ADD UNDERTONE AND UNRELIABLE NARRATOR A comprehensive list of literary terms and logical fallacies used on the AP Lang Exam
List #1
1. Allegory: A narrative in which the characters, behavior, and even the setting demonstrates multiple levels of meaning and significance. Often a universal symbol or a personified abstraction
2. Alliteration: The sequential repetition of a similar initial sound, usually applied to consonants, usually in closely proximate stressed syllables
3. Allusion: A literary, historical, religious, or mythological reference in a literary work
4. Anaphora: The regular repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses
5. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, grammatical structure, or ideas
6. Aphorism: A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief
7. Appeals to… authority, emotion, logic: Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker claims to be an authority or expert in a field, or attempts to play upon the emotions, or appeals to the use of reason
8. Apostrophe: An address or invocation to something inanimate
9. Assonance: The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words
10. Asyndeton: A syntactical structure in which conjunctions are omitted in a series, usually producing more rapid prose
11. Attitude: The sense expressed by the tone of voice or the mood of a piece of writing; the author’s feelings toward his or her subject, characters, events, or theme. It might even be his or her feelings for the reader
12. Begging the question: An argumentative ploy where the arguer sidesteps the question or the conflict, evades or ignores the real question
13. Canon: That which has been accepted as authentic
14. Chiasmus: A figure of speech and generally a syntactical structure wherein the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second
List #2
15. Colloquial: A term identifying the diction of the common, ordinary folks, especially in a specific region or area
16. Conceit: A comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature, in particular an extended metaphor within a poem
17. Connotation: The implied, suggested, or underlying meaning of a word or phrase
18. Consonance: The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in intervening vowels
19. Critique: An assessment or analysis of something, such as a passage of writing, for determining what it is, what its limitations are, and how it conforms to the standard of the genre
20. Deductive reasoning: The method of argument in which specific statements and conclusions are drawn from general principles: movement from the general to the specific
21. Dialect: The language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group
22. Diction: The specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose or effect
23. Didactic: Writing or speech that has an instructive purpose or a lesson; often associated with a dry, pompous presentation
24. Elegy: A poem or prose that laments, or meditates upon the death of a person
25. Epistrophe: In rhetoric, the repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences
26. Epitaph: Writing in praise of a dead person, most often inscribed upon a headstone
27. Ethos: In rhetoric, the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator
List #3
28. Eulogy: A speech or written passage in praise of a person; an oration in honor of a deceased person
29. Euphemism: An indirect, kinder, or less harsh or hurtful way of expressing unpleasant information
30. Exposition: The interpretation or analysis of a text. Also, the opening section of a narrative or dramatic structure in which characters, setting, theme, and conflict can be revealed.
31. Extended metaphor: A series of comparisons within a piece of writing. If they are consistently one concept, this is also known as a conceit.
32. Figurative Language: Language with levels of meaning expressed through figures of speech such as personification, metaphor, litote, etc.
33. Flashback: An earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narration
34. Genre: A type or class of literature, such as epic, narrative, poetry, biography, history
35. Homily: A sermon, but more contemporary uses include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual life
36. Hyperbole: Overstatement characterized by exaggerated language, usually to make a point or draw attention
37. Imagery: Any sensory detail or evocation in a work to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object. Involves any or all of the five senses.
38. Inductive reasoning: The method of reasoning or argument in which general statements and conclusions are drawn from specific principles: movement from the specific to the general
39. Inference: A conclusion or proposition arrived at by considering facts, observations, or some other specific data. Looking at the clues, learning the facts.
40. Irony: The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. The intended meaning is often the opposite of what is stated, often suggesting light sarcasm.
41. Isocolon: Parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure, but also in length
42. Jargon: Specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group
List #4
43. Juxtaposition: The location of one thing adjacent to another to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose
44. Litote: A figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by conscious understatement
45. Loose Sentence: A long sentence that starts with its main clause, which is followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases
46. Metaphor: One thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting a likeness or analogy. An implicit comparison or identification of one thing with another, without the use of like or as.
47. Metonymy: A figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something
48. Mode of Discourse: The way in which information is presented in written or spoken form. Narration, description, process analysis , and cause and effect are all types of this.
49. Mood: A feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator’s attitude and point of view. It is a “feeling” that establishes the atmosphere in a work of literature or other discourse.
50. Narrative: A mode of discourse that tells a story of some sort and it is based on sequences of connected events, usually presented in a straightforward, chronological framework
51. Onomatopoeia: A word capturing or approximating the sound of what is described. The purpose of these words is to make a passage more effective for the reader or listener.
52. Oxymoron: A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements
53. Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory but may probably be true
54. Parallel Structure: The use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts. In prose, recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that their ideas are equal in importance.
55. Pathos: That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow. In argument or persuasion it tends to be the evocation of pity.
56. Periodic Sentence: A long sentence in which the main clause is not completed until the end
57. Personification: Treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by endowing it with human features or qualities
List #5
58. Point of View: The relation in which a narrator/author stands to a subject of discourse. Requires the reader to establish the historical perspective of what is being said.
59. Prose: The ordinary form of written language without metrical structure in contrast to verse and poetry
60. Realism: Attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail
61. Rebuttal: An argument technique wherein opposing arguments are anticipated and countered
62. Rhetoric: The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking
63. Rhetorical Question: A question that is asked simply for the sake of stylistic effect and is not expected to be answered
64. Sarcasm: A form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually critical. Can be light, and gently poke fun at something, or it can be harsh and mean
65. Satire: A literary work that holds up human failings to ridicule and censure
66. Simile: A direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, using the words like or as
67. Style: The manner in which a writer combines and arranges words, shapes ideas, and utilizes syntax and structure
68. Symbolism: Use of a person, place, thing, event, or pattern that figuratively represents or “stands for” something else
69. Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part signifies a whole
70. Syntax: The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. Basically, sentence structure.
71. Theme: The central or dominant idea or focus of a work. The statement a passage makes about its subject.
72. Tone: The attitude the narrator/author has toward the subject and theme. Based on particular stylistic devices employed by the author.
73. Voice: The acknowledged or unacknowledged source of the words of the story; the speaker’s or narrator’s particular “take” on an idea based on a particular passage and how all the elements of the style of the piece come together to express his/her feelings.
74. Zeugma: A grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated
List #6: Logical Fallacies
75. Ad Hominem (Personal Attack): Tries to divert attention from the facts of an argument by attacking the motives or character of the person making the argument.
76. Analogy: A form of comparison that explains something unfamiliar by comparing it to something more familiar. Frequently ignores important dissimilarities between the two things being compared.
77. Appeal to Doubtful Authority: Attempting to bolster an argument with references to experts or famous people who have no expertise on the issue.
78. Begging the question: Assumes in the premise what the arguer would be trying to prove in the conclusion. Asks readers to agree that certain points are self-evident when they are not.
79. Equivocation: Occurs when the meaning of a key term changes at some point in at argument. Makes it seem as if a conclusion follows from premises when it actually does not.
80. False Analogy: A form of comparison that explains something unfamiliar by comparing it to something more familiar. Frequently ignores important dissimilarities between the two things being compared.
81. False Dilemma (Either/Or): Occurs when you suggest that only two alternatives exist even though there may be others. Oversimplifies the issue and forces people to choose between extremes instead of exploring more moderate positions.
82. Hasty or Sweeping Generalization: Occurs when a conclusion is reached on the basis of too little evidence.
83. Misleading Statistics: Misrepresents or distorts statistics as an attempt to influence an audience.
84. Non Sequiter (It Does Not Follow): Occurs when a statement does not logically follow from a previous statement.
85. Post Hoc, Ergo Proctor Hoc (After This, Therefore Because of This): Assumes that because two events occur close together in time, the first must be the cause of the second.
86. Red Herring: Occurs when the focus of an argument is changed to divert the audience from the actual issue.
87. Slippery Slope: Occurs when a person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any rational argument. A slippery slope argument states that a relatively small first step leads to achain of related eventsculminating in some significant effect.
88. You Also: Asserts that an opponent’s argument has no value because the opponent does not follow his or her own advice.
89. Appeal to Doubtful Authority: Attempting to bolster an argument with references to experts or famous people who have no expertise on the issue.