AP Vocabulary 3. Flashcards
Diction
word choice, an element of style; diction creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. an essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang
Didactic
writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. Didactic writing may be fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
Discourse
spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion.
Emotional appeal; Pathos
when a writer appeals to readers’ emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument
Epigraph
the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Heming way begins ‘The Sun Also Rises’ with two epigraphs. one of them is “ you are all a lost generation” by Gertrude Stein
Ethical Appeal; Ethos
when a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeal, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience’s confidence
Euphemism
a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “he went to his final reward” is a common euphemism for “he died”. Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation