AP Lang Terminology

Alliteration

The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables.

Allusion

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.

Analogy

An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.

Anaphora

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

Anecdote

A short account of an interesting event.

Antecedent

The noun to which a later pronoun refers.

Aphorism

A short, astute statement of a general truth

Archaic diction

The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language

Asyndeton

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses

Attitude

The speaker’s position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone

Audience

One’s listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed

Authority

A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge

Bias

Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue

Colloquial/ism

An informal or conversational use of language

Common ground

Shared beliefs, values, or positions

Complex sentence

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

Concession

A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding

Connotation

That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning (see denotation)

Coordination

Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but

Context

The factors around the text at its inception, including the time, place, history, etc

Counterargument

A challenge to a position; an opposing argument

Declarative sentence

A sentence that makes a statement

Deduction

Reasoning from general to specific

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition

Diction

Word choice.

Ethos

A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos).

Exigence

The moment or event that motivates the speaker to write or speak about an issue, topic, or situation.

Figurative language:

The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect

Figure of speech

An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.

Imagery

Vivid use of language that evokes a reader’s senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).

Imperative sentence

A sentence that requests or commands.

Induction

Reasoning from specific to general.

Irony

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things side by side for emphasis

Logos

A Greek term that means “word”; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos)

Metaphor

A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison.

 Metonymy

Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.

Parallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns. 

Parody

A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.

Pathos:

A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos).

Persona

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.

Personification

Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions

Propaganda

A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information

Purpose

One’s intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.

Refute

To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument

Rhetoric

The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the “available means of persuasion.

Rhetorical modes

Patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation

Rhetorical question

A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.

Satire

An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it

Scheme

A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect

Sentence patterns

The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex

Simile

A figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to compare two things

Simple sentence

A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause.

Speaker

A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing

Straw man

A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent’s position.

Style

he distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech

Subordinate clause

Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause.

Subordination

The dependence of one syntactic element on another in a sentence.

Syntax

Sentence structure

Synthesize

Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex.

Thesis

The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer

Thesis statement

A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit.

Tone

The speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience

Topic sentence

A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph’s idea and often unites it with the work’s thesis

Understatement

Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect

Voice

In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing.