"A-Z" AP Lang Terms

Ab Ovo

A story that begins its narration from the beginning of the events and proceeds in a chronological order to the end

"Once upon a time..."

Active Voice

a syntactical term for a sentence where the subject of that sentence is the doer of the action

"Jack hit Ricardo in the mouth"

Abstract

not related to the concrete properties of an object

Acronym

a word formed from the initial syllables or letters of a sequence

"M.A.D.D." stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Adjective Clause

a clause that describes a noun and functions adjectivally in a sentence

"I'm standing in the room that changed my life forever"

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or an entire sentence

"Nina ran quickly"

Allegory

a system of interconnected symbols that work to represent ideas or concepts not readily apparent in the primary narrative

In George Orwell's "Animal Farm," the different social classes and series of events reflects the Communist Revolution of 1917.

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words. This is done to focus of draw the readers war to certain words, phrases, or lines

"The cool cucumbers calmed my crazy cousin"

Allusion

a passing reference to a familiar person, place, or thing drawn from history, the Bible, mythology, or literature

"Mr. Jones lecture was Shakespearean it was so carefully crafted."

Ambiguity

the use of language when multiple meanings are possible, can be a result of insufficient attention to other denotations/ connotations or intentional choice to bring multiple meanings to the same word

"Chi Chi's, when you want to feel a little Mexican."

Amblysia

modified language that is used in preparation for tragic or alarming news

"I'm afraid I have some bad news"

Analogy

a mode of thought where the speaker compares two unlike things

"God is a father, who sits on a throne, and loves his children."

Anachronism

the use of historically inaccurate details in a text usually used to highlight qualities of timelessness

Merlin, a character wearing bifocals in the 19th century even though they were not invented yet.

Anacoluthon

a sentence that begins in one way, pauses, and ends in another

"Alright kids, today we are going to learn - ahhhh, let's go play dodgeball."

Anadiplosis

the repetition of a final word of a clause at the beginning of the following clause for emphasis

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Anagram

letters of a word or phrase that can be rearranged to make a new word or phrase, mostly uses for hidden meaning

The "United Tastes of America" is a program on the Cooking Channel which chronicles the history of American cuisine.

Anaphora

the repetition of the same words or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

"I am the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be."

Anastrophe

the inversion of normal word order in a sentence

"Size matters not. Judge me by size, do you?"

Anecdote

a short story or recounting of events used in either fiction or non-fiction

"When I entered my freshman year of high school, I was shiftless and lazy. But as the year went on, a few things taught me how to pick a goal and stick to it. In September..."

Antagonist

the character/ force that opposes the main character

In Jack London's "To Build a Fire," nature is the antagonist.

Antecedent

the word that a pronoun replaces in a sentence or series of sentences

"Judith was a mean, old lady. One time, she bit me right in the nose."

Antithesis

An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses

"Napoleon was loved by his men, but history will remember his brutality."

Aphorism

a concise statement that illustrates a deep truth or widely held belief

"Simplify. Simplify."

Apocope

the deliberate removal of a meter or letters from the end of a word

"I need to grab a taxi (cab), so I'm not late for bio (logy)."

Aposiopesis

a breaking off of speech, usually because of rising emotion or excitement

"If you touch me, just one more time-"

Apostrophe

a form of personification where an abstract idea, dead person, thing, or place is addressed directly as if they were able to understand

"America, in the face of our common dangers..."

Appositive

a modifier that is built from a noun for emphasis or clarity

"Mr. Smith, the teacher, stood in front of the room."

Archaism

a form of speech or writing that is outdated, obsolete, or no longer current. They're used to show older traditions in writing

"Whilst thou accompany me to purchase a cheeseburger and milkshake at McDonalds."

Archetype

a theme, symbol, or stock character that hols a familiar place throughout the novel is

"glasses" in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies."

Assonance

a type of internal rhyming in which identical or similar vowel sounds are repeated

"The table was hiding a baby with rabies."

Assumption

a belief or principal stated or implied, that is taken for granted

"I always wash the lettuce before I eat it."

Asyndeton

when coordinating conjunctions that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are normally omitted from a sentence

"Sammy was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing."

Atmosphere

a compound term that encompasses the tone and the mood

Audience

the intended readership for a piece of writing or speech

Argumentum Ad

the different ways that an author can distinguish the different objects to which an author can appeal in persuasive writing

Bombast

inflated or pretentious language that does not match the context of its use

Cacophony

An authors choice of words, usually alliterative, that create harsh, discordant, and grating sounds when read aloud. Passages are found in scenes of violence, discomfort, or danger.

Caricature

Occurs when an author exaggerates certain character traits of an individual for a ludicrous effect.

ex. the weak and gullible Roderigo in "Othello”

Chaimus

reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses.

ex. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."

Chronological Order

Points are organized in a temporal relationship

Circumlocution

unnecessarily wordiness when a few would express an idea with greater clarity.

ex. "The baserunner successfully avoided the tag." The word, "successfully" is not needed because the baserunner already did his job and avoided the tag, so there is no need to add that word.

Claim

The proposition put forth in an argument. Can absolute or qualified. \\n

ex. "Ants are a nuisance."

Clause

A statement that contains a noun and a verb. There are two types: dependent and independent.

ex. "Odysseus is being very cunning and able to get out of any scrape

Cliché

An expression that has become ineffective through overuse.

ex. "There's no place like home."

Colloquialism

An informal expression that reflects the culture of an area or group.

ex. The name someone calls a deli sandwich: A "sub" would place someone in New England.

Colon

A form of punctuation typically used to introduce lists in a sentences (though they can be used to introduce speech or quoted material, to highlight a contrast, or to produce a staccato effect by replacing a conjunction) they should not interrupt independent clauses

ex. "Today at camp, we did my favorite things: hiking, camping and storytelling."

Complexity Order

Points progress from simple to complex

Complex Sentence

a sentence that is composed of at least one dependent clause and one independent clause joined together into a single sentence.

ex. "Because you dropped that fly ball, you are benched."

Compound Sentence

a sentence composed of two or more independent clauses that are joined together into a single sentence. Independent clauses can be joined by a semicolon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

ex. "Commas do not link independent clauses; semicolons do, or commas followed by conjunctions perform this function too."

Concrete

refer to specific, particular, or material details \\n

ex. "He grinned as he pocketed the coin."

Connotation

the implied or suggested meaning of a word

ex. "fox": slick, sneaky, attractive, seductive, etc.

Consonance

The repetition of two or more consonant sounds located within a series of words

ex. "Splish, splash, I was taking a bath."

Coordinating Conjunction

FANBOYS=for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

words that provide a loose link among items that are equal

ex. "Joe and I fished today."

Dead Metaphor

A metaphor that has become so common that we no longer notice it as a figure of speech.

Ex. "My sister drives me out of my mind."

Deduction

the process of reasoning from a general claim to the specific cases. this mode of logic is most clearly seen in syllogism

Denotation

direct relationship between a term and the object, idea, or action it signifies

ex. The word "fox": "a small woodland creature"

Dependent Clause

a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence; it requires an independent clause to give it meaning

ex. "Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me."

Description

one of the four primary modes of writing in composition courses (exposition, narration, and analysis are the others). can either be objective or subjective.

Dialogue

spoken words, either real or imagined, that is recorded in a piece of writing. Through this, writers reveal important aspects of character's personalities as well as events in the narrative.

ex. Lennie from "Of Mice and Men": "Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you." This reveals that Lennie and George both care for each other and will always be there for each other.

Diction

the choice of words in speech or writing; often closely linked to a text's tone

ex. "That dude was angry!"

Didactic

attempts to teach a moral or lesson in a work of fiction or non-fiction

ex. "Animal Farm" teaches of the Tsar Nicholas and Communist Revolution of Russia before WW2

Digression

movement away from the main focus in speech or writing that can be intentional or unintentional

Elipsis

Three successive periods (...) that indicates the intentional omission of words in a thought or quotation

ex. "So... what happened?"

Elliptical

deliberate omission of words from a sentence for rhetorical effect

ex. "Junior year was tough and senior year the same."

Emphasis

the placement of important ideas and words within sentences and longer units of writing so that they have the greatest impact. the end has the most impact, the beginning has nearly as much, and the middle often has the least.

ex. "Get to your room, now!”

En Medias Res

The story begins in the middle of the action and works outwards.

Epistle

a work of poetry or prose that is presented as a series of letters

ex. "The First Epistle of Peter"

Epistrophe

A figure of speech where successive phrases or clauses all end with the same word.

Ex.) "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child."

Epithet

a word or phrase which is attached to a character for the purposes of description in a work of literature or non-fiction

ex. In Homer's IIliad, the character Achilles is referred to as "swift footed Achilles" and "lion-hearted Achilles"

Eponumous

a person in a work of fiction whose name is derived from the title, or vice versa

ex. characters in Shakespeare's play titles

Ethos

the characteristic spirit or ideal that informs a work. refers to the values of the arguer: honesty, trustworthiness, and morals

ex. "Doctors all over the world recommend this type of treatment."

Euphemism

A pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea. often used to soften the impact of what is being

ex. "Gil has passed away" for "He died of a crippling heart-attack."

Evidence

the grounds upon which an argument is based or by which proof is established

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that extends over several lines, verses, or chapters.

Ex. "Writing this research paper is a grind. My brain is not operating. I am running out of steam." (The mind is a machine)

Figurative Narrative

A categorical term for all uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison and appeals to sensory experience.

Ex. "I felt the sunshine on my skin, hearing the buzzing of the bees, while gazing at the gentle babble of the brook in the distance."

Figures of Speech

Comparisons that highlight the similarities between dissimilar things

Ex. Simile. "The boxer is like a lion."

Flashback

The story begins in the present and flashes to past events for clarification.

Flashforward

The story begins at the end and works to fill in the gaps.

Foreshadowing

A purposeful hint suggesting what may occur later in narrative.

Ex. A character throwing rocks into glass bottles could hint his eventual career as a pitcher in the Major Leagues.

General Words

Name groups or classes of objects, qualities, or actions \\n

Ex. "Dinner" is a class of things.

Gobbledygook

A mode of speech where the language is completely unintelligible because the words are gibberish. The term is onomatopoeic, derived from the sounds a turkey makes.

Ex. "It's time to realize our strategic growth mindset and use operational mindfulness to make our presence known in the industry with quality implementation methodologies."

Harangue

An emotionally based speech to spur an audience into action.

Ex. The opening lines to Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741).

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis.

Ex. "You really drive me up the wall!"

Hyphaersis

The omission of a letter from a word, usually to condense the amount of syllables.

Ex. The lyrics to Francis Scott Key's "The Star Spangled Banner": "o'er" substitutes as a single syllable version of the word, "over".

Hypostatization

a form of personification in which an abstract concept takes on living qualities.

Ex. "Guilt forced me to confess."

Idiom

a word or phrase that is used habitually

Example: "Time to rise and shine!"

Imagery

A mental picture conjured by specific words and associations

Independent Clause

a clause that can stand alone in a sentence; can be paired with dependent clauses but does not require them for meaning.

Example: "Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me." "Because I could not stop for death" is the ______________ in this scenario.

Induction

a logical process of making conclusions based on experiencing specific cases and scenarios

Inference

the process or making a conclusion based on a hint, clue, or implication

Example: Todd can infer that Rich is an angry man because of his knotted eyebrows and clenched fists. He does not need to be directly told, but rather it can be inferred through non-verbal cues.

Irony

a mode of expression in which an intended outcome is substituted with the reverse of what is expected

Example: "The day Chris decided on sobriety, he got run over by a Bud Light truck and died."

Jargon

a mode of speech where language is completely unintelligible

Juxtaposition

the placement of two contrasting ideas things next to each other for comparison

Example: A writer may choose to __________ the coldness of one room with the warmth of another, or one person's honesty with another's duplicity. ___________ sheds light on both elements in the comparison.

Litote

a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite

Example: "She's not a bad hockey player." To say "she's not bad" really means that "she is good," the opposite.

Logical Reasoning

The process of arriving at a conclusion through induction or deduction

Logos

the use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument

Example: "We need the addition of a traffic light at the corner of 1st and 34th. Traffic lights are shown to reduce traffic accidents by up to 30 percent at busy intersections."

Metaphor

any figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly, usually for emphasis or dramatic effect

Example: "My heart is a rose"

Mood

the audience's attitude or feelings towards a subject

Narration

one of the four primary modes of writing in composition courses; telling a story

Neologism

a newly invented, or coined, word

Example: In 2010, over 200 words were added to the Oxford English; words including "overthink," "bromance," "buzzkill," "frenemy," and "exit strategy."