SHS AP Language and Composition Terms Flashcards

5343128636	Alliteration	The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables. Ex. Junior year is filled with exams, excitement, and exhaustion.	0
5343128637	Allusion	An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event. Ex. Chocolate was her Achille's heal.	1
5343128639	Analogy	An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.	2
5343128640	Analysis	the process of examining the components of a literary work	3
5343128641	Anaphora	The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses. Ex. Exercise builds stamina in young children; exercise builds stamina in teenagers and young adults; exercise builds stamina in older adults and senior citizens.	4
5343128642	Anecdote	A short, personal account of an interesting event.	5
5343128643	Annotation	Explanatory or critical notes added to a text.	6
5343128645	Antithesis	Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. Ex. When the distance runners reach the state they call the zone, they find themselves mentally engaged yet detached.	7
5343128647	Archaic diction	The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.	8
5343128649	Rhetorical Situation	A diagram that represents the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.	9
5343128651	Assonance	The repeated use of a vowel sound in the stressed syllable to create rhythm in speech. Ex. A workout partner is finally a kind, reliable, right-minded helper.	10
5343128652	Assumption	A belief or statement taken for granted without proof.	11
5343128653	Asyndeton	Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses to create a dramatic, quickened effect. Ex. I skated, I shot, I scored, I cheered--what a glorious moment.	12
5343128654	Attitude	The speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.	13
5343128655	Audience	One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.	14
5570981376	Primary Audience	The main group of people the the speaker is intending to engage.	15
5570983499	Secondary/Tertiary Audience	Other sub-groups of people that the speaker reaches (or hopes to reach) outside of the main group.	16
5343128656	Authority	A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge.	17
5343128657	Bias	prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue	18
5343128660	Claim	An assertion, usually supported by evidence.	19
5570766936	Climax	Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses, in order of increasing number of importance. Ex. Excellent athletes need to be respectful of themselves, their teammates, their schools, and their communities.	20
5343128662	Colloquialism	An informal or conversational use of language.	21
5343128666	Consonance	the same consonant sound in words with different vowel sounds.	22
5343128667	Context	What the author/speaker assumes about the audience (i.e. what they know, are feeling, etc.)	23
5343128668	Counterargument	A challenge to a position; an opposing argument. Often used	24
5343128669	Credible	worthy of belief; trustworthy	25
5343128671	Denotation	The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.	26
5343128672	Diction	Word choice	27
5343128674	Ethos	Appeal to speaker's credibility and trustworthiness, can be automatic or built.	28
5570656210	Automatic Ethos	The credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker due to their fame/reputation/title/credentials.	29
5570664096	Built Ethos	The credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker that is built throughout the speech because they lack fame/reputation/title/credentials.	30
5343128675	Euphemism	Substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for another that would be harsh, offensive, or embarrassing; used to make something sound better than it is but is usually more wordy than the original. Ex. "For the time being," he explains, "it had been found necessary to make a readjustment of rations."	31
5570741894	Epistrophe	Repetition of the same group of words at the end of a successive clause. Ex. To become a top-notch player, I thought like an athlete, I trained like an athlete, and I ate like an athlete.	32
5570750111	Anadiplosis	Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. Ex. Mental preparation leads to training; training builds muscle tone and coordination.	33
5343128677	Figurative language	The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.	34
5343128679	Flashback	interruption of a narrative by the introduction of an earlier event or by an image of a past experience.	35
5343128682	Hyperbole	Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. Ex. Your suitcase weighs a ton!	36
5343128683	Imagery	Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).	37
5343128686	Irony	A contradiction between what is said and what is meant, usually in the form of sarcasm or puns. Ex. What a pleasant day. (when it is raining heavily)	38
5343128687	Juxtaposition	Placement of two things side by side for emphasis.	39
5343128688	Logos	Appeal to logic, reasoning, and evidence to support the speaker's agenda.	40
5570679347	Hard Evidence	The use of statistics, facts, survey data, testimonies, etc. to support an argument.	41
5570682488	Soft Evidence	The use of common sense scenarios to support an argument.	42
5343128689	Metaphor	A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison. Ex. Maybe all of the strings inside him were broken.	43
5343128692	Mood	feeling or atmosphere a writer creates for a reader	44
5343128695	Occasion	The time, date, location, and other details of the speech, also aspect of context.	45
5343128696	Onomatopoeia	Words that imitate or demonstrate sounds. Ex. The sack fell into the river with a splash of disappointment.	46
5343128697	Oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms. Ex. That's old news.	47
5343128698	Paradox	A statement that seems contradictory due to juxtaposition of seemingly contradictory phrases, but is actually true. Ex. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.	48
5343128700	Parody	A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.	49
5343128701	Pathos	Appeal to emotions such as fear, humor, sadness, and happiness by the speaker in order to engage the audience.	50
5343128702	Persona	The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing as they speak; in other words, who the author becomes as they speak. Ex. Clark Kent into Superman.	51
5343128703	Personification	Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. Ex. My heart jumped out of my chest!	52
5343128704	Point of view	perspective of the speaker or narrator in a literary work	53
5343128705	Polysyndeton	The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions to make the information sound laborious and detailed. Ex. I skated and I shot and I scored and I cheered--what a glorious moment!	54
5343128707	Propaganda	A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.	55
5343128708	Purpose	One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.	56
5343128709	Refute	To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.	57
5343128710	Repetition	a word or phrase used more than once to emphasize an idea	58
5343128711	Rhetoric	The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."	59
5343128713	Rhetorical question	A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer. Ex. If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?	60
5343128715	Satire	An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.	61
5343128717	Sentence Structure	The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.	62
5343128718	Sentence variety	Using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect.	63
5343128719	Simile	A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things. Ex. He is as healthy as a horse.	64
5343128720	Source	A book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information.	65
5343128721	Speaker	The creator of the speech.	66
5343128722	Stream of consciousness	a form of writing which replicates the way the human mind works. Ideas are presented in random order; thoughts are often unfinished.	67
5343128723	Structure	the particular way in which parts of a written work are combined or function	68
5343128724	Style	The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech.	69
5343128725	Subject	In rhetoric, the topic and universal truth addressed in a piece of writing.	70
5343128727	Symbol	a concrete object, scene, or action which has deeper significance because it is associated with something else, often an important idea or theme in the work	71
5343128729	Syntax	The sentence structure that the speaker uses throughout the text within or between paragraphs. Examples are simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.	72
5343128730	Synthesize	Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.	73
5343128731	Tone	The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.	74
5343128732	Trope	Artful diction through the use of imagery or figurative language.	75
5343128733	Understatement	Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.	76
5343128734	Active Voice	Sentences that are authoritative, direct, and fast moving due to the positioning of the parts of the sentence (doer-->action-->receiver). Ex. Jessica slammed on the brakes.	77
5570785669	Passive Voice	Sentences that are more indirect, complex, and slow-moving due to the positioning of the parts of the sentence (receiver-->action-->[by doer]). Ex. The brakes were slammed on by Jessica.	78
5570989259	Universal Truth	The overarching/underlying big idea that is upheld by all people everywhere. Regardless of one's opinion on the subject, this should be accepted or acknowledged.	79
5571163237	Interruption	Has to do with syntax. Usually are in the form of parentheses, dashes, or appositives. These break up the sentences--or ideas rather--to emphasize a certain point.	80
5571175535	Appositive	A subordinate clause that explains the noun mentioned right before this clause. Ex. Joe Weider, a pioneer in personal weight training, would marvel at the facilities open to today's students athletes.	81
5571214803	Parallel Structure	Balancing the grammatical structure of sentences to emphasize the relationship between ideas. Ex. Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions benefit a person's heart and lungs, muscle and nerves, and joints and cartilage.	82
5571634387	Litotes	Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (in other words, an extreme downplay of the significance of something). Ex. It wasn't a terrible trip.	83
5571697425	Cliche	A word or phrase that is not meant to be taken literally and has changed meaning over time. Ex. The test was a piece of cake.	84
5571718438	Pun	A joke/play on words. Ex. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.	85
5571757702	Allegory	A story, poem, or picture, that has a meaning that is hidden from what is superficially given to you (a moral of the story).	86