AP English Language and Composition

1. AP English Language and Composition Course Terminology

2. alliteration • The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables Kelly Campbell carries carpets and kayaks in her Corolla.

3. allusion • An indirect reference, often to another text or historic event Alfred M. Green: The result of the most unfair rules of judicial investigation has been the pay we have received for our solicitude, sympathy, and aid in the dangers and difficulties of those “days that tried men’s souls.” “I thought the software would be useful, but it was a Trojan Horse.” This allusion refers to the horse that the Greeks built that contained all the soldiers. It was given as a gift to the enemy during the Trojan War and, once inside the enemy's walls, the soldiers broke out. By using trickery, the Greeks won the war. (http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-allusion.html)

4. analogy An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things "I am to dancing what Roseanne is to singing and Donald Duck to motivational speeches. I am as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs." - Leonard Pitts, "Curse of Rhythm Impairment" Miami Herald, Sep. 28, 2009 "If you want my final opinion on the mystery of life and all that, I can give it to you in a nutshell. The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe." Peter De Vries, Let Me Count the Ways

5. anaphora • The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses "Anaphora will repeat an opening phrase or word;
Anaphora will pour it into a mould (absurd)!
Anaphora will cast each subsequent opening;
Anaphora will last until it's tiring."
(John Hollander, Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse. Yale Univ. Press, 1989)

6. anecdote A short account of an interesting event When Ms. Sardin said to “peruse” the story, I thought she meant to skim it. When the quiz was very difficult, I learned that “peruse” must mean “read very carefully”! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00pYBnlcPSk/S7YfF_BZhwI/AAAAAAAACDE/_qdomAm-DVc/s1600/gallery_mea_culpa.jpg

7. annotation • Explanatory or critical notes added to a text http://umhs.eduhsd.k12.ca.us/HSS/Reading%20Comprehension/Annotating%20a%20Text%20Sample%20and%20Directions_files/annotationmodel.gif

8. antecedent • hint: ante = before • The noun to which a later pronoun refers The reader creates her own meaning. (antecedent) (pronoun)

9. antimetabole • The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country. http://www.juancole.com/images/2012/02/jfk.jpg

10. antithesis • Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a King, and King of England, too. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QjLqcP52EC4/TRneEQgap2I/AAAAAAAADG4/gu8c6MYluJ8/s400/queen_elizabeth_I.jpg

11. aphorism • A short, astute statement of a general truth An apple a day Keeps the doctor away! A penny saved is a penny earned. Fish and visitors smell in three days. http://www.plasticjungle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/apple.jpg

12. appositive • A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun http://0.tqn.com/d/grammar/1/G/N/S/-/-/blackboard_appositive.jpg

13. archaic diction • The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language (it’s not archaic if it’s a text written in an earlier time period) Ye OldeButcheredeEnglishe http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe

14. argument • A statement put forth and supported by evidence • Statement—claim/assertion of what is true • Supported—reasoning • Evidence—examples plus reasoning http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004/art/calvinhobbes.jpg

15. Aristotelian triangle • a.k.a. rhetorical triangle—a diagram that represents a rhetorical situation as the relationship among the speaker, the subject, and the audience http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_P0FnWWCo10w/TH_lam7HM8I/AAAAAAAAADI/C3kQjBqYwRI/s1600/Aristotelian+Triangle.JPG

16. assertion • An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument (no evidence = no argument) http://www.yesodweb.com/assets/baseless-assertion.jpg

17. assumption • A belief or statement taken for granted without proof http://saveourpond.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/assume1-e1305740123995.jpg

18. asyndeton • (a=without) Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/newsletter/2010/150-tip2.jpg http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs42/f/2009/058/b/9/Asyndeton_by_amethystsmile870.jpg

19. attitude • The speaker’s position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone http://cancerguide.org/survivaltraits.gif

20. audience • One’s listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed http://jimbaker.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/audience.gif

21. authority • A reliable, respected source—someone with knowledge • An appeal to authority is only as good as the authority

22. bias • Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue http://www.frankwbaker.com/bias.h1.gif

23. cite • Identifying a part of a piece of writing as being derived from a source http://www.google.com/imgres?q=mla+citation&num=10&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&tbnid=XIsR-aKdu4dVaM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/sample.shtml&docid=SzbSqQoc7059zM&imgurl=http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/cited_pg.gif&w=412&h=360&ei=kDA1UOaGOoja9AS8i4CgAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=99&vpy=294&dur=1158&hovh=210&hovw=240&tx=120&ty=113&sig=104884675260848481392&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=134&tbnw=153&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:88&surl=1 http://citationonline.net/CitationHelp/csg04-manuscripts-mla.htm

24. claim • An assertion, usually supported by evidence • (no evidence = no argument) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FXEBVyYsOi4/TVV81yF-NRI/AAAAAAAAAIo/Oryo03-s0zc/s1600/claim_it.jpg

25. close reading • A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_paumzbEvkQ4/TH7s-P0sRCI/AAAAAAAABV0/ju435wAUpYQ/s1600/reading.gif

26. colloquial/colloquialism • An informal or conversational use of language https://literaryterms2011.wikispaces.com/file/view/colliquial.gif/256136442/306x339/colliquial.gif

27. common ground • Shared beliefs, values, or positions http://www.springercreative.com/uploads/preview/CommonGround.gif http://teachmelife.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/common-ground.jpg?w=604

28. complex sentence • A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause • A “clause” is comprised of a verb and its subject • If sentence structures were easy, everyone would understand.

29. concession • A reluctant acknowledgement or yielding

30. connotation • That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning (see denotation) http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/ZitsConnotation.gif

31. context • Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning http://media.ehs.uen.org/html/PhysicsQ2/Frame_of_Reference_01/train.jpg

32. coordination • Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and or but • Note: the parts of the sentence are equal, but the content is NOT equal if you coordinate with but http://www.robertsontrainingsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/images/userPics/1281616401_4c63ea1108d25.jpg

33. counterargument • A challenge to a position; an opposing argument http://www.pappasontaxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/debate-cartoon.png

34. credible • Worthy of belief, trustworthy http://writing100010.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/advanced_is_credible.jpg

35. cumulative sentence • An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail • I will give you directions to the store: walk out the front of the school and turn left; proceed to the traffic signal and cross the town square…. • We had a GREAT field trip, riding the bus, eating at the Varsity, visiting the museum, and waving to the car drivers.

36. declarative sentence • A sentence that makes a statement http://www.google.com/imgres?q=declarative+sentence&num=10&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1173&bih=536&tbm=isch&tbnid=GvhTH-BuqkgCwM:&imgrefurl=http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/sophia/level-a/sentences/&imgurl=http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/sophia/types%252520sentences.jpg&w=306&h=198&ei=kgtGUJm8D5S09gSYh4CwDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=340&vpy=55&dur=630&hovh=130&hovw=201&tx=128&ty=75&sig=118078783965093535698&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:91&surl=1 http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SH-ME2czYic/Ti5lE0napUI/AAAAAAAABUc/rN1nBN59zxQ/s400/Different%2Btypes%2Bof%2Bsentences.jpg

37. deduction • Reasoning from general to specific http://www.dreamspear.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/If-Then.png http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/feature/files/20080314_sherlock_holmes.jpg

38. denotation • The literal meaning of a word; the word’s dictionary definition http://www.google.com/imgres?q=diction&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1173&bih=536&tbm=isch&tbnid=4Pw2-Hq029J2YM:&imgrefurl=http://kranzomagic.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/diction-by-nathan-kranzo&imgurl=https://static3.shopify.com/s/files/1/0011/1492/files/open_diction.jpg%253F1241132936&w=424&h=318&ei=fwlGUOmKDI_m8QTowIDoCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=499&vpy=161&dur=7417&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=186&ty=102&sig=118078783965093535698&page=1&tbnh=157&tbnw=221&start=0&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:81&surl=1

39. dialectal journal • A double-column journal in which one writes a quotation in one column and reflections on that quotation in the other column http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~jevans/Images/dialectical.GIF

40. diction • Word choice • DO NOT WRITE: “The author uses diction…” http://rlv.zcache.com/got_diction_card-p137310079278959791bh2r3_400.jpg

41. documentation • Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing

42. elegiac • Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/image/detail/Elegiac-Sonnets-and-Other-Poems.jpg http://blog.momentumww.com/blogs/news/Elegiac_Matthew%2520Gidley_London.jpg http://www.psupress.org/images/covers/FullSize/0-271-00657-9md.jpg

43. epigram • A brief witty statement http://0.tqn.com/d/grammar/1/G/l/G/-/-/blackboard_epigram.jpg http://lancemannion.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/pogo_03_1.jpg

44. ethos • A Greek term referring to the character of a person; one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals (logos and pathos are the other two) • An appeal to ethos generally reveals the speaker’s/author’s good will toward the audience and authority on the subject

45. explication of text • Explanation of a text’s meaning through an analysis of all of its constituent parts, including the literary devices used—often a written expression of this analysis; also called close reading http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_paumzbEvkQ4/TH7s-P0sRCI/AAAAAAAABV0/ju435wAUpYQ/s1600/reading.gif

46. facts • Information that is true and demonstratable http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qsrZsoj0KcU/Tqs0qnuN1LI/AAAAAAAAAmY/Fx3IkbXTg9w/s1600/fact-vs-opinions.gif

47. figurative language • The use of tropes or figures of speech (e.g., idioms, analogies, hyperbole); going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect http://schools.nashua.edu/middle/lime/SiteCollectionImages/Figurative%2520Language%2520Wordle.png

48. figure of speech • An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning • From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech • The figure of speech comes in many varieties. The aim is to use the language inventively to accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow: • "Around the rugged rocks the rugged rascal ran" is an example of alliteration, where the consonant r is used repeatedly. • "Military Intelligence is an oxymoron" is the use of direct sarcasm to suggest that the military would have no intelligence. This might be considered to be a satire and a terse aphorism. • "I had butterflies in my stomach" is a metaphor, referring to my nervousness my stomach.

49. fragment • A word, phrase, or clause that does not form a full sentence

50. hortatory • Urging or strongly encouraging http://gheakyat.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/hortatory.jpg