AP Language and Composition: Rhetorical Devices

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson

Allusion

An indirect reference to something known from literature, history. religion, culture, etc

Analogy

A comparison in which an idea or thing is compared to another thing that is quite different. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy, therefore analogy is more extensive and elaborate

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the beginning of 2 or more sentences in a row

Anecdote

A brief retelling of some event, often historical, biographical or personal. Often used in an introduction of an essay

Antithesis

Two opposite or contradictory words, phrases or ideas used in parallel structure

Claim

A statement or assertion that is open to challenge and requires support

Colloquial Language

Informal, conversational language used in certain types of informal and narrative writing, but rarely in essays. (Cool, wanna, gonna, ain't, yonder)

Connotation

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning

Denotation

The literal, explicit meaning of a word without its connotations

Dialect

Language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region or group of people

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style

Ethos

Appeals to an audience's sense of morality/trust

Fallacy

Faulty logic, misleading or unsound argument

Hyperbole

Literary exaggeration

Hypothetical Example

A fictional example that can be used when explaining a complicated topic that makes more sense in realistic terms

Imagery

A word or words that create an image in the reader's mind

Inference

Arriving at a decision or opinion by reasoning from known facts or evidence

Irony

Language to suggest the opposite of what is expected

Juxtaposition

Placing elements, either similar or contrasting, side by side in order to illuminate the subject

Logos

Appeals to an audience's sense of logic or intellect

Mood

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished by word choice

Objectivity

An author's stance that distances himself from personal involvement

Oxymoron

When apparently contradictory term are grouped together and suggest a paradox

Paradox

A statement that seems to be contradictory but actually contains an element of truth

Parallelism/Parallel Structure

Sentence structure which places equal grammatical construction near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

Parody

Ridiculing the language or style of another writer or composer

Pathos

Appeal to an audience's sense of emotion

Rebuttal/Refutation

The countering of anticipated arguments

Rhetoric

The art of using words effectively in speaking or writing

Rhetorical Question

A question asked only to illustrate a point or provoke thought, but not to elicit an answer

Satire

A humorous or critical treatment of a subject in order to reveal the subject's vices or stupidities. The intent is to reform by exposing the subject to comedy or ridicule

Style

The choices in diction, tone and syntax that a writer makes

Subjectivity

A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions

Thesis

The main idea in an essay. The thesis sentence, appearing early in the essay, serves to convey the main idea to the reader in a clear and emphatic manner

Tone

The writer's attitude toward his/her subject. A writer's tone may be objective, subjective, comic, ironic, nostalgic, critical, etc. Tone is the voice that writers give to an essay