Upgrade to remove ads

Only $2.99/month

AP Language and Composition Terminology

Terms in this set (94)

The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event

An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses

A short account of an interesting event

Explanatory or critical notes added to a text

The noun to which a later pronoun refers

Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas

A short, astute statement of a general truth

A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun

Archaic Diction

The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language

A statement put forth and supported by evidence

Aristotelian Triangle

A diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see rhetorical triangle)

An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument

A belief or statement taken for granted without proof

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses

The speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone

One's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed

A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge

Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue

Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source

An assertion, usually supported by evidence

A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text

An informal or conversational use of language

Shared beliefs, values, or positions

Complex sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding

That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning (see denotation)

Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning

Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but

Counterargument

A challenge to a position; an opposing argument

Cumulative sentence

an independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail

Declarative sentence

A sentence that makes a statement. Deduction: Reasoning from general to specific

The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition

Word choice. Documentation: Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing

Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone

A brief witty statement

A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see logos and pathos)

Issue or situation that demands prompt action or remedy

Fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied

Figurative Language:

The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect

Figure of Speech

An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis

Vivid use of language that evokes a reader's senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing)

Implied, rather than expressly stated

Imperative Sentence

A sentence that requests or commands

Reasoning from specific to general

A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result

Placement of two things side by side for emphasis

A Greek term that means "word"; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and pathos)

A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison

Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole

An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing. Oxymoron: A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms

A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns

A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule

A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos)

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

Personification

Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. Polemic: An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions

Major, minor two parts of a syllogism. The concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major premise and its subject from the minor premise

Major premise/Minor Premise/Conclusion

All mammals are warm-blooded. Minor premise: All horses are mammals. Conclusion: All horses are warm-blooded (see syllogism)

A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information

One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing

To discuss the extent to which something may or may not be true

To refute by evidence or argument

The study of effective, persuasive language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "available means of persuasion."

Rhetorical Modes

Patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose; modes include but are not limited to narration, description, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, classification and division, process analysis, and argumentation

Rhetorical Question

A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer

Rhetorical Situation

The relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience (see Aristotelian triangle)

Ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it

A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect

Sentence patterns

The arrangement of independent and dependent clauses into known sentence constructions—such as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex

Sentence variety

Using a variety of sentence patterns to create a desired effect

A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things

Simple sentence

A statement containing a subject and predicate; an independent clause

A book, article, person, or other resource consulted for information

A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.
Straw man: A logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position

The distinctive quality of speech or writing created by the selection and arrangement of words and figures of speech

In rhetoric, the topic addressed in a piece of writing

Subordinate Clause

Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause

The dependence of one syntactic element on another in a sentence

A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported by a major and minor premise (see premise; major, and minor)

Sentence structure

Combining or bringing together two or more elements to produce something more complex

The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer

Thesis statement

A statement of the central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit

Transitions are words and phrases that provide a connection between ideas, sentences, and paragraphs

The speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience

A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis

Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech

Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect

In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice); in rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

AP Lang terms

98 terms

AP English 3 summer vocab

94 terms

AP Lang Terminology

38 terms

AP terms 5

88 terms

OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR

Psych 2 - Research Methods

36 terms

Social Psychology Terms

52 terms

AP Psychology terms

199 terms