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| 7297104439 | active voice | the subject of the sentence performs the action. this is a more direct and preferred style of writing in most cases. "Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house." | 0 | |
| 7297112192 | allusion | an indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other commonly known things, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar with. | 1 | |
| 7297116663 | alter-ego | a character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character. in shakespeare's last play, The Tempest, Shakespeare talks to his audience about his own upcoming retirement, through the main character in the play, Prospero. DO NOT CONFUSE WITH PERSONA. | 2 | |
| 7297126658 | anecdote | a brief recounting of a relevant episode. often inserted into fictional, or non-fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. | 3 | |
| 7297126671 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. the AP language exam occasionally asks for a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences. "If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it." an AP question may read, "what's the antecedent for it?" | 4 | |
| 7297133035 | classicism | art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures | 5 | |
| 7297136549 | comic relief | when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to somewhat lighten the mood. the gatekeeper scene in macbeth is an example of comic relief. | 6 | |
| 7297140211 | diction | word choice, particularly as an element of style. different types of words have significant effects on meaning. an essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang. can be described: formal, informal, etc. | 7 | |
| 7297149094 | what are the subcategories of diction? | colloquial connotation denotation jargon vernacular | 8 | |
| 7297151134 | colloquial | ordinary or familiar type of conversation. a "colloquialism" is a common or familiar type of saying, similar to an adage or an aphorism. | 9 | |
| 7297155269 | connotation | rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a word. implied meaning rather than literal meaning. | 10 | |
| 7297161017 | denotation | the literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations. | 11 | |
| 7297166643 | jargon | the diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity. | 12 | |
| 7297169274 | vernacular | 1. language or dialect of a particular country 2. language or dialect of a regional clan or group 3. plain everyday speech | 13 | |
| 7297174734 | didactic | a term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking | 14 | |
| 7297178487 | what are the subcategories of didactic? | 1. adage 2. allegory 3. aphorism | 15 | |
| 7297180881 | adage | a folk saying with a lesson. "a rolling stone gathers no moss" | 16 | |
| 7297184638 | allegory | a story, fictional or nonfictional, in which characters, things and events represent qualities of concepts. the interaction of these characters, things and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or truth. | 17 | |
| 7297190717 | aphorism | a terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle. can be a memorable summation of the author's point. ben franklin wrote many of these in Poor Richard's Almanac, such as "God helps them that help themselves," and "A watched pot never boils." | 18 | |
| 7297252699 | ellipsis | the deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author. "the whole day, rain, torrents of rain." | 19 | |
| 7297257201 | euphemism | a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. sometimes they are used for political correctness. sometimes used to exaggerate correctness to add humor. | 20 | |
| 7297261551 | figurative language | writing that is not meant to be taken literally (opposite of literal language) | 21 | |
| 7297266746 | what are the subcategories of figurative language? | 1. analogy 2. hyperbole 3. idiom 4. metaphor 5. metonymy 6. simile 7. synesthesia 8. personification | 22 | |
| 7297271763 | analogy | a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables. when a writer uses it, they argue that the relationship between the first pair of variables is the same as the relation ship between the second pair. similes and metaphors can sometimes be this. | 23 | |
| 7297276814 | hyperbole | exaggeration | 24 | |
| 7297278044 | idiom | a common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally. | 25 | |
| 7297279368 | metaphor | making an implied comparison, not using "like," "as," or other such words. | 26 | |
| 7297282589 | extended metaphor | when the metaphor is continued later in the written work. if i continued to call my feet "my popsicles" in later paragraphs, that would be an extended metaphor. a particularly elaborate extended metaphor is called using conceit. | 27 | |
| 7297287850 | metonymy | replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept. "I couldn't understand his tongue" meaning language | 28 | |
| 7297296237 | synecdoche | a kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa. "the cattle rancher owned 500 head" "check out my new wheels" | 29 | |
| 7297298194 | simile | using words such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two different things. | 30 | |
| 7297300695 | synesthesia | a description involving a "crossing of the senses" ex: a purplish scent filled the room | 31 | |
| 7297302374 | personification | giving human-like qualities to something that's not human | 32 | |
| 7297303319 | foreshadowing | when an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story | 33 | |
| 7297304825 | genre | the major category into which a literary work fits. the basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry and drama. this can be subdivided. - ex: poetry can be classified into lyric, dramatic, narrative, etc ap language exam primarily deals with: biography, autobiography, diaries, criticism, essays, and journalistic political, scientific, and nature writing. | 34 | |
| 7297314196 | gothic | writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death. also refers to an architectural style of the middle ages, often seen in cathedrals of this period. | 35 | |
| 7297322713 | imagery | words or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. usually this involves the five senses. authors often use this in conjunction with metaphors, similes or figures of speech | 36 | |
| 7297328783 | invective | a long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language | 37 | |
| 7297329949 | irony | when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens | 38 | |
| 7297331069 | what are the subcategories of irony? | 1. verbal irony 2. dramatic irony 3. situation irony | 39 | |
| 7297332283 | verbal irony | when you say something and mean the opposite/something different. | 40 | |
| 7297335892 | the gym teacher telling you to run a mile in eight minutes or faster, calling it a "walk in the park" is an example of what? | verbal irony | 41 | |
| 7297336719 | dramatic irony | when the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out | 42 | |
| 7297344555 | in horror movies, the audience knows who the killer is, which the victim-to-be has no idea who is doing the slaying. sometimes the character trusts the killer completely when he/she shouldn't. this is an example of what? | dramatic irony | 43 | |
| 7297344556 | situational irony | found in the plot of a book, story, or movie. sometimes it makes you laugh because of how things turn out. | 44 | |
| 7297348790 | johnny spent two hours planning on sneaking into the movie theatre and missed the movie. when he finally did manage to sneak inside, he found out that kids were admitted free that day. this is an example of? | situational irony | 45 | |
| 7297350404 | juxtaposition | placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. authors often use juxtaposition of ideals or examples in order to make a point. | 46 | |
| 7297361931 | mood | the atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through diction. syntax is often a creator of this, since word order, sentence length and strength and complexity also affect pacing and therefore mood. setting, tone and events can all affect this. | 47 | |
| 7297366629 | motif | a recurring idea in a piece of literature. | 48 | |
| 7297369356 | oxymoron | when apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox. ex: wise fool | 49 | |
| 7297370897 | pacing | the speed or tempo of an author's writing. writers can use a variety of devices (syntax, polysyndeton, anaphora, meter) to change pacing of words. can be fast, slugging, stabbing, vibrato, staccato, measured, etc | 50 | |
| 7297376904 | paradox | a seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true "you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job" | 51 | |
| 7297378534 | parallelism | sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. used to add emphasis, organization, and sometimes pacing to writing (aka parallel structure or balance sentences) | 52 | |
| 7297384044 | what are the subcategories of parallelism? | 1. anaphora 2. chiasmus 3. antithesis 4. zeugma/syllepsis | 53 | |
| 7297385091 | anaphora | repetition of word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. this is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent. "i came, i saw, i conquered." | 54 | |
| 7297387740 | chiasmus | when the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the other of the words is reversed. "fair is foul and foul is fair" (aka antimetabole) | 55 | |
| 7297390934 | antithesis | two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" | 56 | |
| 7297393643 | zeugma (syllepsis) | when a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies. | 57 | |
| 7297398677 | "the butler killed the lights, and then the mistress" is an example of a... | zeugma | 58 | |
| 7297398690 | parenthetical idea | parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence. it is almost considered an aside...a whisper, and should be used sparingly for effect, rather than repeatedly. parentheses can also be used to set off dates and numbers. | 59 | |
| 7297402325 | parody | an exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. it borrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it. this is also a form of allusion, since it references a previous text, event, etc. SNL is this. do not confuse w/ satire. | 60 | |
| 7297406320 | persona | the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story. | 61 | |
| 7297407534 | poetic device | a device used in poetry to manipulate the sound or words, sentences or lines. | 62 | |
| 7297408974 | what are the subcategories of poetic device? | 1. alliteration 2. assonance 3. consonance 4. onomatopoeia 5. internal rhyme 6. slant rhyme 7. end rhyme 8. rhyme scheme 9. stressed and unstressed syllables 10. meter 11. free verse 12. iambic pentamenter 13. sonnet | 63 | |
| 7297415476 | alliteration | the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words | 64 | |
| 7297416743 | assonance | the repetition of similar vowel sounds | 65 | |
| 7297417548 | consonance | the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words "some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door" | 66 | |
| 7297419272 | onomatopoeia | the use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes (snap, rustle, boom) | 67 | |
| 7297420982 | internal rhyme | when a line of poetry contains a rhyme within the single line | 68 | |
| 7297421976 | slant rhyme | when a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly; they're merely similar | 69 | |
| 7297423979 | end rhyme | when the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme | 70 | |
| 7297425637 | rhyme scheme | the pattern of a poem's end rhymes. | 71 | |
| 7297426856 | stressed and unstressed syllables | in every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force than the other syllables. - in "nathan" the first syllable is stressed - in "unhappiness" the second of the four syllables is stressed | 72 | |
| 7297430458 | meter | a regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry | 73 | |
| 7297431232 | free verse | poetry that doesn't have much meter or rhyme | 74 | |
| 7297432404 | iambic pentameter | poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables | 75 | |
| 7297434158 | sonnet | a 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter, typically divided into three quatrains and a couplet | 76 | |
| 7297435854 | polysyndeton | when a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions. normally, a conjunction is used only before the last item in a list. often used to slow down the pace of writing and/or add an authoritative tone | 77 | |
| 7297438786 | "I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows" | example of polysyndeton | 78 | |
| 7297442715 | pun | when a word has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way | 79 | |
| 7305252024 | rhetoric | the art of effective communication | 80 | |
| 7305253022 | aristotle's rhetorical triangle | the relationships, in any piece of writing, between the writer, audience and subject. all analysis of writing is essentially an analysis of these relationships |  | 81 |
| 7305257368 | rhetorical question | question not asked for information but for effect | 82 | |
| 7305258405 | romanticism | art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature. does not rely on traditional theme and structures | 83 | |
| 7305259961 | sarcasm | a generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded. not all satire and irony are this; it's the bitter, mocking tone that separates them. | 84 | |
| 7305262074 | satire | a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. it targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions. usually has three layers: serious on the surface, humorous when you discover that it's this instead of reality, and serious when you discern the underlying point of the author. | 85 | |
| 7305265923 | sentence | a group of words (including subject and verb) expressing a complete thought | 86 | |
| 7305268384 | appositive | a word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning. ex: "bob, the lumber yard worker, ..." | 87 | |
| 7305270277 | clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb | 88 | |
| 7305271049 | independent clause | expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence | 89 | |
| 7305271813 | dependent clause (subordinate clause) | cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause | 90 | |
| 7305273647 | what are the different sentence structures? | 1. balanced sentence 2. compound sentence 3. complex sentence 4. cumulative sentence 5. periodic sentence 6. simple sentence | 91 | |
| 7305275953 | balanced sentence | a sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. both parts are parallel grammatically. aka parallelism | 92 | |
| 7305282610 | compound sentence | contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses | 93 | |
| 7305284371 | complex sentence | contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause | 94 | |
| 7305288161 | cumulative sentence | when the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements | 95 | |
| 7305291078 | periodic sentence | when the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. the writer begins with subordinate elements and postpones the main clause | 96 | |
| 7305292558 | simple sentences | contains only one independent clause | 97 | |
| 7305294774 | declarative sentence | states an idea, it does not give a command or request or ask a question | 98 | |
| 7305296553 | imperative sentence | issues a command | 99 | |
| 7305297131 | interrogative sentence | sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, where, whom) | 100 | |
| 7305335665 | style | the choices in diction, tone and syntax that a writer makes | 101 | |
| 7305336298 | symbol | anything that represents or stands for something else. usually something concrete such as an object, actions, characters...that represents something more abstract | 102 | |
| 7305339432 | syntax (sentence variety) | grammatical arrangement of words. | 103 | |
| 7305340441 | theme | the central idea or message of a work. the theme may be directly stated in nonfiction works, although not necessarily. it is rarely directly stated in fiction | 104 | |
| 7305344219 | tone | a writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, fig lang and organization | 105 | |
| 7305346102 | understatement | the ironic minimizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is | 106 | |
| 7305347938 | litotes | a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used. depending on the context, they either retain the effect of the understatement or becomes an intensifying expression. | 107 | |
| 7305353351 | argument | a piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion. thesis sets up premises | 108 | |
| 7305356089 | premises | statements offered as a reason to support a conclusion | 109 | |
| 7305356962 | conclusion | end result of the argument -- the main point being made. supported with reasons or premises. premises will be true and lead to this | 110 | |
| 7305361005 | aristotle's appeals | the goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one's ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else's. divided into three categories: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos | 111 | |
| 7305363447 | ethos (credibility) | being convinced by the credibility of the author. we tend to believe people whom we respect. writer tries to convince the audience that he or she is someone worth lisening to, in other words an authority on the subject, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect. if an argument relies to heavily on this and lacks other components, it can become a fallacy. | 112 | |
| 7305368105 | pathos (emotional) | persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. if an argument relies to heavily on this and lacks other components, it can become a fallacy. | 113 | |
| 7305370697 | logos (logical) | persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid arguments. the strongest form of persuasion. | 114 | |
| 7305375545 | concession | accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint. often used to make one's own argument stronger by demonstrating that one is willing to accept what is obviously true and reasonable , even if it's presented by the opposition. sometimes followed by a rebuttal | 115 | |
| 7305383927 | conditional statement | if-then statement, consisting of two parts: an antecedent and a consequent. often used as premises in arguments | 116 | |
| 7305736153 | contradiction | occurs when no one asserts two mutually exclusive positions. both claims cannot be true, one must be false. | 117 | |
| 7305740180 | counterexample | an example that runs to counter or oppose a generalization, thus falsifying it | 118 | |
| 7305741589 | deductive argument | an argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion. the premises are intended to provide support for the conclusion that is so strong that, if the premises are true, it would be impossible for the conclusion to be false | 119 | |
| 7305746215 | fallacy | an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning. writers do not want to make this obvious in their reasoning, but they are often used unintentionally, or when the writer thinks they can get away with faulty logic. | 120 | |
| 7305750375 | fallacy examples | 1. ad hominem 2. appeal to authority 3. appeal to the bandwagon 4. appeal to emotion 5. bad analogy 6. cliche thinking 7. false cause 8. hasty generalization 9. non sequitur 10. slippery slope | 121 | |
| 7305756860 | ad hominem | against the man; personally attacking your opponents instead of their arguments. an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than intellect. | 122 | |
| 7305760624 | appeal to authority | the claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be right | 123 | |
| 7305762153 | appeal to bandwagon | the claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or used to believe it, or do it. | 124 | |
| 7305764281 | appeal to emotion | an attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience's emotions, like sympathy, revenge, patriotism, etc. | 125 | |
| 7305766038 | bad analogy | claiming that two situations are highly similar, when they aren't | 126 | |
| 7305767553 | cliche thinking | using a well-known saying as evidence, as if it's proven, or as if it has no exceptions | 127 | |
| 7305768920 | false cause | assuming that because two things happened, the first event caused the second. sequence is not causation. | 128 | |
| 7305770339 | hasty generalization | a generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data | 129 | |
| 7305771737 | non sequitur | a conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument | 130 | |
| 7305772672 | slippery slope | the assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme outcome possible | 131 | |
| 7305795868 | inductive argument | an argument in which it's thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth of the conclusion. in an inductive argument, the premises are intended only to be so strong that, if they're true, then it's unlikely that the conclusion is false | 132 | |
| 7305799571 | sound argument | a deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions: first, that the line of reasoning from the premises to the conclusion is valid. second, that the premises are true. | 133 | |
| 7305802258 | unstated premises | not every argument is fully expressed. sometimes premises or even conclusions are left unexpressed. | 134 | |
| 7305806649 | an argument is valid if... | -is impossible for the premises to be true, and the conclusion to nevertheless be false -the conclusion follows logically from the premises | 135 | |
| 7305812836 | an argument is not valid if... | -the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises -the premises are false | 136 |
