AP Lang 2024-25

Question 1

active voice

Answer 1

• the subject of the sentence performs the action
• example: “Anthony drove the car”

Question 2

passive voice

Answer 2

• the subject of the sentence receives the action
• example: “The car was driven by Anthony.”

Question 3

allusion

Answer 3

• an indirect reference to something the reader should/might be familiar with
• example: usually a literary text, can also be a play, song, historical event, etc.

Question 4

alter-ego

Answer 4

• a character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts
• example: Shakespeare speaks about his retirement through Prospero

Question 5

anecdote

Answer 5

a brief recounting of a relevant episode, usually to develop a point or inject humor

Question 6

antecedent

Answer 6

• the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun
• example: “Mary saw Joseph and thanked him.” The antecedent of ‘him’ is ‘Joseph’

Question 7

comic relief

Answer 7

when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story to lighten to mood slightly

Question 8

diction

Answer 8

• word choice, usually as an element of a style
• DO describe an author’s diction
• DO NOT say they “use diction”… = they use words to write

Question 9

colloquial / colloquialism (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 9

• under the umbrella of “diction”
• ordinary or familiar type of conversation; a common or familiar type of saying

Question 10

connotation (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 10

• under the umbrella of “diction”
• the associations suggested by a certain word; the implied meaning rather than literal
• example: “policeman,” “cop,” and “The Man” all mean the same thing, but they invoke different feelings

Question 11

denotation (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 11

• under the umbrella of “diction”
• the literal explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations
• example: “policeman,” “cop,” and “The Man” all refer to a literally police officer

Question 12

jargon (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 12

• under the umbrella of “diction”
• diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or acitivity

Question 13

vernacular (three definitions + its type of rhetoric)

Answer 13

under the umbrella of “diction”
1. language or dialect of a particular country
2. language or dialect of a regional clan or group
3. plain, everyday speech

Question 14

didactic

Answer 14

a term to describe fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that teaches a specific lesson / moral or that provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

Question 15

adage (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 15

• under the umbrella of “didactics”
• a folk saying with a lesson
• example: “A rolling stone gathers no moss”

Question 16

allegory (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 16

• under the umbrella of “didactics”
• a fictional or nonfictional story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts
• the interaction of the story elements is meant to reveal an abstraction or truth
• example: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Question 17

aphorism (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 17

a short statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle; usually a memorable summation of the author’s point

Question 18

ellipsis

Answer 18

the intentional omission of a word or phrase from prose, done for effect by the author

Question 19

euphemism

Answer 19

• a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts
• sometimes used to add humor

Question 20

analogy (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 20

• figurative language
• a comparison of onepair of variables to a parallel set of variables

Question 21

hyperbole (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 21

• figurative language
• exaggeration

Question 22

idiom (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 22

• figurative language
• a commonly-used expression that doesn’t make sense if taken literally

Question 23

metaphor (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 23

• figurative language
• making an implied comparison without using “like,” “as,” or other similar words

Question 24

metonymy (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 24

• figurative language
• replacing an actual word or idea with a related word or concept
• example: “I couldn’t understand his tongue” –> tongue is a metonymy replacing ‘language’ or ‘speech’

Question 25

synecdoche (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 25

- figurative language, specifically a metonymy - when a whole is represent by naming one of its parts, or vice versa - example: "Check out my new wheels."

Question 26

simile (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 26

- figurative language - making a comparison between two different things using words such as "like" or "as"

Question 27

synesthesia (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 27

- figurative language - a description involving a "crossing of the senses" - example: "A purplish scent filled the room"

Question 28

personification (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 28

- figurative language - giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

Question 29

foreshadowing

Answer 29

when an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

Question 30

imagery

Answer 30

word(s) that create a picture in the reader's mid, usually involving the five senses and combined with other rhetoric

Question 31

invective

Answer 31

a long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language

Question 32

irony

Answer 32

when the o;posite of what you expect to happen does

Question 33

juxtaposition

Answer 33

placing things side by side for the purpose of comparison

Question 34

mood

Answer 34

the atmosphere / feeling of the audience created by the piece and established through diction

Question 35

motif

Answer 35

a recurring idea in a piece

Question 36

oxymoron

Answer 36

- when contradictory terms are grouped together to suggest a paradox - example: "jumbo shrimp"

Question 37

pacing

Answer 37

the speed / tempo of an author's writing

Question 38

paradox

Answer 38

- a seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true - example: "You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job"

Question 39

parallelism

Answer 39

sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other

Question 40

anaphora (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 40

- parallelism - repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of 2+ sentences or clauses in a row

Question 41

chiasmus OR antimetabole (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 41

- parallelism - the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed - example: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

Question 42

antithesis (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 42

- parallelism - two opposite / contrasting words, phrases, clauses, or ideas with parallel structure

Question 43

zuegma / syllepsis (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 43

- parallelism - when a single word governs or modifies 2+ other words, and the meaning changes - example: "The butler killed the lights and then the mistress"

Question 44

alliteration (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 44

- poetic device - repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

Question 45

assonance (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 45

- poetic device - repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

Question 46

consonance (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 46

- poetic device - repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of or within words

Question 47

onomatopoeia (and its type of rhetoric)

Answer 47

- poetic device - the used of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that it makes

Question 48

polysyndeton

Answer 48

- when a writer creates a list of items which are separated by conjunctions - used to slow the pacing and/or add an authoritative tone

Question 49

symbol

Answer 49

anything that represents or stands for something else

Question 50

syntax

Answer 50

the arrangement / grouping of words

Question 51

tone

Answer 51

the writer's attitude toward the subject, revealed through diction, figurative language, or organization