AP Summer Vocab

Question 1

Pathos

Answer 1

Persuading by appealing to the reader’s emotions

Question 2

Logos

Answer 2

Appeals to logic and reason

Question 3

Kairos

Answer 3

An appeal to timeliness

Question 4

Style

Answer 4

The literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words

Question 5

Connotation

Answer 5

An idea or feeling that a word invokes

Question 6

Denotation

Answer 6

The literal meaning of a word

Question 7

Diction

Answer 7

The words used in the writing

Question 8

Ellipsis

Answer 8

The act of leaving out one or more words that are not necessary for a phrase to be understood

Question 9

Equivocation

Answer 9

The use of ambiguous expressions, especially in order to mislead it conceal the truth

Question 10

Euphemism

Answer 10

The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt

Question 11

Hyperbole

Answer 11

Extreme exaggeration

Question 12

Juxtaposition

Answer 12

A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts

Question 13

Malapropism

Answer 13

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect

Question 14

Mood

Answer 14

The atmosphere that is present in literary work with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience, created using setting, voice, tone, and theme

Question 15

Non Sequitur

Answer 15

A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement

Question 16

Pedantic

Answer 16

When someone makes a big deal of showing off his or her knowledge

Question 17

Platitude

Answer 17

A remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, which has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful

Question 18

Polemic

Answer 18

A strong written or spoken attack against someone else’s opinions, beliefs, or practices

Question 19

Ethos

Answer 19

An appeal to credibility

Question 20

Argument

Answer 20

A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood; a thing people make

Question 21

Defend

Answer 21

To support in the face of criticism by argument or evidence

Question 22

Challenge

Answer 22

A demand to explain or justify

Question 23

Qualify

Answer 23

To provide with proper or necessary skills, knowledge, and credentials

Question 24

Discourse

Answer 24

Speak or write authoritatively about a topic; formal discussion of a subject

Question 25

Rhetoric

Answer 25

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing

Question 26

Rhetorical devices

Answer 26

A use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience

Question 27

Rhetorical modes

Answer 27

Narration, description, exposition, and argumentation

Question 28

Thesis

Answer 28

A statement in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove, develops an argument

Question 29

Semantics

Answer 29

The study of actual meaning in languages

Question 30

Sarcasm

Answer 30

A cutting, often ironic, remark intended to wound

Question 31

Syntax

Answer 31

The way in which words and punctuation are used and arranged to form phrases, clauses, and sentences

Question 32

Tone

Answer 32

The attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, solemn

Question 33

Transition

Answer 33

Words or phrases that provide a connection between ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. Help a piece of writing flow

Question 34

Understatement

Answer 34

The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is

Question 35

Voice

Answer 35

The individual writing style or point of view of an author

Question 36

Allegory

Answer 36

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning; typically a moral or political one

Question 37

Alliteration

Answer 37

Beginning two or more stressed syllables with the same letter or sound

Question 38

Allusions

Answer 38

A reference to something real or fictional; to someone, some event, or something in the Bible, history, literature, or any phase of culture

Question 39

Analogy

Answer 39

The comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship: part to whole, opposites

Question 40

Anecdote

Answer 40

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real/ fake incident or person

Question 41

Irony

Answer 41

An expression, often humorous or sarcastic, that exposes perversity or absurdity

Question 42

Metaphor

Answer 42

Non-literal, imaginative substitutions, a thing regarded as representative of something else

Question 43

Motif

Answer 43

A distinctive feature or dominant idea. A recurring image, symbol, or subject that helps to explain the central idea of a literary work

Question 44

Oxymoron

Answer 44

A contradiction in terms

Question 45

Paradox

Answer 45

Reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory

Question 46

Parallel syntax

Answer 46

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Question 47

Colloquialism

Answer 47

A word or phrase used in informal language

Question 48

Parody

Answer 48

A humorous exaggerated imitation

Question 49

Pun

Answer 49

A play on words in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggests two or more meanings it by exploiting similar sounding words having different meanings

Question 50

Satire

Answer 50

Literary tone used to ridicule it make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting it changing the subject of the attack

Question 51

Simile

Answer 51

A figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things using the words "like" or "as"