AP English Key Terms (definitions)

160255363	Ad Hominem	An argument based of the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case
160255364	Adjective	Part of speech that modifies a noun or pronoun
160255365	Adverb	Part of speech that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb
160255366	Allegory	Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meaning that lie outside the text
160255367	Alliteration	Repetition of the initial consonant sound
160255368	Allusion	The brief, usually indirect, reference to a person, place, or event
160255369	Ambiguity	The presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage
160255370	Analogy	Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases
160255371	Anaphora	The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.
160255372	Antecedent	The noun or noun phrase referred to by a pronoun.
160255373	Antithesis	The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases
160255374	Aphorism	1. A tersely phrased statement of truth or opinion. 2. A brief statement of a principle
160255375	Apostrophe	A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing
160255376	Appeal to Authority	A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not y giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution
160255377	Appeal to Ignorance	A fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness
160255378	Argument	A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood
160255379	Assonance	The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words
160255380	Asyndeton	The omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses
160255381	Character	An individual (usually in a person) in a work or narrative
160255382	Chiasmus	A verbal expression in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed
160255383	Circular Argument	An argument that commits the fallacy of assuming true what it is trying to prove
160255384	Claim	An arguable statement which may be a claim of fact, value, or policy
160255385	Clause	A group of words which contains a subject and a predicate
160255386	Climax	High point or culmination in a series of events
160255387	Colloquial	Characteristic which seeks to use the effect of informal spoken English as compared to formal English
160255388	Comparison	Examination of differences between to people, places, or things
160255389	Complement	A word or word group which completes the predicate in a sentence
160255390	Concession	An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of the opponent's point
160255391	Confirmation	The main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated
160255392	Conjunction	Part of speech that connects words or clauses in a sentence
160255393	Connotation	The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry
160255394	Coordination	The grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance
160255395	Deduction	A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises
160255396	Denotation	The direct or dictionary meaning of a words compared to its figurative or associated uses
160255397	Dialect	A form of a language specific to a region or group of people
160255398	Diction	The choice and use of words in speech or writing
160255399	Didactic	Intended or inclined to teach or instruct
160255400	Encomium	A tribute or eulogy in prose or verse intended to glorify a person, place, or event
160255401	Epiphora/Epistrophe	The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses
160255402	Epitaph	1. A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. 2. A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration
160255403	Ethos	A persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator
160255404	Eulogy	A formal expression of praise for a person who has recently died
160255405	Euphemism	The substitution of an inoffensive term for one that is considered offensively explicit
160255406	Exposition	A statement or type of composition intended to give information about an issue, subject, method, or idea
160255407	Extended Metaphor	A comparison between two unlike things that continues through a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem
160255408	Fallacy	An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
160255409	False Dilemma	A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available
160255410	Figurative Language	Language in which figures of speech frequently occur
160255411	Flashback	A shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological development in a story
160255412	Genre	A category of an artistic work based on style or subject.
160255413	Hasty Generalization	a fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence
160255414	Hyperbole	A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.
160255415	Imagery	Vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses.
160348013	Induction	A method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances.
160348014	Invective	Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something.
160348015	Irony	The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.
160348016	Isocolon	A succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.
160348017	Jargon	The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders.
160348018	Litotes	A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.
160348019	Loose Sentence	A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Contrast with periodic sentence.
160348020	Metaphor	A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.
160348021	Metonymy	A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").
160348022	Mode of Discourse	The way in which information is presented in a text. The four traditional modes are narration, description, exposition, and argument.
160348023	Mood	1. The quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. 2. The emotion evoked by a text.
160348024	Narrative	A rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.
160348025	Noun	The part of speech (or word class) that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action.
160348026	Onomatopoeia	The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
160348027	Oxymoron	A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.
160348028	Paradox	A statement that appears to contradict itself.
160348029	Parallelism	The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
160348030	Parody	A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.
160348031	Pathos	The means of persuasion that appeals to the audience's emotions.
160348032	Periodic Sentence	A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax.
160348033	Personification	A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.
160348034	Point of View	The perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information.
160348035	Predicate	One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.
160348036	Pronoun	A word (a part of speech or word class) that takes the place of a noun.
160348037	Prose	Ordinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse.
160348038	Refutation	The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view.
160348039	Repetition	An instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage--dwelling on a point.
160348040	Rhetoric	The study and practice of effective communication.
160348041	Rhetorical Question	A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.
160348042	Running Style	Sentence style that appears to follow the mind as it worries a problem through, mimicking the "rambling, associative syntax of conversation"--the opposite of periodic sentence style.
160348043	Sarcasm	A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark.
160348044	Satire	A text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity.
160348045	Simile	A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as."
160348046	Style	Narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing.
160348047	Subject	The part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.
160348048	Syllogism	A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
160348049	Subordination	Words, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) another. Contrast with coordination.
160348050	Symbol	A person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself.
160348051	Synechdoche	A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for a part.
160348052	Syntax	1. The study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. 2. The arrangement of words in a sentence.
160348053	Thesis	The main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence.
160348054	Tone	A writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality.
160348055	Transition	The connection between two parts of a piece of writing, contributing to coherence.
160348056	Understatement	A figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.
160348057	Verb	The part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.
160348058	Voice	1. The quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice). 2. The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator.
160348059	Zeugma	The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one.