AP Language Terms
Parallelism
What is sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. (Parallel structure or balanced sentences) Parallelism is used to add emphasis, organization, or sometimes pacing to writing. “Cinderella swept the floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs.”
This is needed to establish your line of reasoning. This must be an arguable inference.
What is a claim/thesis?
Declarative Sentence
What is a sentence that states an idea? It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question. “The ball is round.
Exaggeration
What is hyperbole?
A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.“You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job.”
What is a paradox?
Diction
What is word choice, particularly as an element of style?
Name and explain Aristotle's 3 appeals
Ethos (credibility) means being convinced by the credibility of the author. We tend to believe people whom we respect. In an appeal to ethos, a writer tries to convince the audience the he or she someone worth listening to, in other words an authority on the subject, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect. (Also see the fallacy of appeal to authority.) An argument that relies too heavily on ethos, without any corroborating logos, can become a fallacy. Pathos (emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. (Also see the fallacy of appeal to emotion). An argument that relies too much on emotion, without any corroborating logos, can become a fallacy. Logos (logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid arguments. This is generally considered the strongest form of persuasion.
Imperative Sentence
What is a sentence that issues a command?
A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
What is an anaphora?
Colloquial
What is ordinary or familiar type of conversation? A “colloquialism” is a common or familiar type of saying, similar to an adage or an aphorism.
Conditional statement
What is is an if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent and a consequent?
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
What is a clause?
A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.
What is a poetic device?
The relationship between the speaker, subject, and audience
What is the rhetorical situation?
Counterpoint definition and it's necessity in our writing.
What is acknowledging the opposite of your thesis to strengthen your own argument? Acknowledging the implications and limitations of your claim is essential to earning the sophistication point.
Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept. “Relations between London and Washington have been strained,”
What is metonymy?
When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions. Normally, a conjunction is used only before the last item in a list. Examples of polysyndeton: “I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows.”
What is polysyndeton?
Juxtaposition
What is placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison? Authors often use juxtaposition of ideas or examples in order to make a point.(For example, an author my juxtapose the average day of a typical American with that of someone in the third world in order to make a point of social commentary).
Fallacy
What is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning. Writers do not want to make obvious fallacies in their reasoning, but they are often used unintentionally, or when the writer thinks they can get away with faulty logic?
When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. The writer begins with subordinate elements and postpones the main clause. “His confidence broken, his limbs shaking, his collar wet with perspiration, he doubted whether he could ever again appear before an audience.
What is a periodic sentence?
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words. “My feet are popsicles.”
What is a metaphor?
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions. Typically humorous.
What is Satire?