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
Chiasmus
Antithesis
Zuegma (Syllepsis)
Parenthetical Idea
Persona
Polysyndeton
Pun
Rhetoric
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Rhetorical Question
Sarcasm
Satire
Sentence
Appositive
Clause
Balanced sentence
Compound sentence
Complex sentence
Cumulative sentence
Periodic sentence
Simple sentence
Declarative sentence
Imperative sentence
Interrogative sentence
Style
Symbol
Syntax/sentence variety
Theme
Thesis
Tone
Understatement
Litotes
Argument
Definition-An argument is a piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion.
Example“The internet is a good invention.
Text-arguments unfold based on the contributions of the dialogue participants. Argumentation aims to gain adherence from an audience.
Premises:
Definition-Statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion
Example-Green apples are sour.
for the text-A premise is a proposition on which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn
Conclusion:
Definition-A conclusion is the end result of the argument – the main point being made. In an
argument one expects that the conclusion will be supported with reasons or premises.
Example- final impression on the central idea.
Text-restate the main argument.
Aristotle’s appeals
Definition-The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one’s ideas are valid, or more
valid than someone else’s.
Example-
Ethos (credibility)
Definition-means being convinced by the credibility of the author.
Example-As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results.
text-
Pathos (emotional)
Definition-means persuading by appealing to the reader’s emotions.
Example-A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child’s safety they’d upgrade him
Text- by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.
Logos (logical)
Definition-means persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid
arguments
Example-All men are mortal
text-the author makes clear, logical connections between ideas, and includes the use of facts and statistics
Concession
Definition-Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint.
Example-When you are negotiating and you give in to something that the other side wants
Text-presenting the other side and then “tearing it apart”
Conditional Statement
Definition-A conditional statement is an if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent and a
consequent.
Example-“If you studied hard, then you will pass the test.”
Text-Conditional text is content that you can show or hide
Contradiction
Definition-A contradiction occurs when one asserts two mutually exclusive propositions,
Example-“Abortion is wrong and abortion is not wrong.”
Text-contradiction is foundational in text comprehension
Counterexample
Definition-A counterexample is an example that runs counter to (opposes) a generalization, thus falsifying it.
Example-“all prime numbers are odd numbers”
Text-a situation which shows that the argument can have true premises and a false conclusion.
Deductive argument
Definition-An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the
conclusion. In a deductive argument, the premises are intended to provide support for the
conclusion that is so strong that, if the premises are true, it would be impossible for the conclusion
to be false.
Example-All dogs have ears; golden retrievers are dogs, therefore they have ears
Text-by examining the pieces of information already available
Fallacy
Definition-A fallacy is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.
Examples-That face cream can’t be good. Kim Kardashian is selling it.
Text–Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim.
Ad hominem:
Definition-Latin for “against the man”. Personally attacking your opponents instead of their
arguments. It is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than
intellect.
Example-All murderers are criminals, but a thief isn’t a murderer, and so can’t be a criminal.”
Text- the person being criticised is advancing arguments from authority, or testimony based on personal experience, rather than proposing a formal syllogism.
Appeal to authority:
Definition-The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be
right. This fallacy is often used in advertising.
Example-A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day because athlete Michael Jordan says that it is what he eats every day for breakfast.
Text-help writers to build a stronger argument and be more persuasive in their writing
Appeal to the bandwagon:
Definition-The claim, as evidence for an idea,
Example- Everyone is going to get the new smart phone when it comes out this weekend.
Text- he Bandwagon Appeal attempts to persuade people by making them feel that a product or idea is popular and that everyone else is doing i
Appeal to emotion:
Bad analogy:
Definition-Claiming that two situations are highly similar, when they aren’t.
Example-Cars cause many more deaths than firearms do, so if we are going to ban firearms, we should also ban cars.”
Text-help the reader better comprehend what you’re trying to say.
Cliche thinking:
Definition-Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no
exceptions.
Example-Think outside the box.”
Text-Cliché weakens dramatic effect and suggests that the writer’s thinking is unoriginal.
False cause:
Defintion-Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.
example-Because Smith became angry after being frustrated, Smith’s frustration caused Smith’s anger.
Text- link between premises and conclusion depends on some imagined causal connection that probably does not exist”
Hasty generalization:
Definition-hen there is not even a deceptively plausible appearance of valid reasoning, because there is an obvious lack of connection between the given premises and the conclusion drawn from them.
Example- When I was young, my dad and brothers never helped with the household chores. All men are useless in the house. My child’s classmates in preschool bullied him.
Non Sequitur:
Defintion-A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument.
Example- Since you are a good person, therefore, I’m a good person.
Text-When there is not even a deceptively plausible appearance of valid reasoning, because there is an obvious lack of connection between the given premises and the conclusion drawn from them.
Slippery slope:
Definition-The assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme
possible outcome.
Example-when you’re tempted by an unhealthy treat.
Text-a course of action is rejected because, with little or no evidence, one insists that it will lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or ends
Inductive argument
Definition-An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth
of the conclusion.
Example- In the past, ducks have always come to our pond. Therefore, the ducks will come to our pond this summer
Text-to support a general conclusion
Sound argument
Definition-A deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions:
Example-toasters is valid, but not sound
Text- a sound argument guarantees that its conclusion is true.
Unstated premises
Definition- Not every argument is fully expressed. Sometimes premises or even conclusions are left
unexpressed. If one argues that Rover is smart because all dogs are smart, he is leaving unstated
that Rover is a dog. Here the unstated premise is no problem; indeed it would probably be obvious
in context. But sometimes unstated premises are problematic, particularly if two parties in a
discussion are making differing assumptions.
Example-Socrates is a human
Text-it will assure us that a deductive argument with only one stated premise to be valid
Valid argument
Definition-An argument is valid if the conclusion logically follows from the premises.
Example-“It rains only if I carry an umbrella” can be rewritten as “If it rains, then I carry an umbrella.”
Text- in a valid argument the premises make it certain (not only likely) that the conclusion is true.
Appeal to emotion:
Definition- An attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience
emotions. Common emotional appeals are an appeal to sympathy,
Example-Grocery store commercial that shows a happy family sitting around the table at Thanksgiving.
Text-Appeals to emotion are intended to draw inward feelings such as fear, pity, and joy from the recipient of the information with the end goal of convincing them that the statements being presented in the fallacious argument are true or false, respective
