AP notes 1-20

Question 1

Ancedote

Answer 1

a short simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point

Question 2

Argumentation

Answer 2

Writing that attempts to prove the validating of a point of view or an idea by presenting “reasoned” arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

An extended narrative of an incident in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writers intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.

Question 4

Annotation

Answer 4

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cites, sources, or give bibliographic data

Question 5

Antithesis

Answer 5

The presentation of 2 contrasting images. the ideas are balances by word, phrases, clause, or paragraphs.. examples: “to be or not to be…”
“Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

Question 6

Rhetoric

Answer 6

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques

Question 7

Colloquialism

Answer 7

A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often appropriate in formal writing ( y’all, ain’t , can’t, somethin’ )

Question 8

Connotation

Answer 8

Words suggesting implied meaning because of its association in a readers mind. This is the opposite of denotation

Question 9

Consonance

Answer 9

Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity: boot/beat/best/brag, or even compound word, fulfill, ping-pong.

Question 10

Caricature

Answer 10

Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a persons appearance or a facet of personality

Question 11

Coherence

Answer 11

the “quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea/theme or organizing principle

Question 12

Aphorism

Answer 12

a short often witty, statement of a principle or truth about life. “ the early bird gets the worm”

Question 13

Apostrophe

Answer 13

usually in poetry, but sometimes in prose: the device to calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to place, thing, or personified abstraction

Question 14

cacophony

Answer 14

also referred to a dissonance… hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds usually deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony

Question 15

Denotation

Answer 15

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the words suggest

Question 16

Enumerations

Answer 16

Is a rhetorical device used for listing the details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step by step. A type of amplification or division in which a subject is further distributed into components or parts writers use this to clarify or detail understanding

Question 17

Analogy

Answer 17

Is a comparison in which an idea or a thing compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to familiar things.

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same or similar in their construction sound, meaning or meter . Some examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations
Examples: Like father, like son
easy come, easy go

Question 19

Allusion

Answer 19

is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political, significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing, to which it refers. Its just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to posses enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text

Question 20

Metonymy

Answer 20

It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it closely associated. does not create a comparison.
Examples:
White house- the president

Question 21

Anaphora

Answer 21

in writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as Anaphora. Used to emphasize certain words or phrases

Question 22

Epistrophe

Answer 22

is derived from a Greek word that means turning upon, which indicates the same word returns at the end of each sentence. Is a styli c device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the end of the clause or sentence.

Question 23

Asyndeton

Answer 23

is derived from a Greek word asyndeton which means unconnected. It is a styli c device used in literature and poetry. To intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. The literary tool helps in reducing the indirect meaning of the phrases and presents it in a concise form. ( Helps speed up the rhythm of words )

Question 24

Polysyndeton

Answer 24

The term polysyndeton comes from a Greek word meaning “ bound together”. It makes use of coordinating conjunctions like “and, or, but, and nor “ mostly “and and “or” which are used to join successive words, phrase or clause in such a way that these conjunctions are even used where they might have been omitted

Question 25

Synecdoche

Answer 25

Is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. Distinguishing between this and metonymy often take some thoughtful consideration

Question 26

Tone

Answer 26

in written composition, an attitude of a written toward a subject or an audience. It is something important for the reader to sense to determine an argument. Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.

Question 27

Process analysis

Answer 27

a step by step breakdown of the phases of a process, used to convey the details of each phase of thinking an operation, etc. it is often used to improve understanding and also to break down an argument to make it move comprehensible

Question 28

Syntax

Answer 28

is a set of rules in a language. It dictates how words from different parts of speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought. In plain english, "syntax" refers to how we choose to arrange our words.

Question 29

Provocative Diction

Answer 29

"diction" is our choice of words. Thus, provocative diction is the purposeful choice of words serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate a provocative question that will frame a rhetorical argument.

Question 30

classification

Answer 30

the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or characteristics. This often is a strategy of argumentation response in an effort to provide the reader with structure to your argument. It would be considered a support to both ethos and logos in presenting an argument.

Question 31

understatement

Answer 31

For example, you win 10 million dollars in a lottery. when you tell a news reporter " i am delighted " you are making an understatement. Similarly, suppose a team loses to its opponent 50 to 0 in a soccer match and the captain of the team says in a post match ceremony says " we did not do well" he is trying to decrease intensity of the loss. The opposite of hyperbole and overstatement

Question 32

colorful diction

Answer 32

is your conscious choice of words as a writer it stands to reason that "colorful diction" is a very purposeful word choice that will serve to accentuate meaning and tone.