AP Lang Rhetorical Vocab (Syntax and Diction)

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words in to phrases, clauses, and sentences

Anaphora

Repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses

Oxymoron

Groups of contradictory words

Parallel Structure

Repetition of grammatical structure

Fragment

A broken thought or idea, or an incomplete part of a sentence used intentionally for emphasis

Simple Sentence

A short sentence that expresses a complete thought and emphasizes a speaker’s main idea

Diction

Speaker’s word choice

Alliteration

Repetition of sound, especially initial consonant sounds, in two or more neighboring words

Connotation

Sensory, emotional, or cultural associations - words that have emotion/power

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word

Informal Language

Uses colloquialisms (slang/informalities), contractions - more casual feeling

Formal Language

Language that does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first-person pronouns such as “I” or “We”