AP Language Terms and Devices Flashcards

6285161583	anaphora	repetition of initial words	0
6285162783	ellipsis	words left out are understood as part of a sentence	1
6285166098	asyndeton	no conjunctions are used; ex. I came, I saw, I conquered	2
6285170007	polysyndeton	many conjunctions are used: ex. I shopped and cleaned and called and waited.	3
6285186048	ad hominem fallacy	attacking a person instead of an idea in an argument	4
6285190479	false dilemma	only 2 choices are given when there are actually many choices	5
6285193383	periphrasis	speaking around an issue by using a description for a name; also called circumlocution: ex: He who must not be named.	6
6285200502	idiom	words combined that have a meaning of their own that wouldn't make sense to speakers of other languages: ex. "the whole ball of wax"	7
6285206247	synecdoche	swapping one thing for a collection of things: The White House announced....	8
6285209573	hypophora	the self-answering question: ex., Why are we here? To protest.	9
6285215183	antithesis	weighs one argument against another by placing opposites side-by-side: ex., It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.	10
6285221682	dialysis	weighs two arguments side-by-side. Also called the either/or figure: ex., We can win or we can be slaves.	11
6285231133	litotes	also called understatement: makes a point by denying its opposite. ex., It was a not unproductive meeting.	12
6285242293	climax	uses the last part of a clause to begin the next clause; ex., ...for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.	13
6285250498	parenthesis	inserting words unrelated to the main idea of the sentence with or without actual parentheses: ex., He came home late, a fairly common situation, because he'd been drinking.	14
6285385803	declarative sentence	a simple statement: most sentences are this type	15
6285386701	interrogative sentence	a question ending in a question mark	16
6285388176	rhetorical question	a question for which there is either no answer or the answer is obvious.	17
6285390724	imperative sentence	a command	18
6285397190	apostrophe	speaking to a person or inanimate object that isn't there: ex., Oh, West Wind, blow, blow me home.	19
6285401164	parody	a type of satire that imitates an original in a mocking way	20
6285413917	allusion	a reference to something outside the word, usually a mythological, historical, literary, or Biblical incident.	21
6285420344	oxymoron	contradictory words placed beside each other: soft rock	22
6285424789	paradox	an idea or statement that seems contradictory but makes sense: The best companion is solitude.	23
6285433737	diction	word choice which affects meaning and creates tone	24
6285436859	post hoc ergo propter hoc	a fallacy in which one believes that what happened first caused what happened next: ex., Because Trump was elected, we lost power.	25
6285455414	chiasmus	A figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. This may involve a repetition of the same or just a reversed parallel between two corresponding pairs of ideas. Ex: It's not the men in my life, it's the life in my men. (Mae West)	26
6285459656	paralipsis	a kind of irony in which the speaker proposes not to speak of a matter, but still somehow reveals it. Ex.: I won't bring up the senator's dirty tax deals...	27
6285469327	zeugma	A technique wherein one verb governs several words, or clauses, each in a different sense. Ex.: She shot a hole-in-one and an album full of photos.	28
6285473657	epigram	a rhetorical device that is a memorable, brief, interesting and surprising satirical statement. Ex: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness (Eleanor Roosevelt)	29
6318215989	syncrisis	a figure that reframes an argument by redefining it: It's not zoning out on music; it's mindfulness.	30
6318252967	deliberative rhetoric	rhetoric that deals with choices. Aristotle felt this was the cornerstone of democracy.	31
6318261559	demonstrative rhetoric	argument that deals with values that bring a group together, which usually focuses on right versus wrong.	32
6318268174	forensic rhetoric	rhetoric that determines who is at fault: courtrooms deal in forensic rhetoric (so do couples arguing about whose fault something is).	33
6318285761	erotema	a question that either has no answer or for which the answer is obvious; a rhetorical question	34
6318291251	solecism	the figure of ignorance; a generic term for illogic or bad grammar or syntax--ain't kiddin'	35
6318304983	metastasis	a figure of thought that skips over an awkward matter by changing the subject or distracting	36
6318320243	metanoia	self-editing figure: you stop to correct yourself with a stronger point to sound ethical and caring	37
6318331245	tautology	redundancy in logic: A = B because it = B.	38
6318342732	decorum	your ability to fit in with the audience's expectations of a trust-worthy person	39
6318348505	phronesis	practical wisdom or street savvy; folks trust you because you "know what to do and say."	40
6318361017	kairos	rhetorical timing: the ability to seize a persuasive moment, to choose the best occasion.	41
6318374980	onomatopoeia	words that sound like the sound they describe. This can create enargeia, the sense that something is happening before the audience's very eyes--and ears.	42
6318395031	oxymoron	a paradox made up of two seemingly dissimilar words: "peaceful revolution."	43