AP Language and Composition

1. AP Language and Composition Test Review Language and Composition Terms

2. aphorism • A concise, original statement containing a subjective truth. • “Always tell the truth. That way, you don't have to remember what you said.”- Mark Twain • “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” - James Baldwin • “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” – My Mom • If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing.” – Homer Simpson

3. Colloquial/Colloquialism • Slang or informal language in speech or writing; provide an informal or conversational tone; can include dialects • To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960 Excerpt: "So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses.... That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children." Why the Language Works: The style of the novel is majorly informal and colloquial. The main reason for this is that the narrator of the story is a six year old girl whose father is the protagonist of the story. In no way does the language compromise on the quality, though. In a novel that focuses on racial discrimination, colloquialism serves to reveal the distinction caused by educational and societal differences. It also helps emphasize every character's distinctive behavior and their attitude to different issues highlighted in the novel.

4. homily • A sermon, or serious talk or speech with moral or spiritual advice • “Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesiaand the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom.” • Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”

5. understatement Understatement is an important rhetorical device that is just the opposite of hyperbole. In hyperbole, everything is overblown, while in understatement the strength of the statement is considerably lessened. A minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is to ironically draw attention to an idea or statement.

6. Understatement examples I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. – Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In the Rye "Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse."(Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub, 1704)

7. litotes Pronounced lahy-tuh-teez Opposite of hyperbole, a form of understatement Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions. For example, using the expression “not too bad” for “very good” is an understatement as well as a double negative statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite. Similarly, saying “She is not a beauty queen,” means “She is ugly” or saying “I am not as young as I used to be” in order to avoid saying “I am old”. Litotes, therefore, is an intentional use of understatement that renders an ironic effect

8. Litotes examples They do not seem the happiest couple around. The ice cream was not too bad. New York is not an ordinary city. Your comments on politics are not useless. You are not as young as you used to be.

9. Litotes examples “Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.” This line has been taken from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave” by Frederick Douglass himself. He was an African-American social reformer and a writer. He has effectively used litotes to stress that his point that even slaves used to seek dominance over other slaves by stressing the point that their respective masters were much better than those of the other slaves.

10. metonymy • A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. • The substituted term usually creates a more emotional impact. • “Stand-ins” for other words:

11. Metonymy examples Crown - in place of a royal person The White House - in place of the President or others who work there The suits - in place of business people Dish - for an entire plate of food Cup - for a mug The Pentagon - to refer to the staff Ex: The White House declared rather than the President declared….

12. syllogism In logic, a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Ex: Major premise: All mammals are warm-blooded.Minor premise: All black dogs are mammals.Conclusion: Therefore, all black dogs are warm-blooded. A conclusion can only be valid if both premises are valid.