AP Lang Terms

digression

Def: A message that departs from the main subject Ex: "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger Purpose: Might make the reader forget about what was mentioned previously.

anecdote

Def: A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event. Ex: story about driving for the first time Purpose: May give the reader a better idea of what is being discussed.

aphorism

Def: A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. Ex: "Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late." - Benjamin Franklin Purpose: Causes reader to think more about his/her own life based on the statement.

analogy

Def: A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way Ex: Summer is to life as winter is to death Purpose: Allows readers to understand what the author is explaining by comparing it to something similar.

simile

Def: A comparison using like or as Ex: Your skin is as white as snow Purpose: Allows reader to better understand the subject.

irony

Def: A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen. Ex: The Giants don't win the World Series, but the Phillies do. Purpose: Causes a reader to think of the difference between what was said and what happened.

anticlimax

Def: A drop, often sudden and unexpected, from a dignified or important idea or situation to one that is trivial or humorous. Also, a sudden descent from something sublime to something ridiculous. Ex: The plane that Joanna was planning to board from Singapore crashed. Almost everyone got injured and their baggage got misplaced. Purpose: Provides comic relief to a situation that is more serious than readers may think.

appeal to authority

Def: A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution. Ex: The American government is listening to your phone calls. Obama himself told me that this is occurring, therefore it is truly happening. Purpose: Allows readers to believe the information is accurate if it comes from someone that has a high authority compared to other people.

false dilemma

Def: A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available. Ex: Colleges: Georgia or Georgia Tech Purpose: Makes a reader either think of other options or agree with the options given.

litotes

Def: A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. Ex: You don't look bad today. Purpose: Causes readers to think of the author as sarcastic or complimenting someone in a way that seems humorous.

personification

Def: A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes Ex: The moon's face looked down upon the world. Purpose: Causes a reader to be more imaginative.

metonymy

Def: A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it Ex: Let me give you a hand. Purpose: Allows the reader to better understand what is being discussed.

oxymoron

Def: A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Ex: Jumbo Shrimp Purpose: allows reader to think of the irony behind a phrase (if possible) and to think of the difference between the words in the phrase.

syllogism

Def: A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Ex: No gas is solid. Oxygen is a gas. Oxygen is not solid. Purpose: Allows reader to understand the information based off of factual statements.

persuasion

Def: A kind of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people's actions. Ex: Letters to politicians Purpose: To make a reader want to follow in the footsteps of the author, or partake in what the persuader is asking the readers to do.

parable

Def: A metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life and told in a simple story or riddle; it uses comparisons to teach Ex: The Tortoise and the Hare Purpose: It teaches the reader a life lesson.

epitaph

Def: A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person Ex: "Even amidst fierce flames, the golden lotus can be planted." Purpose: Shows the value of the deceased person rather than mourning his/her death.

pedantry

Def: A pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details Ex: The referee measured everyone's fingernails to make sure they were the legal length to play with. Purpose: Allows reader to understand the ethics of an author/character.

rhetorical question

Def: A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer Ex: How often do you watch TV? Purpose: Makes the reader think.

allusion

Def: A reference to another work of literature, person, or event Ex: References to the Bible in Pulp Fiction Purpose: Used to allow readers to obtain a better idea of what the author is talking about.

cause and effect

Def: A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another Ex: I never study and now I am failing two classes. Purpose: Allows the reader to understand why an event occurred and what caused the event.

anaphora

Def: A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences. Ex: "Five years have passed; Five summers, with the length of Five long winters! and again I hear these waters..." Purpose: Allows reader to understand the main point of what is being discussed.

epistrophe

Def: A scheme in which the same word is repeated at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. Ex: "Where now? Who now? When now?" Purpose: Allows reader to understand the main point of what is being discussed.

inverted syntax

Def: A sentence constructed so that the predicate comes before the subject Ex: Come to the dark side, you must. Purpose: Causes reader to believe that the author may be from another country or have been an early author.

chiasmus

Def: A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed Ex: "I flee who chases me, and chase who flees me." (Ovid) Purpose: Allows reader to understand what is happening.

non sequitur

Def: A statement that does not follow logically from evidence Ex: Scott can throw well. He must play golf. Purpose: Causes the reader not to believe everything that the author says, because it is not based off of factual information.

allegory

Def: A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself. Ex: "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding Purpose: Intended to be used to allow readers to think over what the true meaning of a story is, rather than reading the story for pure enjoyment.

symbol

Def: A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. Ex: The Scarlett Letter represents Hester's sin Purpose: Allows reader to think of what an item literally stands for in (a) book(s).

zeugma

Def: A trope in which one word, usually a noun or the main verb, governs two other words not related in meaning. Ex: "And all the people saw the thundering, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off." The Bible Purpose: The verb is used for all other words.

induction (inductive reasoning)

Def: A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations. Ex: His shoes are brown and that other guy's shoes are brown; so all males wear brown shoes. Purpose: Allows reader to believe what is being said based off of the observations made.

onomatopoeia

Def: A word that imitates the sound it represents. Ex: I heard knock-knock-knock on my door. Purpose: Gives an idea of what the noise sounded like.

parody

Def: A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. Ex: Scary Movie enterprise Purpose: Provides humor

satire

Def: A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals. Ex: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Purpose: Provides humor, but in a way that causes the reader to think of the actual events that occurred.

logos

Def: An appeal based on logic or reason Ex: This definition is 100% right 28% of the time. Purpose: Allows reader to believe what is said based off of the logic given.

invective

Def: An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. Ex: "I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." Jonathan Swift Purpose: Shows that the author is intelligent enough to attack another person using strong vocabulary.

euphemism

Def: An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant Ex: She is very promiscuous with the boys. Purpose: To make readers believe the author is less offensive than he/she really is.

pathos

Def: Appeal to emotion Ex: Talking about the hard times you experienced as a child like bullying and drug abuse. Purpose: Allows reader to feel any emotion towards the subject being discussed.

chronological ordering

Def: Arrangement of ideas in the order in which things occur; may move from past to present or in reverse, from present to past. Ex: WWI then Great Depression and then WWII. Purpose: Allows the reader to know the specific order of occurrence.

classification

Def: Assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics. Ex: mammals Purpose: Gives the reader a better idea of what a writer is talking about.

ad hominem fallacy

Def: Attacking or praising the people who make an argument rather than discussing the argument itself. Ex: "How can you argue that the Braves are better than the Mets when you clearly only care about who is winning at the time?" Purpose: To show that they either support or disagree with a certain argument that someone has made, but it is based on the author's opinion and not facts.

tone

Def: Attitudes and presuppositions of the author that are revealed by their linguistic choices Ex: upbeat, dismal, appalled, sarcastic etc. Purpose: Gives more meaning to what is being said.

asyndeton

Def: Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words, speeds up flow of sentence. Ex: X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z. Purpose: Causes the flow of the sentence to speed up

imagery

Def: Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) Ex: The red apple tasted sweet once I bit into it. Purpose: Creates a picture for the reader.

antithesis

Def: Direct opposite Ex: King George III and George Washington Purpose: Gives a comparison and contrast between two subjects.

post hoc fallacy

Def: False assumption that because one event occurred before another event, it must have caused that event Ex: After I ate Taco Bell yesterday my stomach has been upset because of it. Purpose: Makes a reader wonder if the statement is true or not, because the reasoning seems factual enough, but there is not enough proof.

ellipsis

Def: Indicated by a series of three periods, the ... indicates that some material has been omitted from a given text. Ex: bird...continues Purpose: Allows the reader to think of what might have been the material that has been left out.

assonance

Def: Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity Ex: "Men sell the wedding bells" Purpose: Allows a reader to remember what was said.

syntax

Def: Sentence structure Ex: What light from yonder window breaks?"/"What light breaks from yonder window?" Purpose: Causes the reader to understand the author's personal writing style and why they write the way they do.

epiphora

Def: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. Ex: "Hourly joys be still upon you! Juno sings her blessings on you. . . . Scarcity and want shall shun you, Ceres' blessing so is on you." Shakespeare's The Tempest Purpose: Allows the reader to understand the main point of what is being discussed.

paradox

Def: a contradiction or dilemma Ex: Schrodinger's Cat Purpose: Allows reader to view the situation at hand or the contradiction made.

synecdoche

Def: a figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. Ex: All hands on deck Purpose: Allows the reader to know what is being mentioned and who/what it refers to.

periodic sentence structure

Def: a sentence written so that the full meaning cannot be understood until the end Ex: "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," 1841) Purpose: Makes the reader keep reading to find out the meaning of everything being said.

understatement

Def: a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said Ex: Mt. Everest is sort-of high. Purpose: Provides irony.

ad populum fallacy

Def: basing a claim on popular opinion. Ex: Apple makes the best phones since more people have an iPhone than other android products. Purpose: Used to appeal to the majority of people, which makes the reader feel as if the author is knowledgeable and a credible source.

ethos

Def: beliefs or character of a group Ex: Is killing an innocent life worth it for saving money. Purpose: Provides an appeal to the author or the people he/she is writing to/for

metaphor

Def: figure of speech comparing two different things Ex: School is an occupation. Purpose: Allows reader to understand the subject better by comparing it to something they may know more about.

damning with faint praise

Def: intentional use of a positive statement that has a negative implication Ex: Your pitching was so good I almost forgot about the home run you gave up. Purpose: To make someone feel better than they should.

spatial ordering

Def: organization of information using spatial cues such as top to bottom, left to right, etc. Ex: on the right side of the road, on top of the car, below the cliff of a mountain, etc. Purpose: Helps reader form a picture of what is being described.

hyperbole

Def: purposeful exaggeration for effect Ex: The fish I caught weighed at least a 100 pounds. Purpose: Allows reader to imagine how serious something is.

deduction (deductive reasoning)

Def: reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case Ex: Gravity attracts objects to the Earth, therefore when I jump I will come back to the ground. Purpose: Allows a reader to believe what the author says is true based off of facts.

rhetoric

Def: the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion Ex: Why don't you leave me alone? Purpose: Persuades a person into doing something.

point of view

Def: the perspective from which a story is told Ex: First, Second, Third Person Purpose: Allows readers to understand who is telling the story and if it is a character or the author.

parallel syntactic structures

Def: using the same part of speech or syntactic structure in each element of a series, before and after coordinating conjunctions and after each pair of correlative conjunctions Ex: Bob walks, runs, and jumps in PE. Purpose: Keeps the verbal usage in the same tense.

colloquial expression

Def: words or phrases, characteristics or appropriate ordinary or familiar conversations rather than formal speech writing Ex: soda-pop Purpose: Appeals to readers based upon where they are located in the world and how their language is different from other people, including people located in the same country (North/South).

argumentation

Def: 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 Ex: FDR is the best president since he was elected to the most terms and guided the country through the Great Depression and most of WWII. Purpose: May cause reader to support his/her argument or disagree with it.

expository writing

Def: writing that explains or informs Ex: History Textbooks Purpose: To provide factual information to a reader.