AP Lang Rhetorical Terms

AP Language & Composition Rhetorical Terms

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.

Ambiguity (Ambiguous)

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

Analogy

A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Often, an analogy uses something simple or familiar to explain something unfamiliar or complex.

Anaphora

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

Anecdote

A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth and moral principle.

Argument

A process of reasoned inquiry. A persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and consideration movement from a claim to a conclusion.

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text.

Claim

Also called an assertion or proposition, a claim states the argument’s main idea or position.

Colloquialism (Colloquial Speech)

Words or phrases that have a conversational feel and are not generally used in formal written English.

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Denotation

The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color.

Diction

A speaker’s choice of words.

Emphasis

Emphasis allows the writer to place importance on a particular idea.

Ethos

Greek for 'character.' Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.

Euphemism

Greek for 'good speech,' euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

Figurative Language (figure of speech)

Nonliteral language, sometimes referred to as tropes or metaphorical language, often evoking strong imagery.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect.

Imagery

A description of how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds.

Irony

A figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else.

Jargon

Specialized terminology used by a particular group of people.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.

Logos

Greek for 'embodied thought.' Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas.

Metaphor

Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere created by a text.

Narration

In classical oration, the factual and background information, establishing why a subject or problem needs addressing.

Oxymoron

A paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words.

Paradox

A statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth.

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Pathos

Greek for 'suffering' or 'experience.' Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience.

Persona

Greek for 'mask.' The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Rhetoric

Aristotle defined rhetoric as 'the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.'

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling.

Rhetorical Question

Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.

Satire

The use of irony or sarcasm to critique society or an individual.

Simile

A figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else.

Style

A writer’s specific way of saying things.

Syntax

The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Theme

A writer’s thoughts on a topic.

Tone

A speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by the speaker’s stylistic and rhetorical choices.

Understatement

A figure of speech in which something is presented as less important than it actually is.

Vernacular

The speech patterns of a particular group of people or region.

Voice

The unique flavor of a piece based upon the author.