Essential AP Lang Terms

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of 2 or more neighboring words.

Allusion

a passing reference, without explicit identification, to a literary or historical person/place/event, or literary work

Anachronism

a thing belonging to a different time period (esp. something that is conspicuously old fashioned)

Analogy

 comparing similarities

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Simile

a metaphor/analogy that uses like/as

Anaphora

parallel structure starting with the same words

Anecdote

offering a brief narrative episode.

Aphorism

a pithy and pointed statement of a serious maxim, opinion, or general truth.

Cliché

a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought; trite; overly familiar

Ethos

appeals to the speaker's status or authority

Logos

appeals to the audience's reason

Pathos

appeals to the emotions

Kairos

refers to the “timeliness” of an argument

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Denotation

dictionary definition; objective meaning; literal meaning taken at surface value

Diction

refers to the author’s word choice

Ellipsis

when one or more words are omitted from a sentence

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language

Induction

starting from specific premises and forming a general conclusion

Deduction

using general premises to form a specific conclusion

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

Parallelism

repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence.

Shift

rhetorical shift occurs when speakers or writers alter their style or tone in a piece

Syllogism

a deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion

Enthymeme

a syllogism in which one of the premises is implicit

Syntax

the way sentences are grammatically constructed.

Verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real