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Rhetorical Devices

AP Lang Rhetorical Devices

TermDefinition
active voice The subject of the sentence performs the action. This is a more direct and preferred style of writing in most cases.
allusion An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.
alter-ego A character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character.
anecdote A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
antecedent The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
classicism Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures.
comic relief When a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat.
diction Word choice, particularly as an element of style.
colloquial Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
connotation Rather than the dictionary definition, the associations suggested by a word.
denotation The literal, explicit meaning of a word.
jargon The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.
vernacular Language or dialect of a particular country; plain everyday speech.
didactic A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
adage A folk saying with a lesson.
allegory A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth.
aphorism A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.
ellipsis The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
euphemism A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. Sometimes they are used for political correctness.
figurative language Writing that is not meant to be taken literally.
analogy A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables.
hyperbole Exaggeration.
metaphor Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
metonymy Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
synecdoche A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.
simile Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things.
synesthesia A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
personification Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
foreshadowing When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story.
genre The major category into which a literary work fits.
gothic Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death. Also refers to an architectural style of the middle ages, often seen in cathedrals of this period.
imagery Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually this involves the five senses.
invective A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
irony When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.
verbal irony When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.
dramatic irony When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out.
situational irony Irony found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie. Sometimes it makes you laugh because it's funny how things turn out.
juxtaposition Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.
mood The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction).
motif A recurring idea in a piece of literature.
oxymoron When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox.
pacing The speed or tempo of an author’s writing.
paradox A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.
parallelism Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns.
anaphora Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.
chiasmus When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed.
antithesis Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.
zuegma (syllepsis) When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies.
parenthetical idea Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence. It is almost considered an aside... a whisper, and should be used sparingly for effect, rather than repeatedly.
parody An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. It borrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it.
persona The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.
poetic device A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.
alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
assonance The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.
consonance The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.
onomatopoeia The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.
internal rhyme When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line.
slant rhyme When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar.
end rhyme When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.
rhyme scheme The pattern of a poem’s end rhymes.
stressed and unstressed syllables In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force than the other syllable(s).
meter A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.
free verse Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.
iambic pentameter Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.
sonnet A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.
polysyndeton When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions. Normally, a conjunction is used only before the last item in a list.
pun When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way.
rhetoric The art of effective communication.
Aristotle's rhetorical triangle The relationships, in any piece of writing, between the writer, the audience, and the subject.
rhetorical question Question not asked for information but for effect.
romanticism Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature. Does not rely on traditional themes and structures
sarcasm A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.
satire A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions.
sentence Group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.
appositive A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.
clause A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
balanced sentence A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. Both parts are parallel grammatically.
compound sentence Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.
complex sentence Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
cumulative sentence When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.
periodic sentence When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. The writer begins with subordinate elements and postpones the main clause.
simple sentence Contains only one independent clause.
declarative sentence A sentence that states an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question.
imperative sentence A sentence that issues a command.
interrogative sentence Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, who, whom, and whose).
style The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes.
symbol Anything that represents or stands for something else; something concrete such as an object, actions, character... that represents something more abstract.
syntax/sentence variety Grammatical arrangement of words.
theme The central idea or message of a work.
thesis The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. It should be short and clear.
tone A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization.
understatement The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous.
litotes A particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used.
argument A piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion.
premises Statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion.
conclusion The end result of the argument – the main point being made.
ethos Being convinced by the credibility of the author.
pathos Persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions.
logos Persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid arguments.
concession Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint. Often used to make one’s own argument stronger by demonstrating that one is willing to accept what is obviously true and reasonable, even if it is presented by the opposition.
conditional statement An if-then statement; consists of two parts, an antecedent and a consequent.
contradiction Occurs when one asserts two mutually exclusive propositions, such as, “Abortion is wrong and abortion is not wrong.”
counterexample An example that runs counter to (opposes) a generalization, thus falsifying it.
deductive argument An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion.
fallacy An attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.
ad hominem Latin for "against the man". Personally attacking your opponents instead of their arguments. It is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than intellect.
appeal to authority The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be right. This fallacy is often used in advertising.
appeal to the bandwagon The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or used to believe it, or do it.
appeal to emotion An attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience’s emotions.
bad analogy Claiming that two situations are highly similar, when they aren't.
cliche thinking Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no exceptions.
false cause Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.
hasty generalization A generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data.
non sequitur A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument.
slippery slope The assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme possible outcome.
inductive argument An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth of the conclusion.
sound argument A deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions: First, that the line of reasoning from the premises to the conclusion is valid. Second, that the premises are true.
unstated premises Not every argument is fully expressed. Sometimes premises or even conclusions are left unexpressed.
valid argument The conclusion of an argument logically follows from the premises.
idiom A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
Created by: suttosar
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