AP Lang Rhetorical Devices

Allusion

Expression designed to call to mind something in passing without explicitly mentioning it, an indirect reference (assumed that the audience knows the reference)

Anecdote

Short and amusing/interesting story about a real person/incident

Anastrophe

Inversion of the usual order of words/clauses

Chiasmus

Words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in a modified version

Code-Switching

Alternating between two or more languages/varieties of language in conversation

Connotation

Idea/feeling that a word invokes in addition to its primary meaning

Colloquialism

Word/phrase that is not formal or literary, typically used in ordinary/familiar conversation; use of ordinary words or phrases

Jargon

Special words/expressions used by a particular profession or a group and are difficult for others to understand

Tonal shifts

A change in the author’s style, focus, or language that alters the meaning of a text. A shift in tone always has significance

Anaphora

The repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Diacope

Repetiton of a word or phrase with one or two intervening words

Anaphorism

Pithy observation that contains a general truth