AP Language and Composition Terminology Flashcards

14969446834	Alliteration	The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables	0
14969446835	Allusion	An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event	1
14969446836	Analogy	An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.	2
14969446837	Anaphora	The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses	3
14969446838	Anecdote	A short account of an interesting event.	4
14969446839	Annotation	Explanatory or critical notes added to a text.	5
14969446840	Antithesis	Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas	6
14969446841	Aphorism	A short, astute statement of a general truth.	7
14969446842	Archaic diction	The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language	8
14969446843	Argument	A statement put forth and supported by evidence.	9
14969446844	Asyndeton	Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.	10
14969446845	Audience	One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed.	11
14969446846	Claim	An assertion, usually supported by evidence.	12
14969446847	Colloquial/ism	An informal or conversational use of language.	13
14969446848	Complex sentence	A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.	14
14969446849	Connotation	That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation).	15
14969446850	Context	Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning.	16
14969446851	Cumulative sentence	An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.	17
14969446852	Declarative sentence	A sentence that makes a statement.	18
14969446853	Denotation	The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition	19
14969446854	Diction	Word choice	20
14969446855	Epigram	A brief witty statement.	21
14969446856	Figure of speech	An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.	22
14969446857	Hyperbole	Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.	23
14969446858	Imagery	Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).	24
14969446859	Imperative sentence	A sentence that requests or commands	25
14969446860	Irony	A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.	26
14969446861	Juxtaposition	Placement of two things side by side for emphasis.	27
14969446862	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.	28
14969446863	Metonymy	Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole.	29
14969446864	Occasion	An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.	30
14969446865	Oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms	31
14969446866	Paradox	A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true	32
14969446867	Parallelism	The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.	33
14969446868	Parody	A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.	34
14969446869	Personification	Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects	35
14969446870	Polysyndeton	The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.	36
14969446871	Purpose	One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing (To ______________)	37
14969446872	Rhetoric	The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."	38
14969446873	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.	39
14969446874	Rhetorical question	A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.	40
14969446875	Rhetorical triangle	A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience.	41
14969446876	Satire	An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.	42
14969446877	Sentence patterns	The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.	43
14969446878	Simile	A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.	44
14969446879	Simple sentence	A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.	45
14969446880	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.	46
14969446881	Subject	In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing.	47
14969446882	Subordinate clause	Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.	48
14969446883	Syntax	Sentence structure	49
14969446884	Synthesize	Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.	50
14969446885	Thesis	The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer.	51
14969446886	Thesis statement	A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.	52
14969446887	Tone	The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience.	53
14969446888	Understatement	Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect.	54
14969446889	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.	55