AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Choices, Effects & Audience
The AP Language and Composition rhetorical analysis free-response question asks you to explain how an author's rhetorical choices work together to build an argument. The critical distinction from a standard literary analysis: you must connect specific choices to their specific effects on a specific audience. The formula is: 'The author uses [rhetorical choice] to [achieve effect] on [audience].' Rhetorical choices include: diction (word choice—formal vs. informal, connotation-laden words, technical vocabulary); syntax (sentence structure—short punchy sentences vs. long cumulative sentences); figurative language (metaphors, analogies, personification); tone (the author's attitude toward the subject); structure (how the argument is organized—problem/solution, chronological, concession-rebuttal); evidence types (anecdote, statistics, expert testimony, appeals to shared values). Do not just identify the device and stop—that is mere labeling. The AP rubric specifically rewards essays that explain WHY the choice creates the identified effect. 'The author uses rhetorical questions to make the reader personally implicated in the problem being described' earns a higher score than 'The author uses rhetorical questions.'