AP Language and Composition Terms
Allegory - A story, poem, or picture interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning
Alliteration - the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Allusion - an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
Ambiguity - the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
Anadiplosis - a figure of speech in which a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause or sentence.
Analogy - a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification
Anaphora - the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition
Anecdote - a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.
Antecedent - a thing or event that existed before or logically precedes another.\
Antithesis - a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
Aphorism - a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”.
Apostrophe - a punctuation mark ( ’ ) used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry's book ; boys' coats ) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g., can't ; he's ; class of ’99 ).
Asyndeton - the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.
Atmosphere - Atmosphere is another word for mood; it's the feeling a writer wants their readers to experience, like suspense or foreboding, longing or joy.
Chiasmus - a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. ‘Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.’.
Clause - a unit of grammatical organization next below the sentence in rank and in traditional grammar said to consist of a subject and predicate.
Conduplicatio - A rhetorical device that involves repeating a key word from one sentence or phrase at the beginning of the next
Colloquialism - a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
Coherence - the quality of being logical and consistent.
Conceit - excessive pride in oneself
Connotation - an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Denotation - the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests
Diction - the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing
Didactic - intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
Enumeratio - Figure of amplification in which a subject is divided into constituent parts or details
Expletive - an oath or swear word.
Euphemism - a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
Exposition - a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
Extended metaphor - a metaphor that is used over multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas in a piece of writing
Figurative language - a way of using words to convey meaning that's different from their literal or realistic meaning
Figure of speech - a word or phrase that intentionally departs from literal meaning to create a rhetorical effect
Generic conventions - the components that are used to identify the genre so that the audience or viewer can understand the concept and relate to it
Genre - a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Homily - a piece of spoken or written advice about how someone should behave
Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Hypophora - a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a question and then immediately answers it
Imagery - visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
Inference - a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.
Invective - insulting, abusive, or highly critical language.
Irony - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Juxtaposition - the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Litotes - figure of speech and a form of understatement in which a sentiment is expressed ironically by negating its contrary.
Loose sentence
Metaphor - Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words
Metonymy - Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept
Mood - The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)
Narrative - a story or account of events, usually presented in a chronological order, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, often used to convey a specific message or theme through the details of the characters and plot
Onomatopoeia - a figure of speech that uses words to describe the sounds made by all living things including people, animals, birds and all inanimate objects
Oxymoron - occurs when two contradictory words are together in one phrase
Paradox - A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity
Parallelism - Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns
Parody - An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes
Pedantic - An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish
Periodic sentence - a type of parallel sentence which builds through three or more parallel constructions (dependent phrases or clauses) to a main clause
Personification - a type of figurative language that gives human characteristics to nonhuman things or inanimate objects
Polysyndeton - a rhetorical device that involves repeating conjunctions in a sentence to create a list-like effect
Point of view - the perspective from which a story is told, essentially who is narrating the events and what level of access they have to the characters' thoughts and feelings
Predicate adjective - an adjective that is in the predicate of a sentence and comes after a linking verb that describes the subject of that same sentence
Predicate nominative - a noun that comes after a linking verb and is equal to a subject of a sentence
Prose - written language that is unmetered, follows grammar rules, and is organized into sentences and paragraphs
Repetition - The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound,word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern
Rhetoric - The art of effective communication
Rhetorical question - A question asked solely to produce an effect and not to elicit a reply
Sarcasm - the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really want to say, especially in order to insult someone, or to show irritation, or just to be funny
Satire - The use of wit- especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule- to attack the vices and follies of humankind
Semantics - the study of meanings
Style - the manner in which ideas are expressed, the combination of distinctive or unique features characterizing a writer or person
Subject complement - gives us more information about the subject
Subordinate clause - a clause that does not form a simple sentence by itself and that is connected to the main clause of a sentence
Syllogism - A formula for presenting an argument logically
Symbolism - a literary device in which a writer uses one thing—usually a physical object or phenomenon—to represent something more abstract
Synecdoche - A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa
Syntax - The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences
Theme - what a text implies about life or human nature
Thesis - the main argument or point that a student makes in an essay
Tone - the stylistic means by which an author conveys his/her attitude(s) in a work of literature
Transition - a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or an entire paragraph
Understatement - the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is
Undertone - a muted tone of voice
Wit - intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights