AP Lang Glossary Terms

alliteration

repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence

Let us go forth to Lead the Land we Love…

allusion

brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art

Let both sides unite to herd in all corners of the earth the command of ISAIAH…

analogy

a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. often, uses something simple or familiar to explain something unfamiliar or complex

As birds have flight, our special gift is reason.

anaphora

repetition of a ward or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

…not as a call to bear arms, tough arms we need — not as a call to battle, though embattled we are…

anecdote

a brief story used to illustrate a point or claim

antimetabole

repetition of words in reverse order

Ask not what your country can do for your — ask what you can do for your country

antithesis

opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction

We shall… support any friend, support any foe…

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.

closed thesis

a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make

The three-dimensional, exciting plot, and complex themes of the Harry Potter series makes them not only legendary children’s books but enduring literary classics.

complex sentence

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

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

compound sentence

a sentence that includes at least two independent clauses

The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

connotation

meanings or associations that readers will have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. often positive or negative, greatly affect tone.

The cat is PLUMP. The cat is FAT. The cat is OBESE.

cumulative sentence

sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course — both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays in the hand of mankind’s final war.

diction

a speaker’s choice of words. analysis looks at what they add to the speaker’s message.

ethos

greek for “character.” speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. established by who you are and what you say.

Lou Gehrig brings the ethos of being a legendary athlete to his speech, yet in it he establishes a different kind of ethos — that of a regular guy and a good sport who shares the audience’s love of baseball and family. And like them, he has known good luck and breaks.

hortative/imperative sentence

sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point

My first and last name together generally served the same purpose as a high brick wall.

imagery

a description of how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds. may use literal or figurative language to appeal to senses.

Your eyes glaze as you travel life’s highway past all the crushed animals and the Big Gulp cups.

inversion

inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order)

United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do.

irony

a figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable incongruity

Nature has become simply a visual form of entertainment, and it had better look snappy.

juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences

The nations of Asia and Africa are moving at jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.

logos

greek for “embodied thought.” speakers appeal to reason by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics or expert testimony to back them up.

Gehrig starts with the thesis that he is “the luckiest man on the face of the arth” and supports it with two points: 1) the love and kindness he’s received in his seventeen years of playing baseball, and 2) a list of great people who have been his friends, family, and teammates.

metaphor

figure of speech that compares two things without using “like” or “as”

As if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion…

metonymy

figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing that is related to it or emblematic of it

The pen is mightier than the sword

modifier

an adjective, adverb, phrase, or clause that modifies a noun, pronoun, or verb. the purpose is usually to describe, focus, or qualify

mood

the feeling or atmosphere created by a text

nominalization

the process of changing a verb into a noun

Discuss → Discussion; Depend → Dependence

oxymoron

a paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words

But this peaceful revolution…

paradox

a statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth

There is that scattereth, yet increaseth.

parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Let both sides explore… Let both sides, for the first time, forinulate serious and precise proposals…

pathos

greek for “suffering” or “experience.” speakers appeal to emotionally motivated their audience. values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.

The most striking appeal on pathos is the poignant contrast between Gehrig’s horrible diagnosis and his public display of courage.

periodic sentence

sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope is an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support…

personification

attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea

… with history the final judge of our deeds…

polysydeton

the deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

I paid for my plane ticket, and the taxes, and the fees, and the charge for the checked bag, and five dollars for a bottle of water

qualitative evidence

evidence supported by reason, tradition, or precedent

quantitative evidence

includes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers (statistics, surveys, polls, census info)

rhetoric

the faculty of observing in any given case of the available means of persuasion. the art of finding ways of persuading an audience

rhetorical appeals

used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. three major appeals are ethos, pathos, logos

rhetorical question

figure of speech in the form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than the purpose of getting an answer

Will you join in that historical effort?

satire

the use of irony or sarcasm to critique society or an individual

scheme

artful syntax; a deviation from the normal order of words. include parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole

second-hand evidence

evidence that is used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else. it includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data

simile

a figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using the words “like,” “as,” or “as though”

Zoos are pretty, contained, and accessible… Sort of like a biological Crabtree & Evelyn basket selected with you in mind.

stance

a speaker’s attitude toward the audience (differing from tone, the speaker’s attitude towards the subject)

synecdoche

figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course

syntax

the arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. includes word order (subject-verb-object), length and structure (simple, compound, complex), schemes (parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, antimetabole)

tone

a speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by the speaker’s stylistic and rhetorical choices

trope

artful diction; from the greek word “turning,” a figure of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy, or synecdoche

understatement

a figure of speech in which something is presented as less important, dire, urgent, good, and so on, than it actually is, often for satiric or comical effect. also called litotes, opposite of hyperbole

You might want to write clearly and cogently in your English class.

zeugma

use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings

When you open a book, you open your mind. Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden…