AP LANG TERMS

Diction

Author’s purposeful choice of words. When discussing diction, you must use an adjective describing the TYPE OF DICTION BEING USED.

Syntax

Sentence structure/the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, or sentences. Example: short sentences, long sentences, punctuation used.

Pacing

Speed with which a piece is read. Relates to sentence length or syntax.

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. Adds balance to a sentence. Examples: “We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers…”; “Mother was very busy gathering the laundry, dusting the furniture and washing the dishes.”; “American by Birth. Rebel by Choice.”

Repetition

The duplication of any element of language, sound, word, phrase, clause, or grammatical pattern.

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or groups of words at the beginnings of successive phrases. Example: Churchill’s repeated “We shall…” at the beginnings of successive sentences.

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive phrases. Example: Pillsbury’s repeated “real butter” at the ends of phrases.

Connotation

The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; implied, suggestive meaning. Connects to diction.

Denotation

The strict, literal definition of a word, devoid of any emotion.

Climax

Arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance.

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things to highlight the relationship between them. Often called metaphor; a metaphor creates an analogy. Helps explain something unfamiliar by associating it with something more familiar to the reader.

Asyndeton

Deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of words, phrases, or clauses. Adds a punctuated rhythm in a sentence and emphasizes each clause. Examples: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”; “I like tacos, beets, ice cream, oreos, chocolate.”

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions. Adds a frenetic quality and speeds up a sentence. Example: “We lived and laughed and loved and left.”

Alliteration

Repetition of initial letters in two or more adjacent words.

Cyclical Plot

When the beginning of a piece relates/repeats at the end.

Loose Sentence

Begins with a main clause that is followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause. These phrases or clauses add information to the main or independent clause. If a period were placed at the end of the independent clause, the clause would be a complete sentence. Example: “The elephants proceeded on their walk, pounding the dry dirt, and swinging their trunks.”

Periodic Sentence

Has the main clause or predicate at the end. Used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made. Can also create suspense or interest for the reader. Examples: “In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued.”; Fitzgerald example beginning “Halfway between West Egg and New York City…”

Anecdote

Short, interesting story told about a real incident or person.

Narrative

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

Imagery

Details that help a reader connect with a piece, built using specific sensory diction. Sometimes referred to as figurative language.

Symbolism

Anything that represents itself and stands for something else. Usually concrete-abstract.

Metaphor

Implied comparison between two unlike things.

Extended Metaphor/Conceit

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Simile

Explicit comparison between two unlike things using like or as.

Personification

Investing abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities.

Hyperbole

The use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect. Example: Marquez describes rain lasting for “four years, eleven months, and two days.”

Rhetorical Question

Asking a question not for the purpose of eliciting an answer, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly.

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, place, or work of art.

Irony

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. Irony is often used to create humor.

Satire

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

Euphemism

A more agreeable/less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or topic.

Colloquialism

The use of slang in writing. Lends itself to an informal tone.

Comic Relief (humor)

The inclusion of a humorous scene to contrast with a more serious topic or idea.

Cause-and-Effect Thinking

The speaker employs cause-and-effect thinking in order to… Specifics analyzed in the essay might be analogy, litotes, and tricolon syntax.

Comparison (Analogical Reasoning)

The speaker uses types of comparisons in order to… Specifics analyzed in the essay might be similes, imagery, and juxtaposition.

Contrast

The speaker relies on various contrasts in order to… Specifics analyzed in the essay might be juxtaposition, epistrophe, and strong diction.

Deductive Reasoning

Starts out with a general statement or hypothesis and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion. Moves from general conclusions to specific information. Example: “The speaker focuses on elements of deductive reasoning in order to…” Specifics might be metabasis, antithesis, and rhetorical questions.

Inductive Reasoning

Makes broad generalizations from specific observations. Basically, there is data, then conclusions are drawn from the data. Moves from specific information to general/big-picture conclusions. Example: “The speaker focuses on inductive reasoning so that…” Specifics might be a catalogue of facts, analogy, and an anecdote.

Exaggeration

The speaker uses various forms of exaggeration in order to… Specifics analyzed might be hyperbole, strongly connotative diction, and rhetorical questions.

Exemplification

Examples that illustrate a larger point. Specifics analyzed might be emotional anecdotes, personification, and synecdoche.

Tone

Tone is not a device; it’s an effect created by the combination of other devices, elements, etc. Example: “The speaker employs a commanding tone in order to…” Specifics might be understatements, an exemplum, and a strong central metaphor.

Amplification

By using repetition, a writer expands on an original statement and increases its intensity. You don’t just restate the point—it expands and dives deeper into the argument to show readers and listeners how important it is. Example: Roald Dahl develops the idea of ugly thoughts becoming visible through repeated expansion of the original statement.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses someone or something that is not present or cannot respond in reality. The entity can be an absent, dead, or imaginary person, an inanimate object, an abstract idea, or a being such as a Muse or god. Example: “My dear Sun you torture me, What power this heavenly body possesses over us, oh Lord.”

Synecdoche

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole, the whole for a part, the species for the genus, the genus for the species, or the name of the material for the thing made. A part of one thing represents its whole. Examples: “fifty sail” for fifty ships; “boards” for stage; “let’s grab a slice” meaning a whole pizza; saying New England won the Super Bowl when referring to the New England Patriots.

Cacophony

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases. The use of words that sound bad together. Harsh words can add effect to a statement or grab attention.

Euphony

The use of words that sound good together. Example from Emily Dickinson: “Oars divide the Ocean, / Too silver for a seam.”

Innuendo

An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one. An oblique allusion or hint. A statement which indirectly suggests that someone has done something immoral or improper. Example: innuendos about someone’s drinking and gambling.

Juxtaposition

A device that implies comparison or contrast. Writers or speakers create juxtaposition by placing two opposite entities side by side to create dramatic or ironic contrast. Allows the reader or listener to discern how the paired entities are similar or different.

Understatement

When a descriptive statement is less than the actual thing being described. Example: describing a hurricane as a “little storm.”

Litotes

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary. Deliberate understatement. Example: “It’s not pretty” to mean “It’s ugly” or “It’s bad.” Frederick Douglass uses “not uncommon” as a double negative.

Meiosis

The presentation of a thing with under-emphasis, especially in order to achieve a greater effect: understatement. Designed to lessen the value or importance of a thing. Unlike litotes, it is more direct. Example: “It is only a scratch.”

Oxymoron

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words. Example: “cruel kindness.”

Paradox

A formal statement that leads to a true contradiction. Example: the Liar’s Paradox: “This statement is false.”

Antithesis

Making a connection between two opposite ideas, events, people, or things. Examples: Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” contrasted with “one giant leap”; “give me liberty or give me death.”

Tricolon

Three similar words or phrases, expressed one after the other. Done to give the description a sense of completeness. Example: Eisenhower’s speech uses three-part phrases such as “the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”