AP Lang Rhetorical Terms

The “rhetorical situation”

This is one of the first things to consider when analyzing a passage rhetorically. In its most basic sense, we can interpret the rhetorical situation by identifying in the prompt or passage information about the “SAP” (Speaker-- or writer, Audience, and Purpose). The SOAPSToneS mnemonic is also useful (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone, Setting). Additional ways of considering the rhetorical situation are as follows:

“A _________ is merely the context, or setting, of a rhetorical act. It is comprised of a speaker or writer (the rhetor), an issue or problem that gives rise to our necessitates the writing or speech (exigence), a method of communication (written, oral, etc.) and an audience.”

Ethos

The ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.

The writer “builds/develops/establishes credibility by referring to many different examples of X and her experience with Y.”

Pathos

The emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to emotions.

“_____ is at the center of the writer’s attempt to persuade his audience that the former president was a great man.” The writer “evokes emotions both of sadness and joy in the audience in describing the former president as x, y, and z.”

The speaker “appeals to the audience’s emotions by describing the immense suffering of x, y, and z, ultimately eliciting a great sense of connection and sympathy.”

Logos

The appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.

The author builds/crafts/makes/develops a logical argument by comparing former presidents to the current one and using facts and figures as evidence of how the current president has improved the country

Anecdote

A brief story within a piece of writing, which contributes to the main idea.

Example: In a passage about courage, the writer or speaker includes an _______ about how she overcame her fear of the dark.

Allusion

Mentioning or referring to something outside the work or the passage-- another work of literature, an historical event, a myth, a famous historical person, god or goddess, the Bible, etc. as a means of illustration or meaning. Frederick Douglass alludes to the Bible and the persecution of the Jews by Pharaoh in order to enrich his discussion of the suffering of the enslaved.

Comparison

Comparing different ideas and showing how they are alike, or how they are different.

Example: In a passage, the author compares the qualities of the city and country as a way of reflecting the conflict between values.

Complexity or Nuance

Identifying a range of qualities (not just one). These are often, but not always contrasting. “In the passage, the writer’s interpretation of the situation is _____ in that, while her letter makes clear her love and absolute devotion to her son, she also chides him for not working harder-- her tone is both admiring and critical.”

Context

The situation that surrounds any event. When was the speech or passage delivered or written. By whom? To whom? Where? (By president Lincoln, to all U.S. citizens, at the start of his second term).

Contrast

When a writer points out differences by placing ideas, characters, images, language, settings, etc. in opposition in order to reveal difference, tension, complexity, etc.

The writer presents the warmth and bright light of the cafe in stark contrast to the dark, snowy streets outside, suggesting….

The writer _____ images of abundance and contentment with images of scarcity and suffering.

Dialogue

Definition: When two or more characters have a conversation, usually shown by using quotation marks.

Example: “ Martha, it is I!” said Deborah. “Ahh, Deborah! it’s so good to see you!” exclaimed Martha.

Even from this initial exchange, the dialogue reveals Martha and Deborah’s excitement about....

When a character calls out to someone not present: apostrophe.

Example: “O Douglass, if only you were alive now to return and assist us in our struggle!”

In this example of apostrophe, the speaker is addressing the absent Frederick Douglass.

Diction

Definition: Word choice - the individual words that stand out and create the tone or mood and meaning of the piece.

Example: When the writer uses ____ such as “angry,” “hollow,” and “bitter,” she gives a clear picture of her opinion about the nation’s moral failings.

Descriptive detail

Definition: Describing an object, a person, a setting, etc. using specific words and phrases. Similar to diction, but more flexible in that you may include longer excerpts (not just single words).

Example: Douglass describes his first experience of witnessing a whipping to a “blood-stained gate into the horrors of slavery.”

Exigence

In rhetoric, it is an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak. The term comes from the Latin word for "demand." What is it that “demanded” this speech or piece of writing?

Figurative language

This is a useful “umbrella term” and it is a good choice in that it allows examples of many different techniques and helps a writer avoid getting stuck focusing on, for instance, a single “simile” in the passage when there are also examples of metaphor, etc. that function similarly.

Definition: language that is not literal (it exaggerates or compares things).

Example: In the night the skies had wept, as if in sympathy with little Adele, who, only the day before, had found her doll smashed to smithereens upon the pavers.

Metaphor

Definition: Comparing two things without using words such as: like and as.

Example: Her smile is the sun.

Simile

Definition: Comparing two things and using words such as like and as.

Example: Her smile is bright, like the sun. Or as bright as the sun.

Personification

Definition: Describing something that isn’t a person as if it is-- giving it human qualities.

The leaves danced across the pond.

The winded ripped his hat off his head.

Hyperbole

Definition: deliberate exaggeration for effect.

Example: I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!

Imagery

Definition: Descriptive and figurative language in the writing that appeals to the senses -- especially visual details.

Example: The image of the ships at sea, moving freely, their sails billowing and white, makes Douglass mourn his own captivity and evokes sympathy in the reader.

Juxtaposition

When two things are placed side by side for comparison, often to highlight the contrast between the elements.

The writer ______ descriptions of heaven and hell.

Listing

Definition: When the writer gives us examples in a series to add emphasis, reveal meaning, etc.

The narrator lists the many positive attributes of political reform, including a, b, and c., which together suggest his passion about the need for change in the country.

Narrative point of view

Definition: Any of several vantage points from which an argument is made. The point of view from which the passage is presented to us.

First person singular (“I” voice) - The reader must be aware of bias (and limited awareness) - I think…

First person plural (“we” voice)-- has the effect of uniting the speaker and audience.

Second person (“You”) As soon as you arrive in Larchmont, you see… (a rare mode). Has the effect of involving the reader directly.

Third person (He/she/They -- As soon as he arrived in Larchmont, he saw…

Setting

The location of a work (or passage) in time and place. For instance, if the setting of the passage is a spring morning, the sun rising, the birds chirping-- perhaps this reflects the character’s optimism as she sets out on a new adventure or experiences a personal rebirth.

The ______ of the harbor, where Douglass watches the boats moving freely is significant in that it makes him long for the freedom of movement the ships have and at the same time deepens his own sense of enslavement.

Structure

Definition: the arrangement of and relationship between the parts of a passage. How a work (or passage, or speech) is arranged. In particular, you might point out contrasts, or how the piece shifts as it proceeds (in mood, tone, setting, focus, argument). Most simply, you have a beginning, middle, and end to examine and what is revealed in each of these places. What different parts of the argument can you identify? How does the writer build the argument from one section of the writing to the next?

Symbol

Something that is simultaneously itself and a representation of something else.

In literature, winter, night, and cold are often symbols of death.

The city, in a passage from D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow becomes a symbol of freedom and intellectual stimulation.

Syntax

(the lengths, arrangements of words and phrases, and kinds of sentences and their effect-- simple, compound, complex, short, long, etc.); the “structure” of sentences rather than of the work as a whole.

Message/ Meaning/ Purpose

Most rhetorical analysis prompts will ask you to identify the writer’s message or purpose. What does the writer want to change, communicate, make happen through sharing this speech or piece of writing. Is it to persuade, console, excuse, argue, attack, etc.? Better yet, for a higher “sophistication” score, how is what the writer is arguing “nuanced” or “complex”? For instance, a politician may be praising the people at the same time that she is scolding them for not living up to what she feels is the patriotic behavior expected of citizens.

Tone

Definition: The general attitude of the speaker or writer as revealed through descriptive details, diction, etc. Look particularly for “shifts in tone” (or “tonal shifts”) or “complex qualities of tone.”

Example: “As the passage progresses, the ___ shifts from defeated and mournful to tentatively optimistic.”