English Language and Composition exam. For examples and more detailed explanations of the terms, follow the links to expanded articles. AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which neither sponsors nor endorses this glossary. Ad Hominem: An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack. Adjective: The part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Adverb: The part of speech (or word class) that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Allegory: Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text. Alliteration: The repetition of an initial consonant sound. Allusion: A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event—real or fictional. Ambiguity: The presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage. Analogy: Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases.

Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses. Antecedent: The noun or noun phrase referred to by a pronoun. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases. Aphorism: (1) A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. 2) A brief statement of a principle. Apostrophe: A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing. Appeal to Authority: A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution. Appeal to Ignorance: A fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness. Argument: A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood. Assonance: The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words. Asyndeton: The omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton). Character: An individual (usually a person) in a narrative (usually a work of fiction or creative nonfiction).

Chiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed. Circular Argument: An argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove. Claim: An arguable statement, which may be a claim of fact, value, or policy. Clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. Climax: Mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events. Colloquial: Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English. Comparison: A rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects. Complement: A word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence. Concession: An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point. Confirmation: The main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated. Conjunction: The part of speech (or word class) that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. This post has been written by [[https://essayfreelancewriters.com/|Essay Writers]] .

Connotation: The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry. Coordination: The grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance. Deduction: A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises. Denotation: The direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings. Dialect: A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary. Diction: (1) The choice and use of words in speech or writing. 2) A way of speaking usually assessed in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution. Didactic: Intended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively. Encomium: A tribute or eulogy in prose or verse glorifying people, objects, ideas, or events. Epiphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. Epitaph: (1) A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. 2) A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration.