Short list of Important Rhetorical Terms/Strategies to know for AP Lang Exam

Analogy 📖

Comparing two things based on structure; used to explain a complex idea in simpler terms. (Example: The movie was a roller coaster ride of emotions).

Antithesis ✅ ❌

Two opposite ideas are parallelly constructed in a sentence to show contrast. (Example: Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.)

Diction 📚

word choice; types include personification, simile, and metaphor.

Ethos 👔

Appealing to expert testimony or authority (Example: 9 out of 10 dentists recommend X Toothpaste)

Juxtaposition 😄 😢

Placing two ideas together for contrast (Example: I thoroughly hate loving you.)

Logos 💻

Appealing to reason/logic (Example: According to a meta-analysis of thousands of Americans, more than 90% of people sleep with their eyes closed.)

Pathos 😠

Appealing to emotion (Example: Our country is the motherland!)

Rhetoric 📝

Use of spoken or written word to convey ideas (Example: Nearly anything in AP Lang is 'rhetoric')

Syntax 💡

Sentence Structure. (Example: I was frightened for my life, as the footsteps grew louder and louder, closer and closer. Then it was silent. I whimpered.)

Tone 🗣

The author's attitude towards a subject (Example: Can someone tell me what is going on instead of keeping secrets? - signifies an annoyed tone)

Cause/Effect 🔄

as a result of "A," "B" occurs.

Compare/Contrast 🍎🍊

analysis of similarities and differences.

Composition/Division ➗

the process of grouping from specific to general or from small groups to large groups.

Definition 🗣

denotative or connotative; usually includes class or group in which it belongs and how it is different from all other categories.

Description 💬

aims to create a visual appeal with imagery.

Exemplificataion 📋

the writer uses examples to illustrate, support, and clarify an argument via samples, detail, person, typical event or a specific organizational pattern such as chronological, spatial, or most important to least important.

Narration 🎙

tells a story meant to entertain or support a moral principle.

Process Analysis 🧐

step-by-step instructions explaining functionality or how to perform a task.

Bridge Techniques 🌉

a combination of diction and syntax like an antithesis or antimetabole.