AP english Language study word

diatribe

(n.) a bitter and prolonged verbal attack

critique

A detailed review; an evaluation

schema

A schema is a mental structure we use to organize and simplify our knowledge of the world around us.

grammatical antecedent

An antecedent is the word(s) to which a pronoun refers.

mock solemnity

Feigned or deliberately artificial seriousness, often for satirical purposes.

ad hominem argument

From the Latin meaning "to or against the man," this is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect.

elegiac

Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone

appeals to authority

Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker claims to be an expert or relies on information provided by experts.

parallel construction

Taking out repetitive words and combining similar sentences and ideas in sentences and phrases

persona

The aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others

ironical understatement

a contrast between what is stated and what is meant, or an incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. Irony can be rhetorical (i.e. verbal), situational, or dramatic. Example (rhetorical - ironic understatement): Michael Jordan was okay at basketball.

metaphor

a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction

simile

a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as')

balanced sentences

a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast

paradox

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. ex. "i always lie."

omnious

adj. unfavorable, threatening, of bad omen

symbol

an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance

allegory

an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances

cynicism

attitude scornful of the motives or virtues of others

intentional shift

changing the subject or tone in writing on purpose

pedantic

characterized by an excessive display of learning or scholarship

oxymoron

conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

impressionistic

describing a highly personal, individual response to experience

callous and reckless

emotionally hardened, unmerciful

brash

energetic or high-spirited, especially in a rude way; tactlessly bold

sarcastic

expressing or expressive of ridicule that wounds

remote

far apart in nature

apathetic

feeling or showing little emotion

rigid

fixed and unmoving

inquisitive perplexity

full of doubt and uncertainty and prone to investigate and ask questions

resentful

hateful

petulant and critical

inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, irritable, impatient, or sullen in a peevish or capricious way

circumlocution

indirect or roundabout expression (by using an uncecessarily large number of words esp. when trying to avoid answering a difficult question directly)

didactic

instructive, designed to teach

anticlimax

letdown in thought or emotion; something unexciting, ordinary, or disappointing coming after something important or exciting

accumulation of detail

listing of concrete details

heedless

marked by or paying little heed or attention

abstract generalization

nonphysical, general statement obtained by inference from specific cases.

elevated

of a high intellectual or moral standard

juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

melancholy

sadness; depression

scandalized

shocked or horrified by something considered immoral or improper

combative

striving to overcome in argument

emphatic

sudden and strong

antithesis

the direct opposite, a sharp contrast

analogical comparisons

the process of extracting the similarities between two or more example problems to help form a schema for a problem.

confidential

told or written as a secret

tentative

unsettled in mind or opinion

prudent

very careful; showing judgement and wisdom