AP English Language and Composition - Rhetorical Handbook

Eat, Sleep, Code, Repeat

Style

The manner of expression of a particular writer, produced by choice of words, grammatical structures, use of literary devices, and all the possible parts of language use.

Diction

An author's choice of words.

Sound Devices

Creating sound through the devices and language used in a piece.

Alliteration

The recurrence of initial consonant sounds. The repetition is usually limited to two words.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words which in their pronunciation suggest their meaning.

Syntax

The way in which linguistic elements (words and phrases) are arranged to form grammatical structure.

Subject + verb + object

A basic sentence structure exemplified by 'Mary likes Dave.'

Interrupted

A sentence that is interrupted by a parenthetical aside.

Inverted

Begin with a part of speech other than the subject, used to delay revealing what the sentence is about or to create tension or suspense.

Listing

A sentence with multiple phrases that create a list.

Cumulative/Lose

Begins with subject and verb and adds modifying elements at end.

Periodic

To be logical and build to a climax.

Potential Effects

The impact that certain literary devices can have on the reader's experience.

Parallelism

Establishing a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas, joining them together or juxtaposing them in phrases or clauses, often in parallel structure.

Crossing Parallelism

A crossing parallelism, where the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order.

Chiasmus

Expressing parallel or like ideas-- often compound.

Balanced Parallelism

For balance or to equalize elements; for comparison, rhythm, memorability.

Declarative Sentence

A declarative sentence does exactly what its name implies: It 'declares' or states something.

Imperative Sentence

Commands, requests, or instructs. The subject is most often you—unstated but understood.

Exclamatory Sentence

Expresses strong emotion.

Interrogative Sentence

'Interrogates'—it asks a question.

Simple Sentence

Contains at least one subject and predicate; can stand alone because it expresses a complete thought.

Compound Sentence

Contains two or more independent clauses.

Complex Sentence

Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Compound-Complex Sentence

Contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Omission

A rhetorical strategy in which one or more words are understood to be omitted. Not to be confused with the three dots.

Ellipsis

To balance or equalize elements. For rhythm, memorability, conciseness.

Asyndeton

The omission of a conjunction from a list. In a list of items, asyndeton gives an extemporaneous rather than a labored account.

Anadiplosis

A rhetorical trope formed by repeating the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at the beginning of the next.

Anaphora

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

Epistrophe

The repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. Counterpart to anaphora.

Polysyndeton

The use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton.

Parenthetical Aside

Consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence.

Colon

The punctuation mark (:) used to divide distinct but related sentence components such as clauses in which the second elaborates on the first, or to introduce a list, quotation, or speech.

Semi-Colon

A punctuation mark (;) which connects two independent parts of a sentence.

Dashes

A punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material.

Allusion

An indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is not explained by the writer but relies on the reader's familiarity with what is thus mentioned.

Anachronism

The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order.

Aphorism

A brief statement that expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation.

Juxtaposition

Placing two or more things side by side, usually to show contrast.

Malapropism

An incorrect usage of a word, usually with comic effect.

Rhetorical Question

A question posed by the speaker or writer not to seek an answer but instead to affirm or deny a point simply by asking a question about it.

Sensory Detail

A detail used to appeal to the senses (sight, taste, touch, sound, smell).

Tone

The writer's attitude toward his reader and his subject; his mood or moral view.

Figures of Speech

Figurative language-means saying one thing but meaning another.

Literal language

Means saying exactly what you mean.

Apostrophe

The direct address of a person (not present) or personified thing (either present or absent).

Cliché

An expression so often used that its original power has been drained away.

Euphemism

The expression of an unpleasant or embarrassing notion by using a more inoffensive substitute.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration used for emphasis.

Imagery

The author's use of the five senses to create images for the reader.

Verbal Irony

The contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant.

Potential Effects of Apostrophe

To vent; to display intense emotion that can no longer be held back.

Potential Effects of Hyperbole

Used for emphasis and humor. Appeals to emotion.

Example of Sensory Detail

Images of crowded, steaming sidewalks flanking streets choked with lines of shimmering, smoking cars suggests oppressive heat and all the psychological tensions that go with it.

Example of Cliché

"Where'er you find 'the cooling western breeze,'/In the next line it 'whispers through the trees';/If crystal streams 'with pleasing murmurs creep'./The reader's threatened (not in vain) with 'sleep.' Essay on Criticism, Pope.

Example of Euphemism

"pass away" instead of "die"; "sanitation engineer" instead of "garbage collector."

Example of Hyperbole

"My vegetable love should grow/Vaster than empires, and more slow;/An hundred years should go to praise/Thine eyes and on thine forehead gaze;/Two hundred to adore each breast,/But thirty thousand to the rest." Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress".

Example of Imagery

Used to evoke atmosphere, mood, tension.

Example of Verbal Irony

A character may refer to a plan as brilliant, while actually meaning that he thinks the plan is foolish.

Situational Irony

The result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor which is drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire poem, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas.

Metonymy

Another form of metaphor, similar to synecdoche, in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject with which it is to be compared.

Oxymoron

A paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun or adverb-adjective relationship, and is used for effect, to emphasize contrasts, incongruities, hypocrisy, or simply the complex nature of reality.

Paradox

A statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nevertheless.

Personification

The metaphorical representation of an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes—attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on.

Pun

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Simile

A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by 'like' or 'as.'

Synaesthesia

A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole or the whole for a part.

Composer

Substituted for record

Understatement

Expressing an idea with less emphasis or in a lesser degree than is the actual case. The opposite of hyperbole. Understatement is employed for ironic emphasis.

Ethos (ethical)

A rhetorical appeal to an audience based on the speaker/writer's credibility.

Pathos (emotion)

The emotional appeal to an audience.

Logos (rational)

Rhetorical appeals based on logic or reasoning.

Deductive Reasoning (syllogism)

Reasoning that utilizes elements of persuasion by asserting a claim; consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. General to Specific.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning that begins by citing a number of specific examples and then shows how collectively they constitute a general principle. These arguments are not right—merely strong or weak. Specific to General.

Expository Writing

Informs, instructs or presents ideas and general truths.

Classification

Identifies the subject as part of a larger group with shared features.

Cause and Effect

Arguing from the presence/absence of the cause to the (non) existence of the result.

Comparison/contrast

The subject is shown more clearly by pointing out similarities or differences.

Definition

Places the subject in a group and then differentiates the subject from other sections of the group.

Example

Explains the subject with instances that show readers its nature or character.

Process Analysis

A 'how to' essay, such as a scientific journal about how an experiment was performed and the details of its results.

Division Analysis

To explain a conclusion about your subject by showing the subject's parts or elements.

Description

Creates a dominant impression by depicting scenes through sensory imagery and detail.

Narration

An actual story with plot, climax, and resolution. Organizes the events or actions in time or relates them in space.

Persuasion/Argument

Convinces an audience by proving or refuting a point of view using induction or deduction.