AP Flashcards
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action.
Example-“Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house.”
Text-the sentence is the recipient of the verb’s action
Allusion
An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things
commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.
Example- “Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel.”
An allusion can be used as a straightforward device to enhance a text by providing further meaning
Anecdote
- A brief recounting of a relevant episode. Anecdotes are often inserted into fictional or non
fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. - Example- if coworkers are discussing pets, and one person tells a story about how her cat comes downstairs at a certain time every night
- For the text-to know what you want to accomplish and think of a brief way to convey the message in a story form.
Antecedent
- Definition-The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
- Example-“If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it.”in older or more formal English prose, people might refer to their ancestors or predecessors in a job as “my antecedents.”
for the text- a grammatical device in which a pronoun, noun, or other word refers to an earlier noun or phrase
Diction
Definition - Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types of words have significant effects
on meaning. An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise
than street slang.
Example-You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ’em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change.
for the text-he linguistic choices a writer makes to effectively convey an idea, a point of view, or tell a story
Colloquial
Definition - Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
Examples-“y’all” or “gonna” or “wanna”), phrases (such as “old as the hills” and “graveyard dead”)
For the text-colloquialisms to give personality and authenticity to their characters
Connotation
Definition - Rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a
word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning.
Example- blue is a color, but it is also a word used to describe a feeling of sadness, as in: “She’s feeling blue.
for the text-
Connotation helps establish the mood or context in writing
Denotation
Definition - The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.
Example-the name ‘Hollywood’ connotes such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, celebrity, and dreams of stardom.
For the text-when an author wants the reader to understand a word, phrase, or sentence in its literal form, without other implied, associated, or suggested meanings.
Jargon
definition – The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.
Example-Due diligence
For the text- Jargon words are meant to enhance communication by simplifying a particular concept. This works when everyone involved in the conversation is aware of the word’s meaning
Vernacular
Definition - 1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional
clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech
Example- Where an everyday speaker might simply say house cat, a scientist would say Felis Domesticus
For the text- helps express that the language used is that of a specific group, especially when it is different from the standard language used in that setting
Didactic
Definition - A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or
provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Example-Every textbook and “how-to” book
for the text-didactic is intended to teach people something, especially a moral lesson.
Adage
definition – A folk saying with a lesson.
Example-Things are not always what they seem.” - “Bee-Keeper and the Bees” “Appearances often are deceiving.”
For the text-o give some awareness to the audience about important aspects of life
Allegory
Definition- A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent
qualities or concepts.
Example-J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is seen as a fight between good and evil during the two world wars.
text-“story, picture, or other piece of art that uses symbols to convey a hidden or ulterior meaning, typically a moral or political one.”
Aphorism -
Definition - A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle. An aphorism
can be a memorable summation of the author’s point.
Example-Aphorism -Actions speak louder than words.
He who hesitates is lost.
Easy come, easy go.
The early bird gets the worm.
“ ‘Tis better to have loved and lost/ than never to have loved at all.” –Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Text-writers and speakers can teach universal truths to audiences, allowing them to relate to the world around them and the words of the writer
Ellipsis
Definition-The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
Euphemism -
Figurative Language -
Analogy
Hyperbole:
Idiom:
Metaphor:
Metonymy
Synecdoche
Simile:
Synesthesia
Personification:
Foreshadowing
Imagery
Invective
Irony
Verbal irony
Dramatic irony
Situational irony
Juxtaposition
Mood
Oxymoron
Pacing
Paradox
Parallelism
Anaphora
