AP Lang Appeals + Devices

An appeal based on reputation or the character and credibility of the persuader.

As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results.

Ethos

An appeal based on logic and persuading an audience through reason.

The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently turned a profit year-over-year.

Logos

An appeal based on feeling and emotion to create an emotional response.

"If we don’t move soon, we’re all going to die! Can’t you see how dangerous it would be to stay?".

Pathos

Repetition of the same phrase at the beginning of successive sentences.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice" (The March on Washington Speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

Anaphora

Repeated sounds at the beginning of successive words.

"Sally sells sea-shells by the sea shore".

Alliteration

A reference in one text to another more famous text, such as a Biblical, historical, or mythological reference.

"Your backyard is a Garden of Eden" or "Potato chips are my diet's Achilles heel".

Allusion

Repetition of the same phrase at the end of successive sentences.

"...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth" (The Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln)

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same idea using different words that become stronger as the idea repeats.

"The Romans destroyed Numantia, razed Carthage, obliterated Corinth, overthrew Fregellae".

Climax

Juxtaposition within a sentence where two opposite ideas are placed next to each other.

"Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind" (Neil Armstrong, 1969)

Schematic Antithesis

Substituting a part for the whole.

"All ‘hands’ on deck" or "My ‘wheels’" (referring to a car).

Synecdoche

Ending the first phrase with one word and starting the next phrase with that same word.

"She opened a café, a café that ruined her financially".

Anadiplosis

A comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as".

"Love Is An Open Door" (Song by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana)

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as".

"O my Luve is like a red, red rose" ("A Red, Red Rose," Robert Burns)

Simile

Using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

Mary likes swimming, hiking, and bicycling. Mary likes to swim, to hike, and to bike

Parallel Structure(parallelism)

Giving human attributes to a non-human thing.

"Because I could not stop for Death,/He kindly stopped for me." Emily Dickinson

Personification

Repetition of vowel sounds within successive words.

"You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine" Katy Perry, "Firework" (repeated "i" sounds in ignite, light, it, shine)

Assonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within successive words.

"You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine" Katy Perry, "Firework" (repeated "t" sounds in ignite, light, let, it.)

Consonance

Words that sound like what they mean.

boom, thud, squelch

Onomatopoeia

Exaggeration.

My back is killing me.

Hyperbole

A nicer way of referencing something that no one wants to talk about.

passed away, put to sleep

Euphemism

A figure of speech used to make a situation seem less important or, by contrast, to draw attention to it.

"Wow, it’s a little warm out today!" (said by an explorer in the Sahara) or "There was a minor misallocation of budget" (after losing half of a city's funds).

Understatement/Litotes

Used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.

"Mistakes were made."

Passive Voice