Key AP Terminology

Question 0

Alliteration

Answer 0

Sequential repetition of a similar initial sound (usually consonants)

Ex. She sells seashells by the seashore

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

A narrative in which all elements of the story depict multiple levels of meanings and significance.

ex. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

A literary, historical, religious or mythological reference

Ex. Comparison between Frederick Douglass and Job

Question 3

Anaphora

Answer 3

Repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses.

Ex. “It takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy…”

Question 4

Antithesis

Answer 4

The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced structure

Ex. “To err is human, to forgive divine.”

Question 5

Aphorism

Answer 5

A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a common belief.

Ex. “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

Question 6

Apostrophe

Answer 6

The act of speaking to an inanimate object or person or idea that is not present.

Ex. King Lear- “Ingatitude! Thous marble-hearted fiend…”

Question 7

Appeals to… authority, emotion or logic

Answer 7

Rhetorical argument in which the speaker claims authority in a field (ethos), plays upon emotions (pathos) or appeals to reasoning (logos).

Question 8

Assonance

Answer 8

Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in successive or proximate words

Ex. “shE sElls sEashells by the sEashore”

Question 9

Asyndeton

Answer 9

Syntactical structure in which conjugations are omitted in a series

Ex. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Opposite of polysyndeton

Question 10

Attitude

Answer 10

Sense expressed by the tone of voice or mood of the piece; the author’s feelings toward his or her subject, characters or theme

Question 11

Begging the question

Answer 11

Argumentative ploy where the argued sidesteps the question, avoiding the real issue at hand

Question 12

Canon

Answer 12

That which has been accepted as authentic

Ex. Canon according to the theories of Einstein

Question 13

Chiasmus

Answer 13

Figure of speech where the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second.

Ex. “I am stuck on band aid, and band aid’s stuck on me”

Question 14

Claim

Answer 14

An assertion of something as fact

Question 15

Colloquial

Answer 15

A term identifying the diction of common ordinary folks in a specific region or area, aka slang

Question 16

Compare and contrast

Answer 16

A mode of discourse in which two or more things are compared, contrasted or both. Find similarities and differences.

Question 17

Conceit

Answer 17

A comparison of two unlikely things drawn out in literature, such as an extended metaphor.

Ex. Richard Selzer’s “The Knife” compares surgery to a religious ritual

Question 18

Connotation

Answer 18

The implied, underlying meaning or feeling behind a word or phrase. Not the dictionary definition

Question 19

Consonance

Answer 19

Repetition of two or more consonants with a change in intervening vowels.

Ex. Splash splash, click clack

Question 20

Convention

Answer 20

An accepted manner, model or tradition

Ex. Aristotle’s conventions of tragedy

Question 21

Critique

Answer 21

An assessment or analysis of something

Question 22

Deductive reasoning

Answer 22

A method of argument in which specific statements and conclusions are drawn from general principles; from general to specific.

Question 23

Dialect

Answer 23

Language or speech of a specific region or group

Question 24

Diction

Answer 24

The word choice the author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose or effect

Question 25

Didactic

Answer 25

Writing that has an instructive purpose or lesson, often associated with being dry or pompous. Ex. Aesop's Fables

Question 26

Elegy

Answer 26

A poem or prose that laments or mediates on the death of a person or persons

Question 27

Epistrophe

Answer 27

The repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences Ex. "If... their families will flourish. If... their families will flourish"

Question 28

Epitaph

Answer 28

Writing in praise of a dead person, often on a headstone

Question 29

Eulogy

Answer 29

A speech or written passage in praise of a deceased person

Question 30

Euphemism

Answer 30

A nicer way of saying something harsh Ex. "She was given a pink slip," instead of "She was fired."

Question 31

Exposition

Answer 31

Writing that claims its own meaning or purpose

Question 32

Extended metaphor

Answer 32

A series of comparisons within a piece of writing

Question 33

Figurative language/figure of speech

Answer 33

Language with levels of meaning, expressed through figures of speech such as personification, metaphor, hyperbole, irony, etc.

Question 34

Flashback

Answer 34

An earlier event is inserted into a narration.

Question 35

Genre

Answer 35

A type or class of literature

Question 36

Homily

Answer 36

A sermon, serious speech, talk or lecture involving moral or spiritual life.

Question 37

Hyperbole

Answer 37

Overstatement characterized by exaggerated language for emphasis

Question 38

Imagery

Answer 38

Any sensory detail or evocation in a work; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call an idea to mind or describe an object.

Question 39

Imperative sentence

Answer 39

A type of sentence that gives instructions, advice or commands

Question 40

Inductive reasoning

Answer 40

General statements are drawn from specific principles, opposite of deductive reasoning

Question 41

Inference

Answer 41

A conclusion or proposition arrived at by considering facts , observations or other data.

Question 42

Irony

Answer 42

Contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, the intended meaning is often the opposite of what is stated.

Question 43

Isocolon

Answer 43

Parallel structure in which the elements are similar not only grammatically but in length. Ex. "Many are called, but few are chosen."

Question 44

Jargon

Answer 44

Technical language of a trade, profession or group

Question 45

Juxtaposition

Answer 45

The location of one thing adjacent to another creates an effect, reveals an attitude, etc.

Question 46

Litote

Answer 46

A figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by understatement.

Question 47

Loose sentence

Answer 47

A long sentence that begins with the main clause, followed by several dependent clauses. Ex. "The child ran, frenzied and ignoring all hazards, as if being chased by demons."

Question 48

Metaphor

Answer 48

A comparison between two things without using like or as Ex. "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."

Question 49

Metonymy

Answer 49

An attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something. Ex. Referring to the president as the "White House"

Question 50

Mode of discourse

Answer 50

The way information is presented in written or spoken form; type of writing Ex. Narration exposition, description and argumentation

Question 51

Moos

Answer 51

Feeling resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer's/narrator's attitude and POV

Question 52

Narrative

Answer 52

A mode of discourse that tells a story

Question 53

Onomatopoeia

Answer 53

A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes.

Question 54

Oxymoron

Answer 54

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory elements Ex. Wise fool, baggy tights, deafening silence

Question 55

Paradox

Answer 55

A statement that seems contradictory but is probably true Ex. "Fighting for peace."

Question 56

Parallel structure

Answer 56

Use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases or thoughts Ex. "Jane enjoys reading, writing and skiing."

Question 57

Periodic sentence

Answer 57

A long sentence in which the main clause is not completed until the end. Ex. "The child, who looked as if she were being chased by demons, frenzied and ignoring all hazards, ran."

Question 58

Personification

Answer 58

Giving a nonhuman object human-like qualities

Question 59

Point of view

Answer 59

The relation in which an author stands to a subject of discourse

Question 60

Prose

Answer 60

The ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, in contrast to verse and poetry

Question 61

Realism

Answer 61

Attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail

Question 62

Rebuttal/refutation

Answer 62

An argument technique where opposing arguments are anticipated and countered

Question 63

Rhetoric

Answer 63

The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking

Question 64

Rhetorical question

Answer 64

A question asked for stylistic effect and is not expected to be answered

Question 65

Sarcasm

Answer 65

Form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually critical

Question 66

Satire

Answer 66

A literary work that holds up human failings to ridicule and censure

Question 67

Simile

Answer 67

Direct comparison using like or as

Question 68

Style

Answer 68

The manner in which a writer combines and arranges words, ideas and utilizes syntax and structure

Question 69

Symbolism

Answer 69

Use of a person, place, event or pattern that stands for something else

Question 70

Synecdoche

Answer 70

A figure of speech in which a part signifies a whole Ex. 50 masts represent 50 ships

Question 71

Syntax

Answer 71

The way words are out together to form phrases, clauses and sentences

Question 72

Theme

Answer 72

Central or dominant idea or focus of a work

Question 73

Tone

Answer 73

Attitude of the writer toward the subject or theme

Question 74

Voice

Answer 74

The speakers take on the idea based on the passage

Question 75

Zeugma

Answer 75

A grammatically correct construction in which a word, verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated. Ex. "He took my wallet and the bus"

Question 76

Exigence

Answer 76

Why the author feels the need to speak on a particular subject