AP English III Essay Terms

Prompt

question or topic to which students respond

Summary:

brief statement of the main points

Claim:

an assertion

Defensible thesis:

the overall claim of an essay (must be able to be justified or proven)

Evidence:

facts, examples, details, etc. that prove a claim

Direct Quote:

a portion of the text that has been restated directly (and placed in quotation marks)

Paraphrase:

rephrasing the text while maintaining the same meaning

Embedded evidence/quote:

a direct quote integrated into a sentence

Commentary:

analysis; interpretation of a text; explanation of the significance of the evidence

Sophistication:

elevated quality of writing due to a nuanced argument, vivid or descriptive details, or situating the issue in a broader context

Situating the issue in a broader context:

examining the deep, complex, or wide-ranging implications of the issue beyond what has been provided in the passage

Line of Reasoning:

logical progression of ideas, including effective transitions between or within paragraphs

Counterargument:

opposite argument or opposing position

Counterclaim:

a claim made to rebut a previous claim

Rebuttal:

refutation or contradiction

Concession:

conceding/acknowledging the value or merit of the opposing position

Refutation:

proving a statement or theory false

Synthesize:

combine elements into a coherent whole

Synthesis essay:

essay in which students synthesize information from at least three of the provided sources to support the thesis/argument

Source:

original publication; for the synthesis essay, “source” refers to the provided documents (articles, charts, photos, cartoons, etc.)

Rhetoric:

the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing

Rhetorical Analysis:

examining the speaker/writer’s use of rhetorical choices to convey a message, achieve a purpose, or develop an argument

Rhetorical Choice:

something the writer intentionally “does” to convey a message, achieve a purpose, or develop an argument--typically phrased as a verb

Rhetorical Device:

something the writer “uses” to convey a message, achieve a purpose, or develop an argument--typically phrased as a noun

Rhetorical Appeal:

logos (logic), ethos (credibility or morality), pathos (emotion), and kairos (urgency/time)

Rhetorical situation:

the set of circumstances from which a text arises: speaker/writer, audience, context, exigence, purpose, message/argument

Speaker:

the person delivering a speech

Writer:

the person who wrote a text

Audience:

the person or people at whom a text is directed/targeted

Context:

includes relevant local, national, international events, movements, or trends that happened in the same time period as the text or in the time period leading up to the text

Exigence:

the impetus, catalyst, or inciting incident--what prompted the writer to write or the speaker to speak

Purpose:

why the writer/speaker wrote the text and what they hoped to accomplish by doing so

Argument:

a reason or set of reasons with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong

Message:

a significant point or central theme, especially one that has social, political, or moral importance