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Terminology for AP Language and Composition Flashcards

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7015137501AlliterationThe repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.0
7015139897AllusionAn indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.1
7015151073AnalogyAn extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.2
7015155570AnaphoraThe repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.3
7015165113AnecdoteA short account of an interesting event.4
7015167755AnnotationExplanatory or critical notes added to a text.5
7015173081AntecedentThe noun to which a later pronoun refers.6
7015177554AntimetaboleThe repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.7
7015179023AntithesisParallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas.8
7015187823AphorismA short, astute statement of a general truth.9
7015191206AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.10
7015194490Archaic dictionThe use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.11
7015198463ArgumentA statement put forth and supported by evidence.12
7015203989Aristotelian triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle).13
7015208520AssertionAn emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.14
7015211575AssumptionA belief or statement taken for granted without proof.15
7015214709AsyndetonLeaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.16
7015216834AttitudeThe speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.17
7015219185AudienceOne's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.18
7015220887AuthorityA reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.19
7015223236BiasPrejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.20
7015225629CiteIdentifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source.21
7015226792ClaimAn assertion, usually supported by evidence.22
7015230810Close ReadingA careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text.23
7015236894Colloquial/ism:An informal or conversational use of language.24
7015238581Common GroundShared beliefs, values, or positions.25
7015240213Complex SentenceA sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.26
7015241920ConnotationThat which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).27
7015243566ContextWords, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.28
7015244720CoordinationGrammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but.29
7015247704CounterargumentA challenge to a position; an opposing argument.30
7015250512Cumulative sentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.31
7015252537Declarative SentenceA sentence that makes a statement.32
7015254683DeductionReasoning from general to specific.33
7015256002DenotationThe literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.34
7015258171DictionWord Choice35
7015259470DocumentationBibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.36
7015262396ElegiacMournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone.37
7015263307EpigramA brief witty statement.38
7015264904EthosA Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos).39
7015267347Figurative languageThe use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.40
7015269539Figure of speechAn expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.41
7015271157HyperboleExaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.42
7015856093ImageryVivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing)43
7015857218Imperative sentenceA sentence that requests or commands.44
7015858139InductionReasoning from specific to general.45
7015859334InversionA sentence in which the verb precedes the subject.46
7015860999IronyA contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.47
7015862340JuxtapositionPlacement of two things side by side for emphasis48
7015863887LogosA Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos)49
7015869875MetaphorA figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.50
7015872721OccasionAn aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.51
7015873538OxymoronA figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.52
7015876139ParadoxA statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.53
7015877118ParallelismThe repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.54
7015878359ParodyA piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.55
7015880012PathosA Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos).56
7015883060PersonaThe speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.57
7015884376PersonificationAssigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects.58
7015886254PolemicAn argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.59
7015889419PolysyndetonThe deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.60
7015903777Premisemajor, minor Two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise. Major premise: All mammals are warm-blooded. Minor premise: All horses are mammals. Conclusion: All horses are warm-blooded (see syllogism).61
7015916742Major premise? Minor premise? Conclusion?-All mammals are warm-blooded. -All horses are mammals. -All horses are warm-blooded (see syllogism).62
7015919510PropagandaA negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.63
7015919954PurposeOne's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.64
7015921661RefuteTo discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.65
7018146178RhetoricThe study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."66
7018431981Rhetorical modesPatterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation.67
7018433557Rhetorical questionA question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer68
7018435393Rhetorical triangleA diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle).69
7018437887SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.70
7018439642SchemeA pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.71
7018443211Sentence PatternsThe arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.72
7018446024Sentence VarietyUsing a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.73
7018448664SimileA figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.74
7018451817SImple SentenceA statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.75
7018453857SourceA book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.76
7018454996SpeakerA term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.77
7018456517Straw ManA logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position.78
7018459249StyleThe distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.79
7018461205SubjectIn rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.80
7018464860Subordinate clauseCreated by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.81
7018473349SubordinationThe dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence.82
7020060836SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor).83
7044739756SyntaxSentence structure84
7044741212SynthesizeCombining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.85
7044743133ThesisThe central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.86
7044744196Thesis statementA statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.87
7044745048ToneThe speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.88
7044745891Topic 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.89
7044748942TropeArtful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.90
7044749266UnderstatementLack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.91
7044749970VoiceIn grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.92
7044750403ZeugmaA construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.93

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