a conclusion | 89 | |
10431927180 | pun | the humorous use of a word | 90 | |
10431954417 | qualifier | a word or phrase that clarifies, modifies, or limits the meaning of another word or phrase | 91 | |
10431954418 | rebuttal | a falsification or contradiction | 92 | |
10431954419 | rhetoric | the art of using language effectively and persuasively | 93 | |
10431954528 | rhetorical modes | This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. | 94 | |
10431985987 | exposition | form of writing that explains what's happening or what has happened. (in a matter-of-fact way) | 95 | |
10431954530 | description | a spoken or written representation or account of a person, object, or event | 96 | |
10431954531 | narration | the act of telling a story | 97 | |
10431989030 | argumentation | to convince others of an opinion or belief | 98 | |
10431954713 | cause and effect | the reason for something to happen and the results of it happening. | 99 | |
10431957452 | rhetorical question | question asked simply for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer | 100 | |
10431957453 | sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or project contempt | 101 | |
10431957454 | satire | a way of criticizing ideas or people in a humorous way | 102 | |
10431957455 | simile | a comparison using like/as (different from metaphor) | 103 | |
10431957456 | situational irony | An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected (similar to a plot twist) | 104 | |
10431957740 | syllogism | logical reasoning in which the conclusion is gotten from two linked premises. | 105 | |
10431957741 | symbolism | the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities | 106 | |
10431957742 | synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa | 107 | |
10431958040 | synesthesia | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound") | 108 | |
10431958041 | syntax | Sentence structure | 109 | |
10431984104 | tactile imagery | sense of touch | 110 | |
10431984105 | telegraphic sentence | a short sentence using five words or less. | 111 | |
10431984106 | thermal imagery | related to temperature or warmth | 112 | |
10431984374 | thesis statement | A statement of the central idea in a work | 113 | |
10431984375 | tone | A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter | 114 | |
10431984376 | tricolon | Sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses. | 115 | |
10431984377 | understatement | a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said | 116 | |
10431984615 | verbal irony | sarcasm | 117 | |
10431984616 | vernacular | everyday language commonly used | 118 | |
10431984617 | visual imagery | sense of sight | 119 | |
10431984618 | warrant | justify or deserve | 120 | |
10431985010 | zeugma | using one word to modify two other words, in two different ways. | 121 |
AP Language Terms Flashcards
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