Ap Language Terms

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Allegory

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The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning

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Allusion

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A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.

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ambiguity

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The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

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Analogy

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A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

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Anecdote

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a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

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antecedent

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The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

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apostrophe

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A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

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caricature

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a verbal description, the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person’s distinctive physical features or other characteristics.

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clause

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A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

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colloquial/colloquialism

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The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

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concrete language

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Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

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denotation

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The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.

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diction

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Related to style, diction refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

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didactic

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From the Greek, didactic literally means “teaching.”

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ethos

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Appeal to the authors credibility

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euphemism

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euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

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extended metaphor

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A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

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figurative language

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Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

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figure of speech

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A device used to produce figurative language

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generic conventions

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describes traditions for each genre.

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genre

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major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama.

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hyperbole

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A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

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imagery

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The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions.

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inference/infer

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To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.

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irony/ironic

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The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.

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jargon

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the special language of a profession or group

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litotes

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a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite

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logos

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Appeal to logic based on statistics, facts and reasons.

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loose sentence/non-periodic sentence

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A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.

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metaphor

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A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. Metaphorical language makes writing more vivid, imaginative, thought provoking, and meaningful.

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metonymy

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a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.

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mood

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the method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written

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narrative

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The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

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oxymoron

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a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

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paradox

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A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.

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parallelism

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repetition of a grammatical element such as a preposition or verbal phrase.

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pathos

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Appeal to the emotions

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anaphora

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when the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences.

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parody

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A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

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pedantic

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An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish

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periodic sentence

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a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.

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personification

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A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. Personification is used to make these abstractions, animals, or objects appear more vivid to the reader.

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point of view

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the perspective from which a story is told.

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prose

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one of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms

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repetition

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The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.

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rhetoric

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this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

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rhetorical modes

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This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing.

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sarcasm

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involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

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satire

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A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

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semantics

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The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another.

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speaker

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the voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona

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style

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An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices. / Classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors.

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subordinate clause

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word group contains both a subject and a verb .. unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone

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syllogism

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deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises

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symbol/symbolism

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anything that represents itself and stands for something else.

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synecdoche

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a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part.

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synesthesia

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when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another.

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syntax

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The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

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theme

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The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.

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thesis

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the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.

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tone

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describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both

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transition

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A word or phrase that links different ideas.

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understatement

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the ironic minimalizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is.

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wit

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intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights