Which term describes meaning conveyed by sentence structure and punctuation?

• A. Rhetoric
• B. Semantics
• C. Syntax
• D. Orthography

Answer: (B)

Meaning in language comes from how words are used together and how a sentence is built. Semantics is the study of that meaning—the ideas and concepts a sentence communicates. The way a sentence is structured and where punctuation sits helps signal the relationships between parts, showing what modifies what, what is connected, and where emphasis lies. That guidance to interpretation is exactly what semantics covers when we think about the overall meaning of a sentence. Rhetoric is about persuasive effect, syntax is about the rules for arranging words, and orthography is about spelling, so semantics is the best fit for the meaning conveyed by structure and punctuation.