Here is a list of ten important rhetorical devices that will likely show up on your AP Language exam:
Analogy 📖 - Comparing two things based on structure; used to explain a complex idea in simpler terms. (Example: The movie was a roller coaster ride of emotions).
Antithesis ✅ ❌ - Two opposite ideas are parallelly constructed in a sentence to show contrast. (Example: Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.)
Diction 📚 - Using specific word choice to achieve an effect (Example: using thy/thee/wherefore to imply a Shakesperean mood)
Ethos 👔 - Appealing to expert testimony or authority (Example: 9 out of 10 dentists recommend X Toothpaste)
Juxtaposition 😄 😢 - Placing two ideas together for contrast (Example: I thoroughly hate loving you.)
Logos 💻 - Appealing to reason/logic (Example: According to a meta-analysis of thousands of Americans, more than 90% of people sleep with their eyes closed.)
Pathos 😠 - Appealing to emotion (Example: Our country is the motherland!)
Rhetoric 📝 - Use of spoken or written word to convey ideas (Example: Nearly anything in AP Lang is 'rhetoric')
Syntax 💡 - The way sentences are grammatically structured, such as length (Example: I was frightened for my life, as the footsteps grew louder and louder, closer and closer. Then it was silent. I whimpered.)
Tone 🗣 - The author's attitude towards a subject (Example: Can someone tell me what is going on instead of keeping secrets? - signifies an annoyed tone)
This is not a complete list, but these ten figurative devices can serve as a guiding tool for your AP English Language exam preparation.
Browse Study Guides By Unit
🤔Exam Skills
🥇Unit 1 – Claims, Reasoning, & Evidence
🗂️Unit 2 – Organizing Information for a Specific Audience
👀Unit 3 – Perspectives & How Arguments Relate
🔚Unit 4 – How writers develop arguments, intros, & conclusions
🎀Unit 5 – How a writer brings all parts of an argument together