The deliberate authorial choice about language, structure, or style to influence meaning is called a ...

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This is about how writers steer meaning through the way they use language and structure. When a authorial choice involves selecting particular diction, sentence length and rhythm, imagery, narrative voice, pacing, and the overall arrangement of scenes to guide how readers interpret a passage, that strategy is a rhetorical choice. It’s not about a single device or a regional flavor; it’s the deliberate use of language and form to shape interpretation.

Regionalism focuses on local color and customs, which is more about setting than the method of shaping meaning. A metaphor is a single figure of speech, not the broader practice of guiding reader response through language and structure. A refrain is a repeated line or phrase, a specific device, not the general strategic approach. So the broad concept that captures this intent is rhetorical choice.