AP Lang Rhetorics 2

1. Connotation: The emotional or cultural associations tied to a word beyond its literal meaning (e.g., "home" connotes warmth and safety).

2. Denotation: The dictionary or literal definition of a word, free from emotional associations (e.g., "home" denotes a place where someone lives).

3. Adjectives: Words that describe or modify nouns (e.g., "bright sky," "cold water").

4. Adverbs: Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, often ending in -ly (e.g., "quickly ran," "very tall").

5. Qualify: To limit or refine a statement, often to make it more precise or accurate (e.g., "Most students enjoy reading, but not all types of books.").

6. Modify: To describe, limit, or alter the meaning of another word (e.g., In “a red apple,” “red” modifies “apple”).

7. Modifiers: Words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in a sentence (e.g., “Running down the street, she saw a friend.”).

Tone and Style

8. Tone (including tone words): The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through word choice (e.g., sarcastic, hopeful, critical, reverent).

9. Shifts in tone: Changes in the speaker’s attitude that often signal a change in argument or emotion (e.g., from frustrated to hopeful).

10. Style – word choice, syntax, conventions: The author’s unique use of language including diction, sentence structure, and grammatical norms (e.g., Hemingway’s style is concise and direct).

Perspective and Satire

11. Complex / ironic perspective: A viewpoint that acknowledges nuance or contradiction, often blending sincerity and sarcasm (e.g., admiring a character while also mocking them).

12. Satire: The use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or expose flaws in society or individuals (e.g., The Onion or Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”).

13. Understatement: Deliberately minimizing a situation to create irony or humor (e.g., “It’s just a scratch,” said about a totaled car).

14. Hyperbole: Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally (e.g., “I’ve told you a million times!”).

15. Incongruity: Presenting things that are out of place or absurd in context (e.g., a cat giving a business presentation).

16. Reversal: Presenting the opposite of the normal order (e.g., a child instructing a parent).

17. Parody: Imitating a style or work for comic effect or critique (e.g., Weird Al Yankovic’s songs).

18. Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality that can be humorous or poignant.

    • Situational irony: When what happens is the opposite of what was expected (e.g., a fire station burns down).

    • Verbal irony: Saying the opposite of what you mean (e.g., “Great job,” said about a failed test).

Phrases

19. Appositive phrase: A noun or noun phrase that renames or explains another noun (e.g., “My friend Sarah, a talented painter, lives next door.”).

20. Prepositional phrase: A group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun (e.g., “Under the bridge,” “In the morning”).

21. Participial phrase: A phrase that begins with a participle (verb ending in -ing or -ed) and functions as an adjective (e.g., “Running through the park, he smiled.”).

Sentences

22. Simple sentence: A sentence with one independent clause (e.g., “She sings beautifully.”).

23. Fragment: An incomplete sentence missing a subject or verb (e.g., “When we arrived.”).

24. Compound sentence: A sentence with two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., “She played the piano, and he sang.”).

25. Complex sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (e.g., “Because it rained, the game was canceled.”).

Clauses

26. Dependent clause: A clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence (e.g., “Although he was tired…”).

27. Independent clause: A complete thought that can stand alone (e.g., “She finished her homework.”).

28. Adverbial clause: A dependent clause that functions as an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective, or adverb (e.g., “Because he studied, he passed.”).

29. Adjective clause: A dependent clause that modifies a noun (e.g., “The book that you gave me is excellent.”).

Sentence Structure and Grammar

30. Arrangement: The organization and structure of ideas in a text or argument.

31. Subordination: Using dependent clauses to show relationships and emphasize certain ideas over others (e.g., “Although it was raining, we went outside.”).

32. Subordinating conjunctions: Words that introduce dependent clauses (e.g., because, although, since, while).

33. Adverbial conjunctions: Conjunctive adverbs that connect independent clauses (e.g., however, therefore, consequently, moreover).

34. Relative pronouns: Words that introduce adjective clauses (e.g., who, whom, which, that).

35. Coordination: Linking two or more equal elements with coordinating conjunctions.

36. Coordinating conjunctions: The seven conjunctions that join equal parts: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS).

Punctuation and Mechanics

37. Parenthetical elements: Extra information inserted into a sentence, often set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses (e.g., “My sister, who lives in Denver, is visiting.”).

38. Commas: Punctuation marks used to separate items, clauses, or elements for clarity (e.g., “I bought apples, oranges, and grapes.”).

39. Semicolons: Used to connect closely related independent clauses or separate complex list items (e.g., “She’s coming; she’ll be late.”).

40. Dashes: Emphasize or set off information in a dramatic or informal way (e.g., “He was hungry—starving, actually.”).

41. Hyphens: Join words in compound modifiers (e.g., “well-known author”) or split words at the end of lines.

42. Parentheses: Enclose extra, often nonessential, information (e.g., “He won the race (despite his injury).”).

43. Quotation marks: Enclose direct speech or quotations (e.g., She said, “I’ll be there soon.”).

44. End marks: Punctuation that ends a sentence—periods, question marks, and exclamation points.