AP Language Most Common Key Terms You Need to Know!

Question 1

Understatement

Answer 1

Document Definition: Deliberate representation of something as much smaller, worse, or less important than it is in reality.
Personal Definition: Showing something as lesser than it is.
Example: “‘Tis but a scratch!” “A scratch? Your arm’s off!”

Question 2

Overstatement

Answer 2

Document Definition: Deliberate representation of something as bigger, better, or more important than it is in reality.
Personal Definition: Showing something as greater than it is.
Example: “God himself could not sink this ship.”

Question 3

Hyperbole

Answer 3

Document Definition: A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.
Personal Definition: Exaggeration used to emphasize something.
Example: “Failing this test would be the end of the world.”

Question 4

Metonymy

Answer 4

Document Definition: A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.
Personal Definition: A figure of speech where one thing is replaced with another thing it’s related to.
Example: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Question 5

Synecdoche

Answer 5

Document Definition: A figure of speech in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part.
Personal Definition: A figure of speech where a part is used to define the whole or the whole is used to define a part.
Example: “Lend me a hand.”

Question 6

Metaphor

Answer 6

Document Definition: A direct poetic comparison of two unlike things or ideas. Extended Metaphor—The author carries the comparison throughout a passage or entire piece often by making multiple comparisons.
Personal Definition: A comparison of two subjects, usually poetically.
Example: “Time is money.”

Question 7

Simile

Answer 7

Document Definition: An indirect poetic comparison (uses like, as, than, etc.) of two unlike things or ideas. Usually, a simile is considered a slightly weaker comparison.
Personal Definition: Comparing two unlike things using a conjunction such as like or as.
Example: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Question 8

Allusion

Answer 8

Document Definition: Reference to someone or something from literature or history.
Personal Definition: A reference to outside media.
Example: “It’s his Achilles’ heel.”

Question 9

Antithesis

Answer 9

Document Definition: Putting two opposite ideas in the same sentence to highlight direct contrast or opposition.
Personal Definition: Putting two opposite ideas together to compare them.
Example: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Question 10

Personification

Answer 10

Document Definition: Assigning human characteristics to non-human objects including animals or ideas.
Personal Definition: A literary device giving human characteristics to a non-human subject.
Example: “The trees danced in the wind.”

Question 11

Paradox

Answer 11

Document Definition: A true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation that defies intuition.
Personal Definition: A literary device that creates a contradiction using something true.
Example: “Less is more.”

Question 12

Analogy

Answer 12

Document Definition: A logical comparison between two things allowing for knowledge of a familiar concept to an unfamiliar concept.
Personal Definition: A literary device that compares two subjects for clarification.
Example: “They’re as blind as a bat.”

Question 13

Allegory

Answer 13

Document Definition: In literature, the use of narrative characters and events to represent abstract ideas or principles.
Personal Definition: Using subjects to represent concepts.
Example: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson represents harmful traditions that persist.

Question 14

Apostrophe

Answer 14

Document Definition: Addressing an absent or imaginary person, object, or concept as if it were the recipient of a letter or lecture.
Personal Definition: Addressing someone or something that isn’t there.
Example: “Are you there god?”

Question 15

Oxymoron

Answer 15

Document Definition: A figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms.
Personal Definition: A figure of speech where two contradicting subjects are put together.
Example: “Deafening silence”

Question 16

Juxtaposition

Answer 16

Document Definition: A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side to develop comparisons and contrasts.
Personal Definition: A literary device where two subjects are compared and contrasted.
Example: “They’re like night and day.”

Question 17

Alliteration

Answer 17

Document Definition: The repetition of the same sound at the start of several words.
Personal Definition: Repeating the same sound to begin words in a sentence.
Example: “She sells seashells by the seashore.”

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

Document Definition: The use of identical or near identical syntax in corresponding phrases.
Personal Definition: A literary device where multiple sentences or phrases in a row are identical or similar grammatically.
Example: “You lied about religious views, you lied about your surgery, you lied about your accent and your past tense, all is perjury.”

Question 19

Parallel Structure

Answer 19

Document Definition: Using the same pattern of words so that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.
Personal Definition: Using the same structure of words or phrases consecutively.
Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.”

Question 20

Rhetoric

Answer 20

Document Definition: The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
Personal Definition: The study of language that attempts to convince an audience to act, think about, or react to a topic.
Example: A politician studying past speeches to find out how to make them persuasive.

Question 21

Anecodte

Answer 21

Document Definition: A short account of an incident related to the main point.
Personal Definition: A story that relates to the current topic.
Example: A politician telling a story about poverty when discussing the issue at a political convention.

Question 22

Qualify

Answer 22

Document Definition: To describe by specifying characteristics or qualities; To characterize.
Personal Definition: Words or phrases that change the meaning of other words.
Example: “He walked over.” and “He lazily walked over.” convey different meanings.

Question 23

Modes of Discourse

Answer 23

Document Definition: Narration, description, exposition, and persuasion.
Narration: Relating a series of events usually in chronological order.
Description: Explaining what things are like according to the five senses.
Exposition: Informative writing with several subtypes including process analysis, comparison, etc.
Persuasion: Argument that seeks to convince an audience through logic and other means.
Personal Definition: There are four modes of discourse, those being narration (talking about events in order), description (explaining what things are), exposition (explaining something), and persuasion (convincing someone about something).
Example: “I walked in the park after eating breakfast (narration) when I saw a brown wasp nest in the ground (description). wasps around 70 people per year (exposition) and should have their nests destroyed in public areas (persuasion).

Question 24

Ambiguity

Answer 24

Document Definition: Having two or more possible meanings; open to interpretation.
Personal Definition: Having multiple meanings and being up to interpretation.
Example: “I saw her duck.”

Question 25

Appeals to Authority

Answer 25

Document Definition: Relying on testimony of authority instead of facts. It is a logical fallacy because a testimony is neither an argument nor a fact.
Personal Definition: Using authorities as evidence to prove points even when not credible to speak on the topic or as the only evidence.
Example: “Peace is a good political strategy because Albert Einstein said so.”

Question 26

Straw Man

Answer 26

Document Definition: A misrepresentation of an opponent’s argument that can be easily refuted or defeated.
Personal Definition: Misinterpreting someone’s argument purposefully to make it sound worse.
Example: “We should focus on making our schools safer” “So you’re saying we need to arm teachers.”

Question 27

Circular Reasoning

Answer 27

Document Definition: A form of logical fallacy in which a proposition is supported by the premises, which is supported by the proposition, creating a circle in reasoning where no useful information is being shared.
Personal Definition: Repeating an argument’s conclusion to defend it without actually having proven anything.
Example: “You should go to bed because it’s your bedtime, which means you should go to bed”.

Question 28

Begging the Question

Answer 28

Document Definition: A form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself.
Personal Definition: Using the fact that there’s no evidence proving a point to disprove a point, or vice versa.
Example: “Ghosts must be real because there’s no evidence that they’re not real.”

Question 29

Dependent Clause

Answer 29

Document Definition: A clause that cannot stand alone as a full sentence and functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a sentence.
Personal Definition: A clause that needs an independent clause to make sense as a sentence.
Example: “because I’m hungry.” needs an independent clause like “I need to eat.”

Question 30

Declarative Sentences

Answer 30

Document Definition: A sentence in the form of a statement (in contrast to a command, a question, or an exclamation). Usually, declarative sentences have a subject that precedes the verb and end in a period.
Personal Definition: A sentence that provides a statement, information, or an explanation.
Example: “Dogs are good pets.”

Question 31

Periodic Sentence

Answer 31

Document Definition: A sentence in which the main clause or its predicate is withheld until the end.
Personal Definition: A sentence where the main point is at the end of the sentence.
Example: “Despite everything, it’s still you.”

Question 32

Passive Voice

Answer 32

Document Definition: In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb.
Personal Definition: A sentence where the subject being acted upon comes before the actor.
Example: “The cake is a lie.”

Question 33

Antecedent

Answer 33

Document Definition: The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun (or pro-verb, or pro-adverb, etc).
Personal Definition: A noun that establishes the meaning of a pronoun.
Example: “The president finished their speech.”

Question 34

Ellipses

Answer 34

Document Definition: A series of three dots indicating an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning.
Personal Definition: An omission of a section of a quote, a pause, or a trailing thought.
Example: “To be continued…”

Question 35

Prepositional Phrase

Answer 35

Document Definition: A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object. Prepositional phrases usually function as either an adverb or adjective.
Personal Definition: A phrase that begins with a preposition and gives information about a subject, usually when, where, and how something happens.
Example: “In a galaxy far, far away…”

Question 36

Pronoun

Answer 36

Document Definition: A word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase.
Personal Definition: A word used in place of something’s name.
Example: “Jack ran away.” replaced with “He ran away.”

Question 37

Participle Phrase

Answer 37

Document Definition: A participle phrase is an adjective phrase that starts with a participle.
Personal Definition: A sentence that begins with a participle that acts as an adjective.
Example: “Running up that hill, running up that building.”

Question 38

Elegy/Elegiac

Answer 38

Document Definition: A poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person.
Personal Definition: A poem or song written in honor, usually for someone who died.
Example: “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John was a song written in memory of Marilyn Monroe.

Question 39

Satire

Answer 39

Document Definition: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Personal Definition: A fictional story or situation used to commentate on real-world issues, usually in a comedic manner.
Example: “The Stanley Parable” is a satirical game that focuses on the concepts of choice and narrative control in video games, playing with what players expect and the nature of storytelling.

Question 40

Parody

Answer 40

Document Definition: A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or work for comic effect or ridicule
Personal Definition: A piece of media that imitates something else, usually in a mocking or comedic manner.
Example: “Weird Al” Yankovic is well-known for making musical parodies of existing songs.

Question 41

Didactic

Answer 41

Document Definition: Writing or speech intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
Personal Definition: Pieces of media meant to teach audiences something, usually morals or values.
Example: “Aesop’s Fables” is a series of fables that give morals at the end of their stories.

Question 42

Euphemism

Answer 42

Document Definition: substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one that is considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.
Personal Definition: Indirect words or expressions that soften harsh terms.
Example: Saying “passed away” instead of “died.”

Question 43

Colloquial

Answer 43

Document Definition: Words or expressions better suited for informal conversation than formal writing.
Personal Definition: Words or terms that are usually used in informal speech.
Example: Any type of slang is considered colloquial language.

Question 44

Denotation

Answer 44

Document Definition: Literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or figurative meanings.
Personal Definition: The literal meanings of subjects.
Example: The denotation of a rose is a type of flower

Question 45

Connotation

Answer 45

Document Definition: An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary
meaning.
Personal Definition: The meaning of a subject that people interpret. which isn’t necessarily what its intended meaning is.
Example: A rose’s connotation means it’s associated with love and romantic settings.

Question 46

Formal

Answer 46

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: A setting and way of speech where proper language and manners must be used.
Example: An office, school, or conference are examples of formal settings, where formal language should be used.

Question 47

Informal

Answer 47

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: A setting and way of speech where there is no need for proper language or manners.
Example: Your home, public parks, and the internet are examples of informal settings.

Question 48

Ethos

Answer 48

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: Persuasive language that seeks to improve the credibility of the speaker.
Example: “You should get vaccinated, and you know you can trust me because I’m a doctor.”

Question 49

Logos

Answer 49

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: Persuasive language that seeks to use logic to support an argument
Example: “All salmon are fish. Jerry is a salmon, therefore he is a fish.”

Question 50

Pathos

Answer 50

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: Persuasive language that seeks to invoke emotion in an audience.
Example: “Think about how it feels to not have a home; you can help prevent that for other families by donating to this cause.”

Question 51

Exigence

Answer 51

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: Something that is urgently needed or demanded.
Example: Wartime creates an exigency for resources in a country.

Question 52

Audience

Answer 52

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: The people or group of people that are consuming a piece of media.
Example: A politician speaks to an audience of people deciding whether to support them.

Question 53

Purpose

Answer 53

Document Definition: (define this)
Personal Definition: The reasoning behind why something is done, said, or exists.
Example: The purpose of seat belts is to save more people in car accidents.