AP lang - Academic Terms and definition

Alliteration

 Repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence. 

Ex: "She sells sea shells by the sea shore."

Allusion

 Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art. 

Ex: "His nose is as big as Pinocchio's." and “Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah…” -- John F. Kennedy

Ambiguity (Ambiguous)

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

Ex: "He took the bank." (Could refer to a financial institution or the side of a river.)

Analogy

A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Often, an analogy uses something simple or familiar to explain something unfamiliar or complex. 

Ex: "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get."

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for emphasis.

Ex: … not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are… -- John F. Kennedy

Anecdote

A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim. 

Annotation

The taking of notes directly on a text.

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order.

Ex: [A]sk not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. -- John F. Kennedy

Antithesis

Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.

Ex: [W]e shall… support any friend, oppose any foe… -- John F. Kennedy

Aphorism

 A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth and moral principle.

Archaic Diction

 Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words.

Ex: … beliefs for which our forebears fought… -- John F. Kennedy

Argument

A process of reasoned inquiry. A persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and consideration movement from a claim to a conclusion. 

Assertion

A statement that presents a claim or thesis.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunction between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

Ex: I came, I saw, I conquered. – Julius Caesar

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences.

Claim

Also called an assertion or proposition, a claim states the argument’s main idea or position. A claim differs from a topic or subject in that a claim has to be arguable. 

Closed Thesis

 A closed thesis is a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make. 

Ex: The three dimensional characters, exciting pot, and complex themes of the Harry Potter series make them not only legendary children’s books but enduring literary classics. 

Colloquialism (Colloquial Speech)

Words or phrases that have a conversational feel and are not generally used in formal written English.

Complex Sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. 

Ex: If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. — John F. Kennedy

Connotation

 Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are often positive or negative, and they often greatly affect the author’s tone. Consider the connotations of the words below, all of which means “overweight.”

Ex: That cat is plump. That cat is fat. That cat is obese.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text. 

Ex: The context for Lou Gehrig’s speech is the recent announcement of his illness and his subsequent retirement, but also the poignant contrast between his potent career and his debilitating disease.

Cumulative Sentence

Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on. 

Ex: But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course — both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war. — John F. Kennedy

Denotation

The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color.

Diction

A speaker’s choice of words. This type of word looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker’s message. 

Emphasis

allows the writer to place importance on a particular idea. By positioning an idea in a certain place structurally, by proportioning a greater amount of words, by isolating a key word or phrase, or by repeating the wording, the writer creates emphasis. The ideas that the author emphasizes creates meaning in the piece. (types include Position,Proportion, Isolation, Repetition).

Ethos

Greek for “character.” Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by both who you are and what you say. 

Euphemism

Greek for “good speech,” are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. May be used to adhere to political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement.

Figurative Language (figure of speech)

 Nonliteral language, sometimes referred to as tropes or metaphorical language, often evoking strong imagery, figures of speech often compare one thing to another either explicitly (simile) implicitly (metaphor). Other forms of figurative language include personification, paradox, overstatement (hyperbole), understatement, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony. 

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point. 

Ex: My first and last name together generally served the same purpose as a high brick wall. — Firoozeh Dumas 

Imagery

A description of how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds. Imagery may use literal or figurative language to appeal to the senses. 

Ex: Your eyes glaze as you travel life’s highway past all the crushed animals and the Big Gulp cups. — Joy Williams 

Imperative sentence

Sentence used to command or enjoin.

Ex: My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. — John F. Kennedy 

Inversion

reversal order of words in a sentence (variation of the Subject-Verb-Object order).

Ex: United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do. — John F. Kennedy 

Irony

 A figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable incongruity. 

Ex: “Nature has become simply a visual form of entertainment, and it had better look snappy.” — Joy Williams

Jargon

Specialized terminology used by a particular group of people. Obscure and often pretentious language.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences. 

Ex: “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving at jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” — Martin Luther King 

Logos

Greek for “embodied thought.” Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up. 

Ex: “Gehrig starts with the thesis that he is “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” and supports it with two points: (1) the love and kindness he’s received in his seventeen years of playing baseball, and (2) a list of great people who have been his friends, family, and teammates.”

Metaphor

Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as. 

Ex: “And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion . . “ — John F. Kennedy 

Metonymy

Figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing that is related to it or emblematic of it.

Ex: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Modifier

An adjective, adverb, phrase, or clause that modifies a noun, pronoun, or verb. The purpose of a modifier is usually to describe, focus, or qualify. 

Ex: “Sprawling and dull in class, he comes alive in the halls and in the cafeteria.” — David Denby 

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere created by a text. 

Narration

 In classical oration, the factual and background information, establishing why a subject or problem needs addressing; it precedes the confirmation, or laying out of evidence to support claims made in the argument. 

Nominalization

The process of changing a verb into a noun. 

Ex: Discuss becomes discussion. Depend becomes dependence. 

Occasion

 The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.

Ex: In the case of Gehrig’s speech, the occasion is Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. More specifically, his moment came at home plate between games of a doubleheader. 

Open thesis

 An open thesis is one that does not list all of the points the writer intends to cover in an essay. 

Ex: The popularity of the Harry Potter series demonstrates that simplicity trumps complexity when it comes to the taste of readers, both young and old. 

Oxymoron

 A paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words. 

Ex: But this peaceful revolution . . . — John F. Kennedy 

Paradox

A statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth. 

Ex: To live outside the law you must be honest. — Bob Dylan 

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. 

Ex: Let both sides explore. . . . Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals. . . . Let both sides seek to invoke. . . . Let both sides unite to heed . . . — John F. Kennedy 

Pathos

Greek for “suffering” or “experience.” Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience’s values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other. 

Ex: The most striking appeal to pathos is the poignant contrast between Gehrig’s horrible diagnosis and his public display of courage. 

Periodic sentence

Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end. 

Ex: To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support . . . — John F. Kennedy 

Persona

 Greek for “mask.” The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Ex: Lou Gehrig is a famous baseball hero, but in his speech he presents himself as a common man who is modest and thankful for the opportunities he’s had. 

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.

Ex: . . . with history the final judge of our deeds . . . — John F. Kennedy 

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words. 

Ex: I paid for my plane ticket, and the taxes, and the fees, and the charge for the checked bag, and five dollars for a bottle of water. 

Propaganda

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. In its negative sense, propaganda is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause. 

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Rhetoric

Aristotle defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” In other words, it is the art of finding ways of persuading an audience.

Rhetorical Appeals 

 Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).

Rhetorical Question

Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.

Ex: Will you join in that historic effort? — John F. Kennedy

Satire

The use of irony or sarcasm to critique society or an individual. 

Scheme

Artful syntax; a deviation from the normal order of words. Common schemes include parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole. 

Simile

A figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using the words like, as, or as though. 

Speaker

The person or group who creates a text. This might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement. 

Stance

A speaker’s attitude toward the audience (differing from tone, the speaker’s attitude toward the subject).

Style

A writer’s specific way of saying things. Style includes arrangement of ideas, word choice, syntax, and figurative language. We can analyze and describe an author’s personal style and make judgments on how appropriate it is to the author’s purpose. 

Subject

 The topic of a text. What the text is about. 

Symbol

Generally, something that represents or stands for something else. In this class, we look at ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLS. One system classifies symbols into three categories: 

• Natural symbols—objects from nature to represent ideas commonly associated with them (dawn symbolizing a new beginning, a tree meaning knowledge). 

• Conventional symbols—invested meaning by a group (religious symbols such as the cross or Star of David; national symbols such as the eagle or flag; group symbols such as the scales of justice for lawyers). 

• Literary symbols—found in a variety of works and are generally recognized. Objects that stand for abstract ideas.

Synecdoche

 Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole. 

Ex: In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. — John F. Kennedy 

Syntax

The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. This includes word order (subject-verb-object, for instance, or an inverted structure); the length and structure of sentences (simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex); and such schemes as parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole.

Synthesize

Combining two or more ideas in order to create something more complex in support of a new idea. 

Text

While this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be “read”— meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more

Theme

A writer’s thoughts on a topic. It is not JUST the topic, but what the author develops in terms of what he believes about the topic.

Tone

 A speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by the speaker’s stylistic and rhetorical choices. 

Trope

Artful diction; from the Greek word for “turning,” a figure of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy, or synecdoche. 

Understatement

A figure of speech in which something is presented as less important, dire, urgent, good, and so on, than it actually is, often for satiric or comical effect. Also called litotes, it is the opposite of hyperbole. 

Ex: You might want to write clearly and cogently in your English class. The night in prison was novel and interesting enough. — Henry David Thoreau

Vernacular

The speech patterns of a particular group of people or region.

Voice

The unique flavor of a piece based upon the author. An author adds his or her voice to a piece by creating a tone with diction, syntax, imagery, etc. The author’s voice is what makes his or her writing personal and unique.

Wit

 In rhetoric, the use of laughter, humor, irony, and satire in the confirmation or refutation of an argument.

Zeugma

Use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings. 

Ex: When you open a book, you open your mind. Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need — not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden . . . — John F. Kennedy