AP Glossary Set Four Flashcards
Rhetorical Question
Question not asked for information but for effect.
Rhetorical Question (Example)
“The angry parent asked the child, ‘Are you finished interrupting me?’”
Rhetorical Question (Impact)
asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed when no real answer is expected
Romanticism
Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature.
Romanticism (Example)
inspires writers to explore the beauty of nature, emotions, and imagination
Sarcasm
A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.
Sarcasm (Example)
imagination, idealism, inspiration, intuition, or individualism
Sarcasm (Impact)
convey a writer and/or character ’s true feelings of frustration, anger, and even derision
Satire
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect.
Satire (Example)
Mark Twain’s essay “Advice to Youth”
Satire (Impact)
Utilizes humor, irony, and hyperbole to critique political or social issues
Sentence
A sentence is group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.
Appositive
A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.
Appositive (Example)
“Bob, the lumber yard worker, spoke with Judy, an accountant from the city.”
Appositive (Impact)
Adds depth, clarity, and precision
Clause
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
Balanced sentence
A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.
Balanced sentence (Example)
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
Balanced sentence (Impact)
clarity, rhythm, emphasis and complexity
Compound sentence
Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.
Compound sentence (Example)
“The girl naps; then, she reads books.”
Complex sentence
Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
Complex sentence (Example)
“I’m happy because we won the game.”
Cumulative sentence
When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.
Cumulative sentence (Example)
“Elijah and Hannah strolled along the beach, holding hands, unaware of the surprise celebration awaiting them at the hotel.”
Periodic sentence
When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence.
Periodic sentence (Example)
“His confidence broken, his limbs shaking, his collar wet with perspiration, he doubted whether he could ever again appear before an audience.”
Simple sentence
Contains only one independent clause.
Simple sentence (Example)
The news report included various accounts from bystanders.
Declarative sentence
States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question.
Declarative sentence (Example)
“The ball is round.”
Imperative sentence
Issues a command.
Imperative sentence (Example)
“Kick the ball.”
Interrogative sentence
Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, who, whom, and whose).
Interrogative sentence (Example)
“To whom did you kick the ball?”
Style
The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. Style may be conscious or unconscious.
Symbol
Anything that represents or stands for something else.
Symbol (Example)
the Raven in “The Raven.” by Edgar Allen Poe
Symbol (Impact)
Acting as a universal language that transcends barriers of spoken or written words, enhancing communication by adding clarity and emotional context
Syntax/sentence variety
Grammatical arrangement of words.
Theme
The central idea or message of a work.
Theme (Example)
“The destructive nature of love”
Thesis
The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition.
Thesis (Example)
“Because many children are unable to vaccinate due to illness, we must require that all healthy and able children be vaccinated in order to have herd immunity.”
Tone
A writer’s attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization.
Tone (Example)
informal, formal tone, serious tone, and funny tone.
Tone (Impact)
Tone conveys feeling. The tone reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject and the audience, helping to shape readers’ perceptions and emotional responses.
Understatement
The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is.
Understatement (Example)
a figure of speech that intentionally makes a situation seem less important than it really is
Understatement (Impact)
a stylistic choice used by authors to convey subtle humor, provoke thought, and emphasize disparities between expressed and actual magnitude of events
