AP Language and Composition Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Devices

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering literary terms, rhetorical devices, sentence structures, poetic techniques, and logical argumentation concepts for AP Language and Composition.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Classicism

Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world, adhering to traditional themes and structures.

Colloquial

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation; a colloquialism refers to a common or familiar type of saying similar to an adage or aphorism.

Didactic

A term describing fiction, nonfiction, or poetry designed to teach a specific lesson or moral, or to provide a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Adage

A folk saying that conveys a lesson, similar to an aphorism and colloquialism.

Aphorism

A terse statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle, often serving as a memorable summation of the author's point.

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts, used for political correctness or comedic exaggeration.

Metonymy

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

Synecdoche

A specific kind of metonymy where a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.

Synesthesia

A description involving a "crossing of the senses," such as describing a sound in visual terms.

Parallelism

A sentence construction that places equal grammatical constructions near each other or repeats identical grammatical patterns.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech in which the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time the order of the words is reversed; also called antimetabole.

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, clauses, or ideas presented with parallel structure.

Zeugma (Syllepsis)

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

Meter

A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.

Free Verse

Poetry that lacks regular meter or rhyme.

Iambic Pentameter

A poetic meter consisting of lines with 10 syllables that alternate between unstressed and stressed syllables.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.

Polysyndeton

A device where a writer creates a list of items that are all separated by conjunctions to slow pacing or convey an authoritative tone.

Appositive

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

Balanced Sentence

A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.

Compound Sentence

A sentence containing at least two independent clauses and no dependent clauses.

Complex Sentence

A sentence containing only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Cumulative Sentence

A sentence structure (also called a loose sentence) where the writer begins with an independent clause and then adds subordinate elements.

Periodic Sentence

A sentence where the main idea is postponed until the end, beginning with subordinate elements before delivering the main clause.

Imperative Sentence

A sentence type that issues a direct command.

Litotes

A particular form of understatement produced by denying the opposite of the statement that would otherwise be used.

Concession

Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint to strengthen one's own argument; also called multiple perspectives.

Deductive Argument

An argument where premises are intended to provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion, making it impossible for the conclusion to be false if premises are true.

Inductive Argument

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

Appeal to Authority

The fallacious claim that because someone famous supports an idea, the idea must be correct.

Appeal to the Bandwagon

The claim that an idea must be right because many people believe it, used to believe it, or do it.

Appeal to Emotion

An attempt to replace logical argument with an appeal to feelings such as sympathy, revenge, or patriotism.

Bad Analogy

A fallacy that claims two situations are highly similar when they are not.

Cliche Thinking

Using a well-known proverb or saying as definitive evidence without considering exceptions.

False Cause

Assuming that because one event followed another, the first event caused the second (confusing sequence with causation).

Hasty Generalization

Formulating a general rule or conclusion based on too little or unrepresentative data.

Non Sequitur

A conclusion that does not follow logically from its premises; an invalid argument.

Sound Argument

A deductive argument that is both valid (the conclusion logically follows from the premises) and has premises that are true.

Valid Argument

An argument where the conclusion follows logically from the premises, making it impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false.

Unstated Premises

Assumptions or premises within an argument that are left unexpressed, which can cause misunderstandings if parties assume different points.