AP English Language and Composition APEX Key Terms and Vocabulary

ad hominem

A fallacy in which someone attacks his or her opponent personally instead of criticizing the opponent's argument or position.

adage

A brief statement of principle or truth. Also called aphorism or maxim.

adjective

A word that modifies a noun or a pronoun.

advanced search

A type of Internet search that lets you determine very specific search guidelines.

adverb

A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; many adverbs end in -ly.

aesthetic impact

The emotional or sensory effect of a work.

alliteration

The use of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words that are close together.

allusion

An implied or indirect reference to something historical, literary, religious, mythical, or popular, such as a well-known story or a famous person.

American Dream

A social ideal that stresses the opportunities to achieve freedom, success, and happiness in the United States.

analogy

An attempt to establish a logical connection or similarity between two ideas or concepts.

anaphora

An example of parallelism in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of consecutive phrases or clauses.

anastrophe

A listing of sentence elements without conjunctions.

anecdote

A very brief story that relates to a specific topic.

anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics or behaviors to something nonhuman.

antithesis

An obvious contrast of ideas, generally balanced or parallel with regard to grammar.

aphorism

A brief statement of principle or truth; also called adage or maxim.

apology

A defense or justification of a stance or position.

apostrophe

A literary device in which a (usually absent) person or entity is directly addressed.

asyndeton

A listing of sentence elements without conjunctions.

atmosphere

In literature, the feeling evoked by a work, especially in relation to its setting.

atmosphere

The general mood of a story, often established using details about the setting.

audience appeals

Methods of persuading an audience through emotion, logic, or ethics.

author's purpose

The reason the author wrote or is writing about a topic.

autobiography

A literary work in which a person relates the story of his or her own life.

bar graph

A graph that uses bars to show numbers or amounts.

bias

A preference that often detracts from a person's ability to be objective.

bildungsroman

A coming-of-age novel.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, which protect the rights of citizens and states.

body paragraph

A section of an essay in which the topics are presented and supported.

Boolean

Relating to a type of search developed by George Boole that allows users to combine key words with AND, OR, IF THEN, EXCEPT, and NOT to locate more precise results.

canon

In literature, a set of writings widely recognized as quality literature.

caricature

A description of a person that exaggerates the qualities of a person that produces a bizarre or absurd effect.

catalog

A list of people, things, events, objects, or some other item.

circular reasoning

A logical fallacy, or misconception, in which the reason and the conclusion are essentially the same.

claim

An argument or point that has not yet been proved.

clause

A group of words that includes a subject and a verb.

colloquial

Demonstrating elements of conversational or informal speech.

commentary

A discussion of the purpose or significance of a text; also called analysis.

complex sentence

A sentence in which there is at least one independent and one dependent clause.

compound sentence

A sentence made up of two independent clauses joined together.

compound-complex sentence

A sentence made up of at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

conclusion paragraph

The final paragraph in an essay in which the writer sums up his or her argument.

conjunction

A word used to join sentences, clauses, phrases, or words.

connotation

Everything a word suggests or implies; the feeling a word gives you.

context

The part of a text that surrounds a word or passage and helps to determine its meaning.

coordinating conjunction

A conjunction that connects grammatically equal elements (such as words or clauses). The most common coordinating conjunctions are and, or, and but.

counterclaim

A claim that is in opposition to another claim.

counterclaim

A claim that is in opposition to another claim.

dash

A punctuation mark (—) that indicates a sharp break in the flow of thought from the rest of the sentence.

deductive reasoning

A method of thought or argument that starts with a general idea and then uses specific examples or known facts to support that idea.

denotation

The most direct or literal meaning of a word; a word's definition.

dependent clause

Part of a sentence that is a fragment when standing alone. It is also known as a subordinate clause.

dialect

A way of speaking that is particular to a specific place. Its words, the way those words are said, and/or the spelling of those words are slightly different from those used by other people who speak the same language.

dialogue

Conversation between two or more characters in a literary text.

diction

The word choice and purposeful arrangement of words that affect meaning in speech or writing.

dictionary

An alphabetical listing of words along with information about each word, such as its definition and pronunciation.

didactic

Intended to teach a lesson or convey instruction.

direct quote

Restating someone else's words exactly as they appeared in the original source. Direct quotes should be indicated by quotation marks.

direct quote

Restating someone else's words exactly as they appeared in the original source. Direct quotes should be indicated by quotation marks.

disillusionment

A loss of faith or trust in a belief or an ideal.

dissent

An explanation of why certain judges disagree with the majority opinion.

elegiac

A type of poetry that expresses sorrow.

enunciation

Pronouncing words clearly.

epigraph

In literature, a quotation, phrase, or other short work set at the beginning of a longer work.

epistrophe

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses; the opposite of anaphora.

epithet

An adjective or description, often with a negative connotation, that characterizes a person or thing.

ethos

The character and credibility of the writer in the eyes of the reader.

etymology

The origin and history of a word.

eulogy

A piece of writing that honors someone who has just died.

evidence

Information that helps to support a claim, thesis, or main idea.

eye rhyme

Words that are spelled similarly but do not rhyme.

false analogy

A logical fallacy in which an argument is based on an incorrect comparison.

figurative language

A nonliteral use of language to suggest a specific feeling or meaning.

figurative language

A nonliteral use of language to suggest a specific feeling or meaning.

figure of speech

A statement that is not meant to be taken literally.

first person

A point of view in which the narrator is inside the story and is telling it from his or her perspective.

formal tone

Language written or spoken in a manner that respects accepted rules and uses proper vocabulary and grammar.

glossary

A list of specialized terms and their meanings.

Gothic

A literary style involving elements of horror, suspense, and the supernatural, often set among medieval ruins, haunted castles, or dark forests.

Harlem Renaissance

A term that describes the increase of African American art, literature, and music in the 1920s and 1930s. It was named after the neighborhood in New York City that was the hub of this cultural movement: Harlem.

hasty generalization

A logical fallacy in which a conclusion is drawn based on insufficient evidence.

homophone

A word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning.

hook

In an essay, the sentence that gets the reader's attention.

hyperbole

A type of figurative language that uses an extreme exaggeration to make a point.

hyphen

A punctuation mark ( - ) used to connect two parts of a compound word or the parts of a word divided for any purpose.

idiom

An expression, figure of speech, or specialized vocabulary particular to a language, region, or group.

imagery

Any description that appeals to the senses.

independent clause

Part of a sentence that has a subject and a verb and forms a complete sentence by itself.

inductive reasoning

A method of thought or argument that starts from a specific idea or fact to reach a more general conclusion.

inference

A conclusion based on observations, evidence, or reasoning.

introduction paragraph

The first paragraph in an essay; it almost always includes the main idea, claim, or thesis statement.

irony

A contradiction between what is expected and what actually happens.

jargon

Specialized and often highly technical language.

juxtaposition

The placement of two ideas in close proximity to create contrast.

literary nonfiction

Writing that uses narrative techniques to convey factual information.

logical fallacy

A mistake in reasoning that makes an argument less effective.

logos

The presentation of facts and statistics.

majority opinion

An explanation of the reasoning behind a court decision.

maxim

A brief statement of principle or truth. Also called aphorism or adage.

media

Means of mass communication in both print and nonprint forms; the singular form is medium.

metaphor

A type of figurative language in which one thing is said to be another thing.

meter

In poetry, a pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds.

metonymy

A literary device in which an idea or concept is substituted for a closely related word or concept.

Modernism

An artistic and literary movement characterized by innovation and a break with tradition.

mood

The feeling the text conveys to its readers.

narrator

The person or character who tells a story to the reader.

non sequitur

A type of logical fallacy in which the conclusion drawn does not clearly connect to the given reason or evidence.

nostalgic

Invoking a sentimental yearning caused by remembering the past.

noun

A person, place, thing, or idea.

nuance

A slight difference in expression or meaning.

objective

Without opinion or bias.

pacing

The rate at which a story moves forward.

paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself but contains some degree of truth.

parallelism

A pattern in writing in which words and phrases are similar in structure, one echoing another.

paraphrase

A rewording of a statement made by someone else.

paraphrase

A rewording of a statement made by someone else.

parenthetical citation

A reference to the source material.

parenthetical remark

A statement, sometimes inside parentheses, that is not essential to the meaning of a sentence.

pathos

The quality of speech or written work that appeals to the emotions of the audience.

periodic sentence

A sentence that isn't logically or grammatically complete until the very end. It lends a sense of dramatic suspense or discovery.

personification

A type of figurative language in which nonhuman objects are given human qualities.

pie chart

A graph in the shape of a circle with various pieces of the circle representing different portions.

plagiarism

Presenting someone else's words or ideas as if they were your own.

plagiarism

Presenting someone else's words or ideas as if they were your own.

plagiarizing

Using someone else's ideas, words, or creative work without giving credit to that person.

plot

A series of events that make up a story.

poetic devices

Language elements, such as simile and metaphor, that support the mood, tone, and meaning of a poem.

poetry

A kind of literature that is usually written in a form called verse. Poems may also rhyme and follow other special rules.

point of view

The perspective from which the narrator is telling the story.

polyptoton

The repetition of words in close proximity that come from the same root.

polysyndeton

A listing of sentence elements with multiple conjunctions.

predicate

The portion of a sentence that includes the main verb and all of its modifiers.

premise

An idea used as the basis of a logical argument.

prose

A form of writing without a rhythmic pattern.

Rationalism

The belief that reason, logic, and experience should have greater influence than emotions or religious beliefs.

Realism

An artistic and literary movement dedicated to reflecting reality as closely as possible.

rebuttal

A response to a counterclaim or counter-argument.

reliable

Trustworthy.

repetition

A literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated for emphasis.

research question

A narrow and focused question about an issue or topic that provides a basis for research.

rhetoric

The use of language to persuade an audience.

rhetorical device

A persuasive technique used to help convince an audience.

rhetorical question

A question with an obvious answer, which is used to emphasize a writer's main point.

rhyme

Two or more words or syllables having a similar or identical sound.

rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhymes in a poem.

Romanticism

A way of viewing the world that values nature, individualism, intuition, innocence, and independence.

sarcasm

A way of speaking or writing that expresses one's intent through words that carry the opposite meaning. Also known as verbal irony.

satire

A genre that makes fun of human weakness or society's flaws in order to create change.

scheme

An arrangement of words for effect that relies on the literal meaning of the words.

scheme

An arrangement of words for effect that relies on the literal meaning of the words.

setting

The time, place, and social environment in which a story takes place.

simile

A type of figurative language in which two unlike things are compared using like, as, than, or resembles.

simple sentence

A sentence that has a subject and a predicate.

slang

Words that are used in informal speech, but aren't grammatically correct; sometimes these words aren't even in the dictionary.

slant rhyme

Words that rhyme partially but not completely.

slippery slope fallacy

A logical fallacy that assumes one small event will inevitably lead another more severe event.

source

A text or other piece of outside material from which a writer gathers information and evidence.

speaker

The voice of the poem, also known as the persona.

stanza

A series of lines grouped together in a poem.

straw man

A logical fallacy in which the substance of an opponent's argument is reduced to overly simplistic terms before refuting it.

stream of consciousness

In literary text, a style that mimics the unstructured flow of human thought.

style

A notable quality in the way a person expresses or does something.

subject

The person, place, or thing that performs the action of the sentence.

subjective

Shaped by personal bias.

subordinating conjunction

A conjunction that connects grammatically unequal elements and indicates the relationship between the two parts.

suffix

A group of letters at the end of a word that changes the word's meaning.

summary

A brief restatement of the facts or statements already made.

Supreme Court

The highest court in the United States.

suspense

A feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next in a story.

syllogism

A three-part deduction that involves drawing a conclusion from two premises.

symbol

Something that stands for (or represents) something else.

symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas beyond the literal reading of the text.

synecdoche

A literary device in which a part of an object or idea stands for or symbolizes the whole, or the whole symbolizes a part.

synonym

A word that has a similar meaning to another word.

syntax

The structure of a sentence.

table

A type of chart that includes rows (left to right) and columns (up and down) that contain information.

text structure

The manner in which a text is organized.

theme

An underlying central idea or message that runs through a work of literature and can be expressed in a complete sentence.

thesaurus

A book, website, or other source that gives synonyms (and sometimes antonyms) for many words.

thesis statement

A one-sentence statement of the purpose or main point of an essay; usually included in the first paragraph.

thesis statement

A one-sentence statement of the purpose or main point of an essay, usually included in the first paragraph.

tone

The author's attitude toward a subject.

tone of voice

The volume and intensity of a speaker's voice through which he or she indicates emotion.

Transcendentalism

A system of belief that emphasizes the use of one's own intuition to rise above challenges in the physical world and gain spiritual understanding.

transition

In writing, a word or group of words that helps a reader move from one idea to the next.

trope

A figure of speech that involves a nonliteral use of language, such as a simile, a metaphor, or an understatement.

understatement

A statement that is expressed with restraint or represents something as less important than it really is.

unreliable narrator

A storyteller whose interpretation of events may be biased or skewed in some way.

valid

Well-founded or logical.

verb

A word that describes an action or a state of being.

vernacular

The language or dialect spoken by a particular group of people.

word root

A basic word element that may or may not stand on its own as a word.

works-cited page

An alphabetical listing of the sources cited in a research essay or research project.