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What important rhetorical devices do I need to know?

2 min readโ€ขjuly 11, 2024

Brandon Wu

Brandon Wu


AP English Languageย โœ๐Ÿฝ

224ย resources
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Important Rhetorical Devices for AP Lang


The AP English Language exam requires identification and analysis of rhetorical devices in the FRQs and MCQs sections.

Need a review on rhetorical analysis, check out this study guide overview about Rhetorical analysis!


Here is a list of ten important rhetorical devices that will likely show up on your AP Language exam:

  • Analogy ๐Ÿ“– ย - 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 โœ… โŒ - Two opposite ideas are parallelly constructed in a sentence to show contrast. (Example: Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.)

  • Diction ๐Ÿ“š - Using specific word choice to achieve an effect (Example: using thy/thee/wherefore to imply a Shakesperean mood)

  • Ethos ๐Ÿ‘” - Appealing to expert testimony or authority (Example: 9 out of 10 dentists recommend X Toothpaste)

  • Juxtaposition ๐Ÿ˜„ ๐Ÿ˜ข - Placing two ideas together for contrast (Example: I thoroughly hate loving you.)

  • Logos ๐Ÿ’ป - 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 ๐Ÿ˜  - Appealing to emotion (Example: Our country is the motherland!)

  • Rhetoric ๐Ÿ“ - Use of spoken or written word to convey ideas (Example: Nearly anything in AP Lang is 'rhetoric')

  • Syntax ๐Ÿ’ก - 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 ๐Ÿ—ฃ - 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
๐Ÿค”Exam Skills
๐Ÿฅ‡Unit 1 โ€“ Claims, Reasoning, & Evidence
๐Ÿ—‚๏ธUnit 2 โ€“ Organizing Information for a Specific Audience
๐Ÿ‘€Unit 3 โ€“ Perspectives & How Arguments Relate
๐Ÿ”šUnit 4 โ€“ How writers develop arguments, intros, & conclusions
๐ŸŽ€Unit 5 โ€“ How a writer brings all parts of an argument together
๐Ÿ‘ฅUnit 6 โ€“ Position, Perspective, & Bias
๐ŸฅŠUnit 7 โ€“ Successful & Unsuccessful Arguments
๐Ÿ˜ŽUnit 8 โ€“ Stylistic Choices
๐Ÿ˜ˆUnit 9 โ€“ Developing a Complex Argument
๐Ÿ“šStudy Tools

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