AP Language and Composition Vocab 1

Refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images

In an argument, an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."

A work that functions on a symbolic level

The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers"

A reference contained in a work

A literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison. It is assumed that what applies to the parallel situation also applies to the original circumstance. In other words, it is the comparison between two different items.

A story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point

The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refer. The AP English Language and Composition exam often expects you to identify the antecedent in a passage.

The presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraph. "To be or not to be..." "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.."

A single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer

The relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience

A situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work

Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary work

Those who carry out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types of characters.

The use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. Huckleberry Finn is written in a colloquial style.

The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event

A clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. god; man vs. self

Those elements that help create coherence in a written piece

The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning

The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

The literal or dictionary meaning of a word

The re-creation of regional spoken language, such as a Southern dialect. Zora Neale Hurston uses this in such works as Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning

Writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns.

A discussion on a specific topic

An indication by a series of three periods that some material has been omitted from a given text. It could be a word, a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph, or a whole section. Be wary of the ellipsis; it could obscure the real meaning of the piece of writing.

The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Hemingway begins The Sun Also Rises with two epigraphs. One of them is "You are all a lost generation" by Gertrude Stein.

A more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. "He went to his final reward" is a common euphemism for "he died." Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses "collateral damage" to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation.

The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work

Background information presented in a literary work