AP Language & Composition Terms

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

Argument in which the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion.

When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.

A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”

The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.

Writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, and organization.

Argument in which the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth of the conclusion.

A brief recounting of a relevant episode as a way of developing a point or injecting humor.

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.

Language or dialect of a particular country-everyday language from that region

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.

Cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause.

Using persuasion to convince audience with the credibility of the author.

Literary work holding up human behaviors & foolishness to ridicule/scorn

Writer begins with subordinate elements and ends w/ the main clause, main idea appears at end.

Vivid description that appeals to reader's five senses.

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work or person for humorous purposes.

Sentence that issues a command

Sentences that states an idea. It doesn't give a command or request, nor does it ask a question

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.

When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction/syntax).

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.

Involving circumstances in which actions have an opposite effect from what was intended.

When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

Term describing prose or poetry teaching a lesson, moral or provides a model of behavior

When the audience of a drama, movie, story knows something that the character doesn't.

Reference to something outside of the text with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.

A less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

A comparison including extreme exaggeration

Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (who, whom, which, what)

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.

A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning

Using a verb to modify 2 or more words in a sentence. "John and his license expired last week"

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.

When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning of a word.

A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.

The central idea or message of a work. May be directly stated in nonfiction works; not fiction.

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word

Same words are used twice in succession, but the 2nd time, the order of the words is reversed.

A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables.

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

A recurring idea, symbol, theme in a piece of literature.

Question not asked for information but for effect.

A concrete object, actions, character...representing abstract ideas or emotions.

A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.

When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.

Story in which characters, things, and events symbolically represent qualities or concepts.

A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.

Word choice, particularly as an element of style.

The ironic minimizing of fact, this presents something as less significant than it is.

Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.

Persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions.

Persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid arguments.

The art of effective and persuasive communication.

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb, and can stand alone as a sentence.

Figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a the same single line.

Sentence construction repeating equal grammatical constructions