AP Language and Composition | Devices 1

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells").

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical.

Ambiguity

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

Anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.

"Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Anaphora

One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Anaphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb).

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity.

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described.

Clause

 A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquial/Colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Coherence

A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. diction - Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

 literally means "teaching".

Euphemism

Are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Exposition

In essays, one of the for chief types of composition, the others being argumentation, description, and narration. Purpose is to explain something.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.