AP Language & Composition Rhetorical Terms - 2025-26

These flashcards cover key rhetorical terms from the AP Language & Composition lecture notes, offering definitions and explanations of each concept.

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence or passage.

Analogy

A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things, often using something simple to explain something unfamiliar.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

Anecdote

A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order.

Antithesis

Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth and moral principle.

Archaic Diction

Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words.

Argument

A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a conclusion.

Assertion

A statement that presents a claim or thesis.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunction between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text.

Claim

A statement that presents the argument’s main idea or position.

Closed Thesis

A statement of the main idea that previews the major points the writer intends to make.

Colloquialism

Words or phrases that have a conversational feel and are not generally used in formal written English.

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Cumulative Sentence

A sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning and then builds and adds on.

Denotation

The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word.

Diction

A speaker’s choice of words.

Emphasis

Importance placed on a particular idea by structural positioning or repetition.

Ethos

An appeal to credibility and trustworthiness.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for unpleasant words.

Figurative Language

Nonliteral language often evoking strong imagery through comparison.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis.

Imagery

A description that appeals to the senses.

Imperative Sentence

A sentence used to command or enjoin.

Inversion

Inverted order of words in a sentence.

Irony

A figure of speech that occurs when what is said is the opposite of what is expected.

Jargon

Specialized terminology used by a particular group.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.

Logos

An appeal to reason, using rational ideas, details, and examples.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.

Metonymy

Figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing related to it.

Modifier

An adjective, adverb, phrase, or clause that modifies a noun, pronoun, or verb.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere created by a text.

Narration

Factual and background information that establishes the need for addressing a subject.

Nominalization

The process of changing a verb into a noun.

Occasion

The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.

Open Thesis

A thesis that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover.

Oxymoron

A paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words.

Paradox

A statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory but delivers an ironic truth.

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Pathos

An appeal to emotion, used to motivate the audience.

Periodic Sentence

A sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.

Persona

The face or character that a speaker shows to their audience.

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or idea.

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases.

Propaganda

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause.

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Rhetoric

The art of finding ways to persuade an audience.

Rhetorical Appeals

Techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find compelling.

Rhetorical Question

A question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.

Satire

The use of irony or sarcasm to critique society or an individual.

Scheme

Artful syntax; a deviation from the normal order of words.

Simile

A figure of speech used to compare an idea explicitly to something else.

Speaker

The person or group who creates a text.

Stance

A speaker’s attitude toward the audience.

Style

A writer’s specific way of saying things.

Subject

The topic of a text.

Symbol

Something that represents or stands for something else.

Synecdoche

Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole.

Syntax

The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Synthesize

Combining two or more ideas to create something more complex.

Text

Any cultural product that can be read.

Theme

A writer’s thoughts on a topic, going beyond just the topic itself.

Tone

A speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by stylistic choices.

Trope

Artful diction; a figure of speech.

Understatement

A figure of speech presenting something as less important than it is.

Vernacular

The speech patterns of a particular group of people or region.

Voice

The unique flavor of a piece based upon the author.

Wit

The use of humor, irony, and satire in argument.

Zeugma

The use of two different words in a grammatically similar way producing different meanings.