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AP Lang > AP Lang Multiple Choice Vocab > Flashcards

AP Lang Multiple Choice Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

ad hominem

A

An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack.

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2
Q

allegory

A

Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.

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3
Q

ambiguity

A

The presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage.

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4
Q

analogy

A

Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases.

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5
Q

anaphora

A

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses

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6
Q

antithesis

A

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

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7
Q

aphorism

A

(1) A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. (2) A brief statement of a principle.

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8
Q

apostrophe

A

A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing.

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9
Q

appeal to authority

A

A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.

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10
Q

appeal to ignorance

A

A fallacy that uses an opponent’s inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion’s correctness.

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11
Q

assonance

A

The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

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12
Q

asyndeton

A

The omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton).

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13
Q

chiasmus

A

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.

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14
Q

circular argument

A

An argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove.

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15
Q

climax

A

Mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events.

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16
Q

colloqiual

A

Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English.

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17
Q

complement

A

A word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence.

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18
Q

confirmation

A

The main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated.

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19
Q

coordination

A

The grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance. Contrast with subordination.

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20
Q

deduction

A

A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises.

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21
Q

denotation

A

The direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings.

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22
Q

dialect

A

A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary.

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23
Q

diction

A

(1) The choice and use of words in speech or writing.
(2) A way of speaking, usually assessed in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution.

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24
Q

didactic

A

Intended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively.

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25
Q

encomium

A

A tribute or eulogy in prose or verse glorifying people, objects, ideas, or events.

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26
Q

epiphora

A

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. (Also known as epistrophe.)

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27
Q

epitaph

A

(1) A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument.
(2) A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration.

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28
Q

ethos

A

A persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator.

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29
Q

eulogy

A

A formal expression of praise for someone who has recently died.

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30
Q

euphemism

A

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

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31
Q

exposition

A

A statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea.

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32
Q

extended metaphor

A

A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.

33
Q

fallacy

A

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.

34
Q

false dilemma

A

A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available.

35
Q

figurative language

A

Language in which figures of speech (such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur.

36
Q

hasty generalization

A

A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence.

37
Q

induction

A

A method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances.

38
Q

invective

A

Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something.

39
Q

irony

A

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.

40
Q

isocolon

A

A succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.

41
Q

jargon

A

The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders.

42
Q

litotes

A

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

43
Q

loose sentence

A

A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Contrast with periodic sentence.

44
Q

metaphor

A

A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.

45
Q

metonymy

A

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as “crown” for “royalty”).

46
Q

mode of discourse

A

The way in which information is presented in a text. The four traditional modes are narration, description, exposition, and argument.

47
Q

mood

A

(1) The quality of a verb that conveys the writer’s attitude toward a subject.
(2) The emotion evoked by a text.

48
Q

narrative

A

A rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.

49
Q

onomatopoeia

A

The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

50
Q

oxymoron

A

A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

51
Q

paradox

A

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

52
Q

parallelism

A

The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

53
Q

parody

A

A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.

54
Q

pathos

A

The means of persuasion that appeals to the audience’s emotions.

55
Q

periodic sentence

A

A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word–usually with an emphatic climax.

56
Q

point of view

A

The perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information.

57
Q

predicate

A

One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.

58
Q

prose

A

Ordinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse.

59
Q

refutation

A

The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view.

60
Q

rhetoric

A

The study and practice of effective communication.

61
Q

rhetorical question

A

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.

62
Q

running style

A

Sentence style that appears to follow the mind as it worries a problem through, mimicking the “rambling, associative syntax of conversation”–the opposite of periodic sentence style.

63
Q

sarcasm

A

A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark.

64
Q

satire

A

A text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity.

65
Q

simile

A

A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by “like” or “as.”

66
Q

style

A

Narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing.

67
Q

subject

A

The part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.

68
Q

syllogism

A

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

69
Q

subordination

A

Words, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) another. Contrast with coordination.

70
Q

symbol

A

A person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself.

71
Q

synecdoche

A

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for a part.

72
Q

syntax

A

(1) The study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
(2) The arrangement of words in a sentence.

73
Q

thesis

A

The main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence.

74
Q

tone

A

A writer’s attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality.

75
Q

transition

A

The connection between two parts of a piece of writing, contributing to coherence.

76
Q

understatement

A

A figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

77
Q

verb

A

The part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.

78
Q

voice

A

(1) The quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice).
(2) The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator.

79
Q

zeugma

A

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one.

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