AP Language Multiple Choice Terms/Vocabulary

Prose

"ordinary writing" — made up of sentences and paragraphs, without any metrical (or rhyming) structure. If you write, "I walked about all alone over the hillsides," that's prose. If you say, "I wondered lonely as a cloud/that floats on high o'er vales and hills" that's poetry.

Enunciate

1. to utter or pronounce (words, sentences, etc.), especially in an articulate or a particular manner: He enunciates his words distinctly. 2.

Abstract

An style (in writing) that is typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points.

Ambiguity

a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning. Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor.

Epiphany

a work of literature where a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes his or her understanding. Epiphany was both employed and made popular as a literary term by James Joyce, and explained at length in his autobiographical novel, Stephen Hero.

Subordinate Clause

also called a dependent clause—will begin with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought.

Inversion

also known as anastrophe, is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.

Cliche

an overused, worn-out word or phrase and can also be an idiom, a phrase that is figurative, not literal. Although clichés should be avoided in writing, there is a place for them in the English language.

Cyncism

as an attitude of distrust toward claimed ethical and social values and a rejection of the need to be socially involved. It is pessimistic in regards to the capacity of human beings to make correct ethical choices, and one antonym is naiveté.

Prosaic

commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative: a prosaic mind. 2. of or having the character or form of prose, the ordinary form of spoken or written language, rather than of poetry.

Didactic

A novel, play or poem that is didactic aims to teach us something. ... Examples of didactic literature include Aesop's Fables. Novels written for women in the 18th and 19th century were also often didactic, kind of like fictionalized conduct manuals.

Antithesis/Antithetical

Antithesis is the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentences within parallel grammatical structures. This combination of a balanced structure with opposite ideas serves to highlight the contrast between them. For example, the following famous Muhammad Ali quote is an example of antithesis: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." This is an antithesis example because there is the contrast between the animals and their actions (the peaceful floating butterfly versus the aggressive stinging bee) combined with the parallel grammatical structure of similes indicated by "like a." Ali is indicating the contrasting skills necessary to be a good boxer.

Appeal to Authority

Appeal to authority is a common type of fallacy, or an argument based on unsound logic. When writers or speakers use appeal to authority, they are claiming that something must be true because it is believed by someone who said to be an "authority" on the subject.

Qualify

In one sense, it means to be right for, to measure up. In another sense, though, qualify means to change something slightly, to limit it or add a condition to it. ... The word might be used in its other sense like this: If you plan to get married, keep your vows simple: say "I do."

Analogy

It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. Therefore, analogy is more extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor. Consider the following example: "Structure of an atom is like a solar system.

Concrete

It is your opinion, interpretation, insight, analysis, personal response, feelings (your own in a personal paper, a character's feelings in a literature paper), evaluation, explication, and reflection about a concrete detail in an essay. It echoes the focus of your thesis and topic sentences.

Antecedent

a literary device in which a word or pronoun in a line or sentence refers to an earlier word. For instance, "While giving treats to children or friends offer them whatever they like."

Pedantic

Pedantic comes from the French word pedant, which means "to teach or to act as pedagogue." A pedantic is someone who is concerned with precision, formalism, accuracy, and minute details in order to make an arrogant and ostentatious show of learning. He could be a writer, a character, feelings, tone, or words. Sigmund Freud defined pedantic in this manner:

Ballas

The ballad is probably the simplest form of narrative poem which tells a story in simple and colloquial language. ... So ballad is, in a greater respect, short story in verse. Ballad is a song or a poem and its original version is composed by a single author. But he is unknown.

Hypothetical Example

The definition of hypothetical is something that is assumed or based on theory. An example of hypothetical is a plan based on something that would never happen.

Assertion (qualified, unqualified)

When someone makes a statement investing his strong belief in it, as if it is true, though it may not be, he is making an assertion. Assertion is a stylistic approach or technique involving a strong declaration, a forceful or confident and positive statement regarding a belief or a fact.

Fallacy (ad hominem, non sequitur, red herring etc)

a display of faulty reasoning that makes an argument invalid, or a faulty belief based on an unsound argument. Many fallacies are deceptive in that they may appear to be based on sound reasoning and seem to follow good logic.

Litotes

a figure of speech that employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, a positive statement expressed by negating its opposite expressions.

Allusion/Alludes/Classical Allusion

a figure of speech that refers to a well-known story, event, person, or object in order to make a comparison in the readers' minds.

Metonomy

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.

Elegiac

a form of literature that can be defined as a poem or song in the form of elegiac couplets, written in honor of someone deceased. It typically laments or mourns the death of the individual. Elegy is derived from the Greek work elegus, which means a song of bereavement sung along with a flute.

Treatise

a formal, written article or book that deals with the facts, evidence and conclusions on a specific subject. An example of a treatise is a formal written analysis of the causes of a war.

Imperative Mood

a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English sentence "Please be quiet". ... It is one of the irrealis moods.

Conceit

a kind of metaphor that compares two very unlike things in a surprising and clever way. Often, conceits are extended metaphors that dominate an entire passage or poem. Metaphysical poet John Donne was known for his conceits (often called metaphysical conceits).

Synecdoche

a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. Synecdoche may also use larger groups to refer to smaller groups or vice versa.

Parallelism/Parallel Structure

a literary device in which parts of the sentence are grammatically the same, or are similar in construction. It can be a word, a phrase, or an entire sentence repeated. King's famous 'I have a dream' repetition makes the speech compelling and rhythmic, as well as memorable.

Inference

a literary device used commonly in literature, and in daily life, where logical deductions are made based on premises assumed to be true. ... Inferences are not so much used for coming to conclusions, but to open up new ways of inquiry.

Farce

a literary genre and type of comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated and funny situations aimed at entertaining the audience. Farce is also a subcategory of dramatic comedy, which is different from other forms of comedy as it only aims at making the audience laugh.

Rebuttal

a literary technique in which a speaker or writer uses argument, and presents reasoning or evidence intended to undermine or weaken the claim of an opponent.

Juxtaposition

a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.

Dichotomy

a literary technique that divides a thing into two equal and contradictory parts, or between two opposing groups.

Jargon

a literary term that is defined as the use of specific phrases and words in a particular situation, profession, or trade. These specialized terms are used to convey hidden meanings accepted and understood in that field.

Deductive

a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true. Deductive reasoning is sometimes referred to as top-down logic. Its counterpart, inductive reasoning, is sometimes referred to as bottom-up logic.

Connotation

a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal meanings or denotations.

Onomatopoeia

a poetic structure of words to convey how something sounds. An example of onomatopoeia is a poem about a stream written in a way to imitate the sound of a stream. Onomatopoeia is defined as a word that sounds like the common sound of the object it is describing.

Chiasmus

a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect. Let us try to understand chiasmus with the help of an example: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You."

Syllogism

a rhetorical device that starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it draws conclusion about something more specific. ... "John is a man" is minor statement or premise that is specific and "John is mortal" is the logical conclusion deduced from the two prior statements.

Enumerate

a rhetorical device used for listing 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.

Homily

a sermon or speech that a religious person or priest delivers before a group of people to offer them moral correction. The primary purpose of this speech is not doctrinal instruction, but spiritual edification. Simply, homily is a public discourse on a moral or religious subject.

Anecdote/Anecdotal

a short and interesting story, or an amusing event, often proposed to support or demonstrate some point, and to make the audience laugh. Anecdotes can include an extensive range of tales and stories.

Dogma

a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption; the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility. Synonyms: tenet, canon, law.

Aphorism

a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. The term is often applied to philosophical, moral and literary principles. To qualify as an aphorism, it is necessary for a statement to contain a truth revealed in a terse manner.

Paradox/Paradoxical

a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true somehow. Fancy that. Everyday examples include, "Nobody goes to the restaurant because it's too crowded." Or how about "This sentence is false.

Allegory

a story with (count 'em) two levels of meaning. First, there's the surface of the story. You know, the characters and plot and all that obvious stuff. Then there's the symbolic level, or the deeper meaning that all the jazz on the surface represents.

Device

a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in their writing. An example of a literary device is a flashback. An example of a literary device is an analogy.

Rhetoric/Rhetorical strategy/ Rhetorical Purpose

a technique of using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form. It is an art of discourse, which studies and employs various methods to convince, influence or please an audience. ... Thus, you direct language in a particular way for effective communication or make use of rhetoric.

Apostrophe (the poetic word)

a term used when a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present in the poem. The speaker could be addressing an abstract concept like love, a person (dead or alive), a place, or even a thing, like the sun or the sea.

Meter

a unit of rhythm in poetry, the pattern of the beats. It is also called a foot. Each foot has a certain number of syllables in it, usually two or three syllables. The difference in types of meter is which syllables are accented and which are not.

Diatribe

a violent or bitter criticism of something or someone. It is a rhetorical device used as a verbal attack against a person, group, institution, or a particular behavior. Merriam Webster defines diatribe as, "An angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something."

Invective

denotes speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution. It involves the use of abusive and negative language. The tool of invective is generally employed in both poetry and prose, to reiterate the significance of the deeply felt emotions of the writer.

Syntax/Syntactical

determines how the chosen words are used to form a sentence. Most often than not, adopting a complex diction means a complex syntactic structure of sentences and vice versa.

Periodic Sentence

has the main clause or predicate at the end. This is used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made. It can also create suspense or interest for the reader.

Digression

is a section of a composition or speech that marks a temporary shift of subject; the digression ends when the writer or speaker returns to the main topic. Digressions can be used intentionally as a stylistic or rhetorical device.

Oxymoron

occurs when two contradictory words are together in one phrase. In fact, oxymoron translates from the Greek words oxy meaning sharp, and moron, which means dull. Thus, the word itself is two contradictory words pushed togethe

Semantics

one of the important branches of linguistics, and deals with interpretation and meaning of the words, sentence structure, and symbols. It deals with the reading comprehension of the readers, in how they understand others and their interpretations.

Wit

refers to elements in a literary work designed to make the audience laugh or feel amused, i.e., the term is used synonymously with humor.

Euphemism

refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant. ... For example, "kick the bucket" is a euphemism that describes the death of a person.

Refute/Refutation

refers to that part of an argument where a speaker or a writer encounters contradicting points of view. Alternatively, refutation can be described as the negation of an argument, opinion, testimony, doctrine, or theory, through contradicting evidence.

Solecism

refers to the incorrect use of grammatical constructions-whether intentional or unintentional. Sometimes, writers will use incorrect grammar for effect.

Denotation

refers to the literal, dictionary definition of a word. Many of the words that we use also have feelings and emotions that are associated with them, and this is called connotation. We often must understand the denotation of a word, or its literal meaning, in order to understand the connotation.

Colloquialism

the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing. Colloquial expressions tend to sneak in as writers, being part of a society, are influenced by the way people speak in that society. Naturally, they are bound to add colloquial expressions in their vocabulary.

Irony (especially verbal)

the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, "How nice!" ... a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.

Extended Metaphor and Extended Similie

when an author uses a metaphor throughout a long passage or even an entire poem. An author would use an extended metaphor to create a clearer comparison between the two items.