AP english terms
Terms
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- ad hominem argument
- an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason
- allegory
- using a character or characters symbolically in a story to represent an abstraction (Beloved)
- alliteration
- the repetition of sounds
- allusion
- a direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known
- ambiguity
- the multiple meanings of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage
- analogy
- a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them
- antecedent
- the word reffered to by a pronoun
- antithesis
- a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure
- aphorism
- a statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle
- apostrophe
- directly adressing an absent or imaginary person
- atmosphere
- the emotional mood created by a piece
- caricature
- a deliberate exaggeration of features to produce a comic or grotesque effect
- chiasmus
- a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism
- independent clause
- stands alone
- dependent clause
- cannot stand alone
- colloquialism
- slang or informality in speech or writing
- conceit
- a fanciful expression
- connotation
- the nonliteral, implied, or suggested meaning
- denotation
- the dictionary definition of a word
- diction
- word choice
- didactic
- primary aim of teaching
- euphemism
- "Good speech", a more agreeable substitute for another word
- extended metaphor
- a metaphor developed at great length
- figurative language
- writing or speech tahat is not intended to carry literal meanig
- genre
- a category for which a literary work may fit into
- homily
- serious talk, speech, or lecture, especially for spiritual or moral purposes
- hyperbole
- deliberate exaggeration
- imagery
- sensory details used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions
- inference
- to draw a reasonable conclusion from information presented
- invective
- emotionally violent
- irony
- a contrast between what appears to be and what is generally true
- juxtaposition
- placing dissimilar items or ideas close together, especially for comparison purposes
- loose sentence
- a sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first
- periodic sentence
- a sentence in which the dependent clause comes first, followed by the main idea
- metaphor
- a figure of speech using implied comparison between seemingly unlike things
- metonymy
- when one object is substituted for another
- oxymoron
- a figure of speech where the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox
- paradox
- a statement that appears to be self contradictory or opposed to common sense
- parallelism
- framing of words phrases and sentences and paragraphs to give structural similarity
- parody
- aiming for comic effect or ridicule
- pedantic
- overly scholarly
- personification
- endowing human emotions and attributes upon nonhuman things
- point of view
- perspective from which a story is told
- prose
- anything that is not poetry
- rhetoric
- principles governing the art of writing
- rhetorical question
- a question asked for effect that does not expect a reply
- sarcasm
- bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule
- satire
- a work that targets vices and follies
- simile
- a comparison using like or as
- syllogism
- a system in which two premises prove a conclusion
- syntax
- sentence structure and grouping of words
- theme
- the central idea or message of a work
- thesis
- the sentence that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, or message in a piece
- tone
- the author's attitude towards the work
- transition
- a word or phrase that links different ideas
- understatement
- deliberate minimization of fact
- wit
- amusing language that delights and surprises