AP Language and Composition
Rasmussen
Literary Terms/Devices to Know and Use
What do I look for when doing rhetorical analysis?
And how to I identify it, describe it, and articulate it in my writing?
LITERATURE’S BIG FIVE
diction, point of view, imagery, detail syntax
(You may have learned DIDLS
Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, Syntax)
TONE
Author’s attitude toward the subject, toward himself, or toward the audience
THEME
The author’s overall message. What’s the point?
DICTION
Adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, negative words, positive words, synonyms,
contrast. Look at words that jump out at you; they usually hold some kind of
emotion—Evaluate only those words to find tone.
Also look at:
Colloquial (slang)
Informal (conversational)
Connotative (suggestive meaning)
Concrete (specific)
Euphonious (pleasant sounding)
Monosyllabic (one syllable)
Old-fashioned
Formal (literary)
Denotative (exact meaning)
Abstract (general or conceptual)
Cacophonous (harsh sounding)
Polysyllabic (more than one syllable)
Describe diction (choice of words) by considering the following:
1. Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more
than one syllable in length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words, the
more difficult the content.
2. Words can be mainly colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), formal
(literary), or old-fashioned.
3. Words can be mainly denotative (containing an exact meaning, e.g., dress)
or connotative(containing suggested meaning, e.g., gown)
4. Words can be concrete (specific) or abstract (general or conceptual)
5. Words can be euphonious (pleasant sounding, e.g., languid, murmur) or
cacophonous (harsh sound, e.g., raucous, croak)
IMAGERY
Alliteration
Creates a vivid picture and appeals to the senses
repetition of consonant sounds at the start of a word
The giggling
repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of a word
Moths cough
girl gagged.
Assonance
and drop wings.
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AP Language and Composition
Consonance
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repetition of consonant sounds in the middle of a word
The man has
writing sounds as words
The clock
a direct comparison of unlike things using like or as
Her hair is
a direct comparison of unlike things
The man’s
a deliberate exaggeration for effect
I’d die for a
represents something as less than it is
A million
attributing human qualities to inhuman objects
The teapot
kin in Spain.
Onomatopoeia
went tick tock.
Simile
like a rat’s nest.
Metaphor
suit is a rainbow.
Hyperbole
piece of candy.
Understatement
dollars is okay.
Personification
cried for water.
Apostrophe
form of personification; the absent/ dead are spoken to as living Caesar!
Where are you?
Metonymy
word exchanged for another closely associated with it
Uncle Sam
play on words—uses words with multiple meanings
Shoe
something that represents/stands for something else
the American
wants you!
Pun
menders mend
soles.
Symbol
Flag
Analogy
comparing two things that have at least 1 thing in common A similar
thing happened. ..
Oxymoron
use of words seemingly in contradiction to each other
bittersweet
chocolate
Conceit
elaborate, sometimes, far-fetched image, which extends a metaphor
into many layers of meaning.
My prison cell is my world.
Synecdoche
form of metaphor; part of something is used to signify the whole The pot is
boiling.
DETAILS
specifics the author includes about facts—his opinion or those he
specifically leaves out
LANGUAGE
words that describe the entire body of words in a text—not isolated
bits of diction
Helpful vocabulary:
Artificial
Bombastic
false
pompous, ostentatious
Colloquial
Concrete
vernacular
actual, specific, particular
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AP Language and Composition
Connotative
Cultured
Detached
Emotional
Esoteric
Euphemism
Exact
Figurative
Formal
Grotesque
Homespun
Insipid
Jargon
Learned
Pedantic
bookish
Plain
alludes to; suggestive
cultivated, refined, finished
cut-off, removed,
separated
expressive of emotions
understood by a chosen
few
insincere, affected
verbatim, precise
serving as illustration
academic, conventional
hideous, deformed
folksy, homey, native,
rustic
uninteresting, tame, dull
vocabulary for a
profession
educated, experienced
didactic, scholastic,
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Poetic
Precise
Pretentious
Provincial
Scholarly
Sensuous
Simple
Slang
Symbolic
Trite
Informal
Vulgar
Literal
Moralistic
Obscure
Obtuse
Ordinary
lyric, melodious, romantic
exact, accurate, decisive
pompous, gaudy, inflated
rural, rustic, unpolished
intellectual, academic
passionate, luscious
clear, intelligible
lingo, colloquialism
representative,
metaphorical
common, banal,
stereotyped
casual, relaxed, unofficial
coarse, indecent, tasteless
apparent, word for word
puritanical, righteous
unclear
dull-witted, undiscerning
everyday, common
clear, obvious
Image Grammar:
Appositive phrase – a noun phrase that renames a noun, e.g., The hardworking teenagers, first year
college students, knew that every essay would make them a better writer if they applied themselves.
Adjectives shifted out of order – instead of lining several adjectives up in front of a noun, shift a few of
them behind it, e.g., I love the bright sun, yellow-gold, in the waning light.
Absolute phrase – a noun combined with a –ing verb. Absolutes work as modifiers to add imagery, e.g.,
Head nodding, the girl could not stay awake in math class. Or, Snakes slithering, the cave proved too
scary to enter.
Action verbs – verbs that add imagery by nature of their meaning; using action verbs eliminates the
passive voice, e.g., verbs like tumble, jostle, poke, shutter, putter, sashay, gallop, all add images.
Gerunds -- -ing verbs that act as nouns in sentences. They may be at the beginning of sentences. They
are not set off by a comma. e.g., Gazing at the night sky is a favorite hobby of mine. OR Puttering around
the house on Saturday mornings makes the rest of my weekend better than normal.
Participial phrases -- -ing or –ed verbs used in phrases that add details and imagery. They can be at the
beginning, middle, or end of sentences, and they must be set off with commas. E.g., Dancing with my
friends, I didn’t notice that the boy was staring at me. OR, Flowered and blooming in the sunshine, the
rose bush gave off a wondrous scent.
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AP Language and Composition
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RHETORICAL DEVICES the use of language that creates a literary effect—enhance and support
Rhetorical question
Rhetorical shift
Euphemism
Aphorism
Repetition
Anaphora
Epistrophe
Restatement
Irony
Allusion
Paradox
Motif
Omission
Asyndeton
Ellipsis
Polysyndeton
SYNTAX
food for thought; create satire/sarcasm; pose a dilemma
refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany,
realization, insight
substituting a milder or less offensive sounding word(s)
universal comments, sayings, proverbs—convey major point
also called refrain; repeated word, sentence or phrase
repetition of same word or group of words at beginning of successive clauses
repetition of same word or group of words at end of successive clauses
main point said in another way
either verbal or situational—good for revealing attitude
refers to something universally known (Biblical, historical, mythological, etc)
a statement that can be true and false at the same time
a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism (like Cinderella)
deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses
deliberate omission of a word or words that are readily implied by the context
deliberate use of many conjunctions for special emphasis
sentence structure
Consider the following patterns and structures:
Does the sentence length fit the subject matter?
Why is the sentence length effective?
What variety of sentence lengths are present?
Sentence beginnings—Variety or Pattern?
Arrangement of ideas in sentences
Arrangement of ideas in paragraph- Pattern?
Consider the construction of sentences to convey attitude:
Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative
Simple
Loose
Periodic
Juxtaposition
Parallelism
Repetition
assertive-A statement
authoritative- Command
asks a question
one subject and one verb
details after the subject and verb-happening now
details before the subject and verb-reflection on a past event
unassociated ideas, words, phrases are placed next to one another
show equal ideas; structure, rhythm- for emphasis
words, sounds, and ideas used more than once
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AP Language and Composition
Rasmussen
Punctuation is included in SYNTAX.
Ellipses
a trailing off; going off in a dreamlike state
Dash
interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another
Semicolon
parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of detail
Colon
a list; a definition or explanation; a result
Italics
for emphasis
Capitalization
for emphasis
Exclamation point for emphasis; for emotion
SHIFTS IN TONE Attitude change about topic/ Attitude about topic is different than the attitude toward
subject
Key words (but, nevertheless, however, although)
Changes in the line length
Paragraph divisions
Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons)
Sharp contrasts in diction
Describe the sentence structure (syntax) by considering the following:
1. Examine the sentence length. Are the sentences telegraphic (shorter than 5 words in length), short
(approximately 5 words in length, medium (approximately 18 words in length), or long and
involved (30 or more words in length)? Does the sentence length fit the subject matter? What
variety of lengths is present? Why is the sentence length effective?
2. Examine sentence beginnings. Is there a good variety or does a pattern emerge?
3. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a sentence. Are they set out in a special way for a purpose?
4. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph. Is there evidence of any pattern or structure?
5. Examine the sentence patterns. Some elements to consider are listed below:
a. A declarative (assertive) sentence makes a statement. Mrs. Rasmussen is awesome.
b. An imperative sentence gives a command. Love reading.
c. An interrogative sentence asks a question. Is Mrs. Rasmussen crazy?
d. An exclamatory sentence makes an exclamation. I passed the AP English test!
e. A simple sentence contains one subject and one verb. The student accepted praise for her
work.
f. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction
(and, but, or, yet, for, nor) or by a semicolon. The student accepted praise for her work, and
she went on to ace all her AP tests.
g. A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses. I
said that this course would be hard.
h. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more principal clauses and one or more
subordinate clauses. The student cried while her parents praised her, and she gained
confident as she passed all the difficult tests.
i. A loose sentence makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending. I
passed the test after staying up all night and eating Cheetohs and drinking Monster after
Monster in hopes of not fading away.
j. A periodic sentences makes sense only when the final clause is stated at the end of the
sentence. After staying up all night and eating Cheetohs and drinking Mnoster after Monster
in hopes of not fading away, I passed the test.
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