AP English Vocabulary Study Sheet Rhetorical Terms

Hello, class! In preparation for the end of the year exam (as well as
preparation for your upcoming timed writing assignment) we will be
studying an assortment of rhetorical terms that will aid you in your
comprehension and application of the skills you have learned so far this
year in AP English. Below you will find the short list of terms that you will
need to study in preparation for this weeks upcoming assessment. The
terms will also be available for study through taking practice quizzes on the
AP Links page I have created on Quia.com. These links will be available to
you via our class homepage.
Best of luck!
-Miss Stone

Analogy - compares two different things that have some similar characteristics

Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.
Antithesis - makes a connection between two things EX. That's one small step for a man, one giant
leap for mankind.
Appositive - places a noun or phrase next to another noun for descriptive purposes
Assonance
The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

Chiasmus
A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts
reversed.
Colloquial
Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or
literary English.
Comparison
A rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people,
places, ideas, or objects.
Connotation
The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry.
Denotation
The direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings.
Diction
The choice and use of words in speech or writing.
Epiphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses.
Epithet
Using an adjective or adjective phrase to describe something.

Euphemism
The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.

Metaphor - Compares two things by stating one is the other (without using the terms like or as.)
Onomatopoeia
The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Oxymoron - A two word paradox.

Simile - Compares one object to another (using the terms like or as.)