Rhetorical Strategies

AP Language & Composition

Connotation/ Denotation
Connotation: Connotation is the feeling that
a word or phrase evokes in addition to its
literal meaning.
ex: gypsy, tramp, explorer
Denotation: The direct or dictionary meaning
of a word.

Verb Bank
Here is a list of verbs you might find helpful.
You should always strive to use the most
connotatively precise words you can.
Adjures, advances, advises, asks, begs,
commands, confides, complains, describes,
discloses, encourages, exclaims, explains,
groans, implies, insinuates, justifies, mocks,
reports, reveals, sings, suggests, etc.

Syntax
The arrangement of words in a sentence.
The rules that govern how words combine
to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Balance
Parallelism: similarity of structure in a pair or
series of related words, phrases, and
clauses.

Isocolon
When parallel elements are similar not only
in structure but in length (same # of words
and syllables).

Antithesis
The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas often in parallel structure.

Example: One small step

for man, one giant leap
for mankind.

It was the best of times; it

was the worst of times.

Anastrophe (Yoda)
Anastrophe: inversion of the natural or usual word
order

Commas, Parentheses, Hyphens

Insertion of commas, parentheses, or hyphens to
interrupt the normal flow of the sentence;
Three ways to interrupt a sentence:
2 commas , ,
Parenthesis ()
Hyphens - Effect: abruptly and usually briefly sends the
thought off on a tangent.

Apposition
Placing side by side two coordinate
elements, the second of which serves as an
explanation or modification of the first
Example: John Morgan, a family man,
worked hard to provide a good life for those
he loved.
Men of his kind soldiers of the game,
sports fanatics, Monday night couch
potatoes come alive at kick-off time.

Ellipsis
Ellipsis: deliberate omission of a word or of
words which are readily implied in the
context.
Example: And he to England shall ( ) along
with you. -Hamlet
The ceremony honored twelve talented
athletesvisiting the U.S.
The ellipsis marks () may or may not be
included in the sentence.

Asyndeton
Deliberate omission of conjunctions
between a series of related words, phrases,
clauses.
Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.
Government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from this
earth.
Effect: Produces a hurried rhythm in the
sentence

Polysyndeton
Deliberate use of many conjunctions
Example: This semester I am taking English
and history and biology and math and PE.
Effect: emphasizes the large number of
classes; slows the rhythm of the sentence

Alliteration
Alliteration: repetition of initial consonants in
two or more adjacent words
Example: A sable, silent, solemn forest
stood.
Effect: soothing rhythm; used often in ads
as a tactic to help the audience remember
the slogan.

Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds,
preceded and followed by different
consonants, in the stressed syllables of
adjacent words
Example: The blind, despised, and dying
king ordered his servants to bring him some
rice pudding.
Refresh your zest for living!

Anaphora
Repetition of the same word or group of
words at the beginning of successive
clauses
Example: We shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills Winston Churchill, June 1940
Effect: a strong emotional reaction

Epistrophe
Repetition of the same word or group of
words at the ends of successive clauses.
Example: In a cake, nothing tastes like real
butter, nothing enriches like real butter,
nothing satisfies like real butter.
Effect: sets up a rhythm; secures a special
emphasis by repetition and placing the word
in the final position

Epanalepsis
Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that
occurred near the beginning of the same clause.
Example: He was the flesh of my flesh; he was the
bone of my bone; he was the blood of my blood.
Blood hath brought blood, and blows have
answered blows: Strength matchd with strength,
and power confronted power. Shakespeare
Effect: Use sparingly to show intense emotion.

Anadiplosis
Repetition of the last word of one clause at
the beginning of the next clause
Example: The crime was violent; violent be
the punishment.
Isolation breeds insecurity; insecurity
breeds suspicion and fear; suspicion and
fear breed violence.

Climax
Arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses
in an order increasing importance
Example: Let a man acknowledge
obligations to his family, his country, and his
God.

Antimetabole
Repetition of words, in successive clauses,
in reverse grammatical order
Example: Mankind must put an end to war,
or war will put an end to mankind. JFK
Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.
Effect: adds magic to the appeal, makes it
memorable

Chiasmus
Reversal of grammatical structures in successive
phrases or clauses using different words (no
repetition)
Example: He loves school, but the homework he
despises.
Instead of: He loves school, but he despises the
homework.
Example: It is hard to make money, but to spend it
is easy.
Instead of: It is hard to make money, but it is easy
to spend.

Polyptoton
Repetition of words derived from the same
root
Example: Few are chosen because few
choose to be chosen.
The desert land became useless due to
overuse.

Manipulating Word Meaning

(rather than structure)
Figures of speech, also known as tropes, use words
in a way other than what is considered its literal or
normal form.
Some tropes that you should already know:
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Hyperbole
Personification
Irony
Onomatopoeia

Metaphor
Comparison of two
seemingly unrelated
objects without the use of
like or as

Simile
Comparison of two
things using like or
as

Apostrophe
a figure of speech in
which someone
absent or dead or
something
nonhuman is
addressed as if it
were alive and
present and was able
to reply.

Irony
Situational Irony: A

contrast between what is

expected to happen and
what actually does.
Verbal Irony: A contrast
between what is said and
what is meant.
Dramatic Irony: When
the reader knows
something that other
characters do not.

Paradox
A contradictory statement
that contains some element
of truth
Example: The more you
know, the more you know
you dont know.
He is guilty of being
innocent

Euphemism
Substituting a milder word or phrase for one
that might be offensive or harsh.
Ex. passed away for died; previously
owned for used.

Alliteration
Alliteration occurs
when the initial sounds
of a word, beginning
either with a consonant
or a vowel, are
repeated in close
succession.

Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the
formation of a word
from a sound
associated with what
is named
Ex: cuckoo, sizzle,
buzz, pop, crackle,
etc.

Antanaclasis
Antanaclasis: repetition of a word in two
different ways (same word, different
meaning)
Example: Your argument is sound, nothing
but sound.
If we dont hang together, well hang
separately.
Although were apart, youre still a part of
me.

Paronomasia

Paronomasia: use of words similar in sound

Examples from Shark Tale:
Jessica Shrimpson
Mussel Crowe
Katie Current
Shell phone

Syllepsis
Syllepsis: use of a word understood
differently in relation to two or more other
words, which it modifies.
Example: Hed rather drive her home than
crazy.
Lets take lunch not notes!
Draft beer not soldiers!

Anthimeria
The substitution of one part of speech for
another
Example: You cant just swiss cheese the
neighborhood by building a Walmart in the
middle of the block!
She homeworked us to death!

Litotes
Deliberate use of understatement, not to
deceive someone but to enhance the
impressiveness of what we say
Example: It isnt very serious. I have this tiny
tumor on my brain.

Periphrasis
Substitution of a descriptive word for a
proper name or of a proper name for a
quality associated with the name
Example: Hes abusive a real Chris Brown!
She pulled a Lohan and landed herself in
rehab.

Rhetorical Question
Asking a question not for the purpose of an
answer but to assert or deny something
Example: Didnt I ask you to type this
paper?
Werent you supposed to be home by
midnight?

Oxymoron
The combination of terms that are ordinarily
contradictory
Example: sweet pain, cheerful pessimist,
jumbo shrimp, luxurious poverty, beggarly
riches, relaxed tension, loving hate, cruel
kindness, deafening silence

Paradox
A contradictory statement that contains
some element of truth
Example: The more you know, the more you
know you dont know.
The past is the prologue
He is guilty of being innocent

Synecdoche
Figure of speech in which a physical part
stands for the whole or the whole for the
part
Example: Nice set of wheels! (part of the
car)
I like your threads, man! (part of the
clothing)
All hands on deck! (hands to represent the
whole man)

Metonomy
A is a closely associated with B (but not a
physical part of it)
Example: The White House said is a
metonomy for the president and his staff
The White House is not a part of the
president, but it is closely associated with
him.