AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards

7380690049	Alliteration	The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables. Ex: Sally sells seashells down by the seashore.	0
7380690050	Allusion	An indirect reference, often to another text or a historic event. Ex: Jeanne d'Arc's smile rivaled that of the Mona Lisa.	1
7380690051	Analogy	An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Ex: A butterfly's wing is as aerodynamic as a bird's wing.	2
7380690052	Anaphora	The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses. Ex: The house is very spacious. The house has a very big backyard. The house is two stories high.	3
7380690053	Anecdote	A short account of an interesting event. Ex: They lived happily ever after, the end.	4
7380690054	Annotation	Explanatory or critical notes added to a text. Ex: The A.V.I.D. Cornell notes must be very well annotated.	5
7380690055	Antecedent	The noun to which a later pronoun refers. Ex: They celebrated their anniversary in a restaurant, it would be an afternoon to cherish forever. The event is the noun to which the later pronoun, it, would refer to. It, is the antecedent.	6
7380690056	Antimetabole	The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast. Ex: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."-President John F. Kennedy	7
7380690057	Antithesis	Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. Ex: Smile and frown. Happiness and sadness. Courage and cowardness.	8
7380690058	Aphorism	A short, astute statement of a general truth. Ex: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.	9
7380690059	Appositive	A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun. Ex: John, an account, loves finance. An accountant, is the appositive to John.	10
7380690060	Archaic diction	The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language. Ex: Thou shalt not commit a crime, which means; you shall not commit a crime.	11
7380690061	Argument	A statement put forth and supported by evidence. Ex: You lost the game of Kahoot because you did not act fast enough. The evidence is: "Because you did not act fast enough."	12
7380690062	Aristotelian Triangle	A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle). Ex: The Aristotelian Triangle consists of the subject, the speaker, and the audience, such as that of a speech where the speaker talks about a certain subject to his audience.	13
7380690063	Assertion	An emphatic statement; declaration, of which is supported by evidence and becomes an argument. Ex: You got fired from your job because you arrived late every day. The evidence is: "Because you arrived late every day."	14
7380690064	Assumption	A belief or statement taken for granted without proof. Ex: You are a very tall person so you should be very good at playing basketball.	15
7380690065	Attitude	The speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone. Ex: The protagonist's ecstatic voice and tone about the event could be seen throughout the whole book.	16
7380690066	Audience	One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed. Ex: The people who came to see the play at the theatre were blown away by the performance that was given.	17
7380690067	Authority	A reliable, respected source-someone with knowledge. Ex: The administrators at school should be the first to contact if something were to happen at school. The authority, are the school administrators.	18
7380690068	Bias	Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue. Ex: Gasoline fueled cars are better than electric cars, I should know because I've always owned one.	19
7380690069	Cite	Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source. Ex: "It was a pleasure to burn"(Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451)	20
7380690070	Claim	An assertion, usually supported by evidence. Ex: Buy home insurance because every 10 seconds a home is broken into. The claim is that you should buy home insurance because every 10 seconds a home is broken into and yours might be one of them.	21
7380690071	Close reading	A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text. Ex: After writing any piece of writing you should always proofread it. Ex: Authors after writing a book have people that proofread them.	22
7380690072	Colloquial/ism	An informal or conversational use of language. Ex: Ain't; You ain't allowed to talk with anybody else about the matter.	23
7380690073	Common ground	Shared beliefs, values, or positions. Ex: Having things in common. Ex: The two boys realized that they both liked to play soccer.	24
7380690074	Complex sentence	A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Ex: Myself, as a junior will accomplish outstanding grades this academic year. The independent clause is "Myself." The dependent clause is "As a junior will accomplish outstanding grades this academic year."	25
7380690075	Concession	A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding. Ex: They both shook hands as an agreement.	26
7380690076	Connotation	That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation). Ex: You are a pig every time you eat.	27
7380690077	Context	Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning. Ex: What, when, where, how, and why.	28
7380690078	Coordination	Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but. Ex: F.A.N.B.O.Y.S (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so)	29
7380690079	Counterargument	A challenge to a position; an opposing argument. Ex: Yay or nay Ex: Salads are better than hamburgers because they are healthier for you.	30
7380690080	Cumulative sentence	An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail. Ex: He fell, as he got up after tripping he kept on walking.	31
7380690081	Declarative sentence	A sentence that makes a statement. Ex: My name is Joseph. Ex: I am your teacher. Ex: I am your boss.	32
7380690082	Deduction	Reasoning from general to specific. Ex: The Scientific Method; ask a question, do research, form a hypothesis, test your hypothesis via an experiment, and analyze the data and draw a conclusion on your hypothesis.	33
7380690083	Denotation	The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition. Ex: Car: a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people.	34
7380690084	Diction	Word choice. Ex: What kind and what type of words you want to have in your writing.	35
7380690085	Documentation	Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing. Ex: The bibliography in a piece of writing. Bibliography: the last page where you state the sources that you used in your writing.	36
7380690086	Elegiac	Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone. Ex: The man feels melancholic after his friend's death.	37
7380690087	Epigram	A brief witty statement. Ex: Death is eminent.	38
7380690088	Ethos	A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos). Ex: Is the source where you are getting your information for your claims credible?	39
7380690089	Figurative language	The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect. Ex: Similes, oxymorons, idioms, hyperbole, alliteration, personification, puns, onomatopoeia, and metaphors.	40
7380690090	Figure of speech	An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning. Ex: Similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and idioms.	41
7380690091	Hyperbole	Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. Ex: I am so hungry that I could eat a horse. It is implying that he/she can eat a whole horse in one meal, which is impossible due to the size ratio of that of a human and a horse.	42
7380690092	Imagery	Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing). Ex: The use of the five senses; sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.	43
7380690093	Imperative sentence	A sentence that requests or commands. Ex: Do all of your chores. It is demanding that you should do what you have been told since it is a command and not a suggestion.	44
7380690094	Induction	Reasoning from specific to general. Ex: When you observe, make a generalization, and provide an example on it. I looked into a bag, I opened it up and found it full of action figures, I realized they were my brother's.	45
7380690095	Inversion	A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject. Ex: Normal sentence: They are such wonderful players that no one can beat them. Inversion sentence: Such wonderful players are they that no one can beat them.	46
7380690096	Irony	A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result. Ex: Wonderful weather is expected for today, yet it starts to rain immediately when I go outside and check.	47
7380690097	Juxtaposition	Placement of two things side by side for emphasis. Ex: Fire and water. Red and blue. A straight line and a crooked line.	48
7380690098	Logos	A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals.(see ethos and pathos) Ex: Refers to the appeal and use of logic. Ex: Would you still buy a fur coat after you have seen what they do to those poor animals?	49
7380690099	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: He is as tall as a building. It is implying he is very tall in comparison to others, yet he does not surpass 6 feet.	50
7380690100	Metonymy	Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole. Ex: The Golden Gate Bridge represents San Francisco. The Hollywood sign represents Los Angeles. The Statue of Liberty represents New York.	51
7380690101	Occasion	An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing. Ex: What is the reason behind the action. Ex: Calling a meeting to discuss an issue with your co-workers.	52
7380690102	Oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms. Ex: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"-Mark Twain It is implying that Twain experienced cold temperatures when he visited San Francisco, yet it was not in the winter time.	53
7380690103	Paradox	A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. Ex: When there is a stop sign, but there is another that says to keep on going.	54
7380690104	Parallelism	The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns. Ex: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."-President John F. Kennedy	55
7380690105	Parody	A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule. Ex: Saturday Night Live does a lot of comical parodies about many controversial topics.	56
7380690106	Pathos	A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos). Ex: The use of emotion to convey a message. The use of a dog in a shelter being melancholy so you can adopt him/her or others.	57
7380690107	Persona	The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing. Ex: A character that the author gives himself or plays.	58
7380690108	Personification	Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. Ex: Giving cars the ability to talk and think.	59
7380690109	Polemic	An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion. Ex: The manager thinks he has power over his employees yet he has forgotten that he has a boss.	60
7380690110	Polysyndeton	The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions. Ex: Joe likes pizza, and hamburgers, and hotdogs. Correct way-Joe likes pizza, hamburgers, and hotdogs.	61
7380690111	Premise	Major, minor, two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism that takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise. Ex: Most birds that have wings can fly. All penguins are birds and have wings. Therefore, all penguins should be able to fly.	62
7380690112	example of major premise	All mammals are warm-blooded.	63
7380690113	example of minor premise	All horses are mammals.	64
7380690114	example of conclusion	All horses are warm-blooded.	65
7380690115	Propaganda	A negative term for writing that is designed to sway opinion rather than present information. Ex: "Together we can do it!"	66
7380690116	Purpose	One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing. Ex: The author's purpose is to inform, entertain, persuade, and describe.	67
7380690117	Refute	To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument. Ex: Refuting an argument: I am convinced that the idea will not work.	68
7380690118	Rhetoric	The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion." Ex: Smoking causes cancer, and if you smoke you can be its next victim.	69
7380690119	Rhetorical modes	Patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include, but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation. Ex: The use of description, narration, example/illustration, process, cause and effect, classification, comparison and contrast, and persuasion/argumentation.	70
7380690120	Rhetorical question	A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer. Ex: Why so serious?	71
7380690121	Rhetorical triangle	A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle). Ex: The Rhetorical triangle consists of the subject, the speaker, and the audience.	72
7380690122	Satire	An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.	73
7380690123	Scheme	A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect. Ex: Roses are red. Violets are blue. I am out of my head with thinking of you.	74
7380690124	Sentence patterns	The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. Ex: Active sentence: Joe gave Mary a ring. Passive sentence: A ring was given to Mary by Joe.	75
7380690125	Sentence variety	Using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect. Ex: Using diction to create the sentence structure that you want in your writing.	76
7380690126	Simile	A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things. Ex: She is as tall as a tree.	77
7380690127	Simple sentence	A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause. Ex: The boy played with his toys.	78
7380690128	Source	A book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information. Ex: A school resource database.	79
7380690129	Speaker	A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing. Ex: The host of a television show such as Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel.	80
7380690130	Straw man	A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position. Ex: Turning one's words against him/her.	81
7380690131	Style	The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech. Ex: The way you want your writing to be.	82
7380690132	Subject	In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing. Ex: What the writing will be about and will consist of.	83
7380690133	Subordinate clause	Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause. Ex: Main clause(I knew), subordinate clause(that she wanted to go home.)	84
7380690134	Subordination	The dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence. Ex: Main clause(I want), subordinate clause(to go to an amusement park.	85
7380690135	Syllogism	A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor). Ex: Penguin-"Birds can fly, I am a bird, therefore, I should be able to fly."	86
7380690136	Syntax	Sentence structure. Ex: Normal syntax-Jane ate a cake. Inverted syntax-A cake, Jane ate.	87
7380690137	Synthesize	Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.	88
7380690138	Thesis	The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.	89
7380690139	Thesis statement	A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit. Ex: The central idea you are writing about to which all parts of your work will refer to.	90
7380690140	Tone	The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience. Ex: Happy, sad, content, mad, excited, etc.	91
7380690141	Topic sentence	A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis.	92
7380690142	Trope	Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech. Ex The use of a word, phrase, or image in a way not intended by its normal signification.	93
7380690143	Understatement	Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect. Ex: "It is a bit cold today." "You don't say."	94
7380690144	Voice	In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing. Ex: Active voice-You stole that cookie from the cookie jar. Passive voice-The cookie was stolen from the cookie jar.	95
7380690145	Zeugma	A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes in congruent ways—two or more words in a sentence. Ex: She (ran) out of time, and towards her doom.	96
7380690146	Asyndeton	Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses. Ex: I ate. I played. I slept.	97