AP English Language and Composition Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms, List 3

Ensure you're prepared for the AP English Language and Composition Exam by learning the words in this collection of essential vocabulary. Our lists cover the language you'll see in test questions and writing prompts, important rhetorical and literary terminology, and vocabulary related to writing and grammar.
10 words 117 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anaphora
    repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
  2. aphorism
    a short pithy instructive saying
  3. chiasmus
    inversion in the second of two parallel phrases
  4. cliche
    a trite or obvious remark
  5. colloquialism
    an expression that seeks to imitate informal speech
  6. conceit
    an artistic device or effect
  7. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
  8. emphasis
    special and significant stress by position or repetition
  9. idiom
    expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from its words
  10. litotes
    understatement for rhetorical effect
Created on Wed Jun 04 12:32:56 EDT 2025

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.