2420655408 | Allegory | an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story. Often times concepts like death and love are represented by people. | 0 | |
2420655409 | Analogy | Comparison of two similar but different things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship | 1 | |
2420655410 | Anaphora | Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row | 2 | |
2420655411 | Anecdote | a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point | 3 | |
2420655412 | Antithesis | the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (Dickens). | 4 | |
2420655413 | Aphorism | a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life | 5 | |
2420655414 | Apostrophe | usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction | 6 | |
2420655415 | Asyndeton | Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence | 7 | |
2420655416 | Caricature | Used in satire. Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality. | 8 | |
2420655417 | Colloquialism | a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing | 9 | |
2420655418 | Concrete Language | Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities | 10 | |
2420655419 | Deduction | the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example | 11 | |
2420655420 | Diction | word choice | 12 | |
2420655421 | Didactic | writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach | 13 | |
2420655422 | Epigraph | the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme | 14 | |
2420655423 | Epistrophe | repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect | 15 | |
2420655424 | Euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable | 16 | |
2420655425 | Extended Metaphor | a sustained comparison throughout a text | 17 | |
2420655427 | Generalization | When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. Sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some | 18 | |
2420655428 | Hubris | the excessive pride of ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom, eventually causing his or her downfall. | 19 | |
2420655429 | Induction | the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization | 20 | |
2420655430 | Inference | a conclusion one can draw from the presented details | 21 | |
2420655431 | Invective | a verbally abusive attack | 22 | |
2420655432 | Inversion | reversing the customary (subject first, then verb, then complement) order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question | 23 | |
2420655433 | Irony | a situation or statement in which the actual outcome or meaning is opposite to what was expected | 24 | |
2420655434 | Jargon | The special language of a profession or group. | 25 | |
2420655435 | Logical Fallacy | a mistake in reasoning | 26 | |
2420655436 | Metonymy | a figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated | 27 | |
2420655437 | Motif | reoccurring theme or idea in a piece of writing. | 28 | |
2420655438 | Objectivity | an impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer's attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story. | 29 | |
2420655439 | Oversimplification | When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument | 30 | |
2420655440 | Parable | a short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory | 31 | |
2420655441 | Paradox | a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning | 32 | |
2420655442 | Parallelism | the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form | 33 | |
2420655443 | Parody | a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements. | 34 | |
2420655444 | Pedantic | a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant | 35 | |
2420655445 | First person narrator | a narrator, referred to as "I," who is a character in the story and relates the actions through his or her own perspective, also revealing his or her own thoughts | 36 | |
2420655446 | Stream of Consciousness | like a first person narrator, but instead placing the reader inside the character's head, making the reader privy to the continuous, chaotic flow of disconnected, half-formed thoughts and impressions in the character's mind | 37 | |
2420655447 | Omniscient | third person narrator, who is able to see into each character's mind and understands all the action's of the character | 38 | |
2420655448 | Limited Omniscient | a third person narrator who reports the thoughts of only one character and generally only what that one character sees | 39 | |
2420655449 | Objective narration | a third person narrator who only reports what would be visible to a camera; thoughts and feelings are only revealed if a character speaks of them | 40 | |
2420655450 | Polysyndeton | Sentence which uses and or another conjunction (with no commas) to separate the items in a series | 41 | |
2420655452 | Rhetoric | the art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse | 42 | |
2420655453 | Rhetorical Question | one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience. | 43 | |
2420655454 | Satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Makes fun of problems in society. | 44 | |
2420655456 | Syllogism | A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. It is the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion | 45 | |
2420655457 | Symbolism | anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as representative of a higher and more complex significance. A rose represents love. | 46 | |
2420655458 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole. "Today Washington announced new gun reform laws." | 47 | |
2420655459 | Syntax | the grammatical structure of a sentence | 48 | |
2420655460 | Tone | attitude of writing | 49 | |
2420655461 | Understatement/ Meiosis | the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. | 50 | |
2420655462 | Semantics | the meaning behind a word or sentence | 51 | |
2420655463 | Ethos | using ethics to persuade | 52 | |
2420655464 | Pathos | persuasion by emotional appeals, an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion. | 53 | |
2420655465 | Logos | using logic to persuade | 54 | |
2420655466 | Double Entendre | A word or phrase that may have more than one interpretation, usually sexual | 55 | |
2420655467 | Litotes | understatement for rhetorical effect, using a negative to say the positive | 56 | |
2420655468 | Sarcasm | a form of humor that is marked by mocking with irony | 57 | |
2420655469 | Caricature | A form of satire. Exaggerating characteristics of a person, event, etc that creates an easily identifiable visual | 58 | |
2420655470 | Pun | a play on words | 59 | |
2420655471 | Abstract | language that describes concepts rather than images | 60 | |
2420655472 | Ad Hominem | in an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than one the person's ideas. | 61 | |
2420655473 | Argumentation | writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point. | 62 | |
2420655474 | Coherance | Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea | 63 | |
2420655475 | Consonance | repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity | 64 | |
2420655476 | Conundrum | a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun | 65 | |
2420655477 | Discourse | spoken or written language, there are four modes: description, exposition, narration, and persuasion | 66 | |
2420655478 | Dissonance | harsh or grating sounds that do not go together | 67 | |
2420655479 | Dramatic Irony | When the reader is aware of an inconsistency in a character's perception of a situation and the truth of that situation. The reader knows more than the characters. | 68 | |
2420655480 | Euphony | a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose | 69 | |
2420655481 | Explication | The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text | 70 | |
2420655482 | Exposition | the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot | 71 | |
2420655483 | Figurative Language | saying something other than what is literally meant for effect using devices such as similes and metaphors. | 72 | |
2420655484 | Logic | the process of reasoning | 73 | |
2420655485 | Lyrical | Songlike. Often used to express emotion in poetry. | 74 | |
2420655486 | Mood | Similar to tone, primary emotional attitude of a work | 75 | |
2420655488 | Non-sequitor | Latin for "does not follow". When one statement doesn't logically follow another | 76 | |
2420655489 | Pacing | the movement of a literary piece | 77 | |
2420655490 | Persuasion | A form of argumentation | 78 | |
2420655491 | Red Herring | When a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue | 79 | |
2420655492 | Reductio ad Absurdum | Latin for "to reduce to the absurd" | 80 | |
2420655493 | Rhetorical modes | exposition, description, narration, argumentation | 81 | |
2420655494 | Straw Man | when a writer argues against a claim that is universally considered weak | 82 | |
2420655495 | Style | an author's diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style | 83 | |
2420655496 | Thesis | the main idea of a piece of writing | 84 | |
2420655497 | Transition | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next | 85 | |
2420655498 | Voice | the sound of a writer's style | 86 | |
2420655499 | Scare Tactic | Using fear to persuade | 87 | |
2420655500 | Either-Or Choice | a fallacy that reduced a choice down to just two | 88 | |
2420655501 | Slippery Slope | describing an argument where the author exaggerates the future consequences of an action. If you fail this test, you will fail high school and not go to college..." | 89 | |
2420655502 | Sentimental Appeals | arguments that appeal to emotions | 90 | |
2420655503 | Bandwagon appeals | arguments that urge people to follow the same path as everyone else | 91 | |
2420655504 | Appeals to false authority | argument that draws on the authority of a widely respected person | 92 | |
2420655506 | Gerund | A noun formed from a verb (such as the '-ing' form of an English verb when used as a noun) | 93 | |
2420655507 | simple sentence | A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause | 94 | |
2420655508 | Compound Sentence | Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction (I went to the store, and I bought candy.) | 95 | |
2420655509 | Complex Sentence | A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause | 96 | |
2420655511 | Verb | A word that expresses action, a state of being or feeling, or a relation between two things | 97 | |
2420655517 | Antecedent | A word, phrase, or clause to which a following pronoun refers. "The glass fell on the floor. It broke. | 98 | |
2420655518 | Linking Verb | A state-of-being verb, "is", "are" Connects the noun to the verb. | 99 | |
2420655519 | Moral Equivilance | argument that suggests that serious wrong doings don't differ from minor offenses | 100 | |
2420655520 | Hasty generalization | making an inference drawn from insufficient evidence, using stereotypes to argue a point | 101 | |
2420655521 | Faulty Causality. Also: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc | the fallacious assumption that because two events happened in sequence that the first event caused the second. | 102 | |
2420655522 | Begging the Question | circular reasoning | 103 | |
2420655523 | Equivocation | half-truth Arguing both sides of an argument. | 104 | |
2420655524 | Faulty Analogy | form of argument where inaccurate comparisons are being made | 105 | |
3662902042 | Soliloquy | Seen in Shakespeare's plays. A longer speech that indicates the speaker's thoughts and emotions. | 106 | |
3662907030 | Aside | Seen in Shakespeare's plays. A short speech directed to the audience to provide insight or direction. | 107 | |
3662909418 | Shakespearean Sonnet | A type of lyrical poem that uses a specific rhyme scheme and form. | 108 | |
3662911840 | Quatrain | Four lines of poetry | 109 | |
3662912657 | Rhyming Couplet | Two lines of rhyming poetry found at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet | 110 | |
3662914156 | Iambic Pentameter | Two feet of poetry with five syllables per foot | 111 |
Westland AP Language Devices Flashcards
Primary tabs
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!