AP Lang vocab devices

by allie + modified

Abstract Language

Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places.

Ad Hominem

a fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. ex. "the alliteration of "sweet birds sang"

Allusion

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. ex. "My Mom has a Spartan workout routine."

Ambiguity

An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Anaphora

the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences ex. "I have a dream"

Anecdote

A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.

Annotation

A brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text or work of literature.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

Direct opposite ex. "This is not famous, It is the antithesis of being famous."

Aphorism

A statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner ex. "All that glitters isn't gold"

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. ex. "death be not proud."

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds ex. "She seems to beam rays of sunshine with her eyes of green."

Asyndeton

the absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence. ex. "I came, I played, I won."

Balance

a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies

Begging the Question

A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt.

Cacophony

the use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing, and unmelodious sounds - (primarily those of consonants)) ex. "a cacophony of deafening alarm bells"

Casual Relationships

Form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument.

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed. Ex. "Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds."

Citation (Or Documentation)

A quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. ex. "John passed the ball"

Colloquialism

A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation. ex. "Am I excited for the party? You betcha!"

Common Knowledge

Information that is readily available from a number of sources, or so well-known that its sources do not have to be cited.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. ex. ""Love is like an oil change"

Concrete Language

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

Connotation

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

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity. Ex. "Mike likes his new bike."

Cumulative Sentence

A sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases. "We soon became fond of each other, due to our love for books and the mysterious aura he exudes."

Deduction

The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example. ex. "All men are mortal; Peter is a man; therefore, Peter is mortal."

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Diction

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Didactic

intended to instruct

Either-Or Reasoning

When the writer reduces an argument or issue to two polar opposites and ignores any alternatives. (fallacy) Ex. "You either support praying in public schools or you're an atheist."

Ellipsis

three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation

Elliptical Sentence

sequence of words in which some words have been omitted

Pathos (Emotional Appeal)

Using strong feelings of sympathy, anger, happiness, etc. to sway someone's opinion.

Equivocation

a way of speaking that is intentionally not clear and is confusing to other people, especially to hide the truth. Ex. "Taxes are a true headache. Pain killers will make a headache go away. Therefore, pain killers will make taxes go away."

Ethos

Ethical appeal; Credibility, trustworthiness, etc.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant. Ex. "kick the bucket" is a __ that describes the death of a person.

Euphony

Used to make their words flow and sound more beautiful together. Ex. Lullabies

Exposition

A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances.

False Analogy

Arguing on the basis of a comparison of unrelated things. (fallacy) Ex. "A pocket watch is complex, and it's clear that it must have been designed intelligently by a watchmaker. Living beings and the world are similarly complex. Thus, they must also be the product of intelligent design."

Figurative Language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. Ex. "He has learned gymnastics, and is as agile as a monkey."

Hasty Generalization

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person. (could be a fallacy). Ex. "My mother and sister diet all the time. Women are always on a diet"

Homily

This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. Ex. "A life not lived for others is not a life."

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Ex. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste). Ex. "My head is pounding like a drum"

Induction

The process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization. Ex. "This marble from the bag is black. That marble from the bag is black. A third marble from the bag is black. Therefore all the marbles in the bag are black."

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. ex. "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."

Inverted Sentence

A sentence in which the subject follows the verb. ex. "Not only is he difficult to understand, but he is also funny."

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

Dramatic Irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't. ex. "Girl in a horror film hides in a closet where the killer just went (the audience knows the killer is there, but she does not)."

Situational Irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected. ex. "The fire station burns down while the firemen are out on a call."

Verbal Irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant. ex. "In the movie Annie, the orphans say, "We love you Ms. Hannigan," to their guardian who is mean to them."

Litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (ex, you won't be sorry, (meaning you'll be glad)).

Logos (Logical Appeal)

A way of persuading an audience through reasoning by offering them facts, statistics, and examples.

Logical Fallacy

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. (*Without using like or as) Ex. "She was fairly certain that life was a fashion show."

Metonymy

substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it. Ex. "Crown - in place of a royal person"

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Non-Sequitur

A statement that does not follow logically from evidence. Ex. When a person ignores a question being asked repeatedly

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents. Ex. "BOOM"

Oversimplification

When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument. (fallacy) Ex. "The argument that the world is round because it looks like a sphere on a map."

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. (ex. "deafening silence")

Parable

A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Ex. Boy who cried Wolf story

Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. (ex. "less is more")

Parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. Ex. "I am woman; I am mother; I am fierce."

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Periodic

describes something that occurs or repeats at regular intervals

Sentence

A group of words that expresses a complete thought

Persona

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Persuasion

A kind of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people's actions.

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told

First Person POV

"I" and "Me" standpoint. Personal perspective.

Third Person Limited POV

the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character

Third Person Omniscient POV

the narrator knows all of the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in a work

Polysyndeton

the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural. Ex. "I like Jeff, but he likes Karen, but she likes Mark, but he likes Marie, but she likes Morgan, but he likes me."

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

This fallacy is Latin for "after which therefore because of which," meaning that it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier. One may loosely summarize this fallacy by saying that correlation does not imply causation. Ex. "Sam is a Raiders fan, so he's an idiot"

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion. Ex. "When a murderer plants a knife in someone else's home to try to throw the police off track, the knife is an example of a red herring."

Refutation

The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view.

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis. Ex. "Home Sweet Home"

Rhetoric

the art of using language effectively and persuasively

Exposition (RM)

Rhetorical Mode used to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion

Argumentation (RM)

A rhetorical mode used to convince others of an opinion, belief, or the merits of a course of action.

Description (RM)

The purpose of ____ is to recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described. It is heavily based on sensory details: what we experience through our five senses.

Narration (RM)

The purpose of ____ is to tell a story or relate an event. ____ is an especially useful tool for sequencing or putting details and information into some kind of logical order, usually chronological.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer. Ex. "How could I be so stupid?"

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

Sarcasm

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Simple Sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause. Ex. "Joe went to the store."

Compound Sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions. Ex. "Sarah walked to class, but Kevin ran."

Complex Sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Ex. "Before you go to bed, brush your teeth."

Compound-Complex Sentence

a sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Ex. "When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina, and my mom is proud of me."

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as. Ex. "As he never ate much, his arms were as thin as a rake"

Straw Man

A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea. Ex.A: "We should divert more federal funding to social programs as those help people manage their expenses and contribute to the economy."

Style

The choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work