AP Lang Rhetorical and Literary Terms Part 1

Question 1

Abstract language

Answer 1

Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific persons, places, or things

Question 2

Ad hominem

Answer 2

When a writer personally attacks his/her opponent instead of that person’s argument or ideas

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

A story, fiction or nonfiction, on which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts

Question 4

Alliteration

Answer 4

Repetition of the initial consonant sound

Question 5

Allusion

Answer 5

An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar

Question 6

Ambiguity

Answer 6

Language, an event, or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way

Question 7

Analogy

Answer 7

A comparison to a directly parallel case

Question 8

Anaphora

Answer 8

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

Question 9

Anecdote

Answer 9

Brief recounting of a relevant episode

Question 10

Annotation

Answer 10

Explanatory notes added to a text

Question 11

Antithesis

Answer 11

A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, clauses or phrases

Question 12

Assonance

Answer 12

Repetition of the vowel sound with two or more words in close proximity

Question 13

Authority

Answer 13

The quality an author seeks to establish to have an intended audience believe/trust him or her. This quality comes from having strong, cogent arguments that draw on recognized experts or persons with highly relevant experiences

Question 14

Backing

Answer 14

Support or evidence for a claim in an argument

Question 15

Balance

Answer 15

Sentence construction in which both halves of the sentence are about the same length and importance

Question 16

Begging the question

Answer 16

A logical fallacy where the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim