AP Language Terms Flashcards

12350303661	alliteration	the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words, "sally sells seashells"	0
12350303662	allusion	a direct or indirect reference to something that is assumed to be commonly known	1
12350303663	ad hominem argument	an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect, "against the man not the data"	2
12350303664	allegory	a work that functions on a symbolic level, a type of extended symbolism	3
12350303665	ambiguity	the multiple meanings, intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage; or the sense of uncertainty that the work presents	4
12350303666	analogy	drawing a comparison to another situation that applies to the original circumstance in order to show a similarity in some respect	5
12350303667	anaphora	repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row	6
12350303668	antecedent	the word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun refers to	7
12350303669	antithesis	a sentence or group of sentences that directly opposes or states the complete opposite of a given opinion; a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within balanced grammatical structure	8
12350303670	apostrophe	when a speaker addresses someone or something that is either not present or inanimate	9
12350303671	argumentation	writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments	10
12350303672	assonance	the repetition of vowel sounds in successive words	11
12350303673	asyndeton	the absence of conjunctions when separating a series of words or clauses (A, B, C rather than A, B, and C)	12
12350303674	begging the question	a logical fallacy in which the asserted conclusion is based on a prior question that is only presumed settled	13
12350303675	amplification	the repetition of a word or phrase, followed by additional information; it is used both to clarify and intensify the meaning of the original word	14
12350303676	colloquialism	slang in writing, used often to create local color and to provide an informal tone	15
12350303677	connotation	the feelings or emotions associated with a word, beyond its literal meaning	16
12350303678	consonance	repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity	17
12350303679	contrast	a manner of distinguishing two things or ideas by emphasizing their differences	18
12350303680	deductive reasoning	a reasoning from general ideas and principles to particular, detailed facts	19
12350303681	denotation	the literal or dictionary meaning of a word	20
12350303682	description	writing that intends to recreate, invert, or visually present a person, place event, or action so that the reader can picture what is being described	21
12350303683	diction	the author's choice of words in creating tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning	22
12350303684	didactic	fiction or nonfiction that is excessively instructive	23
12350303685	dramatic irony	a type of irony in which facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work	24
12350303686	ethos	an appeal based on the character, reputation, or credibility of the speaker	25
12350303687	euphemism	a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable	26
12350303688	exposition	writing that intends to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion	27
12350303689	extended metaphor	a comparison introduced and then further developed throughout a literary work	28
12350303690	enumeratio	specific examples clarify and illustrate the point being established	29
12350303691	extended allusion	a direct or indirect reference to something that is assumed to be commonly known that is repeated throughout a literary work	30
12350303692	extended symbolism	a device in literature where the connection between an object and an idea is developed or recurring throughout a literary work	31
12350303693	false dichotomy	presenting two alternatives that are not necessarily mutually exclusive as if they were, often ignoring other alternatives, an ultimatum	32
12350303694	figure of speech	a device used to produce figurative language	33
12350303695	genre	the major category into which a literary work is sorted	34
12350303696	hyperbole	deliberate exaggeration or overstatement	35
12350303697	hypophora	figure of speech in which a speaker answers his own otherwise-rhetorical question	36
12350303698	imagery	descriptive language that appeals to the the sense	37
12350303699	inductive reasoning	reasoning from detailed facts to general principles	38
12350303700	infer	to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented	39
12350303701	juxtaposition	placing two elements side-by-side to present a comparison or contrast	40
12350303702	litotes	a figure of speech in which the use of a double negative to generate a positive understatement, "the test was not bad"	41
12350303703	logical fallacy	a mistake in verbal reasoning that may seem to be sound	42
12350303704	logos	an appeal based on logic or reason	43
12350303705	metaphor	a comparison of two unlike things, not necessarily using "like" or "as"	44
12350303706	metonymy	a type of metaphor in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it	45
12350303707	modes of discourse	the variety, conventions, and purpose of the major kinds of writing	46
12350303708	mood	the emotional context or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader, also called atmostphere	47
12350303709	narrative	the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events	48
12350303710	narrative device	a tool of the storyteller, used most often in fiction but also in biographies and other narratives	49
12350303711	narrative technique	the style of telling the story, used in both fiction and nonfiction	50
12350303712	paradox	a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity	51
12350303713	parallelism	similarity in structure and syntax in a series of related words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or paragraphs that develops balance	52
12350303714	parody	a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule	53
12350303715	pathos	an appeal based on emotion	54
12350303716	personification	the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas or inanimate objects	55
12350303717	point of view	the style of narration: first person, second person, third person limited, or third person omniscient	56
12350303718	polysyndeton	use of many conjunctions in close succession, with or without commas ("A and B and C and D" or "A, and B, and C, and D" rather than "A, B, C, and D")	57
12350303719	procatalepsis	predicts the most likely, common, or troubling objections to ones argument, then offers strong answers to those objections	58
12350303720	prose	the literary genre that is written in ordinary language and most closely resembles everyday speech; any writing that is not poetry	59
12350303721	purpose	an author's reason for writing; what the author is attempting to achieve by writing	60
12350303722	qualified negative	a limited negative that is used or described in such a way that it is partially positive or could be positive under certain circumstances	61
12350303723	audience	the persons reached by a book or other form of literature	62
12350303724	qualified positive	a limited positive; a positive that is used or described in such a way that it is partially negative or could be negative under certain circumstances	63
12350303725	refrain	a phrase that is repeated throughout a work	64
12350303726	repetition	the exact or approximate duplication of any element of language, such as word, phrase, sentence, or structure	65
12350303727	resources of language	all devices of composition available to a writer, such as diction, syntax, sentence structure, and figures of speech	66
12350303728	rhetoric	the techniques and rules for using language effectively, eloquently, and persuasively	67
12350303729	rhetorical appeal	rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling, including appeals to character, emotion, or logic	68
12350303730	rhetorical features	how a passage is constructed; its organization and the combination of images, details, or arguments in relation to the author's purpose	69
12350303731	rhetorical question	a question in which does not need or expect an answer	70
12350303732	rhetorical strategies	a general term encompassing the devices that creates style, reveal purpose, and establish structure	71
12350303733	sarcasm	bitter, caustic language designed to hurt or ridicule someone or something, often satirical or verbally ironic	72
12350303734	satire	a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and convention for reform or ridicule, often uses imitation, irony, and/or sarcasm	73
12350303735	simile	a comparison using "like" or "as"	74
12350303736	situational irony	a type of irony in which events turn out the opposite of what was expected	75
12350303737	slippery slope	a logical fallacy that claims a series of intensifying consequences will inevitably follow a seemingly safe incident	76
12350303738	scesis onomaton	create emphasis by repeating the same idea in a series of essentially synonymous statements	77
12350303739	style	a manner of expression that is characteristic of a particular person or time period	78
12350303740	stylistic devices	the elements of a work that contribute to style	79
12350303741	syllogism	from the Greek words for "reckoning together," a form of deductive argument which presents two premises, major and minor, followed by a conclusion, (Major: all men are mortal. Minor: Socrates is a man. Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.)	80
12350303742	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole, the whole for apart, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or the material for the thing made from it	81
12350303743	syntax	the grammatical structure of prose and poetry	82
12350303744	synthesis	the combination of two or more elements (thesis and antithesis) onto a unified whole	83
12350303745	theme	the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life, may be directly stated, especially in expository or argumentative writing	84
12350303746	thesis	the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition	85
12350303747	tone	attitudes and presuppositions of the author that are revealed by their linguistic choices (diction, syntax, rhetorical devices)	86
12350303748	understatement	the opposite of exaggeration, it is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended	87
12350303749	verbal irony	a type of irony in which the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	88
12350303750	voice	the personality of a character as seen through their narration	89
12350303751	irony	the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect	90