Running Notes 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 represent abstract qualities and in which the writ er 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. “To be or not to be…”, “Ask not what y
our country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.”
- rhetoric
\: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing , especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques .
- colloquialism
: a word or phrase (including slang) used I everyday conversation and informal
writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y’all, ain’t, can’t, somethin’)
- connotation
: words suggesting implied meaning because of its assoc
iation 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 deliberat ely in poetry or prose; the opposite of EUPHONY
connotation and denotation
connotation is your description. denotation is the dictionary definition.
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
:
An analogy is a
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.
Only read the
information below to help you understand.
parallelism
:
Parallelism is the use of components in a sen
tence 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.
Like father, like son
.
The escaped prisoner was wanted dead or alive.
Easy come, easy go.
Whether in class, at work or at home, Shasta was always busy.
Flying is fast, comfortable, and safe
allusion
- 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 possess enough
knowledge to spot the allusion and gra
sp its importance in a text.
metoymy
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.
“I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it secedes or it
would have ruined the Christmas pa
rties.”
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.
The opposite of EPISTROPHE is???
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 indir ect 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. “This is the villain among you who deceived you , who cheated you , who meant to betray you completely.......”
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 s
uccessive words, phrases or clauses in such a way that these conjunctions
are even used where they might have been omitted.
synecdoche
25. SYNECDOCHE \: Synecdoche is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. Distinguishing between this and metonymy often take some thoughtful consideration. The word “bread” refers to food or money as in “Writing is my bread and butter” or “sole breadwinner”. The phrase “gray beard” refers to an old ma n. The word “sails” refers to a whole ship. The word “suits” refers to businessmen. The word “boots” usually refers to soldiers. The term “coke” is a common synecdoche for all carbonated drinks. “Pentagon” is a synecdoche when it refers to a few decision m akers. The word “glasses” refers to spectacles. “Coppers” often refers to coins.
tone
\: Tone, in written composition, is an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience . It is something important for the reader to “sense” to determine an argument. Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.
process analysis
:
A step
-
by
-
step breakdown of the phases of a process, used to convey the details
of each phase of thinking, an operation, etc. It is often used to improve understanding and also
to break down an argument to make it more comprehensible.
syntax
:
Syntax is a set of rules in a language. It dictates how words from different parts of speech
are put together in order to convey a complete thought.
In plain English, “Syntax” refers to HOW
we choose to arrange our words. The choice of those speci
fic words is called
DICTION
. Thus, the
two are closely related in creating an argument.
provocative diction
\: “diction” is our choice of words. Thus, “Provocative Diction” is the purposeful choice of words serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate a provocative question that will frame a rhetorical argument.
classification
:
the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or
characteristics
. This often is a strategy of argumentation or an argumentative response in an effort
to provide the reader with structure to YOUR argument. It would be considered a support to both
LOGOS and ETHOS in presenting an argument.
understatement
:
For examp
le, you win 10 million dollars in a lottery. When you tell a news reporter
“I am delighted”, you are making an understatement. Similarly, suppose a team loses to its
opponent 50 to 0 in a soccer match and the captain of the team says in a post
-
match ceremo
ny
says, “We did not do well”, it is an understatement because he is trying to decrease the intensity
of the loss.
It is the opposite of HYPERBOLE or OVERSTATEMENT
colorful diction
:
Diction is your conscious choice of words as a writer. It stands to r
eason that
“Colourful Diction” is a very purposeful word choice that will serve to accentuate meaning and
tone.
counterargument
:
an argument or set of reasons put forward to oppose an idea or theory
developed in another
argument.
When writing in the argumentative mode, it is MANDATORY that
the writer acknowledge the “other” side to his or her argument. It is part of the refutation of
someone else’s claim to support your own “side” of the argument that you are making.
claim
\: I f somebody gives an argument to support his /her position , it is called making a claim . Different reasons are usually presented to prove why a certain point should be accepted as logical. A general model is given below to explain the steps following in making a claim: Premise 1 Premise 2 Premise 3 . . . Premise N Therefore, Conclusion
evidence
:
Evidence is a type of literary device that appears in different categories of essays and theses
in the form of
paraphrase
and quotations. It is presented to persuade the readers and used with powerful
arguments in the texts or essays.
In
rhetoric
, when a person
makes a
claim
or presents an
argument
, he
needs to present evidence in support of his claim and argument in order to establish the veracity and
authenti
city of his claim or argument. If there is no evidence, the claim stands quashed. The same is true
with a case in law where a case or litigation is quashed, if there is no evidence to support the claim.
However, literary evidence is only used in literature
, essays and research papers for
persuasion
and
convincing purposes.
warrant
:
A warrant is the glue that holds an argument together. It links the evidence to the claim.
It says something like “This
evidence supports the claim because…”
and it is always in a similar form that
is more of a statement of support of “WHY” your evidence supports your assertion/claim.
fallacy
A fallacy is an erroneous
argument
dependent upon an unsound or illogical contention.
There are many fallacy examples that we can find in everyday conversations
logical fallacy
In argumentation , a formal fallacy (also called deductive fallacy ) is a pattern of reasoning /thinking rendered invalid by a flaw in its logical structure that can neatly be expressed in a standard logic system, for example propositional logic . An argument that is formally fallacious is always considere d wrong.
prophecy
Many believe that a prediction and a prophecy are the same, but they are mistaken. It is
true that both “forecast” the future, but there is a significant difference.
A prophesy has all the
elements of a prediction except the elemen
t of time. Without the element of time, a prophecy is
hard to determine.
A “prophecy” has more of a religious connotation since there is an element of
uncertainty about time.
prediction
A prediction is a forecast made by those who calculate the param
eters of the subject
involved after evaluating the odds they can predict the future. The weather forecast is a good
example.
A “prediction” is limited to a time element, unlike a prophesy.
