AP Lingo 1

diction

literally just “words”; word choice, particularly as an element of style

colloquial

informal and conversational language well-known within a specific language, geographic region, or historical era
ex. Americans say “cookies” and Brits say “biscuits”, Texans say “y’all”

slang

informal words or phrases that are created among a small group of people (eg. generation) or a specific subculture
ex. LTHS “dungeons”, “SG#1-3”, “chopped”, “that’s so Rickbert-coded”

jargon

technical terms used by people within a specific profession or trade, many which would not make sense to people outside of the particular industry
ex. legal jargon: “the bench”, “the bar”, “voire dire”

denotation

the literal dictionary definition of a word

connotation

the feeling of/associated with a word
ex. “house” vs. “home”, “lively” vs. “hyperactive”

exigence

what causes/prompts an author to write or speak in the first place; an event and sense of urgency, “why does this matter?”
ex. a food fight is the exigence that prompts school admin to give a speech about respectful behavior

concession

accepting or acknowledging all or at least part of an opposing position + weakness in your own argument in order to build credibility and likability

ex. “Mom, you’re right, there likely will be drugs at the party, but I won’t take any because you’ve taught me better.”

qualifiers

words we add to put a healthy, reasonable limitation on our argument so as to modify it and avoid an absolute claim
ex. instead of “all freshmen have no idea what they’re doing”, qualifying this argument would be “some freshmen might not know what they’re doing at all times”

absolutes/absolute statements

hard declarations that might lead to inaccurate claims
ex. “all young people want to get married some day”

conditional statements

“if-then” statements
ex. “If you are absent a lot, your grade will go down.”
“If you smoke, you will ruin your lungs.”

genre

major category in which a written work fits

satire

a work in which the writer/artist uses satirical techniques to criticize some element of life, usually to a humorous effect

parody

a mocking imitation; a work that closely imitates the style or content of another (the original) with the specific aim of comedic effect of ridicule
(parodies may be satire but not all satire is a parody)

expose

an article, book, or essay that brings a scandal or crime to public notice, often disclosing previously unknown details that discredit the subject
ex. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle

exposition/expository

writing or speech primarily used to convey information or explain (as opposed to argue or persuade); communicate facts without bias or taking a side

diatribe

a speech or piece of writing that features a bitter or violent criticism/attack; a denunciation
ex. writing a diatribe to your trashy, stalker ex or nightmare of an old Spanish teacher in which you call them all sorts of things you shouldn’t be typing on a school computer

didactic

a term describing works that have the primary aim of instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles and/or behavior
(can be used to describe works that readers find too “preachy”)
ex. Aesop’s Fables are didactic stories