AP Language and Composition

Abstract

refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images

Allegory

an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.

anecdote

a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

Annotation

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data.

Antithesis

The presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs.

Aphorism

a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life

Apostrophe

usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction

Argumentation

writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation

cacophony

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.

caricature

descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality.

Colloquilism

a word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing

Coherence; Unity

quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle

Concrete language

Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

Connotation

implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader's mind.

Consonance

repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong

Conundrum

a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem

Deduction

the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word

Diction

word choice, an element of style; it creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. An essay written in academic ______ would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang.

Didactic

writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach

Discourse

spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion.

emotional appeal (pathos)

When a writer appeals to readers' emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument.

Epigraph

the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme

Ethical appeal ethos

When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeal, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience's confidence.

Euphemism

a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable

Euphony

a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony

Example

an individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern

Explication

act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Exposition

the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse

Generalization

When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. Sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some.

Genre

a type of literary work, such as a novel or poem; there are also subgenres, such as science fiction or sonnet, within the larger genres

Humor

Anything that causes laughter or amusement

Hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration

Image

A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. An image is always a concrete representation.

Imagery

words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture

Induction

the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization

Inference

A conclusion one can draw from the presented details.

Invective

a verbally abusive attack

Jargon

the special language of a profession or group

logical appeal (logos)

When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons. The process of reasoning

Lyrical

Songlike; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.

Mode

The method or form of literary work

Mood

similar to tone, it is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere). Syntax is also a determiner of this term because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing.

Narration

the telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse

Objectively

An Impersonal presentation of events and characters, the author of narrator is removed from involvement.

Oversimplification

When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument

Oxymoron

a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases

Pacing

the movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another

Parable

a short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory

Paradox

a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning

Parallelism

the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form

Parody

a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements

Pathetic Appeal; Pathos

When a writer tries to persuade the audience by appealing to their emotions. The aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience. An appeal to emotion that can be used as a means to persuade. Over-emotionalism can be the result of an excess of pathos.

Pedantic

a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant

Persuasion

a form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion.

Regionalism

an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot

Repetition

Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity

Rhetorical modes

exposition, description, narration, argumentation

Rhetorical question

one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.

Sarcasm

harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.

Speaker

the voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona

stereotype

a character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality; a conventional patter, expression or idea.

Style

an author's characteristic manner of expression - his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style

Subjectivity

a personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions

Syllogism

A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole

Syntactic Fluency

Ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length.

Syntactic Permutation

Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow.

Syntax

the grammatical structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence

Theme

the central idea or "message" of a literary work

Thesis

the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author's assertion or claim. The effectiveness of a presentation is often based on how well the writer presents, develops, and supports this.

Tone

the characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters, subject, and audience (anger, sarcastic, loving, didactic, emotional, etc.)

Transition

a word or phrase that links different ideas

Understatement

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

Voice

refers to two different areas of writing. One refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active and passive voice). The second refers to the total "sound" of a writer's style.

Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text

Concession

acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Counterargument

an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward

Ethos

Greek for "character." Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by both who you are and what you say.

Logos

Greek for "embodied thought." Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.

Occasion

the time and place a speech is given or a piece is written

Pathos

Greek for "suffering" or "experience." Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.

Persona

Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Polemic

Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others. Polemics generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.

Propaganda

the spread of ideas and information to further a cause

Refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.

Rhetoric

As Aristotle defined the term, "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." In other words, it is the art of finding ways to persuade an audience.

rhetorical appeals

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).

rhetorical triangle

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

SOAPS

A mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.

Speaker

the person or group who creates a text

Subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Text

While this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read" - meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.

Alliteration

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

Allusion

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

Anaphora

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

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order