Ap English Language Rhetorical Terms

Front 1

Diction

Back 1

authors word choice

Front 2

Syntax

Back 2

the ordering of words in a sentence

Front 3

Style

Back 3

manner of expression; how the author uses language to get his/her point across

Front 4

Tone

Back 4

attitude, mood, or sentiments

Front 5

Point of View

Back 5

stance revealed by the style and tone

Front 6

Figurative Language

Back 6

speech or writing that departs from literal meaning to achieve a special effect or meaning; there are several types

Front 7

Logos

Back 7

an appeal to reason and logic

Front 8

Ethos

Back 8

appeal to the speaker's credibility

Front 9

Pathos

Back 9

appeal to emotions

Front 10

Imagery

Back 10

figurative language that is used to convey a sensory perception

Front 11

Hyperbole

Back 11

an overstatement or exaggeration of the facts for effect

Front 12

Understatement

Back 12

presents the facts in a way that makes them appear much less significant

Front 13

Simile

Back 13

comparison between two unlike objects using like or as

Front 14

Metaphor

Back 14

comparison between to unlike objects, does not use like or as

Front 15

Extended Matephor

Back 15

metaphor that lasts longer than a phrase or sentence

Front 16

Symbol

Back 16

word that represents something other than itself

Front 17

Denotation

Back 17

a word's primary or literal significance

Front 18

Connotation

Back 18

the range of meanings that a word or the use of that word suggests

Front 19

Oxymoron

Back 19

apparent contradiction of terms

Front 20

Paradox

Back 20

contradiction of ideas or statements

Front 21

Personification

Back 21

inanimate objects or concepts that are given human qualities

Front 22

Rhetorical Question

Back 22

question whose answer is obvious

Front 23

Bombast

Back 23

language that is overly rhetorical

Front 24

Pun

Back 24

play on words

Front 25

Metonymy

Back 25

one term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated

Front 26

Synecdoche

Back 26

when a part is used to signify the whole

Front 27

Theme

Back 27

the general idea contained in a text

Front 28

Aphorism

Back 28

concise statement of opinion or a general truth

Front 29

Malapropism

Back 29

unintentional use of a word that resembles the word intended but that has a very different meaning

Front 30

Circumlocution

Back 30

talking around a subject or word

Front 31

Euphemism

Back 31

word or phrase used to avoid employing an unpleasent or offensive term

Front 32

Verbal Irony

Back 32

process of stating something but meaning the opposite

Front 33

Sarcasm

Back 33

verbal irony used with intent to injure

Front 34

Situational Irony

Back 34

a situation that runs contrary to what was expected

Front 35

Satire

Back 35

something portrayed in a way that's deliberately distorted to achieve comic effect