AP Language and Composition Exam Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts for the AP Language and Composition Exam, including literary devices, sentence structures, and types of irony, based on provided lecture notes.

AP Language and Composition Exam Passages

Expected to be from genres such as autobiography, biography, diaries, criticism, essays, journalistic, political, scientific, and nature writing.

homily

Literally means 'sermon'; informally, any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, often for comic or serious effect, and sometimes producing irony.

imagery

Sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions, appealing to the five senses (visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory). Can also refer to the total of all images in a work.

Inference/infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented; a conclusion that is not directly stated but can be logically deduced.

invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

irony/ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what truly is, often creating poignancy or humor.

Verbal irony

Words literally state the opposite of the writer's or speaker's true meaning.

Situational irony

Events turn out the opposite of what was expected; what characters and readers think ought to happen does not actually happen.

Dramatic irony

Facts or events are unknown to a character but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in a work.

juxtaposition

Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

loose sentence

A sentence type where the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units; often informal, relaxed, and conversational.

metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or substituting one for the other, suggesting similarity to make writing vivid and imaginative.

metonymy

A figure of speech where the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it, meaning 'changed label' or 'substitute name'.

Mood (grammatical)

Deals with verbal units and a speaker's attitude, including indicative (factual), subjunctive (doubtful/conditional), and imperative (commands).

Mood (literary)

The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work, affected by setting, tone, and events, similar to tone and atmosphere.