APEL Rhetorical Terms Set #2 (Denotation-Imagery)

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denotation

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The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.

Example: "home" denoting the literal dictionary definition of "a place where someone lives," or "chef" denoting "someone who prepares food".  

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diction

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Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Diction, combined with syntax, figurative language, literary devices, etc., creates an author's style.

Example: Formal: "Ensure that you wear the appropriate attire."

• Informal (Casual): "You'll wanna wear the right thing."

• Slang: "Your brother is the GOAT!"

• Colloquial: "Y'all are gonna wanna see the wicked test."

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didactic

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From the Greek, didactic literally means 'teaching.' Didactic works have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.

Example: Advice to Youth

by Mark Twain provides a collection of instructions on how to behave, including phrases like, "Always obey your parents, when they are present." 

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epistrophe

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The opposite of anaphora, repetition at the end of successive clauses.

Example: 'They saw no evil, they spoke no evil, and they heard no evil.'

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euphemism

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From the Greek for 'good speech,' euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Example: Saying 'earthly remains' rather than 'corpse.'

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exposition

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In essays, one of the four chief types of composition, the others being argumentation, description, and narration. The purpose of exposition is to explain something.

Example: A scientific report is an example of exposition because it aims to inform the reader about a specific scientific concept or phenomenon. An essay that compares and contrasts the features of two different day trips uses a mode of exposition to inform the reader. 

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extended metaphor

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A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Example: A famous example is Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, where he compares the promise of freedom and equality for Black Americans to a check that the nation has failed to honor, detailing this comparison through concepts of promissory notes, insufficient funds, and justice.

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figurative language

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Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

Example: similes (e.g., "as brave as a lion"), metaphors (e.g., "The world is a stage"), personification (e.g., "The wind whispered"), hyperbole (e.g., "I've told you a million times"), and onomatopoeia (e.g., "The thunder roared"). 

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figure of speech

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A device used to produce figurative language. Includes apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement.

• Example: Figures of speech use non-literal language for effect, with common examples including similes (e.g., "as brave as a lion"), metaphors (e.g., "the world is a stage"), personification (e.g., "the wind whispered"), hyperbole (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse"), and idioms (e.g., "kick the bucket"). These techniques enrich writing by creating vivid images, evoking emotions, and making comparisons that go beyond the literal meaning of words. 

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generic conventions

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Traditions for each genre that help to define each genre. For example, they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing.

Example: In the university context, research papers, lab reports, case studies, reflective papers, essay exams, and notes for class might each be considered a genre.