AP Language Terms (1st 9 Weeks)

Rhetorical triangle

The relationship between speaker, audience, and message (rhetorical pyramid-exigence, speaker, audience, context, message, purpose)

Alliteration

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

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictional) or to a work of art

Anaphora

Repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

Antithesis

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

Metaphor

Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as

Oxymoron

A paradox made up of two seeming contradictory words

Parallelism/ Parallel Structure

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

Exigence/Exigency

the urgency that led to the creation of a text

Rhetorical question

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

Claim

States the author's argument, main idea, or position.

Style

the unique way an author presents his ideas. Diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to a particular style.

Diction

a speaker's choice of words.

Logical fallacy

potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument. They often arise from a failure to make a logical connection between the claim and the evidence used to support it.

Syntax

the grammatical structure of prose and poetry.

Understatement

opposite of an exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

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.

Deduction

This is making a conclusion by going from whole to part

Induction

This is making a conclusion by going from part to whole

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Connotation

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

Colloquialism

A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y'all, ain't)

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Figurative language

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

Hyperbole

exaggeration

Imagery

language that appeals to the senses

Inference

A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Rhetoric

the art of using language effectively and persuasively

Tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Ethos

credibility of the author (and ethical appeal)

Pathos

Appeal to emotion

Logos

Appeal to logic