AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

TERMS  OF  DISCOURSE

	Students in AP Language and Composition are expected to know the following terms.  Tests and quizzes on the terms will occur periodically throughout the year.  Students should have learned the 
words identified with an asterisk (*) before enrolling in the course and will be tested on those terms within the first few weeks of school.


  abstract language – language used to refer to ideas and concepts rather than concrete or physical reality
> EXAMPLES:  love, peace, power, liberty, beauty, tolerance, grief, kindness 


*allegory – symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning
> Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities.
> EXAMPLE:  Animal Farm


*alliteration – repetition of initial beginning sounds in two or more neighboring words for the purpose of
	emphasizing or reinforcing meaning


*allusion – a direct or indirect reference to something, such as a character or event in literature, history, or 
	mythology, outside the literary work itself


  ambiguity – the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or
	passage
> Ambiguity is a prominent element of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s style.


*analogy – a comparison explaining one subject by pointing out its similarities to another


 *anecdote – short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident


*antecedent – the noun to which the pronoun refers


  antithesis – a statement in which direct opposites are contrasted in the same sentence
> EXAMPLE:  “Give me liberty or give me death.”  (Patrick Henry)


  aphorism – terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle





  apostrophe – a term used to describe a digression (a verbal act of literally “turning away” from the  
audience) by a speaker, a narrator, or a character to address an absent or imaginary person,    a real or imagined object or process, or an abstract quality
		EXAMPLES:
> PERSON – “Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour; England hath need of thee.”  (William Wordsworth addressing John Milton posthumously)
> OBJECT– “You are loosened from your moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains and am a slave!  You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip!”   (Douglass addressing a number of ships sailing through Chesapeake Bay, comparing their freedom with his slavery, from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass)
> ABSTRACT QUALITY – “Oh, beautiful sound, strike again.”  (apostrophe to the quality of a mother’s voice, from “In the Village” by Elizabeth Bishop)


  archetype – term used to refer to characters, plots, themes, and images that recur throughout the  history
of literature, recognized as designs or patterns  (from Greek arkhetupos, meaning “first molded as a pattern”)
> CHARACTERS:  mother and father figures, heroes, witches, wise old men			
> MOTIFS:  creation, destruction, regeneration myths
> PLOTS:  tales of the quest, initiation, sacrifice


 chiasmus – a rhetorical scheme through which balance is achieved by reversing the syntax of the first part
		in the second part
> EXAMPLE: “A wit with dunces and a dunce with wit” (The Dunciad by Alexander Pope)
> Chiasmus is effective in creating an ironic or witty effect.


*cliché -  a trite, overused  phrase or expression that has become overly familiar or commonplace
> EXAMPLES:  “Birds of a feather flock together”
        	    “. . . alike as two peas in a pod.”
> Cliches should be avoided in all formal writing!


*colloquialism – slang or informalities in speech or writing 
> Colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone and include local or regional dialects.


*connotation – the implied, suggested meaning of a word that may involve emotions or attitudes


  concrete language – language used to refer to particular persons, places, and objects in describing the 
	material world
> EXAMPLE: “We got an old tin lantern, and a butcher-knife without any handle, and a bran-new Barlow knife worth two bits in any store, and  a lot of tallow candles, and a tin candlestick, . . .”  (from The Adventures of HuckleberryFinn by Mark Twain)


*denotation – the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word devoid of any emotion or attitude


*dialect – a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and 
	pronunciation from other regional varieties


*diction – the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
> Diction, combined with syntax, figurative language, literary devices, etc., create an author’s style.
> For the AP exam, you should be able to describe an author’s diction (for example, formal or informal,
ornate or  plain, abstract or concrete; technical, scientific, lofty, colloquial, pedestrian, etc.) and explain how diction can complement an author’s purpose.


  didactic – designed to teach or instruct, especially moral or ethical principles  (from the Greek, meaning     
                     “teaching”);  Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a didactic piece of literature.

 
*discourse – communication of thoughts, oral or written, especially in a formal manner


  euphemism – a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept
       (from the Greek for “good speech”)
> EXAMPLES:  “earthly remains”  for  “corpse,” “domestic engineer” for “homemaker,” “perspire” for  “sweat”
> Euphemisms may be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or understatement.


  extended metaphor – a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work


*exposition – discourse designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand


*fallacy- false statement based on invalid logic


*figurative language – writing or speech that is NOT intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant
 	to be imaginative and vivid
> Common figures of speech include apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron,
personification, simile, synechdoche, understatement.


*flashback – interruption of a work’s chronology to describe or present an incident that occurred prior
	to the main time frame of the action


*foreshadowing – writer’s use of clues or hints to indicate events that will occur later


*genre – category of literary work characterized by a particular style, form, or content 
> TYPES:  prose (fiction or nonfiction), poetry, drama


  homily – a serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice  (literally means “sermon”)


*hyperbole – a bold exaggeration used for rhetorical effect, usually for emphasis or humor
> EXAMPLE:  “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

  
  idiom – phrase that cannot be translated literally to another language and keep the original meaning
		because of the figurative meaning of the phrase
		EXAMPLES:
> The storm left them all in the same boat.  (literally means “in the same situation”)
> Hold your horses for a moment while I make a phone call.  (literally means “be patient”)
> Don’t worry about him; every dog has his day, and he will eventually suffer for all the bad things
that he is doing.  (Everyone gets what he deserves.)
> She plans to go to college at all costs.  (at any expense of time, effort, or money)


*imagery – descriptive language related to and appealing to the senses 


  inference – reasonable conclusion drawn from the information presented


  invective – an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language


*irony – discrepancy between what appears to be and what actually is true
> Verbal irony occurs when the intended meaning is the opposite of the words that are actually said.
> Dramatic irony involves an incongruity between what a character in a story or play believes and what the audience actually knows.
> Situational irony refers to situations in which what happens is different from the audience’s expectations.


*jargon – vocabulary particular to a certain group


*metaphor – figure of speech that makes an implicit comparison between dissimilar things in a way that
	evokes new or vivid ways of perceiving, knowing, and/or feeling for the purpose of heightening
	the effect  


  metonymy – figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is  		closely associated  (from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name”)
EXAMPLES:
> A news release that claims “the White House declared” rather than “the President declared” is metonymy.
> One might use the word “crown” to refer to the king or queen of a nation because it is strongly associated with royalty.


*mood – the feeling or atmosphere created by the author for the reader


*narrative – an account or a story related by a narrator, the teller of the story
> All novels and short stories are narratives; likewise, poems that tell stories are called narrative poems.


  objective – quality of being neutral, without bias (opposite of subjective)


*onomatopoeia – figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sound of words
> EXAMPLES:  buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, murmur


*oxymoron – a joining of two terms that are ordinarily viewed as opposites
EXAMPLES:
> jumbo shrimp, cruel kindness, deafening silence
> sophomore  (two Greek roots, “sopho” and “moro” combined to mean “wise fool”)
> “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!”  (from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare)


*paradox – an apparently contradictory statement that proves, on close examination, to be true
> Example:  “You must lose your life before you gain it.”


*parallelism (parallel structure) – grammatical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to
	give structural similarity for the purpose of attracting the reader’s attention, adding emphasis, 
	or providing rhythm
EXAMPLES:
> “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. . . .”  (from  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)
> “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.”  (Franklin D. Roosevelt)


  persona – the “mask” or version of a self that an author projects in a particular text




*personification – a figure of speech in which human qualities are ascribed to an abstract concept
	of inanimate object
> EXAMPLE: “Fortune smiled upon him.”


*point of view – the perspective from which the story is told and which determines the limitations
	of the reader’s knowledge; revealed by pronoun used by the author  (first person, third person)

  													
  polemic – a form of persuasive writing that involves an attack on an issue or a refutation of a point without
	considering alternative arguments


*protagonist – main character around whom a narrative or dramatic work centers
> ANTONYM:  antagonist – character or force against which a main character struggles


*purpose (author’s) – author’s reason for writing


  rhetoric – principles that dictate effective communication

										
  rhetorical device – any tool of the language used by the author to persuade, convey a purpose, or produce       
		an effect or create a tone


  rhetorical modes – the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing
		(also referred to as modes of discourse)
> EXPOSITION  (expository writing):  purpose is to explain and analyze information by presenting an
idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion
> ARGUMENTATION: purpose is to prove the validity of an idea or point of view by presenting sound
reasoning, discussion, and arguments that thoroughly convince the reader
		          (Persuasive writing is a type of argumentation, with the additional objective of appealing to the 
		            reader’s emotions in order to encourage a change in attitude or urge a form of action.)
> DESCRIPTION:  purpose is to re-create, invent or visually present a person, place, event, or action so
that the reader can picture that which is being described
> NARRATION:  purpose is to tell a story or narrate an event or series of events, frequently using the
tools of descriptive writing


  rhetorical question – a question asked merely for effect, with no answer expected
> EXAMPLE:  What is the meaning of life?


  sarcasm – bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something (may us irony as 
	a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic)


*satire – a work that targets human vices and follies, social institutions and conventions, for the purpose of
	reform or ridicule


*simile – a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between dissimilar things, normally using 
	“like” or “as” for the purpose of heightening the effect
> “O, my love is like a red, red rose / That’s newly sprung in June.”  (Robert Burns)


*speaker – the person through whose eyes the story is told (not synonymous with author)


*stereotype – universal, easily recognizable character


*style – distinctive characteristics and use of rhetorical devices that make up an author’s manner of 
	expression


  subjective – characterized by feeling, emotion, bias (opposite of objective)


  syllogism – a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first called “major” and the
		second “minor”) that lead to a sound conclusion  (Conclusion is valid only if each of the two
		premises is valid.)
		EXAMPLE:
> Major premise:  All men are mortal.
> Minor premise:  Socrates is a man.
> Conclusion:  Therefore, Socrates is mortal.


*symbol – object or action in a literary work that means more than itself, that stands for something
	beyond itself

    
  synecdoche – a figure of speech in which a part of an object or a process is used to represent the whole
> Example:  “Give me a hand.”   (Hand represents the person.)
> Example:  “All hands on deck” instead of  “All sailors on deck.”


  synesthesia – figures of speech or images that describe a particular sensory experience as though it were
		experienced through one or more of the other senses 
(literally means “sensations together”)
> In the poem below, light--which is normally experienced visually-- is described in terms of touch and hearing: 
       There’s a certain Slant of light,
    Winter Afternoons--
    That oppresses like the Heft
    Of Cathedral Tunes--   (“There’s a Certain Slant of Light” by Emily Dickinson)


*syntax – word arrangement; grammatical structure; the way in which an author chooses to join words into     	phrases, clauses, and sentences
> Syntax refers to groups of words, while diction refers to the individual words.


*thesis – the sentence (or group of sentences) that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning 
      or proposition
> Expository writing is usually judged by analyzing how accurately, effectively, and thoroughly a writer     has proven the thesis.


*tone – the author’s attitude toward his/her material, the audience, or both
> Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language; considering how a work would  sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author’s tone
> EXAMPLES:  playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, somber, condescending, etc.


*understatement – figure of speech that represents a matter at less than its full force of truth or presents
		something as less significant than it is 
> EXAMPLE:  Being flayed alive is somewhat painful.
> Litotes is an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (as in
“not a bad singer” instead of “a good singer,” or “not unhappy” instead of “happy”).
> antonym:  hyperbole

 





















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