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Rhetoric Devices and Terms commonly seen on the AP English Language Exam

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Term
Definition
allusion   An instance of indirect reference  
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ambiguity   The quality or state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty, particularly as to the signification of language, arising from its admitting of more than one meaning; an equivocal word or expression  
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analogy   A resemblance of relations; an agreement or likeness between things in some circumstances or effects, when the things are otherwise entirely different  
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anaphora   A repetition of a word or of words at the beginning of two or more successive clauses  
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antithesis   The direct or exact opposite  
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apostrophe   The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition  
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attitude   The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a statue  
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detail   To relate in particulars; to particularize; to report minutely and distinctly; to enumerate; to specify; as, he detailed all the facts in due order  
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diction   Choice and use of words in speech or writing  
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ethos   The disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, culture, or movement  
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euphemism   The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive  
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figure of speech   An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way, such as a metaphor or synedoche, or in a structured or unusual way, such as anaphora or chiasmus, or that employs sounds, such as alliteration or assonance, to achieve a rhetorical effect.  
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hyperbole   A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect  
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imagery   The use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas  
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logos   logic, reasoning  
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metaphor   a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity  
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mood   Temper of mind; temporary state of the mind in regard to passion or feeling; humor; as, a melancholy mood; a suppliant mood  
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organization   the arrangement of a work of literature  
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oxymoron   conjoining contradictory terms  
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paradox   a nonsensical underlying truth  
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pathos   quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow);  
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perspective   a way of regarding situations or topics  
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point of view   A manner of viewing things; an attitude  
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repetition   The act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated  
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rhetorical question   A question to which no answer is expected, often used for rhetorical effect  
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sentence structure   the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences  
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simile   a comparison using "like" or "as"  
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syntax   That part of grammar which treats of the construction of sentences; the due arrangement of words in sentences in their necessary relations, according to established usage in any language  
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tone   the quality of a person's voice  
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understatement   a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said  
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Ad hominem   "against the man" When a writer personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their arguments  
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Allegory   A story, fictional or nonfictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts; they reveal an abstract truth  
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Anecdote   A brief recounting of a relevant episode; usually inject humor or develop a point  
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Asyndeton   Commas used with no conjunction  
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Begging the question   often called circular reasoning, begging the question occurs when the believablity of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim  
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Didactic   used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking  
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Elliptical   Sentence structure which leaves out something in the second half.  
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Epigraph   When a writer uses the same term in two different senses in an argument  
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Inversion   subject first, then verb, then complement; the element that is first is emphasized  
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Freight-train   sentence consisting of three or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunction  
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Non-sequiter   When on statement isn't logically connected to another  
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Polysyndeton   Sentence with uses "and" or another conjunction without commas  
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Post hoc, ergo propter hoc   When a writer implies that because one thing follow another, the first caused the second. But sequence is not cause.  
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Red herring   When a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue  
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Persona   A writer oftens adopts a fictional voice (or mask) to tell a story.  
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Satire   A work that reveals a critcial attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Satire targets groups rather than individuals  
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Straw Man   When a writer argues against a claim that nobody actually holds or is universally considered weak. Setting up a straw man diverts attention from the real issue  
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Tricolon   Sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses  
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Syntactic Permutation   Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow  
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Aphorism   A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle. Can be a memorable summation of the author's point.  
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Connotation   The nonliteral, associative meaning of a wrod; the implied suggested meaning  
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denotation   the strict literal meaning ; devoid of any emotion , attitude or color  
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syllogism   a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises- first one a major and the second a minor  
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