AP Lang 1-20

Question 1

A short, simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

Answer 1

Anecdote

Question 2

Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting “reasoned” arguments.

Answer 2

Argumentation

Question 3

An extended narrative of an incident in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story.

Answer 3

Allegory

Question 4

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data.

Answer 4

Annotation

Question 5

The presentation of two contrasting images. “To be or not to be…”, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Answer 5

Antithesis

Question 6

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Answer 6

Rhetoric

Question 7

A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y’all, ain’t, can’t, somthin’)

Answer 7

Colloquialism

Question 8

Words suggesting implied meaning because of its association in a reader’s mind.

Answer 8

Connotation

Question 9

Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity: boot/beat/best/brag, or even compound words, fulfill, ping-pong.

Answer 9

Consonance

Question 10

Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality.

Answer 10

Caricature

Question 11

The “quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea/theme or organizing principle.

Answer 11

Coherence

Question 12

A short, often witty, statement of a principle or truth about life. “The early bird gets the worm.”

Answer 12

Aphorism

Question 13

The device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing or personified abstraction.

Answer 13

Apostrophe

Question 14

Also referred to as Dissonance…hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.

Answer 14

Cacophony

Question 15

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

Answer 15

Denotation

Question 16

A rhetorical device used for listing the details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step by step.

Answer 16

Enumeration

Question 17

A comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing by comparing it to something that is familiar.

Answer 17

Analogy

Question 18

The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their constitution, sound, meaning or meter.

Answer 18

Parallelism

Question 19

A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else which it is closely associated.

Answer 19

Metonymy

Question 20

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.

Answer 20

Allusion