AP Vocabulary 1-24 Flashcards
Anecdote
A short, simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point.
Argumentation
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
Allegory
An extended narrative of an incident in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represents abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.
Annotation
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 most of your readings.
Antithesis
The presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs.
Rhetoric
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.
Colloquialism
A word or phrase (including slang) used I everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing.
Connotation
Words suggesting implied meaning because of its association in a reader’s mind. This is the opposite of “denotation.”
Consonance
Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity: boot/beat/best/brag, or even compound words, fulfill, ping-pong.
Caricature
Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality.
Coherence
The “ quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea/theme or organizing principle.
Aphorism
A short, often witty, statement of a principle or truth about life. Benjamin Franklin was somewhat famous for these in Poor Richard’s Almanac, e.g. “ The early bird gets the worm.”
Apostrophe
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.
Cacophony
Also referred to as Dissonance… hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of Euphony.
Denotation
Dictionary meaning of a word
Enumeration
Enumeration is 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.
Analogy
Comparison in which an idea or a 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.
Parallelism
Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter. Parallelism examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations.
Allusion
Allusion is 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 process enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.
Metonymy
It is a figure of speech that replaces 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 a metaphor as a METONYMY is not creating a comparison.
Anaphora
In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as Anaphora. Anaphora, possibly the oldest literary device, has its roots in Biblical psalms used to emphasize certain words or phrases. Gradually, Elizabethan and Romantic writers brought this device into practice.
Epistrophe
Epistrophe is derived from a Greek word that means turning upon, which indicates the same word returns at the end of each sentence. Epistrophe is a stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the end of the clauses or sentences. It is also called epiphora. Epistrophe examples are frequently found in literary pieces, in persuasive writing and speeches.
Asyndeton
Asyndeton is derived from a Greek word asyndeton which means unconnected. It is a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. This literary tool helps in reducing the indirect meaning of the phrase and presents it in a concise form. Asyndeton helps in speeding up the rhythm of words. Mostly this technique is employed in speech but can be used in written works too.
Polysyndeton
The term polysyndeton comes from a Greek word meaning “ bound together”. It makes use of coordinating conjunctions like “and”, “or”, “but”, and “nor”(mostly and and or) which are used to join successive words, phrases or clauses in such a way that these conjunctions are even used where they might have been omitted.
