AP Lang Terms

Isocolon

parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure, but also in length

Euphemism

passed away-dead pre-owned car-used car

Inductive Reasoning

reasoning from detailed facts to general principles

Deductive Reasoning

reasoning from the general to the particular (or from cause to effect)

Anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.

Anadiplosis

the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause

Anaphora

"We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight in the sky."

Anadiplosis

"our doubt is our passion, our passion is our task" "When I give, I give myself"

Anathema

"the sound of a witch's anathema in some unknown tongue..."

Cliche

"when you lie with dogs, you get fleas" "live and learn" Rome wasn't built in a day" "Let me count the ways"

Aphorism

"your children need your presence more than they need your presents"

Either or Choice

A fallacy or argument in which a complicated issue is misrepresented as offering only two possible alternatives, one of which is often made to seem vastly preferable to the other

Archetype

A recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found in myth and literature across different cultures and eras.

Isocolon

"An envious heart makes a treacherous ear" "Every nation has its own traditions, its own values, its own aspirations"

Non-sequitor

"If your parents didn't have any children, there's a good chance that you won't have any"

Red Hering

Dodging the real issue by drawing attention to an irrelevant issue, thereby changing te topic of dicussion.

Ad Hominem

In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."

Archetype

Mother figure, Hero, Damsel in Distress

Begging the Question

Often called circular reasoning, __ occurs when the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim.

Euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive term for one that is offensive

Anathema

a cursed, detested person

Rhetorical question

a question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer

Fallacy

a statement or an argument based on a false or invalid inference

Non-Sequitor

a statement that does not follow logically from evidence

Aphorism

a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation; aka Epigram

Cliche

an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off

Hasty Generalization

when a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is not large enough. Sam is riding her bike in her home town in Maine, minding her own business. A station wagon comes up behind her and the driver starts beeping his horn and then tries to force her off the road. As he goes by, the driver yells "get on the sidewalk where you belong!" Sam sees that the car has Ohio plates and concludes that all Ohio drivers are jerks.