AP English Language · Summary

Unit 4 summary

  1. Diction carries attitude: compare connotations, and ask why the writer chose this word over a neutral one.
  2. Syntax steers emphasis: a short sentence after long ones, a periodic sentence, parallelism, antithesis and anaphora each control what the reader notices.
  3. Name a tone precisely, back it with quoted words, and check every word of a two-part tone choice.
  4. A shift in tone has a pivot: find the word or sentence where it turns and say why the writer turns there.
  5. For a figure of speech, say what is compared and what the comparison suggests about the real subject.
  6. Hyperbole enlarges, understatement shrinks, and verbal irony says something other than what is meant; all three often carry criticism.
  7. Always finish with the effect on the audience and how it serves the writer’s purpose.