AP Lang Vocab

Alliteration

repetition of a phonetic sound at the beginning of several words in a sentence

Anadiplosis

technique of repetition, last word of a clause begins the next clause

Anaphora

deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive poetic lines

Antithesis

observation or claim that is in opposition to your claim or author’s claim

Asyndeton

deliberate omission of conjunctions from a series of related independent clauses

Epistrophe

ending of a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words

Imperative Sentence

a command

Metaphor

what is unknown is compared to something that is known

Oxymoron

two words that together create a sense of opposition

Paradox

seeks to create a mental discontinuity, which then forces the reader to pause and seek clarity

Parallelism

pattern of language that creates a rhythm of repetition often combined with some other language of repetition

Parentheticals

phrases, sentences, and words inside parentheses

Polysyndeton

use of consecutive coordinating conjunctions even when they are not needed

Tricolon

sentence with three equally distinct and equally long parts, separated by commas rather than colons

Exigence

the event or occurrence that prompts rhetorical discourse

Micro to Macro

when you have smaller examples that shift into broader commentary