AP Lang Multiple Choice Words

Asyndeton

A deliberate choice to eliminate conjunctions that would normally join phrases or clauses. It creates speed and urgency. For example, "I came. I saw. I conquered." Has much more force than "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Figure of Speech

A device used to produce figurative language. Many figures of speech compare dissimilar things. Figures of speech include the following: apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche and understatement.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or a surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. A conceit displays intellectual cleverness due to the unusual comparison being made.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech based on inverted parallelism. It is a rhetorical figure in which two clauses are related to each another through a reversal of terms. The purpose is usually to make a larger point or to provide balance or order. In classical rhetoric, the parallel structures did not repeat words, such as found in Alexander Pope's essay on man: "His time a moment, and a point his space." However, contemporary standards allow for repeated words; a commonly cited example comes from John F. Kenedy's inaugural address: "... ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country."

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. Simple examples include such words as "buzz," "hiss", "hum," "crack," whinny," and "murmur". This term usually is not used in the multiple choice section. If you identify examples of onomatopoeia in an essay passage, note the effect.

Personification

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

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperbole often has a common effect; however, a serious effect is also possible. Often, hyperbole produces irony at the same time.

Metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparisson of seemingly unlike things, or the substitution of the other, suggesting some similarity. For example, consider the title of Carson McCuller's novel "The Heart Is a Lonley Hunter". Metaphorical language makes writing more vivid, imaginative, thought provoking and meaningful. See also: similie.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clauses expresses a complete thought and can stand alone in a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate, clause cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent pause. Examine this sample sentence: "Because I [practiced hard, my AP scores were high." In this sentence, the independent clause is "my AP scores were high,?" And the dependent (or subordinate) clause is "Because I practiced so hard." See also subordinate clause.

Extended Metaphor

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

Logical Fallacy

A mistake in verbal reasoning. Technically, to be a fallacy, the reasoning must be potentially decceptive; it must be likely to fool at least some of the people osme of the time. Many types of logical fallacies (which you can easily look up) have been identified, such as "ad hominem argument", appeals to emotion, bandwagon, begging the question, circular reasoning, hasty generalization, non sequitur argument, post hoc argument, slippery slope or straw man argument.

Rhetorical Question

A question that is asked merely for effect and does not expect a reply. The answer is assumed. For example, in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the character Brutus asks, "who is here so vile that he will not love his country?"

Caricature

A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect. Sometimes caricature can be so exaggerated that it becomes a grotesque imitation or misinterpretation. Synonymous words include burlesque, parody, traverse, satire and lampoon.

Synechdoche

A rhetorical trope involving a part of an object representing the whole, or the whole of an object representing a part. For example, a cowboy who boasts of waning "sixty heads of cattle" is not referring to their heads alone, but sixty living whole cows. See also: metonymy

Predicate Nominative

A second type of subject complement - a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that names the subject. It, like the predicate adjective, follows a linking verb and is located in the predicate of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "Abe Lincoln was a man of integrity," the predicate nominative is "man of integrity" as it renames Abe Lincoln. Occasionally, this term or term of the term predicate adjective appears in a multiple choice question.

Periodic Sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. An independent clause, it is preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone. For example, "ecstatic with my AP scores, I let out a loud shout of joy!" The defect of a periodic sentence is to add emphasis in a structural variety. See also: loose sentence.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. The first scene of Macbeth, foe example, closes with the witches' cryptic remark, "fair is foul, and fair is fair."

Metonymy

A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one's object is substituded for that of another closely associated with it. A news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "The President declared" is using metonymy. This term is unlikely to be used in the mkultiple choice section, but you might see examples of metonymy in an essay passage. See also: synechdoche.

Aphorism

A tree statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth or moral principle. (if the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to ;be a folk proverb). An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.

Symploce

A type of parallellisim that combines anaphora and epistrophe, symploce occurs when words or phrases are repeated at both the beginning and the ending of clauses or verses. President Bill Clinton used symploce in a prayer service at Oklahoma City in 1995 when he said "where there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is violence, let us stand up and talk against it"

Loose Sentence

A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. If a period were placed at the end of the independent clause, the clause would e a complete sentence. A work containing many loose sentences often seems informal, relaxed and conversational. See also: periodic sentence.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas, a transition is used especially, although not exclusively, in expository and argumentative writing. Transitions effectively signal a shift from one idea to another. A few commonly used phrases include the following: furthermore,consequently, nevertheless, foe sample, in addition, likewise, similarly, and on the contrast.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. As comedy, parody distorts or exaggerates distinctive features of the original. As a ridicule, it mimics the work by repeating adn borrowing words, phrases, or characteristics n order to illuminate weakness in the original. Well writen parody offers insight to the original, but poorly written parody offers only ineffectual appreciate the nuances of the newer work. Ocassionally, however, parodies take on a life of their own adn don't require knowledge of the original.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions, for reform or ridicule, regardless of whatever or not the work aims to reform humans or their society, satire is best sen as a style of writing rather than a purpose for writing. It can be recognized by the many devices used effectively by the satirist, such as irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement and sarcasm. The effects of satire are varied but depend on god the writers goal, good satire- often humorous- is thought provoking and insightful about the human condition.

Parallellisim

Also refered to as parallel construction, or parallel structure, this term comes from Greek roots meaning "beside one another." It refers to teh grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity. This can involve, but is not limited to, repetition of grammatical element such as a preposition or a verbal phrase. A famous example of parallelism begins Charles Dickens' novel A tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..." "The effects of parallelism are numerous, but frequently, parallelism acts as an organizing force to attract the readers attention, add emphasis and organization or simply provide a pleasing musical rhythm. Another famous example comes from the concluding line of Tennyson's poem "Ulysses,: as the speaker claims, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." Many specific terms identify different forms of parallelism such as anaphora, asyndeton, epistrophe, and symploce. See also, antithesis and chiasmus.

Pedantic

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

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

Similie

An explicit comparison,normally using like or as or if. For example remember Robert burns' famous lines ", my love is like a red rose/ that's newly sprung in June./ O my love is like a melody that is sweetly played in tune. See also: METAPHOR

Epistrophe

Deliberately repeating ending clauses or phrases in sentences to create effect. For example, president Lyndon B Johnson

Polysyndeton

Deliberately using many conjunctions to join items in a sentence to create an overwhelming effect. For example, Cormac McCarthy used polysyndeton in this passage from his novel The Crossing: "He got the fire going and lifted the wold from the sheet and took the sheet to the creek and crouched in the dark and washed the blood out of it and brought it back and he cut forked sticks from a mountain hackberry and drove them into the ground with a rock and hung the sheet on a trestpole..." Notice how joining every action with the conjunction "and" separates and intensifies the actions.

Rhetoric

From the Greek for "orator," this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Oxymoron

From the Greek for "pointedly foolish", an oxymoron is a figure of speech in which the writer groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. Simple examples include "jumbo shrimp" and "cruel kindness". This term usually does not appear in multiple choice questions, but there is a chance you will see it used by an author in an essay passage or find it useful in your own essay writing.

Syllogism

From the Greek for "reckoning together," a syllogism (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first one called "major" and the second called "minor") that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. A frequently cited example proceeds as follows: major premise: All men are mortal. minor premise: Socrates is a man. conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is a mortal. A syllogism's conclusion is valid only if each of the two premises is valid. Syllogisms may also present the specific idea first ("Socrates") and the general second ("all men"). Adapted from V. Stevenson, Patrick Henry High School, and Abrams' Glossary of Literary Terms Freequently cited as 1. Major premise 2. Minor Premise 3. Conclusion

Sarcasm

From the Greek meaning "to tear flesh", sarcasm often involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic (that is, intending to ridicule). When well done, sarcasm can be witty and insightful; when poorly done, its simply cruel.

Ethos

From the Greek word for "character, ethos is one fo the three rhetorical appeals, coined by Aristotle, that refer to the ways a writer or speaker persuades a reader or an audience. Ethos establishes CREDIBILITY and believability and sets up trust. The word "ethic" comes from "ethos." See also: Logos and Pathos

Euphesim

From the Greek word for "good speech" euphemisims are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. a euphemism may be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness, or to add humor or ironic understatement. Saying "earthly humans" rather than "corpse" is an example of euphemism.

Didatic

From the Greek, didactic literally means "teaching." Didactic words have the primary aim of teaching or instructing,especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.

Symbol

Generally, a symbol is anything that represents or stands for something else. Usuallly, it is something concrete- such as an object, action, character or scene- that represents something more abstract. However, symbols and symbolism can be much more compolex. One system classifies symbols into three categories. 1. Natural 2. conventional 3. Literal

Thesis

In expository writing, the thesis statement is a group of sentence that directly expresses the writer's opinion, purpose, meaning, pr proposition. Expository writing is usually judged by analyzing how accurately, effectively and thoroughly a writer has proven the thesis.

Point of View

In fictional literature, this is the perspective from which a story is told. These are two general divisions of point of view, first person narrator and third person narrator, and many subdivisions within those. However, on the AP English Language and Composition Exam, the point of view is synonymous with the author's attitude.

Wit

In modern usage, intellectually amazing language that surprises and delights. A witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the speaker's verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks. Wit usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement. Historically, wit originally meant basic understanding. Its meaning evolved to include speed of understanding, and finally (in the early seventeenth century), it grew to mean quick perception including creative fancy and a quick tongue to articulate an answer that demanded the same quick perception.

Subordinate Clause

Like all clauses, this word group contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought. Also called a dependent clause, the subordinate clause depends on a main clause (or independent clause) to complete its meaning. Easily recognized key words and phrases usually begin these clauses. For example: although, because, unless, if, even though, since, as soon as, while, who, when, where, how and that. Example: Yellowstone is a national park in the West that is known for its geysers. underlined phrase = subordinate clause

Pathos

One of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals, Pathos is a speaker's or writer's attempt to inspire an emotional reaction in an audience- often a deep feeling of suffering, but sometimes joy, pride, anger, humour, patriotism or any other strong emotion. In it's critical sense, pathos signifies a scene or passage designed to evoke the feeling of pity or sympathetic sorrow in a reader or viewer. "pathos" is the Greek word for both "Suffering" and "experience." The words "empathy" and "pathetic" are derived from pathos. See also: Ethos and Logos.

Logos

One of Aristotles's three rhetorical appeals that refer to the wasy a writer or speaker persuades a reader or an audience. Logos, the appeal to logic, means to convince an audeince by the use of logic or reason, such as citing facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, or certain quthorities on a subject. "Logos" is the greek word for "word". The word "logic" is derived from "logos". See also: ethos and pathos

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction adn nonfiction, including all its forms, because they were written in ordinary lanuage adn most closely resemble everyday speech. Technically, anything that isn't poetry or drama is prose. Therefore, all passages in the AP Language and Composition eam are prpose. Of couse, prose writers often borrow poetic and dramatic elements.

Predicate Adjective

One type of subject component- an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb. It is in the predicate of the sentence, and modifies or describes the subject. For example, in the sentence "My boyfriend is tall, dark, and handsome,: the group of predicate adjectives "tall, dark, and hadnsome" describes (my nonexisting) "boyfriend"

Juxtaposition

Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparisson contrast.

Diction

Relaqted to any style, diction refers to the writer's particular word choices, especially with regards to their correctness, clearness or effectiveness. Fo rates AP Language and composition exam, you should be able to describe an author's diction (for example, formal or informal, ornate or plain) and understand the ways in which diction can complement the writer's purpose. Diction, combined w2ith syntax, figurative language, literary devices and so on creates a writer's style. See also: syntax

Tone

Similar to mood, tone describes the writer's attitude toward his or her material, the audience or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language considering how a work should sound if it were read aloud can help identify a writer's tone. Some words describing tone are "playful," "serious," "businesslike," "sarcastic," "humorous," "formal," "ornate," and "somber." As with attitude, a writers tone in the exam's passages can rarely be described by one words. Expect the explanation to be more complex. See attitude in "terms for free response question.

Colloquialism

Slang or informality in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for fomrmal writing, colloquialisms give language a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. Usually, the theme is unstated in fictional works, but in nonfiction, the theme may be directly stated, especially in expository or argumentative writing. Frequently, a time can be stated as a universal truth; that is, a general statement about the human condition, society, or humanity's relationship to the natural world.

Irony

The contrast between what is stated explicitily and what is really meant; the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. Irony is used for many reasons, but freequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor. In general, three major types of irony are used in language: Verbal Situational Dramatic

Repetiton

The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. When repetition is poorly done, it bores, but when it's well done it links and emphasizes ideas while giving the reader the comfort of recognizing something familiar. See also: parallelism.

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. Even such elements as a description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere. Frequently, atmosphere foreshadows events. See also, mood.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. However, "genre" is a flexible term; within these broad boundaries there are many subdivisions that are often called genres themselves. For example, prose can be divided into fiction (novels and short stores) or nonfiction (essays, biographies, autobiographies and so on). Poetry can be divided into such subcategories as lyric, dramatic, narrative, epic and so on. Drama can be divided into tragedy, comedy, melodrama, farce, and so on. On the AP Languatge and Composition Exam, expect the majority of passages to be from the following genres: autobiography, biography, diaries, criticism, and essays as well as journalistic, political, scientific, and nature writing.

Connotation

The non literal associative meaning of a word; the implied,l suggested meaning. Connotations may involve ideas, emotions or attitudes. See also, denotation

Deductive Reasoning

The process of logic in which one takes a rule for a large, general category and assumes tat specific individual examples within that general category obey the same rule. Fo example, a general rule might be that "Ojects made of iron will rust." The logician who then encounters a shovel made of iron can assume deductively that the iron shovel will rust just as other iron objects do. Deduction determines the truth about specific examples without using a large general rule. See its opposite, inductive reasoning.

Inductive Reasoning

The process of logic that begins reasoning from a specific case or cases and then derives a general rule or prediction that may or may not be necessarily be true. It draws inferences from observations in order to make generalizations. Induction uses evidence more than logic when it says A, B and C are true so D should also be true. This can result in a more uncertain conclusion than the more certain deductive reasoning. Inductive arguments are, hence, always open to question since the conclusion is a larger idea than the evidence on which it is based. This breadth allows it to be used where deductive methods may not work; for example, in prediction or invention. One advantage of inductive reasoning is that starting from specifics and building up to a larger generality can be less threatening than starting with the big ideas, which can make inductive arguments more persuasive, as people may understand the process better than a more clinical deduction.

Imagery

The sensory details or figurative language that is used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the fivde senses: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory imagery. On a broader and deeper level, however, one image can represent more than onen thing. An author may use complex imagery while stimltaneousy employing other figures of speech, especially metaphor and similie. In addition, this term can apply to the total of all the images in a work. On the AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION EXAM, pay attention to how an author creates imagery and the effect of that imagery.

Jargon

The specific words or phrases used in a trade, occupation, or field of study such as sports jargon, medical jargon, police jargon or military jargon. To the uninitiated, these phrases can sometimes be confusing.

Denotation

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

Narrative

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

Syntax

The way a writer chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. In other words, syntax refers to the arrangement or order of grammatical elements in a sentence. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate the two by thinking of syntax as referring to groups of words, while diction refers to individual words. In the multiple choice section of the AP LANGUAGE ANDE COMPOSITION EXAM, expect to be asked some questions about how an author manipulates syntax. In the free response section, you will need to analyze how syntax produces effects. When you are analyzing syntax, consider such elements as length or brevity of sentences, unusual sentence constructions, the sentence patterns used, and the kinds of sentences the author uses. The author may use questions, decelerations, exclamations, or rhetorical questions; sentences are also classified as periodic or loose, simple, compound, or complex. Syntax can be tricky for students to analyze. First try to classify what kind of sentences the author uses, then try to determine how the authors choices amplify meaning- in other words, why they work well for the author's purpose.

subject complement

The word (with any accompanying phrases) or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it (the predicate nominative) or (2) describing it (the predicate adjective). These are defined below: (1) the predicate nominative - a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject. It, like the predicate adjective, follows a linking verb and is located in the predicate of the sentence. Example: Julia Roberts is a movie star. movie star = predicate nominative, as it renames the subject, Julia Roberts (2) the predicate adjective -- an adjective, a group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb. It is in the predicate of the sentence, and modifies, or describes, the subject. Example: Warren remained optimistic. optimistic = predicate adjective, as it modifies the subject, Warren

Rhetorical Modes

This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. Sometimes referred to as modes of discourse, the four most common rhetorical modes are eposition, argumentation, description, and narration.

Generic Convention

This term describes traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example, they differentiate between an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and the political writing. On the AP Language and Composition Exam, try to distinguish the unique features of a writer's work from those dictated by convention.

Modes of Discourse

This term encompasses the four traditional categories of written texts. See also rhetorical modes. 1. Exposition 2. Narration 3. Description 4. Argumentation

Mood

This term has two distinct technical meanings in English writing. The first meaning is grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speaker's attitude. The indicative mood is used for only factual sentences. For example, "Joe eats too quickly." The subjunctive mood is used for a doubtful or conditional attitude. For example, "If I were you, I'd get another job." The imperative mood is used for commands. For example, "shut the door!" The second meaning is literary, meaning the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. Setting tone, and events can affect the mood. In this usage, mood is similar to tone and atmosphere.

Homily

This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. When a multiple- choice question asks for an inference to be drawn from the passage, the most direct, most reasonable inference is the safest answer choice. If an inference is implausible it's unlikely to be the correct answer. Note that if the answer choice is something that is directly stated in the passage, it is not inferred and is therefore, not the correct answer.

Figurative Language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. See also: figure of speech.

Apostrophe

a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love, or an inanimate object. The effect may add familiraty or emotional intensity. William wrdwsworth addresses john milton as he writes "milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: england hath need of thee," and John Deene speaks directly to death when he writes "DEeath, be not proud."

Understatement

the ironic minimalizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and emphatic. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. Two specific types of understatement exist: Litotes and meiosis