AP Language Vocabulary Set #4 Flashcards
Rhetoric
The art of effective communication.
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
The relationships in a piece of writing or a speech among the speaker/writer, the event(s) or experiences that inspired the subject (exigence), the audience, the message, the author’s purpose, and the appeals, tools, and techniques used to achieve that purpose.
Rhetorical Question
Question not asked for information but for effect.
Rhetorical Question (Example)
If I lie, am I not telling the truth?
Rhetorical Question (Impact)
Gives the reader a question for them to absorb, without answering to see agreements/disagreements.
Romanticism
Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature.
Romanticism (Example)
“The Raft of the Medusa” by Théodore Géricault.
Sarcasm
A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.
Sarcasm (Example)
“SO I GUESS THAT MEANS THE OCEAN DOESN’T EXIST, DOES IT?”
Sarcasm (Impact)
To depict someone’s outlook of either being bitter or unserious, though it can be made to show some fragrance of seriousness underneath.
Satire
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect.
Satire (Example)
Family Guy and Sorry to Bother You are satirical works.
Satire (Impact)
To disprove something or showcase the flaws of something, in a humorous way.
Sentence
A sentence is a group of words 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)
Mario was on his evil journey, to scam the innocent via his shady tactics.
Appositive (Impact)
Shapes the noun in the way a reader can know more about the particular instances associated with it.
Clause
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause.
Balanced sentence
A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.
Balanced sentence (Example)
Green leaves were used for green decorations, and blue leaves were used for blue decorations.
Balanced sentence (Impact)
Provides the reader with a well-aligned structure, strengthening the pillars for clarity and related understanding in general.
Compound sentence
Contains at least two independent clauses, but no dependent clauses.
Compound Sentence (Example)
Jeremy is the best at hockey, but the worst at science
Complex sentence
Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
Complex sentence (Example)
Since he was lazy, he decided not to do the chores that were asked of him.
Cumulative sentence
When the writer beings with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.
Cumulative sentence (Example)
“He doubted whether he could ever again appear before an audience, his confidence broken, his limbs shaking, his collar wet with perspiration.”
Periodic sentence
When the main idea is not completed until the end of a 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 frog leaped.
Declarative sentence
States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question.
Declarative sentence (Example)
This Pokémon is quite viable.
Imperative sentence
A sentence that fulfills the purpose of articulating a command.
Imperative sentence (Example)
“Click Ice Beam on the incoming Noivern!”
Interrogative sentence
Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns.
Interrogative sentence (Example)
Would you like a side of soup with your entree?
Style
The options a writer selects/applies, when it comes to diction, tone, and syntax. Whether it be conscious or unconscious.
Symbol
Something that represents something else.
Symbol (Example)
Hanzo’s bow, Genji’s Blade, Widowmaker’s Sniper
Symbol (Impact)
To establish a strong meaning behind something, in a way that properly represents it as intended, to convey something else.
Syntax/sentence variety
The grammatical arrangement of words.
Theme
The central idea or message of a work.
Theme (Example)
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”/”Don’t be so quick to assume and jump to conclusions”
Thesis
The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition.
Thesis (Example)
“I think we should have school on the weekends, because it’s so easy to forget things over the weekend, kids can have a safer place to be during the weekends, and more progress will be established in schools.”
Tone
A writer’s attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.
Tone (Example)
Joyful, Resentful, Apologetic, etc.
Tone (Impact)
To instill a more critical means of getting the message to readers, with natural effects.
Understatement
The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is.
Understatement (Example)
“There’s a little bit of commotion going on in here”
Understatement (Impact)
To address something in an ironic lens, portrayed by an unserious reduction.
