ap lang vocab

allegory

a story taking place on two parallel levels at once where the subsurface story sheds light on the surface story

alliteration

the repetition of consonants at the beginning or in the middle of two or more adjacent words

anadiplosis

the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause

anaphora

the repetition of a word of one clause at the beginning of successive clauses

anecdote

a brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience’s attention or to support a generalization or claim

antagonist

the character who opposes the interests of the protagonist

antimetabole

the repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order (“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy”)

antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas, often in parallel structure (“Place your virtues on a pedestal; put your vices under a rock”)

anthimeria

the substitution of one part of speech for another (“The poet says we ‘milestone our lives’”)

apologist

a person or character who makes a case for some controversial, even contentious position

apology

an elaborate statement justifying a controversial, even contentious, position

apostrophe

a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object

appeal

one of the three strategies (logos, pathos, ethos)

appositive

a noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately or defines or amplifies its meaning

assonance

the repetition of a vowel sounds

asyndeton

the omission of conjunctions between related clauses (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)

bathos

unintentional anticlimax through unsuccessful attempt to achieve sublimity + dignity of style

begging of the question

the situation that results when a writer or speaker constructs an argument on an assumption that the audience does not accept. In Latin: petitio principi

canon

one of the traditional elements of rhetorical composition (invention, arrangement, style, memory, or delivery)

cause-and-effect relationship

the relationship expressing, “If X is the cause, then Y is the effect” OR “If Y is the effect, then X is the cause” (“If students plagiarize their papers, it must be because the Internet offers them such a wide array of materials from which to copy”)

claim

the ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or enthymeme expresses. The point supported by an argument

complex sentence

a sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses

compound-complex sentence

a sentence with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

compound sentence

a sentence with two or more independent clauses

compound subject

the construction in which two or more nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses constitute the grammatical subject of a clause

confirmation

part of speech where the speaker or writer would offer proof or demonstration of the central idea, with origins in ancient Roman oratory

connotation

the implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly expressed “dictionary meaning”

data (as evidence)

facts, statistics, and examples that a speaker or writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion

deductive reasoning

reasoning that begins with a general principle and concludes with a specific instance that demonstrates the general principle

denotation

“dictionary definition” of a word

diction

word choice. viewed on scales of formality/informality, concreteness/abstraction, Latinate/Anglo-Saxon derivation, denovtative/connotative value

double entendre

the double (or multiple) meanings of a group of words that the speaker or writer has purposely left ambiguous

ellipsis

the omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a passage

enthymeme

logical reasoning with one premise left unstated

epistrophe

the repetition of a group of words at the end of successive clauses (“They saw no evil, they spoke no evil, and they heard no evil”)

epithet

a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing

ethos

the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator

euphemism

an indirect expression of unpleasant information in such a way to lessen its impact (someone’s “position was eliminated” instead of fired)

exordium

introduction of a speech, means “web”, ancient Roman roots

genre

a piece of writing classified by type (letter, narrative, eulogy, editorial)

hyperbole

an exaggeration for effect

image

a passage of text that evokes sensation or emotional intensity

imagery

language that evokes particular sensations or emotionally rich experiences in a reader

implied metaphor

a metaphor embedded in a sentence rather than expressed directly as a sentence (“His voice was a cascade of emotion” is part of “His voice cascaded through the hallway”)

inductive reasoning

reasoning that begins by citing a number of specific instances or examples and then shows how collectively they constitute a general principle

irony

writing or speaking that implies the contrary of what is actually written or spoken

jargon

specialized vocabulary of a particular group

litotes

understatement

logos

the appeal of a text based on the logical structure of its argument or central ideas

loose/cumulative sentence

a sentence that adds modifying elements after the subject, verb, and complement

metaphor

an implied comparison that does not use the word like or as

metonymy

an entity referred to by one of its attributes or associations (“The admissions office claims…”)

mnemonic device

a systematic memory aid

narration

the part of speech in which the speaker provides background information on the topic; ancient Roman origins

onomatopoeia

a literary device in which the sound of a word is related to its meaning (“buzz”, “moan”)

oxymoron

juxtaposed words with seemingly contradictory meanings (“jumbo shrimp”)

paradox

a statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nevertheless

parallelism

a set of similarly structured words, phrases or clauses that appears in a sentence or paragraph

pathos

the appeal of a text to the emotions or interests of the audience

periodic sentence

a sentence with modifying elements included before the verb and/or complement

periphrasis

the substitution of an attributive word or phrase for a proper name; use of a proper name to suggest a personality characteristic (“She thinks she’s a real Madonna, doesn’t she?”)

peroration

the part of speech in which the speaker would draw together the entire argument and include material designed to compel the audience to think or act

persona

the character that a writer or speaker conveys to the audience, plural personae

petitio principi

disagreeing with premises or reasoning, begging of the question

point of view

the perspective or source of a piece of writing

major premise

first premise of a syllogism, often an irrefutable generalization

minor premise

second premise of a syllogism, often a particular instance of the previous generalization

pun

play on words (anataclasis, paranomasia, syllepsis)

purpose

the goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the text

recursive

referring to the moving back and forth from invention to revision in the writing process

refutation

the part of speech in which the speaker would anticipate objections to the points being raised and counter them, ancient Roman origins

rhetor

the speaker who uses elements of rhetoric effectively in oral or written text

rhetoric

the art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective; the specific features of texts, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners in a situation

rhetorical choices

the particular choices a writer or speaker makes to achieve meaning, purpose, or effect

rhetorical intention

involvement and investment in and ownership of a piece of writing

rhetorical question

a question posed by the speaker or writer not to seek an answer but to affirm or deny a point simply by asking a question about it

rhetorical situation

the convergence in a situation of exigency (the need to write), audience, and purpose

rhetorical triangle

a diagram showing the relations of writer/speaker, reader/listener, and the text in a rhetorical situation

sarcasm

the use of mockery or bitter irony

simile

comparison using like or as

simple sentence

a sentence with one independent clause and no dependent clause

six-part oration

a speech consisting of exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, and peroration; classical rhetoric

soliloquy

dialogue in which a character speaks aloud to themselves

style

the choices that writers or speakers make in language for effect

subordinate clause

a group of words that includes a subject and a verb but that cannot stand on its own as a sentence; also called a dependent clause

syllogism

logical reasoning from inarguable premises

symbol

an element that stands for more than itself and, therefore, helps to convey the theme of a text

synecdoche

a part of something used to refer to the whole (“50 head of cattle”)

syntax

the order of words in a sentence

tautology

a group of words that merely repeats the meaning already conveyed

tone

the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject matter

trope

an artful variation from expected modes of expression of thoughts and ideas

understatement

deliberate playing down of a situation in order to make a point

verisimilitude

the quality of a text that reflects the truth of actual experience

zeugma

a trope in which one word, usually a noun or main verb, governs 2 other words unrelated in meaning (“He maintained a business and his innocence”)

classification

the process of grouping similar ideas or objects, the systematic arrangement of things into classes on the basis of shared characteristic

process analysis

the use of a series of functions, actions, steps, or operations that bring about a particular end result

definition

spelling out exactly what a word or phrase means

comparison/contrast

to point out how two things are similar/to stress how they are dissimilar

analogy

a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them