AP English Language & Composition Unit 3

AP English Language & Composition Unit 3

canon

In literature, a set of writings widely recognized as quality literature.

bildungsroman

A coming-of-age novel.

Romanticism

A way of viewing the world that values nature, individualism, intuition, innocence, and independence.

Realism

An artistic and literary movement dedicated to reflecting reality as closely as possible.

dialect

A way of speaking that is particular to a specific place.

satire

A genre that makes fun of human weakness or society's flaws in order to create change.

understatement

A statement that is expressed with restraint or represents something as less important than it really is.

hyperbole

A type of figurative language that uses an extreme exaggeration to make a point.

irony

A contradiction between what is expected and what actually happens.

sarcasm

A way of speaking or writing that expresses one's intent through words that carry the opposite meaning.

literary nonfiction

Writing that uses narrative techniques to convey factual information.

point of view

The perspective from which the narrator is telling the story.

nostalgic

Invoking a sentimental yearning caused by remembering the past.

caricature

A description of a person that exaggerates the qualities of a person that produces a bizarre or absurd effect.

objective

Without opinion or bias.

imagery

Any description that appeals to the senses.

idiom

An expression, figure of speech, or specialized vocabulary particular to a language, region, or group.

first person

A point of view in which the narrator is inside the story and is telling it from his or her perspective.

polysyndeton

A listing of sentence elements with multiple conjunctions.

polyptoton

The repetition of words in close proximity that come from the same root.

asyndeton

A listing of sentence elements without conjunctions.

autobiography

A literary work in which a person relates the story of his or her own life.

subjective

Shaped by personal bias.

diction

The word choice and purposeful arrangement of words that affect meaning in speech or writing.

allusion

An implied or indirect reference to something historical, literary, religious, mythical, or popular.

analogy

An attempt to establish a logical connection or similarity between two ideas or concepts.

periodic sentence

A sentence that isn't logically or grammatically complete until the very end.

antithesis

An obvious contrast of ideas, generally balanced or parallel with regard to grammar.

scheme

An arrangement of words for effect that relies on the literal meaning of the words.

bias

A preference that often detracts from a person's ability to be objective.

logical fallacy

A mistake in reasoning that makes an argument less effective.

non sequitur

A type of logical fallacy in which the conclusion drawn does not clearly connect to the given reason or evidence.

circular reasoning

A logical fallacy, or misconception, in which the reason and the conclusion are essentially the same.

hasty generalization

A logical fallacy in which a conclusion is drawn based on insufficient evidence.

tone

The author's attitude toward a subject.

mood

The feeling the text conveys to its readers.

anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics or behaviors to something nonhuman.

anaphora

An example of parallelism in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of consecutive phrases or clauses.