AP Language and Composition Glossary Notes
Active Voice
Subject performs the action; direct style.
Example: "Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house."
Opposite: Passive voice.
Allusion
Indirect reference to literature or common knowledge.
Alter-Ego
Author's character speaking directly to the audience.
Example: Prospero in The Tempest.
Anecdote
Brief, relevant episode for point or humor.
Antecedent
Word/phrase a pronoun refers to.
Example: "If I could command the wealth , I would not pay such a price for it."
Classicism
Realistic art/literature adhering to tradition.
Contrast: Romanticism.
Comic Relief
Humorous scene in a serious context.
Example: Macbeth's gatekeeper.
Diction
Word choice affecting meaning; describe (e.g., formal) instead of stating "author uses diction."
Colloquial
Ordinary conversation; colloquialism: familiar saying.
Connotation
Suggested word associations, not literal (denotation).
Example: "policeman," "cop," "The Man."
Denotation
Literal word meaning.
Jargon
Specialized diction of a profession.
Vernacular
Language of a region/group, plain speech.
Didactic
Teaches a lesson/moral.
Adage
Folk saying with a lesson.
Example: “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Allegory
Story where elements represent concepts/qualities.
Example: Animal Farm.
Aphorism
Terse general truth/moral; memorable summation.
Source: Poor Richard's Almanac.
Examples: “God helps them that help themselves.”
Ellipsis
Omission of words for effect.
Example: “The whole day, rain, torrents of rain.”
Related: Ellipse (omitted text in quotation).
Euphemism
Substitute for unpleasant words; political correctness/humor.
Examples: “Physically challenged” for “crippled.”
Figurative Language
Non-literal language.
Analogy
Parallel comparison of variable pairs.
Example: “America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle.”
Hyperbole
Exaggeration.
Example: “My mother will kill me if I am late.”
Idiom
Non-literal expression.
Example: “I got chewed out by my coach.”
Metaphor
Implied comparison (no "like" or "as").
Example: “My feet are popsicles.”
Extended Metaphor
Continued metaphor.
Conceit
Elaborate extended metaphor.
Metonymy
Replacing word with related concept.
Example: “Relations between London and Washington” (leaders).
Synecdoche
Whole represented by part.
Examples: “The cattle rancher owned 500 head,” “Check out my new wheels.”
Simile
Direct comparison using "like" or "as."
Example: “My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles.”
Synesthesia
Crossing of the senses.
Examples: “A purplish scent filled the room.”
Personification
Human qualities to non-human things.
Example: “The tired old truck groaned."
Foreshadowing
Hints of future events.
Genre
Literary work category (prose, poetry, drama).
Gothic
Gloom, mystery, fear, and death in writing.
Imagery
Words creating a mental picture.
Invective
Violent, abusive attack.
Irony
Opposite of expectation.
Verbal Irony
Saying opposite of what's meant; sarcasm (bitter tone).
Example: Gym teacher calling a mile run a "walk in the park".
Dramatic Irony
Audience knows what a character doesn't.
Situational Irony
Plot-based irony.
Juxtaposition
Side-by-side comparison for a point.
Mood
Atmosphere via word choice.
Motif
Recurring idea.
Oxymoron
Contradictory terms.
Examples: “wise fool,” “jumbo shrimp.”
Pacing
Author's writing speed.
Paradox
Seemingly contradictory but true situation.
Parallelism
Balanced sentence construction.
Example: “Cinderella swept the floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs.”
Anaphora
Repetition at start of sentences/clauses.
Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Chiasmus
Reversed word order.
Examples: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
Antithesis
Opposing ideas in parallel structure.
Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Zeugma (Syllepsis)
Word governs multiple words with different meanings.
Examples: “The butler killed the lights, and then the mistress.”
Parenthetical Idea
Aside in parentheses.
Example: “In a short time (and the time is getting shorter ) America will be out of oil.”
Parody
Humorous imitation.
Persona
Fictional narrator.
Poetic Device
Manipulates word sounds in poetry.
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds.
Example: “Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore.”
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds.
Example: “From the molten-golden notes.”
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within/at ends of words.
Example: “Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door."
Onomatopoeia
Imitates sounds.
Examples: Snap, rustle, boom.
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme within line.
Example: “To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!”
Slant Rhyme
Similar, not exact, rhyme.
End Rhyme
Rhyming last words of lines.
Example: “Roses are red, violets are blue."
Rhyme Scheme
Pattern of end rhymes (e.g., ABAB).
Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
Syllable said with more force.
Meter
Regular syllable pattern.
Free Verse
Little meter/rhyme.
Iambic Pentameter
10 syllables, alternating stress.
Example: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Sonnet
14-line poem in iambic pentameter.
Polysyndeton
List with conjunctions.
Pun
Humorous use of word meanings.
Rhetoric
Effective communication art.
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Writer, audience, subject relationships.
Rhetorical Question
Question for effect.
Romanticism
Idealistic art emphasizing nature.
Sarcasm
Bitter ironic comment.
Satire
Humorous critique; targets vices/follies.
Sentence
Expresses complete thought.
Appositive
Supplements noun's meaning.
Example: “Bob, the lumber yard worker, spoke with Judy, an accountant from the city.”
Clause
Subject and verb.
Independent Clause
Complete thought.
Dependent Clause
Needs independent clause.
Sentence Structures
Balanced Sentence
Parallel elements.
Compound Sentence
Two independent clauses.
Complex Sentence
One independent, one+ dependent clause.
Cumulative Sentence
Independent clause + subordinate elements.
Periodic Sentence
Subordinate elements + main clause.
Simple Sentence
One independent clause.
Sentence Types
Declarative Sentence
States idea.
Imperative Sentence
Issues command.
Interrogative Sentence
Asks question.
Style
Diction, tone, syntax choices.
Symbol
Concrete represents abstract.
Syntax/Sentence Variety
Grammatical arrangement; sentence length, structure.
Theme
Central message.
Thesis
Author's opinion/purpose.
Tone
Writer's attitude.
Understatement
Minimizing fact.
Litotes
Denying the opposite for effect.
Rhetorical Terms Related to Logic and Argumentation
Argument
Reasoning with premises and conclusion.
Premises
Support conclusion.
Conclusion
Main point.
Aristotle’s Appeals
Ethos (Credibility)
Author's believability.
Pathos (Emotional)
Appeals to emotion.
Logos (Logical)
Reasoning.
Concession
Accepting opposing view.
Conditional Statement
If-then statement.
Contradiction
Mutually exclusive propositions.
Counterexample
Opposes generalization.
Deductive Argument
Premises guarantee conclusion i.e. conclusion cannot be false if premises are true.
Fallacy
Unreliable reasoning.
Ad Hominem
Attacking person, not argument.
Appeal to Authority
Famous person supports idea.
Appeal to the Bandwagon
Many believe it.
Appeal to Emotion
Appeals to emotions.
Bad Analogy
Dissimilar situations.
Cliché Thinking
Using clichés as evidence.
False Cause
Sequence equals causation.
Hasty Generalization
Little/unrepresentative data.
Non Sequitur
Invalid argument.
Slippery Slope
Extreme outcome assumption.
Inductive Argument
Premises supporting conclusion; conclusion is most likely true.