ap lang ghhs vocab 1

Audience

Who the text is addressed to; has shared as well as individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds. Who is the speaker/writer trying to reach? What assumptions exist in the text about the intended audience? Example: King's letter is addressed to the white clergymen of Birmingham, but also targets a broader audience of white moderates.

Context

The time, place, and occasion for a text. What is happening in the world as it relates to the subject? Example for "Letter from Birmingham Jail": 1963, American South (Birmingham, Alabama), Civil Rights Movement.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types of words have significant effects on meaning.

Exigence

The part of a rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts writers to create a text (the spark or catalyst). Example: Dr. King responding in 1963 to white clergymen's open letter criticising his tactics while jailed in Birmingham.

Infer

To reach a conclusion based on what was implied or insinuated; to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. (See also: Inference).

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. Authors use this to make a point. Example: King contrasts emerging democracies moving at "jetlike speed" with Black Americans creeping at a "horse and buggy pace."

Literal

In accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical. Following the words of the original very closely and exactly.

Purpose

What the writer hopes to accomplish with a text / what they want the audience to do after listening. Example: King's rebuttal to white clergy, a call to action for white moderates, and defending nonviolent direct action to force negotiation.

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication. Aristotle defined it as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Rhetorical analysis studies how writers craft text for specific purposes/effects.

Rhetorical Question

A question not asked for information but for effect. Example: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God?" (passing judgment on moderate inaction) or comparing actions to "condemning a robbed man."

Rhetorical Situation

Collectively refers to the exigence, purpose, audience, writer, context, and message of a text. Individuals make strategic writing choices based on this situation.

Style

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes (conscious or unconscious). Stylistic choices directly advance and contribute to the purpose of an argument.

Thesis

The main, overarching claim a writer is seeking to defend or prove using reasoning supported by evidence. When directly expressed, it is called a ____ statement, which may preview the line of reasoning.

Tone

A writer's attitude or feeling about a subject, conveyed through word choice and style (inferred through connotations). ____ shifts suggest refinement/reconsideration. Examples: playful, serious, sarcasm, somber. King uses words like "inescapable," "piercing," and "appalling."

Voice

The overall effect of particular choices in writing (the expression of personality / fingerprint of creativity). Developed using 5 key tools: diction, imagery, repetition, tone, and syntax.