AP English Language & Composition: Vocabulary and Sentence Pattern List
Third Grading Period
DIRECTIONS: Use this handout as a guide to keep track of which words and stylistic sentence
patterns (types and schemes) to study.
Vocabulary:
 Study ten words per week to be tested on Fridays.
 Students will be expected to know definitions, synonyms, and how to use the vocabulary words to
complete sentences.
 For homework, students are to write down each definition that matches each part of speech. Do
not use a form of the vocabulary word to define the word.
 For homework, use a reputable thesaurus to find two synonyms for each vocabulary word.
Stylistic Sentence Patterns:
 Study a sentence pattern per week to be tested on Fridays.
 Students will be expected to identify sentences that follow a certain pattern.
 For homework, students are to incorporate the vocabulary words in the specific sentence patterns
for the week. Please:
o Follow the sentence patterns as indicated;
o Provide sufficient context clues;
o Make sure the sentences are logical;
o Avoid comma splices, fragments, fused sentences, subject-verb agreement errors, or other
grammatical errors;
Rubric:
 Assignment is worth 50 points per check
 The following points will be deducted if you lack…
o (-1.5 points) a part of speech for a word when it has several, multiple definitions for
a word when it has several according to each part of speech, synonyms for a word
according to each part of speech, and a sentence per word in the specified
structure(s) for the week
 The following points will be deducted if you…
o (-1 point) format your paper incorrectly, by writing on the back of the page, by not
writing in black or dark blue pen, or by not labeling each part of each entry
o (-.5 point) do not follow sentence pattern indicated, incorrectly write a sentence in
the grammatical structure, write a sentence does not make sense, write a common
splice, a fragment, a run on, a subject-verb agreement error, or any other
grammatical error, or convert the word to a part of speech that is incorrect.
Week 1: Sentence Pattern—Anaphora and Epistrophe
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Sanguine
Sardonic
Self-Deprecating
Strident
Terse
Speculative
Whimsical
8. Vituperative
9. Wry
10. Wistful
Week 2: Sentence Pattern—Simple
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Acuity
Adept
Admonish
Ambiguous
Ascertain
Assiduous
Banal
Apocryphal
Archetype
Fledgling
Week 3: Sentence Pattern—Complex and Compound
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Berate
Decry
Defer
Confute
Censure
Inexorable
Corporeal
Illusory
Illicit
Latent
Week 4: Sentence Pattern—Loose (Cumulative) and Periodic
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
Languid
Dilatory
Disparage
Malevolent
Elicit
Kowtow
Facile
Feign
Parochial
Magnanimity