AP Language definitions 1-20 Flashcards
a short simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point
Anecdote
Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting “reasoned arguments”: the focus of the AP language and composition program
Argumentation
an extended narrative of an incident in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story
Allegory
explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data
Annotation
the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be”
Antithesis
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques
Rhetoric
a word or phrase used in everyday conversation
Colloquialism
Words suggesting implied meaning because of it’s association in a reader’s mind
Connotation
repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity. Boot, Boat/ Fulfill, Ping-Pong
Consonance
The “quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea/ theme or organizing principle
Coherence
A short, often witly, statement of a principle or truth about life. Benjamin Franklin was somewhat famous for these in Poor Richard’s Almanac, e.g. “The early bird gets the worm.”
Aphorism
descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality
Caricature
the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, or personified abstraction
Apostrophe
hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose: the opposite of Euphony
Cacophony
- an idea or feeling that a word invokes into the reader
* The literal meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings the word expresses
- Connotation
* Denotation
a rhetorical device used for listing the details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step by step
Enumeration
a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar
Analogy
the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter
Parallelism
a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or personal significance
Allusion
a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which is closely associated
Metonymy
