AP Glossry Terms
Terms
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- 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.
- allegory
- the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in additon to the literal meaning.
- Paradox
- A statement that appears to be self-contridictory or opposed to common sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.
- Metonymy
- A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.
- Point of View
- The perspective from which a story is told.
- imagery
- sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, it relates to the five senses.. On a deeper level, one image can represnet more than one thing.
- ad hominem argument
- (Latin) to or against man; appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than to intellect
- Invective
- An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.
- Irony/ironic
- The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant; the difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. Irony is used for many reasons, but frequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor.
- clause
- a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.
- allusion
- a direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.
- aphorism
- a terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth or moral principal.
- caricature
- a representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotetsque effect.
- analogy
- a smiliarity or comparison between two different thingsor the relationship between them.
- alliteration
- the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in tow or more neighboring words. It can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and/or supply a musical sound.
- Parallelism
- The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.
- Metaphor
- A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity.
- Narrative
- The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.
- antecedent
- the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
- euphemism
- (Greek) good speech; a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. May be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness, or to add humor or ironic understatements.
- apostrophe
- a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liverty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity.
- Loose sentence
- A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.
- Parody
- A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.
- Periodic Sentence
- A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.
- generic conventions
- the traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example they differentiate between and essay and journalistic writing.
- connotation
- the nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. Connotations my involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes.
- chiasmus
- a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism. It is a rhetorical figure in which two clauses are related to each other through a reversal of terms.
- conceit
- a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. A conceit displays intellectual cleverness due to the unusual comparison being made.
- Onomatopoeia
- A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.
- Juxtaposition
- Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
- Oxymoron
- A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.
- diction
- refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.
- ambiguity
- the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrse, sentence, or passage.
- antithesis
- a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. The resulting parallellism serves to emphasizeopposition of ideas.
- Pedantic
- An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.
- denotation
- the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.
- inference/infer
- to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.
- figurative language
- writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and it usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.
- didactic
- (Greek) instructive; the primary aim is to teach or instruct, especially morals or ethical principles
- hyperbole
- a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperboles often have a comic effect; however, a serious effect is also possible. It often produces irony at the same time.
- genre
- the major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions are prose, poetry, and drama. However, it is a flexible term and many subdivisions exist.
- figure of speech
- a device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. They include apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement.
- extended metaphor
- a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.
- 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.
- homily
- Sermon, but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.
- Personification
- A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.
- colloquialism
- slang or informality in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, they give a conversational tone.