AP Multiple Choice Terms to Know

The context and circumstances surrounding a communicative act, encompassing the writer, audience, purpose, and setting of a piece of communication

• Rhetorical Situation

• Exigence

• Underscore

• Synthesis

The rhetorical situation or the circumstances that prompt a writer to create a text.

• Rhetorical Situation

• Exigence

• Juxtaposition

• Synthesis

The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

• Rhetorical Situation

• Exigence

• Juxtaposition

• Synthesis

Language used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary.

• Exigence

• Juxtaposition

• Colloquial

• Synthesis

A direct comparison between two unlike things

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Juxtaposition

• Colloquialism

An indirect comparison between two unlike things

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Analogy

• Juxtaposition

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

• Metaphor

• Allusion

• Analogy

• Imagery

A personal story

• Colloquialism

• Juxtaposition

• Metaphor

• Anecdote

A synonym for emphasizes

• Underscore

• Describes

• Defines

• Exacerbates

The rhetorical appeal to an expert with credibility

• Ethos

• Logos

• Pathos