AP Lang study guide questions and answers
with solutions 2025
antagonist - ANSWER The character who opposes the interests of the protagonist
antanaclasis - ANSWER Repetition of a word in two different senses.
Ex: If we do not hang together, we will hang separately.
apologist - ANSWER A person or character who makes a case for some controversial, even contentious,
position.
apology - ANSWER An elaborate statement justifying some controversial, even contentious, position.
apostrophe - ANSWER The direct address of an absent person or personified object as if he/she/it is able
to reply.
appeal to authority - ANSWER In a text, the reference to words, action, or beliefs of a person in authority
as a means of supporting a claim, generalization, or conclusion.
appeal to emotion - ANSWER The appeal of a text to the feelings or interests of the audience.
argument by analysis - ANSWER An argument developed by breaking the subject matter into its
component parts.
asyndeton - ANSWER The omission of conjunctions between related clauses.
This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely."
(Aristotle)
basic topic - ANSWER One of the four perspectives that Aristotle explained could be used to generate
material about any subject matter: greater or less, possible and impossible, past fact, and future fact.
, brainstorming - ANSWER Within the planning act of the writing process, a technique used by a writer or
speaker to generate many ideas, some of which he or she will later eliminate.
cloze test - ANSWER A test of reading ability that requires a person to fill in missing words in a text.
common topic - ANSWER One of the perspectives, derived from Aristotle's topics, used to generate
material. The six common topics are definition, division, comparison, relation, circumstances, and
testimony.
compound subject - ANSWER A sentence in which two or more nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses
constitute the grammatical subject of a clause
confirmation - ANSWER In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the speaker or writer
could offer proof or demonstration of the central idea.
conflict - ANSWER The struggle of characters with themselves, with others, or with the world around
them.
connotation - ANSWER The implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly expressed "dictionary
meaning."
consulting - ANSWER Seeking help for one's writing from a reader.
dramatistic pentad - ANSWER The invention strategy, developed by Kenneth Burke, that invites a speaker
or writer to create identities for the act, agent, agency, attitude, scene, and purpose in a situation.
effect - ANSWER The emotional or psychological impact a text has on a reader or listener.
ellipsis - ANSWER The omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a
passage.
Ex: "Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible
carriers" (Tuchman).
with solutions 2025
antagonist - ANSWER The character who opposes the interests of the protagonist
antanaclasis - ANSWER Repetition of a word in two different senses.
Ex: If we do not hang together, we will hang separately.
apologist - ANSWER A person or character who makes a case for some controversial, even contentious,
position.
apology - ANSWER An elaborate statement justifying some controversial, even contentious, position.
apostrophe - ANSWER The direct address of an absent person or personified object as if he/she/it is able
to reply.
appeal to authority - ANSWER In a text, the reference to words, action, or beliefs of a person in authority
as a means of supporting a claim, generalization, or conclusion.
appeal to emotion - ANSWER The appeal of a text to the feelings or interests of the audience.
argument by analysis - ANSWER An argument developed by breaking the subject matter into its
component parts.
asyndeton - ANSWER The omission of conjunctions between related clauses.
This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely."
(Aristotle)
basic topic - ANSWER One of the four perspectives that Aristotle explained could be used to generate
material about any subject matter: greater or less, possible and impossible, past fact, and future fact.
, brainstorming - ANSWER Within the planning act of the writing process, a technique used by a writer or
speaker to generate many ideas, some of which he or she will later eliminate.
cloze test - ANSWER A test of reading ability that requires a person to fill in missing words in a text.
common topic - ANSWER One of the perspectives, derived from Aristotle's topics, used to generate
material. The six common topics are definition, division, comparison, relation, circumstances, and
testimony.
compound subject - ANSWER A sentence in which two or more nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses
constitute the grammatical subject of a clause
confirmation - ANSWER In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the speaker or writer
could offer proof or demonstration of the central idea.
conflict - ANSWER The struggle of characters with themselves, with others, or with the world around
them.
connotation - ANSWER The implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly expressed "dictionary
meaning."
consulting - ANSWER Seeking help for one's writing from a reader.
dramatistic pentad - ANSWER The invention strategy, developed by Kenneth Burke, that invites a speaker
or writer to create identities for the act, agent, agency, attitude, scene, and purpose in a situation.
effect - ANSWER The emotional or psychological impact a text has on a reader or listener.
ellipsis - ANSWER The omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a
passage.
Ex: "Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible
carriers" (Tuchman).
