AP Language Exam Study Guide

A Comprehensive Vocabulary Study Guide for the AP English Language and Composition Exam covering exam structure, rhetorical terms, logical fallacies, and sentence structures.

Synthesis question

A prompt where students provide an argument using and citing at least three sources from a provided set of $6$ to $7$ texts.

Argumentative essay

An essay asking students to create an argument responding to a given topic based on evidence.

Thesis

The sentence or groups of sentences that expresses the author's opinion, meaning, purpose, or proposition directly.

Ambiguity

The various meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Anecdote

A brief recounting of a relevant episode often used to develop a point or inject humor.

Concession

Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint.

Deductive Argument

An argument where premises provide a guarantee of the validity of the conclusion; if premises are true, it is impossible for the conclusion to be false.

Inductive Argument

An argument where the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth of the conclusion.

Logical fallacy

An attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.

Syllogism

A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (“major” and “minor”) that lead to a sound conclusion.

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson.

Allegory

A story in which characters and events represent concepts or qualities meant to reveal an abstraction or truth.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something commonly known, such as a literary text, song, or historical event.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Anastrophe

Deliberate changing of normal word order for emphasis or rhetorical effect.

Aphorism

A brief statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle.

Appositive

A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions in a series of words, phrases, or clauses to shorten a sentence and focus on meaning.

Atmosphere

The emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, including setting and described objects.

Audience

Who the author is directing his or her message towards.

Bildungsroman

A literary genre focusing on the psychological and moral growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood.

Colloquialism

A common or familiar type of saying.

Connotation

The associations suggested by a word; implied meaning rather than literal meaning.

Denotation

The literal, explicit meaning of a word.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style.

Didactic

Fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral.

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose for effect.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

Euphony

The use of words and phrases that have melody in their sounds, creating pleasing and soothing effects.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor developed throughout a written work.

Figurative language

Writing or speech not intended to carry literal meaning, usually imaginative and vivid.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration.

Idiolect

An individual's distinctive and unique use of language, including speech.

Idiom

A common expression that does not make sense if taken literally.

Imagery

Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind, usually involving the five senses.

Inflection

Letters added to nouns, adjectives, and verbs to show different grammatical forms.

Invective

A long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language.

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for comparison or to make a point.

Metaphor

Making an implied comparison without using “like” or “as.”

Metonymy

Replacing an actual word or idea with a related word or concept.

Mood

The atmosphere created by literature, accomplished through diction, syntax, and setting.

Motif

A recurring idea in a piece of literature.

Oxymoron

Grouping apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Pacing

The speed or tempo of an author’s writing.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

Parody

A work imitating the style or content of another for comic effect or ridicule.

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.

Personification

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.

Point of view

The perspective from which a story is told.

Polysyndeton

Creating a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.

Pun

Using a word that has two or more meanings in a humorous way.

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication, defined by Aristotle as observing the available means of persuasion.

Sarcasm

A bitter mocking tone that separates the comment from mere verbal irony or satire.

Satire

A work revealing a critical attitude toward life elements through humor, targeting vices or social institutions.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics studying word meaning, historical development, and connotations.

Simile

A direct comparison using “like” or “as.”

Symbol

Something concrete representing something more abstract.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole or the whole represents a part.

Synesthesia

When one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another.

Syntax

The way an author joins words into phrases, clauses, and sentences; deals with groups of words.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is.

Vernacular

Plain everyday speech or the dialect of a particular country or group.

Wit

Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights.

Zeugma

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word changes for each.

Rhetorical situation

The occasion and exigence (context) including time, place, history, and relationships that bring a need to communicate.

Exigence

The event, incident, or occasion that led to a text’s creation.

Ethos

An appeal to ethics depending on credibility and expertise.

Pathos

An appeal to emotions meant to convince the audience.

Logos

An appeal to logic depending on facts and reasoning.

Ad hominem

Attacking the individual instead of the argument.

Appeal to force

Telling the listener something bad will happen if they do not accept the argument.

Appeal to pity

Urging the audience to accept an argument based on sympathy.

Appeal to the popular

Urging acceptance because a majority of people hold the position.

Appeal to patriotism

Using beliefs about politics or nationalism to convince someone of an argument.

Appeal to tradition

Arguing something is right because it has been believed or done for a long time.

Circular argument

Restating the argument rather than proving it.

Cause and effect (fallacy)

Assuming effect is related to cause simply because events occur together.

Fallacy of equivocation

Using the same term in different places in an argument with different meanings.

False dilemma

Giving two choices when more choices are actually possible.

Genetic fallacy

Disqualifying a claim based on its origin or history.

Guilt by association

Rejecting a claim because the proposer likes someone disliked by another.

Non sequitur

Information that does not logically follow from the premise or conclusion.

Poisoning the well

Presenting negative information about a person before they speak to discredit them.

Red herring

Introducing a topic not related to the topic at hand.

Straw man argument

Producing and attacking a weaker representation of the truth.

Slippery slope

An assertion that a tiny first step will lead to a chain of events culminating in a significant negative effect.

Hasty Generalization

A conclusion based on biased or insufficient evidence.

False Premise

A conclusion reached by logic where one or more assumptions are false.

Faulty Analogy

Assuming two things alike in one respect must be alike in another.

Subject

A noun or pronoun that the sentence is about.

Predicate

The part of a sentence containing the verb and information about the subject.

Direct object

The noun or pronoun receiving the action of the verb.

Indirect object

The noun or pronoun identifying to whom or for whom the action of the verb is being done.

Clause

The combination of subject and predicate; can be independent or dependent.

Absolute phrase

A phrase containing a noun and a participial that explains a noun and its action as an incomplete sentence.

Gerund

The –ing form of a verb that functions as a noun.

Simple sentence

A sentence with one subject and one predicate.

Compound sentence

A sentence combining two or more independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS).