Vocabulary Flashcards
A short, simple narrative of an incident, often used for humorous effect or to make a point.
Anecdote
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.
Argumentation
An extended narrative of an incident in prose or verse in which character, events, and settings represent 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.
Allegory
Explanatory notes added to text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data. In AP Language you will need to demonstrate detailed annotation on most of your readings.
Annotation
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Rhetoric
A word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing but is often inappropriate in formal writing.
Colloquialism
Words suggesting implied meaning because of its association in a reader’s mind. The opposite of denotation.
Connotation
Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity. (Even compound words: Ping-pong, fulfill)
Consonance
Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or personality.
Caricature
The “quality” of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of a central idea, theme, or organizing principle.
Coherence
A short, often witty, statement of a principle or truth about life. Benjamin Franklin was somewhat famous for these in Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Aphorism
Usually in poetry, but sometimes in prose: the devise of calling out to an imaginary, dead. or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction.
Apostrophe
Also referred as dissonance … hard, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.
Cacophony
How a word feel in general or in a specific usage against its literally, dictionary meaning.
Connotation-Denotation
A rhetorical device used for listing the details or a process of mentioning words or phrases step by step. In fact 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.
Enumeration
A comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at expanding that idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar.
Analogy
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 word and casual conversation.
Parallelism
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 it and grasp its meaning.
Allusion
The presentation of two contrasting images. The idea are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraph.
Antithesis
It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with something it is closely related. We can come across examples of it both from literature and in everyday life
Metonymy
In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect. Possible 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 to practice.
Anaphora
Derived from Greek word which means turning upon, which indicated the same word returns at the end of the sentence. It is a stylistic device that can be defines as the repetition of phrases or words at the end of certain clauses or sentences. It is also called epiphora. Examples a re frequently found in literary pieces, in persuasive writing, and in speeches.
Epistrophe
Derived from a Greek word which means “unconnected”. It is a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain grammatical accuracy. This literary tool helps reduce the indirect meaning of the phrase and presents it in a concise form. It helps speed up the rhythm of words. Mostly employed in speech but can be in written works as well.
Asyndeton
Comes from Greek word meaning “bound together”. It makes use of coordinating conjunctions such as “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 may have been omitted.
Polysyndeton
