AP Language - Rhetorical Devices

active voice

active voice

the subject of the sentence performs the action

allusion

an indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar

anecdote

a brief recounting of a relevant episode

inserted into fictional or non fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor

diction

word choice, particularly as an element of style

colloquial

ordinary or familiar type of conversation

connotation

implied value rather than literal meaning

denotation

the literal, explicit meaning of a word, without connotation

jargon

the diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity

vernacular

language or dialect of a particular country; plain everyday speech

didactic

used to describe fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

adage

a folk saying with a lesson

allegory

a story, fictional or nonfictional, in which character, things, events represent qualities or concepts

the interactions of those characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth

aphorism

a terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle

ellipsis

the deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author

euphemism

a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts

figurative language

writing that is not meant to be taken literally

analogy

comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables

hyperbole

exaggeration

idiom

a common, often used expression that doesn’t make any sense if you take it literally

metaphor

making an implied comparison, not using “like“ or “as,“ or other such words

extended metaphor

the metaphor is continued later in the written work

metonymy

replacing an actual word or idea with a related word or concept

synecdoche

kind of metonymy when a whole is replaced by naming one of its parts, or vice versa

simile

using words such as “like“ or “as“ to make a direct comparison between two very different things

synesthesia

description involving a “cross of the senses“

personification

giving human-like qualities to something that is not human