AP English Language and Composition Flashcards

14694754247	Abstract Language	Refers to things that are hard to define, or that can be defined in more than one way. Abstract ideas can mean one thing to me and another to you. An example of an abstraction is, "That's interesting," which means many things. What does "interesting" mean?	0
14694754248	Ad homonym	Latin for "against the man." When a writer personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their argument or the issue. This fallacy draws attention away from the real issues. Example: Don't vote for William Smith. He has been married three times.	1
14694754249	Ad populum	An appeal to the prejudices of the masses that asserts if many believe it, then it is so. The assumption here is that if everyone is going to agree with me, then I don't really need to support my claim with any evidence. Just because a lot of people believe something, that doesn't necessarily make it true. Example: Politicians often want whatever the American people want, as if everyone wants/believes the same thing.	2
14694754250	Allegory	A narrative or description with a secondary or symbolic meaning underlying the literal meaning. Satirists sometimes use allegory because it allows them a way to indirectly attack their satirical target. Swift's Gulliver's Travels is an example.	3
14694754251	Alliteration	The repetition at close intervals of initial identical constant sounds. Or, vowel sounds in successive words or syllables that repeat.	4
14694754252	Allusion	An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text) with which the reader is expected to be familiar. Allusions are usually literary, historical, Biblical, or mythological.	5
14694754253	Ambiguity	An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. Also, the manner of expression of an event or situation may be ambiguous. Artful language may be ambiguous. Unintentional ambiguity is usually vagueness.	6
14694754254	Anachronism	Assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence, e.g. the watch Merlyn wore in The Once and Future King.	7
14694754255	Analogy	An analogy is a comparison to a directly parallel case. When a writer uses an analogy, he or she argues that a claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the analogous case.	8
14694754256	Anaphora	Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This device is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.	9
14694754257	Anecdote	A short narrative of an amusing, unusual, revealing or interesting even. Usually, the anecdote is combined with other material such as expository essays or arguments to clarify abstract points or to create a memorable image. Anecdotal: evidence that relies on observations, presented in narrative.	10
14694754258	Antithesis	The opposite of an idea used to emphasize a point; the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas. Hope is the antithesis of despair.	11
14694754259	Balanced Antithesis	A figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure, as in To err is human; to forgive, divine.	12
14694754260	Aphorism	A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. For example, "Early to bed, early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise." - Ben Franklin	13
14694754261	Apostrophe	An address to the dead as if living; to the inanimate as if animate; to the absent as if present; to the unborn as if alive. Examples: "O Julius Caesar thou are mighty yet; thy spirit walks abroad," or "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll."	14
14694754262	Appeal to Tradition	This fallacy is apparent when the arguer suggests a course of action that is correct "because we've always done it this way." Just because something is traditionally true, that does not make it right or effective. Example: We arrange desks in a classroom in orderly rows. Any other way has not been proven effective.	15
14694754263	Archetype	A term borrowed by psychologist Carl Jung who described archetypes as "primordial images" formed by repeated experiences in the lives of our ancestors, inherited in the "collective unconscious" of the human race and expressed in myths, religion, dreams, fantasies, and literature. These "images" of character, plot pattern, symbols recur in literature and evoke profound emotional responses in the reader because they resonate with an image already existing in our unconscious mind, e.g. death, rebirth.	16
14694754264	Argumentation	Exploring of a problem by investigating all sides of it; persuasion through reason. One of the four chief forms of discourse, the others being exposition, narration, and description. The purpose of argumentation is to convince by establishing the truth of falsity of a proposition.	17
14694754265	Assertion	The claim or point the author is making.	18
14694754266	Asyndeton	A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction), e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered." or "He was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing." The parts of the sentence are emphasized equally; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence.	19
14694757053	Bandwagon Appeal	Trying to establish that something is true because everyone believes it is true. This fallacy is similar to Ad Populum, but relies on popularity or trendiness. The error in logic is obvious, just because it is popular, it isn't necessarily correct.	20
14694768984	Begging the question	To sidestep or evade the real problem. The arguer makes an assertion as if she has already proven it. It lacks evidence. Example: Required courses such as freshman English are a waste of time. They should not be required.	21
14694777216	Bias	A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgement.	22
14694793289	Casual Relationship (cause and effect)	In casual relationships, a writer asserts that one thing results from another. To show how one thing produces or brings about another is often relevant in establishing a logical argument.	23
14694797863	Chiasmus	Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. Chiasmus is often short and summarizes a main idea, e.g., "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."	24
14694805911	Chronological Ordering	Arrangement of ideas in the order in which things occur; may move from past to present or in reverse, from present to past.	25
14694808286	Circular Reasoning	A type of faulty reasoning in which the writer attempts to support a statement by simply repeating the statement in different or stronger terms.	26
14694814253	Cliché	A phrase or expression that has been used so often that it has lost its value.	27
14694816017	Concrete Language	Language that describes specific, observable things, people or places, rather than ideas or qualities. Concrete language refers to real objects that we can sense or measure. Concrete passages are not difficult to imagine or perceive.	28
14694822512	Colloquial	Ordinary language, sometimes slang or regional dialect. For example, depending on where you live in the United States, a sandwich is called a hero, a grinder or a sub.	29
14696408996	Connotation	Rather than the dictionary definition, the associations associated by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning or denotation.	30
14696411510	Contradiction	A direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency.	31
14696427210	Delayed Sentence	A sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. For example: Just as he bent over to tie his shoe, a car hit him.	32
14696428710	Denotation	The dictionary definition of a word.	33
14696433958	Diction	Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. An essay written in academic diction, for example, would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise, than street slang.	34
14696437712	Didactic	A term used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model or correct behavior or thinking.	35
14696440105	Digression	A temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing.	36
14696441497	Double Entendre	A phrase or saying that has two meanings, one generally being sexual or provocative in nature.	37
14696442439	Emotional Appeal	When a writer appeals to readers' emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument. Emotive language can be abusive, if the writer manipulates emotions for false claims or to gain power or control. Emotional appeals are very common in advertising, in political speeches, and in persuasive texts. It's important to recognize emotional appeals and to look at them for what they are instead of being swept up in the "moment."	38
14696450840	Epigraph	A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of a theme. One found at the beginning of John Kennedy Toole's Confederacy of Dunces: "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign; that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him."	39
15658353507	Epitaph	A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person.	40
15658448625	Epithet	a term used to characterize a person or thing, such as rosy-fingered in rosy-fingered dawn or the Great in Catherine the Great. Also a term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title or a person, such as The Great Emancipator for Abraham Lincoln.	41
15658464161	Ethical Appeal	When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeals, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audiences confidence.	42
15658488246	Ethos	A speaker or writer's credibility; his or her character, honesty, commitment to the writing.	43
15658506307	Eulogy	A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing: an oration in honor of a deceased person.	44
15658523362	Euphemism	A kinder, gentler, less crude or harsh word or phrase to replace one that seems imprudent or harsh to use in a particular situation; also a word or phrase that dilutes the meaning of or evades responsibility for a more precise word or phrase (such as "assessment" for "test," "casualties" for "deaths").	45
15658539363	Explication	The act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. Explication usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.	46
15658554223	Exposition	Background information provided by a writer to enhance a readers understanding of the context of a fictional or nonfictional story.	47
15658569074	False Dilemma Fallacy	This is when the arguer assumes that there are only two ways of looking at an issue. Example: America. Love it or leave it.	48
15658580514	Fiction	A product of a writers imagination, usually made up of characters, plot, setting, point of view, and theme.	49