Tools/Devices AP Lang Flashcards

Context

surrounding conditions that help clarify meaning

Parallelism

using similar word patterns, grammar, or structures

Allusion

indirect or brief reference to someone/something already well

Irony

contrast between expectation and reality

Litotes

uses an understatement to express a positive or affirmative meaning by denying its opposite (e.g. “not bad” to say “good”)

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration used for emphasis

Scheme

Stylistic figure of speech, a general plan, or a literal diagram/outline (e.g. parallelism)

Metaphor/Extended Metaphor

detailed, sustained comparison between two unlike things that stretches across multiple sentences, paragraphs, or an entire work

Analogy

detailed comparison between two different things to explain an idea by showing how they share a similar relationship/structure/pattern

Diction

word choice and style of speaking or writing

Cumulative Sentence

states its main idea right at the beginning and then adds extra details, descriptive phrases, or modifiers afterward (accumulates/piles up words and pieces of information)

Periodic Sentence

withholds its main clause and primary meaning until the very end

Juxtaposition

placement of two or more things side by side to highlight their contrasts or unexpected similarities

Exigence

the spark; event that inspires someone to speak or write

Audience

the group of people who read, listen to, or watch a piece of work; people the writer hopes to reach/influence

Message

communicated point or context; central thematic takeaway

Purpose

reason for an action, speech, or piece of writing

Rhetoric

art of persuasive or effective speaking and writing

Syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to form well

Tone

specific attitude, feeling, or quality expressed by a speaker or writer through their choice of words, style, and structure

Anecdote

very short story about a real person or event, used to make a point, engage an audience, or add a human element to writing

Connotation

emotional, cultural, figurative meaning a word suggests beyond its strict literal definition

Denotation

the exact meaning found in a reference book; separate from any emotional or cultural associations

Writer

someone who writes; responds to a need or situation

Inductive Reasoning

logical process that moves from specific observations to probable general conclusions (specific

Deductive Reasoning

logical process that moves from general premises to a specific conclusion (top

Evidence (definition and common types)

the specific information used to support a central claim or argument

Assumptions

an unstated belief, value, or idea that is accepted as true without proof

Appeals

the core strategies and methods that a writer or speaker uses to persuade an audience (e.g. logos, ethos, and pathos)

Qualifiers

a word/phrase/clause that limits/restricts/modifies the certainty/scope/intensity of a claim

Logical Fallacies

an error in reasoning that makes an argument unsound/invalid/misleading (e.g. ad hominem (attacking opponent’s character), straw man (changing opp’s argument), hasty generalization (too little evidence), red herring (distraction), circular (using the claim to support the claim)

Claim

arguable statement that the writer/speaker asks an audience to accept; serves as thesis or main idea (arguable, focused (specific), and supported (requires evidence))

Trope

“turn” in language or storytelling; rhetorical figure of speech; writing/narrative convention