AP Lang Unit 1 Exam

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards reviewing principles of narration, objective and subjective description, dominant impression, and the elements of the SOAPSTone analysis tool.

Narration

A writing mode that relates a sequence of events linked in time through stages leading to a result, where the result is new knowledge or a notable outcome.

Narrative Time

A concept where time in a narrative is not real time; a writer may slow down an important event and compress a less important one to emphasize what matters most to the point of the narrative.

Point of a Narrative

The core idea that the reader should take away, which determines event selection, the amount of detail given to each event, and the arrangement of events.

Four Common Event Orders

The organizational structures for narrative events: straight chronological order, final event coming first, entire story summarized first then examined in detail, and flashback.

Point of View (Narration)

Your position relative to the events in a narrative.

First-Person Narrator

A point of view used when the narrator is a direct participant in the events.

Third-Person Narrator

A point of view used when the narrator is an observer or reporter of events.

Verb Tense in Narration

Indicates the narrator's relation in time to events; first-person combined with present tense creates immediacy, while third-person combined with past tense creates distance and objectivity.

Event Selection

The process where a writer includes, expands, compresses, or omits events based on their importance to the point or purpose of the narrative.

Description

A writing mode that uses words to depict or re-create a scene, object, person, or feeling by drawing on perceptions of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Objective Description

Impersonal descriptive writing focused on precision without emotion, generally favored for explanation in scientific writing, news reports, and reference works or encyclopedias.

Subjective Description

Descriptive writing that invests feelings, emotions, and firsthand experience to decide which details to describe and how best to describe them; generally favored for self-expression or persuasion.

Dominant Impression

A central theme or idea about a subject to which readers can relate all details, serving as a unifying principle that guides both the writer's selection of details and the reader's understanding.

Point of View (Description)

The position from which a writer approaches a subject, defined by physical relation and psychological relation to the subject.

Shift in Point of View

A sudden change after point of view is established that can disorient readers and distract them from the dominant impression.

Subject (SOAPSTone)

A brief statement clearly defining the main concrete and abstract topic(s) of the document as specifically as possible.

Occasion (SOAPSTone)

The context in which the piece was created.

Exigence (SOAPSTone)

What prompted the writer to create the piece; considered likely the most important aspect of occasion and the piece itself.

Audience (SOAPSTone)

The primary intended audience that the document speaks to and who can do something about the issue, avoiding generalities like 'everyone' or 'anyone who reads this'.

Purpose (SOAPSTone)

Why the author wrote or created the document and what they hoped to accomplish; considered perhaps the most significant element.

Speaker (SOAPSTone)

The voice of the piece, which is not necessarily the author; described by looking at titles, location, and social status revealed in the document.