AP Lang: Midterm Terms

Rhetorical questions

A question asked to make a point; doesn’t require an answer

Aristotle’s triangle/appeals

Purpose, Audience, Speaker

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more words

Syntax

The way an author chooses to group words into phrases, clauses and sentences; similar to diction

Colloquial

Use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

Analogy

A direct, extended comparison

Personification

When an author endows non-human with human qualities

Generic conventions

Describes traditions that are true to literary categories

Tragedy

A play dealing with tragic events; unhappy ending; may have the downfall of the main character

Resolution

Part of a narrative where the conflict is resolved and the story concludes

Plot/Character Trajectory

The main events of a narrative; the path through the story that the character takes

Diction

Refers to the writer’s word choices

Parallelism

Repetition of grammatical structure

Didactic

Tone with the primary goal of teaching

Ornate

Heavily or elaborately decorated diction

Understatement

Ironic minimizing of a fact

SOAPSTONE

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

Archetypes

Typical example of a certain person or thing

Examples: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-the-12-literary-archetypes

Tragic hero

Usually a heroic protagonist, whose mistakes lead to their own downfall/death

Closure

Conclusion that a narrative or piece of writing provides to its audience; ending

Tone

Author’s attitude

Loose sentence

The main idea comes first followed by dependent units

Periodic sentence

Persona

Persona refers to the character or role adopted by a writer/speaker in their work

Pacing

How fast or slow the pacing of a narrative is

Metaphor

Comparison of unlike things to suggest similarity

Ambiguity

Multiple meanings, intentional or unintentional; unclear

Genre

Category into which literary work fits

Protagonist

Main character

Authorial distance

How far from the story the narrator is standing; 1st pov often feels closer to the story than a 3rd pov

Collective voice

Shared expression and perspective of a group; amplifies the experiences, struggles, and aspirations of a community

Anaphora

Repetition of word or phrase at the start of successive clauses

Ex) “I have a dream..I have a dream”

Allusion

Reference to something commonly known

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Simile

Comparison of at least two things using the word like/as

Imagery

Sensory details used to describe, arouse emotion, show abstractions

Exigence

The event that motivates the speaker to write/speak about it

Antagonist

Villain