AP Vocab 1-20

Question 1

Anecdote

Answer 1

a short, simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

Question 2

Argumentation

Answer 2

Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting “reasoned arguments”. Persuasive writing is a form of argumentation and is the focus of the AP Language and composition program.

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

an extended narrative of an incident in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to read beneath the surface of the story, the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.

Question 4

Annotation

Answer 4

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data. In AP Language you will need to demonstrate detailed annotation on mot of your readings.

Question 5

Antithesis

Answer 5

the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by words, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be..” “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”

Question 6

Rhetoric

Answer 6

the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques. This is the CORE of the AP Language Program.

Question 7

Colloquialism

Answer 7

a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing (y’all, ain’t, can’t, somethin’)

Question 8

Connotation

Answer 8

Words suggesting implied meaning because of its association in a reader’s mind. This is the opposite of denotation.

Question 9

Consonance

Answer 9

repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity: Boot/beat/best/brag or even compound words. Fulfill, ping-pong

Question 10

Caricature

Answer 10

descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality

Question 11

Coherence

Answer 11

the “quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea/ theme or organizing principle.

Question 12

Aphorism

Answer 12

a short, often witty, statement of a principle or truth about life. Benjamin Franklin was somewhat famous for these in the Poor Richard’s Almanac. “The early bird gets the worm.”

Question 13

Apostrophe

Answer 13

usually in poetry, but sometimes in prose: the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction

Question 14

Cacophony

Answer 14

also referred to as DISSONANCE… hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose: the opposite of EUPHONY

Question 15

Connotation-Denotation

Answer 15

The relationship between words and their definitions, along with the feelings that are often associated with them.

Question 16

Enumeration

Answer 16

a rhetorical device used for listing the details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step-by-step. In fact, it is a type of amplification or division in which a subject is further distributed into components or parts. Writers use this to clarify and detail understanding

Question 17

Analogy

Answer 17

a comparison in which an idea or thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. “Structure of an atom is like the solar system”

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversation. Like father, like son. Easy come, Easy go.

Question 19

Allusion

Answer 19

a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

Question 20

Metonymy

Answer 20

a figure of speech that replace the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. We can come across examples of metonymy both from literature and in everyday life. Do not confuse this with METAPHORE as metonymy isn’t creating a comparison. “I’m mighty glad Georgia waited until after Christmas before it secedes, or it would’ve ruined the Christmas parties.”