AP lang vocab quiz

tone

describes the author’s attitude toward his material, audience or both. Easier to determine in spoken language rather than written. Often works in appeal to pathos.

Key words: playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, and somber

diction (tone)

creates tone. words, and refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Includes formal or informal, ornate or plain. In commenting on always precede the with with an adjective like “elevated ” “scholarly ” “inclusive ” “derogatory ” “emphatic **” etc. if adjectives not used, you are really just saying the author used words.

imagery (tone)

Creates tone. An unusually descriptive language that appeals to the five senses. This language is highly connotative and often works to appeal to pathos. You should precede the word “imagery” in your writing with some adjective describing the specific imagery used.

Simile (comparisons)

comparison using like or as

metaphor (comparisons)

comparison NOT using like or as

analogy (comparisons)

Something that shows how two things are alike, but with the ultimate goal of making a point about this comparison. The purpose is not merely to show, but also to explain. For this reason, it is more complex than a simile or a metaphor, which aim only to show without explaining.

EX:  “What you’re doing is as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Here, the speaker 

is using a simile to compare the task being done to the task of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But, the ultimate goal is not just to compare one task to another, it is to communicate that the first task is useless—by comparing it to a similarly useless task, such as rearranging deck chairs on a ship that famously sank into the sea on its maiden voyage.

juxtaposition (contrasts)

When two words, phrases, images, ideas are placed closely together or side by side for contrast. 

EX: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” - Dickens

amplifications

the act of intensifying an idea for emphasis

hyperbole (amplifications)

an exaggeration made by a pbrase

enumeration (amplifications)

when a subject is divided into constituent parts or details, and may include a listing of causes, effects, problems, solutions, conditions, and consequences; the listing or detailing of the parts of something.

EX: “Who’s gonna turn down a Junior Mint? It’s chocolate; it’s peppermint; it’s delicious. . . It’s very refreshing!”

irony (amplifications)

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

EX: (it’s a rainy day outside) “Isn’t it such a beautiful day outside?”

repetition (amplifications)

the act of repeating something - whether it’s words, images, sentence structure, etc

alliteration (repetition, amplifications)

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

EX: [L]et us go forth to lead the land we love

parallel structure (repetition, amplifications)

a similarity of sentence structure structure in a pair or series of related (not the same) words, phrases, or clauses.

EX: "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."

anaphora (parallel structure, repetition, amplifications)

a type of parallel structure in which the same word or words is/are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

EX."So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania... “ - Dr. MLK Jr

hypophora

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions is/are asked and then answered, often at length, by one and the same speaker; raising and responding to one’s own question(s). A common usage is to ask the question at the beginning of a paragraph and then use the paragraph to answer it. You can use to raise questions which you think the reader obviously has on his/her mind and would like to see formulated and answered.

EX: “When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. It appealed to the heroism of its youth.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

rhetorical question

differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no answer would suffice. It is used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the fact at hand.

EX. We shrink from change; yet is there anything that can come into being without it? What does Nature hold dearer, or more proper to herself? Could you have a hot bath unless the firewood underwent some change? Could you be nourished if the food suffered no change? Do you not see, then, that change in yourself is the same order, and no less necessary to Nature? --Marcus Aurelius

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There
are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion. Sometimes allusions may be used for comparative purposes, but not always.

EX: “Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” - Richard Cushing

anecdote

a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person; used as evidence to support a writer’s claim

hypothetical example

an example used to illustrate a claim that has not actually happened but could be true

personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

ethos (appeals)

a means of convincing an audience of an argument via the authority or credibility of the writer. An author also makes an appeal to ** when the writer mentions values, beliefs, or needs that the writer and the audience share. This works as an avenue to build trust.

logos

a means of convincing an audience of an argument through the crafting of a logical argument. The writer uses convincing reasons and reliable evidence that supports those reasons. Writers CREATE ** by using facts, statistics, data, expert opinion, credible sources, examples, anecdotes

pathos

a means of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response within the reader. Writers appeal to ** through their tone, diction, imagery, emotional anecdote