1. How Are Literary Devices Covered on AP English Exams?
Literary devices are a fundamental part of both AP English Literature and Composition (AP Literature) and AP English Language and Composition (AP Language). Whether you are analyzing a poem, interpreting a passage of prose, or evaluating an author’s argument, your success on both exams depends on recognizing how each writer uses their language to create meaning and achieve specific techniques.
AP English Literature and Composition
In 2025, 416,531 students took the AP English Literature exam. This exam had a 74.2% passing rate and an average score of 3.24.
The exam consists of 55 multiple-choice questions (worth 45% of your score) and three free-response essays (55%): a poetry analysis, a prose analysis, and a literary argument.
The College Board organizes the course around these six core concepts, also known as the Big Ideas:
- Character
- Setting
- Structure
- Narration
- Figurative Language
- Literary Argumentation
Figurative Language is one of the central themes of this course. Throughout both the multiple-choice and free-response sections, students are expected to explain how literary devices contribute to meaning, reveal characterization, establish tone, or shape the reader’s interpretation of a text.
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Language drew 616,294 test-takers in 2025, with a passing rate of 74.3% and a mean score of 3.19.
Rather than analyzing literary works, AP Language focuses on nonfiction and rhetorical analysis. Students are expected to identify and analyze rhetorical and literary techniques, such as:
- Diction and Syntax
- Imagery and Tone
- Figurative Language and Verbal Irony
- Repetition and Parallelism
- Rhetorical Questions
- Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Exam | 2025 Test-Takers | Pass Rate | Mean Score |
AP English Literature | 416,531 | 74.2% | 3.24 |
AP English Language | 616,294 | 74.3% | 3.19 |
Both AP English exams now have similar passing rates, but they emphasize different analytical skills. AP Literature focuses on interpreting literary works and analyzing how authors use literary devices to create meaning. AP Language, on the other hand, emphasizes rhetorical analysis, evaluating how writers use language and evidence to inform, persuade, or argue. Building a strong understanding of literary and rhetorical devices is essential for success on both exams.
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2. What Are Literary Devices?
When F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock in The Great Gatsby, he uses symbolism to represent Gatsby’s longing and the broader idea of the American Dream. This is an example of a literary device, which is a technique writers use to convey meaning beyond the literal words on the page.
Literary devices appear in many forms of everyday communication, such as song lyrics, advertisements, and social media captions. While recognizing them is an important first step, getting good grades in academic settings requires more than simply identifying each literary device.
To earn credit on exams and essays, students must be able to:
- Identify the literary device.
- Explain how it functions in the text.
- Analyze why the author chose to use it in their text.
This skill is also an expected part of secondary education standards. For example, Common Core Standard RL.11-12.4 Craft and Structure requires students to analyze the impact of word choices on a text’s tone and overall meaning, including figurative and connotative meanings.
Developing this ability early helps students to perform well not only on AP exams but also in college-level reading and writing tasks.
3. Literary Devices Students Should Know
Figurative Language
Figurative language helps writers turn abstract ideas into concrete ideas through comparison, exaggeration, or imaginative description.
Device: | Definition: | Example: |
Metaphor | Direct comparison without “like” or “as” | Time is gold. |
Simile | Comparison using “like” or “as” | He runs like the wind. |
Personification | Giving human traits to non-human objects | The wind whispered through the trees. |
Hyperbole | Extreme exaggeration or effect | I’ve told you a million times. |
Analogy | Explaining something using a simple comparison | Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell. |
Sound and Structure
| Device: | Definition: | Example: |
| Alliteration | Repetition of beginning sounds | Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. |
| Anaphora | Repeating words at the start of sentences | MLK: “I have a dream…” |
| Parallelism | Similar sentence structure | Easy come, easy go. |
| Repetition | Reusing words for emphasis | Never give up. Never give in. |
| Antithesis | Opposite ideas in one sentence | It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. |
Meaning and Interpretation
These devices help create deeper meaning beyond the literal text.
| Device: | Definition: | Example: |
| Symbolism | An object that represents an idea | A heart = love |
| Imagery | Descriptive language for the senses | The room was cold and dark. |
| Irony (dramatic) | The reader knows something that the characters don’t | Scout’s narration in To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Irony (situational) | Unexpected outcome | A fire station is burning down. |
| Irony (verbal) | Saying the opposite of what you mean | Saying, “Great job!” after making a mistake |
| Foreshadowing | Hint about what will happen later | “This was the last time he saw her.” |
| Allusion | Reference to something well-known | He is a real Romeo. |
Rhetorical Devices
| Device: | Definition: | Example: |
| Ethos | Appeal to credibility or authority | As a doctor, I recommend… |
| Pathos | Appeal to emotion | A charity advertisement showing suffering children |
| Logos | Appeal to logic and evidence | Studies show 80% improvement |
| Rhetorical Question | A question not meant to be answered | Who wouldn’t want success? |
| Juxtaposition | Placing opposites together | A rich neighborhood vs. a poor neighborhood |
Narrative Devices
Narrative devices shape how a story is told and how you experience it.
Device: | Definition: | Example: |
Point of View | Who is telling the story | I went to school today… (First-Person Point of View) |
Tone | The author’s attitude | Funny or serious writing |
Diction | Word choice | big vs. enormous |
Syntax | Sentence structure | I went. I saw. I left. |
Motif | Repeated idea or image | Repeated rain in a story |
Allegory | Story with a hidden meaning | Orwell’s Animal Farm as a political allegory |
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4. How Literary Devices Strengthen Your College Essays
Literary devices are not only useful for AP exams and the SAT; they also play an important role in writing a strong college application essay. A well-crafted essay helps admissions officers understand your experiences in a clear, engaging, and memorable way.
According to Sarah Hernholm in Forbes, a strong college essay can increase admission chances by up to 10 times at highly selective institutions when applicants are otherwise academically comparable. In many cases, what distinguishes one strong applicant from another is not their grades or test scores, but how they write and tell their story.
Here are three literary devices that work well in college essays:
- Use imagery to show a specific moment rather than telling the reader about it: Instead of “I was nervous,” write “My hands left damp prints on the piano keys.”
- Use metaphors or similes to connect your personal experiences to a larger idea: Instead of “I grew a lot that summer,” write “That summer was a kiln. I went in soft clay and came out something harder.”
- Use symbolism to let a recurring object carry emotional weight throughout your essay: Instead of explaining your grandmother’s influence in abstract terms, let her worn recipe book appear in three key moments.
You must also vary your sentence rhythm. Mix short, punchy sentences with longer ones. A paragraph of uniform 15-word sentences reads like a list.
A 2026 essay in the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal argues that one’s writing ability remains the strongest predictor of academic and professional success. When you demonstrate a command of language in your application essay, you show admissions committees the skill they value most.
5. Tips for Studying Literary Devices
When you read assigned texts, do not follow the plot alone. Ask yourself: Why did the author choose this word? What effect does this sentence structure create? Keep a running list of devices you notice in each chapter.
The texts you read in English class are dense with identifiable devices. Some of these include:
- The Great Gatsby: The Valley of Ashes (imagery), the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg (symbolism for moral decay), Nick’s unreliable narration
- To Kill a Mockingbird: The mockingbird (symbolism for innocence), Scout’s first-person narration that creates dramatic irony because she describes events she does not fully understand
- Their Eyes Were Watching God: The pear tree (symbolism for desire and fulfillment), Hurston’s use of dialect as a narrative device
- Things Fall Apart: The locusts (foreshadowing) signal the coming colonial invasion. Achebe’s proverbs function as rhetorical devices that reflect the Igbo oral tradition
- Shakespeare: “To be or not to be” (antithesis and caesura), extensive use of juxtaposition across plays
Do not memorize the definitions alone. Write three sentences using each device. When you can create a metaphor or use anaphora in your own writing, it will be easy for you to recognize it in someone else’s right away.
In AP exams, simply identifying a device does not lead you anywhere. Instead, you need to explain what it does. How does it shape the reader’s understanding? Does it create tension or advance an argument? To have a deeper analysis of literary devices, be sure to practice the formula: “The author uses [device] to [effect].”
6. Prepare for Writing Competitions with Aralia
Understanding literary devices is only the first step. Using them effectively is what makes writing memorable. Whether you’re preparing for an essay contest or a creative writing competition, Aralia helps students strengthen their writing through personalized feedback, close reading, and multiple rounds of revision.
