AP LANG - Rhetoric, Argument, and Style

Vocab from notes to help w/ test

Rhetoric

using language effectively to persuade, inform, educate, or entertain; Think about it this way: Reading, writing, speaking with purpose

The Rhetorical Situation

The rhetorical situation of a text is made up of several factors: context, which includes setting and occasion, exigence, purpose, audience, writer, and message.

Context

Every text is influenced by the historical, cultural, and social movements of its time, including the specific time, place, and circumstances

Exigence

refers to the aspects of the rhetorical situation that make it urgent. Sometimes, the exigence is immediately apparent, such as in the case of an attack, an election, or a natural disaster. In other instances, the writer must clarify the exigence, to convince the audience of its urgency.

Occasion

-the specific circumstances and events that necessitate the text -is sometimes part of its exigence, but not always. For instance, part of the ritual of formal events such as graduations and inaugurations are texts that comment on the occasion.

Purpose

the goal the writer or speaker of a text wants to achieve.

Rhetorical Triangle

Another important aspect of the rhetorical situation is how the relationships among the writer, audience, and message develop. How writers perceive the relationships among these elements will go a long way toward determining what they say and how they say it - that is, the "text," which is what is inside the triangle.

Writer/Speaker

is the person or group who creates a text; don't think of the writer solely as a name, but consider a description of who the writer is in the context of the text.

(EX: a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement)

Persona

the difference between who the writer is in real life and the role the writer plays when delivering a speech or publishing a text

(comes from the Greek word for "mask"; it means the face or character that a writer shows to the audience)

The Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text or performance; has both shared and individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds

• are often multiple audiences for a text (usually primary/intended, but sometimes secondary and unintended)

The Message

the main idea or position the writer wants to convey to the audience about the subject of a text. It's important not to confuse the subject of a text with its message or its purpose, which is the goal the writer wants to achieve.

Rhetorical Appeals

Named by Aristotle - ways of making a message appealing to an audience

• 3 main appeals - ETHOS, LOGOS, PATHOS

• Effective rhetoric usually relies on all three, although which appeal to emphasize depends on the rhetorical situation

Ethos

(Greek for “Character”) expertise, knowledge, experience, sincerity, shared values, or a combination of these factors - gives the audience a reason for listening to this person on this subject

• effective when the writer demonstrates trustworthiness and credibility on the topic

• help achieve a writer's purpose by emphasizing shared values between the writer and the audience

Logos

(Greek for “embodied thought”) similar to reason, by offering clear and rational ideas. Means thinking logically- having a clear main idea and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back it up.

• often involves defining the terms of the argument and identifying connections such as causality, the relationship between a cause and its effect

• requires considerable research; evidence from expert sources and authorities, facts, and quantitative data can be very persuasive if selected carefully and presented accurately

Concession, Refutation, and Rebuttal

A way to appeal to logos by acknowledging to a counterargument

1. Concede - to agree that all or some parts of the opposing argument is true and/or reasonable; acknowledges the limitations of a given argument in some way

2. Refute - to deny the validity of all or part of the argument, using evidence to support the refutation

3. Rebut - you can present a contrasting perspective on an argument or its evidence to propose that some or all of a competing position is unfounded

Pathos

an appeal to emotions, values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other

• Although an argument that appeals exclusively to emotions is by definition weak - it's generally either propaganda or an unpersuasive rant

• understands the power of evoking an audience's emotions

• emotion can be a powerful rhetorical tool for achieving a writer's purpose if it is used wisely

Style

a mix of elements; the word choices writers make, the syntactical patterns they create in their writing, and the conventions of grammar and mechanics that they use

Diction

a writer’s choice of words and understanding its effect is key to understanding a writer's perspective and an important step toward analyzing rhetoric

Syntax

how words are combined to form sentences. Sentences are made up of clauses, at least one of which must be an independent clause. The arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses within sentences, and of sentences within a text, are purposeful choices a writer makes to emphasize specific ideas.

Grammar

to ensure that language is clear, precise, and ultimately comprehensible

• essential to clear communication, and writers depend on them to craft effective arguments

Punctuation

such as commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, and end marks all show the audience the relationships among ideas in a given sentence and throughout a text

Tone

Choices in diction, syntax, and figures of speech all build up over the course of a text to create an overall impression

Shifts in Tone

points in a text alert the audience to a potential qualification, refinement, or reconsideration of the writer’s perspective or argument

Argument

s a process of reasoned inquiry and rational discourse seeking common ground. It is a persuasive discourse, a coherent and considered movement from a claim to conclusion” We engage in argument whenever we explore ideas reasonably and think clearly about the world.

Claims of Fact

assert that something is true or not true. Arguments of fact often pivot on what exactly is "factual." Facts become arguable when they are questioned, when they raise controversy, when they challenge people's beliefs.

Claims of Value

argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong, valuable or not valuable, desirable or undesirable

Claims of Policy

propose a change

Personal Observations, Personal Experience, and Testimonies

make an abstract issue more human, especially in the introduction and conclusion of an argument

Anecdotes

are stories about other people that you've either observed, been told about, or researched

Analogies

are comparisons between two unrelated things and are used to clarify one of them

Current Events

Staying aware of what is happening locally, nationally, and globally ensures a store of information that can be used as evidence in arguments.

Historical Information

provide background and context for current issues. It can also help establish ethos because it shows that a writer has taken the time and effort to research the matter and become informed.

Expert Opinion

Expert opinion is the backbone of an evidence-based argument because you are drawing on specialized, credible knowledge.

Quantitive Evidence

includes things that can be represented in numbers (statistics, surveys, polls, experiment results) and may be presented through verbal explanations or, more often, in illustrations such as graphs, charts, or tables. This type of evidence can be persuasive in its appeal to logos, but a shocking statistic can also be a strong appeal to pathos.