Vocab Terms Set

Assumption

A belief or principle, stated or implied, that is taken for granted.

Concrete/Abstract

A concrete word names a specific object, person, place or action that can be directly perceived by the senses. An abstract word refers to general qualities, conditions, ideas, actions, or relationships that cannot be directly perceived by the senses. Although writers must use both concrete and abstract language, good writers avoid using too many abstract words. Instead, they rely on concrete words to define and illustrate abstractions. Because concrete words affect the senses, they are easily comprehended by the reader.

Genre

A distinct classification in literature. From the Lat., "genus:" "type, kind;" pron.: "Zhawn-reh." A classification according to what different works have in common, in their structure and treatment of a subject. By correctly identifying the genre of a text, we can get a better idea of its author's intention and purpose. We can also deepen our sense of the value of any single text, by allowing us to view it comparatively, alongside other texts of the same type. In ancient Greece and Rome the primary genres were: epic; lyric (ode and ballad); drama (tragedy and comedy) and satire. Today the novel and short story have been added to those major classical genres, as well as numerous minor categories. The literary genres used by the College Board in their AP study guides are the following: autobiography and diary; biography and history; criticism; drama; essay and fiction (novel and short story); expository prose; journalism; political writing; science and nature writing.

Dominant Impression

A dominant impression is the single mood, atmosphere, or quality a writer emphasizes in a piece of descriptive writing. The dominant impression is created through the careful selection of details and is, of course, influenced by the writer's subject, audience and purpose.

Draft

A draft is a version of a piece of writing at a particular stage in the writing process. The first version produced is usually called the rough draft or first draft and is a writer's beginning attempt to give overall shape to his or her ideas. Subsequent versions are called revised drafts. The copy presented for publication is the final draft.

Euphemism

A euphemism is a mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea. Euphemisms are often used to soften the impact of what is being discussed. For example, the word "departed" is a euphemism for the word "dead," just as the phrase "in the family way" is a euphemism for the word "pregnant."

Bathos

A false or forced emotion that is often humorous. It takes emotions to such an extreme that the reader finds it humorous rather than touching.

Conceit

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

Allegory

A fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite. Litotes is the opposite of hyperbole. Examples: "Not a bad idea," "Not many," It isn't very serious," "I have this tiny little tumor on the brain" (Salinger, Catcher in the Rye)

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause, cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. The point that you want to consider is the question of what or why the author subordinates one element should also become aware of making effective use of subordination in your own writing.

Logical Fallacies

A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. Some of the more common logical fallacies are these

Allusion

A passing reference to a familiar person, place, or thing, drawn from history, the Bible, mythology, or literature. It is an economical way for the writer to capture the essence of an idea, atmosphere, emotion, or historical era.

Fact

A piece of information presented as having a verifiable certainty or reality.

Personification

A special kind of simile or metaphor in which human traits are assigned to an inanimate object: "The engine coughed and then stopped."

Aphorism

A terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. It can be a memorable summation of the author's point.

Assonance

A type of internal rhyming in which vowel sounds are repeated.

Caricature

A verbal description, the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics.

Appositive

A word or phrase that follows as noun or pronoun for emphasis or clarity. They are usually set off by commas.

Elegiac

An elegy is work (of music, literature, dance, or art) that expresses sorrow. It mourns the loss of something, such as the death of a loved one.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. (For example, in Henry IV, Part I, Prince Hal calls the large character of Falstaff "this sanguine coward, this bedpresser, this horseback breaker, this huge hill of flesh.")

Essay

An essay is a relatively short piece of nonfiction in which the writer attempts to make one or more closely related points. A good essay is purposeful, informative and well organized.

Evaluation

An evaluation of a piece of writing is an assessment of its effectiveness or merit. In evaluating a piece of writing, you should ask the following questions: What is the writer's purpose? Is it a worthwhile purpose? Does the writer achieve the purpose? Is the writer's information sufficient and accurate? What are the strengths of the essay? What are its weaknesses? Depending on the type of writing and the purpose, more specific questions can also be asked. For example, with an argument you could ask: Does the writer follow the principles of logical thinking? Is the writer's evidence convincing?

Cliché

An expression that has become ineffective through overuse. Expressions such as quick as flash, dry as dust jump for joy, and slow as molasses are all examples. Good writers normally avoid such trite expressions and seek instead to express themselves in fresh and forceful language.

Idiom

An idiom is a word or phrase that is used habitually with a particular meaning in a language. The meaning of an idiom is not always readily apparent to nonnative speakers of that language. For example, catch cold, hold a job, make up your mind and give them a hand are all idioms in English.

Image/Imagery

An image is a mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations, but there can be auditory and sensory components to imagery as well. Nearly all writing depends on imagery to be effective and interesting. Metaphors, similes, symbols and personification all use imagery. The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory. On a broader and deeper level, however, one image can represent more than one thing. For example, a rose may present visual imagery while also representing the color in a woman's cheeks and/or symbolizing some degree of perfection. An author may use complex imagery while simultaneously employing other figures of speech, especially metaphor and simile. In addition, this term can apply to the total of all the images in a work. On the AP Language exam, pay attention to HOW an author creates imagery and to the effect of this imagery.

Simile

An implicit comparison introduced by like or as: "The fighter's hands were like stone."

Metaphor

An implied comparison that uses one thing as the equivalent of another: "All the world's a stage."

Non sequitur

An inference or conclusion that does not follow from established premises or evidence: "It was the best movie I saw this year and it should get an Academy Award."

Opinion

An opinion is a belief or conclusion not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof. An opinion reveals personal feelings or attitudes or states a position. Opinion should not be confused with argument.

Antithesis

An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often express in balanced phrases or clauses.

Overview

An overview is a brief summary of the whole work.

Oxymoron

An oxymoron combines two contradictory words in one expression. The results of this combination are often unusual or thought provoking. For instance, if you praise a child for her "wild docility," in essence you change the separate meanings of the words "wild" and "docility" and create a new, hybrid image.

Comparison and Contrast

Another one of the types of exposition. In comparison and contrast, the writer points out the similarities and differences between two or more subjects in the same class or category. The function of any comparison and contrast is to clarify - to reach some conclusion about the items being compared and contrasted.

Analogy

Ask a reader to think about the correspondence or resemblance of between two things that are especially different; a form of comparison in which the writer explains something unfamiliar by comparing it to something similar.

Begging the question

Assuming in a premise that which needs to be proven: "If American autoworkers built a better product, foreign auto sales would not be so high."

Connotation/Denotation

Both connotation and denotation refer to the meanings of words. Denotation is the dictionary meaning of a word, the literal meaning. Connotation, on the other hand, is the implied or suggested meaning of a word. Good writers are sensitive to both the denotations and connotations of words and they use these meanings to advantage in their writing.

Colloquial Expressions

Characteristic of or appropriate to spoken language or to writing that seeks its effect. They are informal, and because of this, they are acceptable in formal writing only if they are used purposefully.

Ad Hominem Argument

Comes from the Latin phrase, meaning "to the man". It refers to an argument that attacks the opposing speaker or another person rather than addressing the issues at hand.

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc

Confusing chance or coincidence with causation. Because one event comes after another one, id does not necessarily mean that the first event caused the second: "I won't say I caught cold at the hockey game, but I certainly didn't have it before I went there."

Deduction

Deduction is the process of reasoning from a stated premise to a necessary conclusion. This form of reasoning moves from the general to the specific.

Definition

Definition is one of the types of exposition. (Process analysis, division and classification, comparison and contrast, exemplification and cause and effect analysis are the others.) Definition is a statement of the meaning of a word. A definition may be either brief or extended, part of an essay or an entire essay itself.

Attitude

Describes the feelings of a particular speaker or piece of writing towards a subject, person, or idea.

Description

Description is one of the four basic types of prose. (Narration, exposition and argument are the other three.) Description tells how a person, place or thing is perceived by the five senses. Objective description reports these sensory qualities factually, whereas subjective description gives the writer's interpretation of them.

Dialogue

Dialogue is conversation that is recorded in a piece of writing. Through dialogue, writers reveal important aspects of characters' personalities as well as events in the narrative.

Diction

Diction refers to an author's choice of words. For instance, in the sentence, "That guy was really mad!" the author uses informal diction ("guy," "mad"); whereas in the sentence, "The gentleman was considerably irritated," the author uses more elevated diction ("gentleman," "irritated"). A writer's diction contributes to the tone of a text.

Editing

During the editing stage of the writing process, the writer makes his or her prose conform to the conventions of the language. This includes making final improvements in sentence structure and diction, and proofreading for wordiness and errors in grammar, usage, spelling and punctuation. After editing, the writer is ready to prepare a final copy.

Emphasis

Emphasis is the placement of important ideas and words within sentences and longer units of writing so that they have the greatest impact. In general, the end has the most impact and the beginning nearly as much; the middle has the least.

Ethos

Ethos is the characteristic spirit or ideal that informs a work. In "The Country of the Pointed Firs" by Sarah Orne Jewett, for instance, the ethos of the work is derived from the qualities of the inhabitants, who are described as both noble and caring. Ethos also refers more generally to ethics, or values of the arguer: honesty, trustworthiness, even morals. In rhetorical writing, authors often attempt to persuade readers by appealing to their sense of ethos, or ethical principles.

Evidence

Evidence is the data on which a judgment or argument is based or by which proof or probability is established. Evidence usually takes the form of statistics, facts, names, examples or illustrations and opinions of authorities.

Examples

Examples illustrate a larger idea or represent something of which they are a part. An example is a basic means of developing or clarifying an idea. Furthermore, examples enable writers to show and not simply tell readers what they mean. The terms example and illustration are sometimes used interchangeable.

Exemplification

Exemplification is a type of exposition. (Definition, division and classification, comparison and contrast, cause and effect analysis and process analysis are the others.) With exemplification, the writer uses examples - specific facts, opinions, samples and anecdotes or stories - to support a generalization and to make it more vivid, understandable and persuasive.

Exposition

Exposition is one of the four basic types of prose. (Narration, description and argument are the other three.) The purpose of exposition is to clarify, explain and inform. The methods of exposition include process analysis, definition, division and classification, comparison and contrast, exemplification and cause and effect analysis. Writing or speech that is organized to explain. For example, if the novel you read involves a wedding, your exposition might explain the significance of the wedding to the overall work of literature.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is an umbrella term for all uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison. For example, "You've earned your wings" is a figurative way to say, "you've succeeded." It implies a comparison with a bird who has just learned to fly. Similes, metaphors and symbols are all examples of figurative language.

Figures of Speech

Figures of speech are brief, imaginative comparisons that highlight the similarities between things that are basically dissimilar. They make writing vivid and interesting and therefore more memorable. The most common figures of speech are these.

Focus

Focus is the limitation that a writer gives his or her subject. The writer's task is to select a manageable topic given the constraints of time, space and purpose. For example, within the general subject of sports, a writer could focus on government support of amateur athletes or narrow the focus further to government support of Olympic athletes.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a purposeful hint placed in a work of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative. For instance, a seemingly unrelated scene in a mystery story that focuses on a special interest of the detective may actually foreshadow the detective's use of that expertise in solving the mystery.

Didactic

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.

Grammar

Grammar is a set of rules that specify how a given language is used effectively.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis. The expressions, "my feet are as cold as an iceberg" and "I'll die if I don't see you soon," are examples of hyperbole. The emphasis is on exaggeration rather than literal representation. Hyperbole is the opposite of understatement.

Organization

In writing, organization is the thoughtful arrangement and presentation of one's points or ideas. Narration is often organized chronologically. Exposition may be organized from simplest to most complex or from most familiar to least familiar. Argument may be organized from least important to most important. There is no single correct pattern of organization for a given piece of writing, but good writers are careful to discover an order of presentation suitable for their audience and their purpose.

Induction

Induction is the process of reasoning to a conclusion about all members of a class through an examination of only a few members of the class. This form of reasoning moves from the particular to the general.

Irony

Irony occurs when a situation produces an outcome that is the opposite of what is expected. In Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Fences," for instance, it is ironic that the presence of a barrier - a fence - keeps a friendship alive; Frost's observation that "Good fences make good neighbors" is both true and ironic. Similarly, when an author uses words or phrases that are in opposition to each other to describe a person or an idea, an ironic tone results. For example, in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, when the speaker says, "I am glad my case is not serious!" the reader - who is also aware of just how "serious" her case is - is aware of the irony of the statement.

Apotheosis

It is derived from the Greek word "deify". It occurs in literature when the character or thing is elevated to such a high status that it appears godlike.

Division

Like comparison and contrast, division and classification are separate yet closely related mental operations. Division involves breaking down a single large unit into smaller subunits or breaking down a large group of items into discrete categories. For example, the student body at a college or university can be divided into categories according to different criteria (by class, by province or country, by sex and so on.)

False analogy

Making a misleading analogy between logically unconnected ideas: "He was a brilliant basketball player; therefor5e, there's no question in my mind that he will e a fine coach.

Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it. For example, a crown is associated with royalty, and is often used as a metonym for royal authority. ("The edict issued today by the Crown forbids grazing in the commons.")

Mood

Mood is the prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene or event. The opening scene of Macbeth in which three witches are center stage, for instance, sets a mood of doom and tragedy for the first act of the play. Mood is similar to atmosphere.

Narration/Narrative

Narration is one of the four basic types of prose. (Description, exposition and argument are the other three.) To narrate is to tell a story, to tell what happened. Although narration is most often used in fiction, it is also important in nonfiction, either by itself or in conjunction with other types of prose. Narrative: The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Objective / Subjective

Objective writing is factual and impersonal, whereas subjective writing, sometimes called impressionistic writing, relies heavily on personal interpretation.

Asyndeton

Occurs when the conjunctions that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are omitted from a sentence.

Argument

One of the four basic types of prose. It is to attempt to convince the reader to agree with a point of view, to make a given decision, or to pursue a particular course of action.

Cause and Effects Analysis

One of the types of exposition. It answers the question "Why?", and it explains the reason for an occurrence or the consequences of an action.

Classification

One of the types of exposition. When classifying, the writer arranges and sorts people, places, or things into categories according to their differing characteristics, thus making them more manageable for the writer and more understandable for the reader.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is an effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning. For example, in the sentence, "The tires screeched as the car zoomed around the corner," the words "screeched" and "zoomed" are onomatopoetic because the sounds they make when spoken are similar to the sounds the car makes when performing these actions.

Pacing

Pacing is the speed of a story's action, dialogue, or narration. Some stories are told slowly, some more quickly. Events happen fast or are dragged out according to the narrator's purpose. For example, "action movies" are usually fast paced; when their pacing slows, the audience knows that the section is being given special emphasis.

Coherence

Quality of good writing that results when all sentences, paragraphs and longer divisions of an essay are naturally connected. Coherent writing is achieved through (1) a logical sequence of ideas (arranged in chronological order, spatial order, order of importance or some other appropriate order), (2) the thoughtful repetition of key words and ideas, (3) a pace suitable for your topic and your reader, and (4) the use of transitional words and expressions. Coherence should not be confused with unity.

Analytical Reading

Reading actively, paying close attention to both the content and the structure of the text. It often involves several basic questions about the piece of writing under consideration: what does the author want to say? What is his or her main point? Why does the author want to say it? What is his or her purpose? What strategy or strategies does the author use? Why and how does the author's writing strategies suit both the subject and the purpose? What is special about the way the author uses the strategy? How effective is the essay and why?

Controlling Idea

Same as thesis.

Appropriateness

See Diction

Conclusions

See Endings

Atmosphere

The emotional feeling - or mood - of a place, scene, or event.

Antecedent

The grammatical term for the noun of or pronoun from which another pronoun derives it's meaning.

Audience

The intended readership for a piece of writing.

Alliteration

The repetition of constant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.

Endings

The sentence or group of sentences that brings an essay to closure. Good ones are purposeful and well-planned. It satisfies readers when it is the natural outgrowths of the essay itself, and conveys a sense of finality or completion.

Beginnings

The sentence, group of sentences, or section that introduces an essay. It usually identifies the thesis or controlling idea, attempts to interest the reader, and establish a tone.

Either/or thinking

The tendency to see an issue as having only two sides: "Used car salespeople are either honest or crooked.

Claim

The thesis or proposition put forth in an argument.

Assertion

The thesis, claim, or proposition that a writer puts forward in an argument.

Logos

The use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument. In rhetorical writing, authors often attempt to persuade readers by appealing to their sense of logos, or reason. A type of argumentative proof having to do with the logical qualities of an argument: data, evidence, factual information

Fiction

The word "fiction" comes from the Latin word meaning to invent, to form, to imagine. Works of fiction can be based on actual occurrences, but their status as fiction means that something has been imagined or invented in the telling of the occurrence.

Generic Conventions

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

Homily

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

Inference/infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. When a multiple choice question asks for an inference to be drawn from a passage, the most direct, most reasonable inference is the safest answer choice.

Ambiguity

Uncertain or indefinite; it is subject to more than one interpretation.

Juxtaposition

When two contrasting things - ideas, words or sentence elements - are placed next to each other for comparison, a juxtaposition occurs. For instance, a writer may choose to juxtapose the coldness of one room with the warmth of another, or one person's honesty with another's duplicity. Juxtaposition sheds light on both elements in the comparison.

Contrast

Writers often use contrasts, or oppositions, to elaborate ideas. Contrasts help writers to expand on their ideas by allowing them to show both what a thing is and what it is not.

Oversimplification

he tendency to provide simple solutions to complex problems: "The reason we have inflation today is that OPEC has unreasonably raised the price of oil."