AP Language Flashcards

2910006732	diction	refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness	0
2910019859	ethos	one of the three classical rhetorical appeals; in short, an ethical appeal; when a writer persuades the audience to respect and believe him based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation often a factor in an ethical appeal. The aim is to gain the audience's confidence and for the writer to assert his confidence in regards to the topic at hand	1
2910025337	figurative language	unlike literal language, it's the generic term of any artful deviation from the ordinary mode of speaking or writing. Firguative includes literary devices such as simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, etc.	2
2910031543	logos	one of the three classical rhetorical appeals; in short, a logical appeal; an appeal that offers clear, reasonable and logical premises that permit a reader to easily follow a progression of ideas	3
2910035434	pathos	one of the three classical rhetorical appeals; in short, an emotional appeal; this is often viewed as the most powerful of the three classical rhetorical appeals; emotional appeals often rely on figurative language and devices as a way to emotionally engage a reader	4
2910041074	style	the distinctive way in which a writer uses language, from how he puts sentences together to his choice of vocabulary and use of literary devices; the combination of diction, syntax, and figurative language	5
2910045412	syntax	the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as groups of words and sentences made up of words, while diction refers to the individual words	6
3046547134	abstract	refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable people, places, or things); a passage is called abstract if its diction presents its subject matter in general or non-sensuous words or with only a think realization of its experienced qualities; it is called concrete if its diction presents its subject matter with striking particularity and sensuous detail	7
3046558836	adage	a saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in metaporical language. ie. love conquers all; if you want peace, prepare for war	8
3046571639	ad hominem	an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative charagteristic or unrelated belief of the person supporting it	9
3046574236	allegory	a story or scene in which every element has symbolic meaning	10
3046575599	alliteration	the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Writers use alliteration to give emphasis to words, to imitate sounds, and to create musical effects. Alliteration is the basis for tongue twisters. IE: she sells sea shells by the sea shore.	11
3046583167	allusion	a reference (either explicit or implicit) to something in history or another work of literature	12
3046596005	amplification	refers to a literary ractice wherein a writer embellishes a sentence by adding more information to it in order to increase its worth and understandability. IE: the thesis paper was difficult, versus, the tesis paper was difficult: it required extensive research, data collection, sample surveys, interviews and a lot of fieldwork.	13
3046604185	anachronism	an intentional or sometimes unintentional error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. It is sometimes employed in order to attract the reader's attention. Anachronism can exist in literature, film, art, etc. IE: in the film Titanic, the main character, Jack, mentions ice-fishing on Lake Wissota near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. However, the mention of the lake is anachronistic because the lake is a man-made reservoir and was constructed five years after the Titanic tragedy.	14
3046641323	anaphora	the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of each one of a sequence of sentences, paragraphs, lines of verse, or stanzas	15
3046647658	anadiplosis	the repetition of the last word of a preceding clause. In other words, the word is used at the end of a sentence and then used again at the beginning of the next sentence.	16
3046662434	analogy	a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar. Metaphors and similies are tools used to draw analogies.	17
3046668150	anecdote	a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person	18
3046670431	anticlimax	like a climax, an anticlimax is the turning point in a story. However, an anti-climax is always a letdown. It's the point at which you learn the story will not turn out as you expected	19
3046679225	antithesis	when two opposites are introduced in the same sentence, for contrasting effect; the presentation of two contrasting images; the ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. IE: to be or not to be; ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.	20
3046716515	aphorism	a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life. IE: the early bird gets the worm.	21
3046720113	apostrophe	a figure of speech where the speaker addreses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a non-human being	22
3046723215	archetype	a typical character, action or situation that represents universal patterns of human nature; also known as a universal symbol, an achetype may be a character, a theme, a symbol or even a setting. IE: the hero; the mother figure; the villain, etc. KARL JUNG	23
3046754886	assonance	the repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words. IE: hear the mellow wedding bells; the spider skins lie on their sides, translucent and ragged, their legs drying in knots	24
3046767937	asyndeton	a figure of speech in which one or several conjunctions are omitted from a series of related clauses	25
3187752169	bathos	when a writer or a poet falls into inconsequential and absurd metaphors, descriptions, or ideas in an effort to be increasingly emotional or passionate	26
3187756122	bombast	high-sounding language with little meaning; used ot impress people	27
3187759382	burlesque	in literature, comic imitation of a serious literary or artistic form; the serious is treated lightly and the frivolous seriously; genuine emotion is sentimentalized and trivial emotions are elevated to a dignified plane; closely related to parody	28
3187772665	cacophony & dissonance	harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; words or sounds that are meant to be unpleasant	29
3187780633	caricature	descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality	30
3187783438	chiasmus	the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism	31
3187792980	coherence & unity	quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle	32
3187811121	colloquaialism	a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing. IE: y'all, ain't	33
3187816399	conceit	a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor, or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects; a conceit displays intellectual cleverness	34
3187823407	connotation and denotation	the denotation of a word is its primary definition (dictionary definition), while the connotation is the range of secondary or associated significations or feelings, which the word suggests or implies. A good example is the word "gold." The denotation of gold is a malleable, ductile, yellow element. The connotations, however, are the ideas associated with gold, such as greed or luxury.	35
3187839431	consonance	repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity or within compound words. IE: boost/best; fulfill, ping-pong	36
3187848908	conundrum	a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem	37
3187858353	circumlocution	the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive	38
3187861411	deduction	the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example	39
3187864257	denouement	the final part of a story or drama in which everything is made clear and no questions or surprises remain	40
3187867357	diacope	the repetition of a word or phrase broken up by one or more intervening words. IE: I hate to be poor, ad we are degradingly poor, offensively poor, miserably poor, beastly poor.	41
3187874454	dialect	the form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group; pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure are affected by dialect	42
3187889545	didactic	writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. Didactic writing may be fiction or nonfiction that teacehs a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.	43
3187899374	digression	the act of departingfrom the main subject in speechor writing to discuss an apparently unrelated topic	44
3187917430	ellipsis	a series of three dots that indicates an intentional ommision of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning; depending on their context and placement in a sentence, ellipses can also indicate an unfiinshed thought, a slight pause, and nervous or awkward silence	45
3187926386	empathy	the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions; the ability to share someone else's feelings	46
3187932328	epanalepsis	a figure of speech defined by the repetition of the initial word(s) of a clause or sentence at the end of that same caluse or sentence; by having the same phrase in both places, the speaker calls special attention to it	47
3187938741	epigraph	the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work of literature that hints at its theme	48
3187941378	epigram	a short, pithy saying, often with a quick, satirical twist at the end; a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement	49
3205551162	epiphany	a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurence	50
3187946391	epistrophe	the repetition of the same word(s) at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. It is the counterpart to anaphora.	51
3187956934	epithet	an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. IE: old men are often unfairly awarded the epithet "dirty"; in Romeo and Juliet, epithets are used in the prologue: "star-cross'd lovers" and "death-mark'd love"	52
3187967753	essay	an essay is a short nonfiction work about a particular subject. An essay (IE: a work of nonfiction) is NEVER referred to as a short story (which implies that its content is fictional.	53
3205557511	euphemism	a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. "He went to his final reward" is a common euphemism for "he died." Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses "collateral damage" to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation.	54
3205557512	euphony	a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony	55
3205557513	exigence	in rhetoric, an issue, problem or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak	56
3205559415	explication	an exercise in close reading and literary analysis	57
3205559416	expose	a form of investigative journalism in which reporters deeply investigate and expose a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing	58
3205559417	exposition	writing or speech that explains a process or presents information. In the plot of a story or drama, the exposition is the part of the work that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation; the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot	59
3205561703	extended metaphor	a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work	60
3433369482	fallacy & fallacious reasoning	an incorrect belief or supposition based on faulty data, defective evidence, false information or flawed logic	61
3433373993	farce	a comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard for seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose	62
3433377653	foil	a character in a work who, by sharp prices, serves to stress and highlight the characteristics of the protagonist	63
3433381946	foreshadowing	when the author suggests future events in a story before they happen	64
3433383623	free indirect discouse	mode of narration where the narrator shares in the consciousness of the character being described. That is to say, the narrator adopts the attitudes, assumptions and characteristic mode of speech particular to that character. This narrative style combines the features of the 3rd person reporting with 1st person direct speech.	65
3433391941	generalization	when a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some	66
3433394709	harangue	a forceful sermon, lecture, or tirade	67
3433396046	homily	an informal sermon; can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice	68
3433399647	hubris	excessive pride and ambition that usually leads to the downfall of the character	69
3433412525	hyperbole	deliberate exaggeration; over-statement that is not meant to be taken literally	70
3433413596	idiom	an expression having a special meaning different from the usual meanings of the words. Slightly different from metaphor in that it is often colloquial or regional. IE: Up the creek without a paddle; rub someone the wrong way; jump the gun	71
3433419119	image & imagery	language that evokes at least one of the five senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching. Note that all symbols are images, but not all images are symbols	72
3433425555	induction & inductive reasoning	the argumentative process of moving from a given series of specifics to a generalization	73
3433428064	inference	a conclusion one can draw from the presented details	74
3433429276	invective	a verbally abusive attack; relies on strong, abusive language	75
3433430629	lampoon	a mocking, satirical assault on a person or situation	76