AP Style Analysis Notes
Domain Questions to Ask
Imagery • What sensory information do I find in the language: color, scents, sounds, tastes, or textures?
• Sensory details • What is the author trying to convey or achieve by using this imagery?
• Symbols • Are these images part of a larger pattern or structure within the text (e.g., does it connect to one of the
• Allusions major themes)?
• Words/phrases • What figures of speech––metaphors, similes, analogies, personification––does the writer use? How
• Effect/intent do they affect the meaning of the text? What is the author trying to accomplish by using them?
• Connection to:
o Mood/tone
o Theme
o Plot
o Character
Diction • Which of the following categories best describes the diction in the passage or text?
• Types o Low or informal (e.g., dialect, slang, or jargon)
• Slang o Elevated or formal language
• Colloquial o Abstract and concrete diction
• Jargon o Denotation and connotation
• Dialect • What effect is the author trying to achieve through the use of a specific type of diction?
• Concrete • What does the author’s use of diction suggest about his or hear attitude toward the subject, event, or
• Abstract character?
• Denotation • What are the connotations of a given word used in a particular context? (To begin, you might ask if
• Connotation the word(s) have a positive or negative connotation, then consider them in the specific context.)
• What words would best describe the diction in a specific passage or the text in general?
Syntax • Punctuation: How does the author punctuate the sentence and to what extent does the punctuation
• Sentence structure affect the meaning?
• Sentence patterns • Structure: How are words and phrases arranged within the sentence? What is the author trying to
• Declarative accomplish through this arrangement?
• Imperative • How would you characterize the author’s syntax in this text?
• Interrogative • Changes: Are there places where the syntax clearly changes? If so, where, how, and why?
• Exclamatory • Sentence length: How many words are in the different sentences? Do you notice any pattern (e.g., a
• Simple cluster of short sentences of a particular type)?
• Compound • Devices: How would you describe the author’s use of the following:
• Complex o Independent and dependent clauses
• Comp-Complex o Coordinating, subordinating, or correlative conjunctions
• Loose/Cumulative o Repetition
• Periodic o Parallelism
• Balanced o Fragments
• Inversion o Comparisons
• Interruption • Sentence beginnings: How does the author begin his or her sentences? (Does the author, for example,
• Juxtaposition consistently begin with introductory phrases or clauses?
• Parallelism • Language: What use does the author make of figurative language or colloquial expressions?
• Repetition
Attitude (Tone) • How does the author’s use of words, imagery, or details such as gesture or allusions reveal the
• Word choice author’s attitude toward a character or event in the story?
• Details • What words best describe the author’s attitude toward this subject, character, or event?
• Imagery
Literary Elements • How does the author’s use of these different elements contribute to the text’s meaning?
• Setting • Do the different elements interact with or otherwise affect the meaning of the others?
• Characterization • Do you notice any significant shifts in any of the elements at any point? If so, what changes, how,
• Plot and why? What is the importance and meaning of this change?
• Theme • What words best describe the different use of these elements? For example, how would you describe
• Point of View the point of view and the effect it has on the meaning of the text?
• Tone/Attitude
Organization • Which organizational pattern does the author use?
• Compare/Contrast • Why does the author choose to use that particular organizational strategy?
• Importance • Are there places where the author blends or alternates between different organizational patterns? If so,
• Chronology what is the author trying to accomplish by mixing them in these ways?
• Cause-Effect • To what extent and in what ways do you think the author’s organizational strategy is effective? Why?
• Order of degree
• Classification
• Spatial
Types of Writing • Exposition: Is the author defining, comparing, classifying, analyzing (a process), describing, or
• Narrative narrating?
• Persuasive • Persuasion: Is the author arguing about what something means, whether something is true, which
• Expository alternative is the best (or most important), or what course of action someone should take?
• Descriptive • General: What is the author trying to accomplish? How is the writer using e.g., narrative to solve that
problem?
© 2004 Jim Burke. For more information, visit www.englishcompanion.com.
