AP Lang Rhetorical Handbook Full

Question 1

allusion

Answer 1

indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is not explained but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is thus mentioned

Question 2

ambiguity

Answer 2

something of doubtful meaning; an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context, may have more than one meaning

Question 3

anachronism

Answer 3

representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order

Question 4

aphorism

Answer 4

brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation

Question 5

invective

Answer 5

abuse (tongue-lashing, diatribe, condemnation)

Question 6

juxtaposition

Answer 6

placing two things side by side, usually to show contrast

Question 7

malapropism

Answer 7

an incorrect usage of a ward, usually with comic effect

Question 8

rhetorical question

Answer 8

a question posed by the speaker or writer not to seek an answer but instead to affirm or deny a point simply by asking a question about it

Question 9

sensory detail

Answer 9

an item used to appeal to the sense (sight, taste, touch, etc)

Question 10

shift

Answer 10

general term in linguistics for any slight alteration in a word’s meaning, or the creation of an entirely new word by changing the use of an expression

Question 11

tone

Answer 11

writer’s attitude toward his reader and his subject; his mood or moral view; formal, informal, playful, ironic, optimistic, pessimistic

Question 12

point of view

Answer 12

way the events of a story are conveyed to the reader; “vantage point” from which the narrative is passed from author to the reader; first-person, omniscient, limited

Question 13

theme-thesis

Answer 13

message conveyed by a literary work

Question 14

voice

Answer 14

textual feature, such as diction and sentence structure, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s persona

Question 15

ad hominem argument

Answer 15

an attack on another person instead of their point of view

Question 16

begging the question

Answer 16

situation that results when a writer or speaker constructs an argument on an assumption that the audience does not accept

Question 17

doubtful authority

Answer 17

the authority os not an expert, their colleagues disagree, or the reference to the authority is out of context of the situation

Question 18

either/or reasoning

Answer 18

argument that something complex can be looked at in only two different ways

Question 19

false analogy

Answer 19

comparing two things that are irrelevant, do not pose a valid comparison

Question 20

hasty generalization

Answer 20

not enough support for the inductive reasoning used

Question 21

circular argument

Answer 21

restates the argument rather than actually proving it

Question 22

slippery slope

Answer 22

conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually, through a series of small steps, B, C,…, X, Y, Z will happen too, basically equating A and Z; so if we don;t want Z to occur A must not occur

Question 23

non-sequitur

Answer 23

conclusion that had no visible connection to the support for the claim

Question 24

oversimplification

Answer 24

reducing an idea too much so it loses the point trying to be made

Question 25

expository

Answer 25

informs, instructs or presents ideas and general truths

Question 26

classification

Answer 26

expository; identifies the subject as part of a larger group with shared features

Question 27

cause and effect

Answer 27

expository; arguing from the presence/absence of the cause to the (non) existence of the result

Question 28

compare/contrast

Answer 28

expository; the subject is shown more clearly by pointing out similarities or differences

Question 29

definition

Answer 29

expository; places the subject in a group and then differentiates the subject from other sections of the group

Question 30

analysis

Answer 30

expository; discussion of a subject based on content and style

Question 31

description

Answer 31

depicts images verbally in space and time arranges those images in a logical pattern

Question 32

narration

Answer 32

organizes the events or actions in time or relates them in space; tells what happened, when it happened, and where it happened

Question 33

persuasion/argument

Answer 33

convinces an audience by proving or refuting a point of view using induction or deduction

Question 34

ethos

Answer 34

ethical; rhetorical appeal to an audience based on the speaker/writer’s credibility

Question 35

pathos

Answer 35

emotion; emotional appeal to an audience in an argument

Question 36

logos

Answer 36

rational; rhetorical appeals based on logic or reasoning

Question 37

deductive reasoning

Answer 37

reasoning that utilizes elements of persuasion by asserting a claim; consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

Question 38

inductive reasoning

Answer 38

reasoning that begins by citing a number of specific instances or examples and then shows how collectively they constitute a general principle

Question 39

evidence/data

Answer 39

support from a claim/assertion

Question 40

warrant

Answer 40

assumption that there is a connection between evidence and claim

Question 41

pedantic

Answer 41

characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules

Question 42

simple

Answer 42

(of writing style) pure, easy, plain, basic

Question 43

monosyllabic

Answer 43

one syllable

Question 44

polysyllabic

Answer 44

more than one syllable

Question 45

euphonious

Answer 45

pleasing or agreeable to the ear

Question 46

cacophonic

Answer 46

discordant, unpleasant sounding, jarring

Question 47

didactic

Answer 47

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive

Question 48

literal

Answer 48

what you see

Question 49

figurative

Answer 49

what you get from language, tone, symbol, etc.

Question 50

active

Answer 50

subject of the sentence is performing or causing the action rather than a state of being

Question 51

passive

Answer 51

subject is the object of the action or the effect of the verb

Question 52

colloquial

Answer 52

informal, conversational

Question 53

formal

Answer 53

proper language

Question 54

non-standard-slang

Answer 54

not adhering to the standard, usually associated with a language variety used by uneducated speakers

Question 55

jargon

Answer 55

not adhering to the standard, usually associated with a language variety used by socially disfavored speakers

Question 56

alliteration

Answer 56

the recurrence of initial consonant sounds; usually limited to two words

Question 57

onomatopoeia

Answer 57

the use of words which in their pronunciation suggest their meaning; ex. hiss

Question 58

analogy

Answer 58

comparison of two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one

Question 59

apostrophe

Answer 59

The direct address of a person, either present or absent; used in prose to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back

Question 60

cliché

Answer 60

an expression so often used that its original power has been drained away

Question 61

conceit

Answer 61

an elaborate, usually intellectually ingenious poetic comparison or image, such as an analogy or metaphor in which, say a beloved is compared to a ship, planet, etc

Question 62

epithet

Answer 62

adjective or adjective phrases appropriately qualifying a subject (noun) by naming a key or important characteristic of the subject

Question 63

euphemism

Answer 63

expression of an unpleasant or embarrassing notion by a more inoffensive substitute

Question 64

hyperbole

Answer 64

exaggeration used for emphasis; used to heighten effect, catalyze recognition, or create a humorous perception

Question 65

imagery

Answer 65

collection of images with a literary work; used to evoke atmosphere, mood, tension

Question 66

verbal irony

Answer 66

contrast between the literal meaning of what os said and what is meant

Question 67

situational irony

Answer 67

result of an action is the reverse of what the author expected

Question 68

extended metaphor

Answer 68

metaphor which is drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire poem, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas

Question 69

metonymy

Answer 69

form of metaphor; similar to synecdoche, in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject with which it is to be compared

Question 70

oxymoron

Answer 70

paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun or adverb-adjective relationship; used for effect, to emphasis contrasts, incongruities, hypocrisy, or simply the complex nature of reality

Question 71

paradox

Answer 71

statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nevertheless

Question 72

synaesthesia

Answer 72

(same as the medical condition) descriptions of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another

Question 73

understatement

Answer 73

expressing an idea with less emphasis or in a lesser degree than is the actual case; employed for ironic emphasis

Question 74

order: basic

Answer 74

subject + verb + object

Question 75

order: interrupted

Answer 75

a sentence that is interrupted by a parenthetical aside

Question 76

order: inverted

Answer 76

begins with a part of the sentence than the subject; used to delay revealing what the sentence is about, to create tension or suspense, and to connect ideas between sentences more clearly

Question 77

order: listing

Answer 77

a sentence with multiple phrases that create a list

Question 78

order: cumulative/loose

Answer 78

begins with subject and verb and adds modifying elements at end

Question 79

order: periodic

Answer 79

opens with modifiers, withholds subject and verb until the end

Question 80

order: parallelism- antithesis

Answer 80

established a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure

Question 81

order: parallelism- chiasmus

Answer 81

a crossing parallelism, where the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order

Question 82

order: parallelism- balanced

Answer 82

expressing parallel or like ideas - often compound

Question 83

declarative sentence

Answer 83

sentence that declares or states something

Question 84

imperative sentence

Answer 84

commands, requests, or instructs; subject is usually unstated “you”

Question 85

exclamatory sentence

Answer 85

expresses strong emotion; with “!”

Question 86

interrogative sentence

Answer 86

asks a question

Question 87

simple sentence

Answer 87

at least one subject, at least one predicate; can stand alone b/c it expresses a complete thought

Question 88

compound sentence

Answer 88

contains two or more independent clauses

Question 89

complex sentence

Answer 89

contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses

Question 90

compound-complex sentence

Answer 90

contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

Question 91

ellipses

Answer 91

rhetorical figure in which one or more words are omitted

Question 92

asyndeton

Answer 92

omission of a conjunction from a list; gives the affect of unpremeditated multiplicity, or an extemporaneous rather than a labored account

Question 93

anadiplosis

Answer 93

rhetorical trope formed by repeating last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next; done for beauty or to give a sense of logical progression

Question 94

anaphora

Answer 94

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

Question 95

epistrophe

Answer 95

repetition of the same word(s) used that end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences; opposite of anaphora

Question 96

polysyndeton

Answer 96

use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause; opposite of asyndeton; feeling of multiplicity, energetic enumeration, and building up

Question 97

parenthetical aside

Answer 97

consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence

Question 98

colon

Answer 98

punctuation mark used to divide distinct but related sentence components such as clauses in which the second elaborates on the first, or to introduce a list, quotation, or speech

Question 99

semi-colon

Answer 99

connects two independent parts of a sentence

Question 100

dashes

Answer 100

used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material

Question 101

allegory

Answer 101

form of extended metaphor in which object and persons are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself

Question 102

biography

Answer 102

an account of a persons life

Question 103

chronicle

Answer 103

an extended account of historical events without interpretation or comment

Question 104

diary

Answer 104

daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations

Question 105

essay

Answer 105

short literary composition on a single subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author; analytic or interpretive

Question 106

parody

Answer 106

literary form in which the style of an author or particular work is mocked in its style for the sake of comic effect

Question 107

prose

Answer 107

writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech

Question 108

satire

Answer 108

literary work which exposes and ridicules human vices or folly; historically perceived as tending toward didacticism, usually intended as moral criticism directed against the injustice of social wrongs

Question 109

sermon

Answer 109

oration by a prophet or member of the clergy

Question 110

stream-of-consciousness

Answer 110

technique that records the multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical or narrative sequence; writer attempts to reflect all the forces, external and internal, influencing the psychology of a character at a single moment