rhetorical terms: ap lang

asyndeton

leaves out a conjuction between a list for effect.

ex: he was tall, dark, handsome.

conduplicatio

it takes an important word in a statement from anywhere in the statement an repeats again.

ex: The law destroys the fruits of thirty years of struggle bringing us back to a sadder time. Law should build up not tear down.

understatement

intentionally giving a lesser description.

ex: I did NOTHING at school today.

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration.

ex: This room is as cold as the Ice Age.

antithesis

contrasting any of the parts of a statement.

ex: The love that was once an oasis is now a barren desert.

hypophora

asking a question and then answering it.

ex: Why am I putting more police officers on the street? Their presence prevents crime.

rhetorical question

asking a question and the answer is implied.

ex: How can we expect a man to give more than we ourselves are willing to give?

procatalepsis

stating something and then objecting to the statement as if the speaker anticipates the audience’s concerns

ex: Many experts want to classify Nascar as a sport, but I do not.

allusion

a reference to a well-known event, place, or person.

ex: He hammered the ball the way Babe Ruth did.

eponym

referring to a specific famous person to compare his or her attributes to someone else.

ex: A modern day Moses, he led his nation to a new beginning.

exemplum

providing the reader an example to prove your point.

ex: The U.S. government gives its citizens freedoms; one illustration of this is that we have the right to criticize our leaders.

anadiplosis

takes the last word of a sentence or phrase and repeats next to the beginning of the next sentence or phrase.

ex: In education we find the measure of our own ignorance; in ignorance we find the meaning of wisdom.

aphorism

a short statement that gives an observation about life.

ex: A stitch in time saves nine.

idiom

a statement that makes no literal sense but has a meaning you understand

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ex: The old man is over the hill.

ex: Falling in love.

paradox

a statement that seems self-contradictory but later reveals a truth.

ex: Much madness is the divinest sense.

anecdote

a brief story meant to prove a point.

personification

giving things human characteristics

aporia

a device a writer uses to express doubt about an idea; it can also be used to show the many sides of an argument.

ex: I'm unsure whether to be in favor of the death penalty or not as the arguments to both sides seem strong.

amplification

writers repeat something they just said while adding more detail.

ex: It was a cold day, a wicked day, a day of biting winds and bitter frost.

parataxis

a series of clauses without correct punctuation.

ex: I came, I saw, I conquered.

synecdoche

using a part of something instead of referring to the whole.

ex: The rancher boasted about how many head of cattle he had.
ex: The captain needed all hands on deck.

metonymy

referring to something closely related to the actual object, person, or thing

ex: The White House made a last minute decision.
ex. The brass showed up to take witness statements.

hyperbaton

arrange words in a sentence in an unexpected order (word inversion).
ex. Intentions profit nothing; only promises kept matter.

transcendentalism

A 19th-century idealistic philosophical and social movement that taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity.

Romanticism

an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1840. The movement valued feeling over reason.

zeugma

a device in which unexpected items in a sentence are linked together by shared words.
ex. The runner lost the race and then lost his scholarship.
ex. He ran hundreds of miles and then ran out of time.

didactic

its primary goal is to teach the reader a lesson
ex. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
ex. Paul's letters in the Bible.

genre

type or kind

motif

recurring images, symbols, themes, or characters.

denotation

a word’s literal meaning

connotation

the association evoked by words beyond its literal meaning. It reflects broad cultural associations (ethos).

logos

rhetorical appeal focusing on logic.

ethos

rhetorical appeal focusing on ethics (what is accepted among people who live in same time and place).

pathos

rhetorical appeal focusing on emotions.

allegory

type of narrative that has two levels of meaning: surface and deeper.

ambiguity

result of something being stated in such a way that its meaning cannot be determined definitely.

syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

linguistics

the science of language
a. the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
b. the study of the patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words.
c. the rules or patterns so studied: English syntax.

dissemination

as in "of ideas" to scatter; to disperse or spread

jargon

language used by a particular group (teachers saying we are giving a TLI or a Chunk Test or referring to an "AYP."

discourse

a. thoughts, statements, or dialogue of individuals especially characters in a literary work.
b. the language in which a subject or area of knowledge is discussed.

catharsis (noun) cathartic (adjective)

the emotional effect a drama has on its audience/ the purging of emotions or relieving emotional tensions especially through certain kinds of art like drama and music.

epiphany

insight or revelation gained when one suddenly understands.

epitaph

an inscription on a tomb to commemorate the deceased.

sententia

fancy term for a quotation of life saying.

maxim

wise saying.

analogy

a comparison of the similar characteristics of two unlike things.

antagonist

character who opposes protagonist.

apostrophe

addressing or speaking to some abstract quality or non-human entity.

archetype

story or pattern repeated from generation to generation

ex: searching for the fountain of youth, selling your soul to the devil.

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds.

colloquial

language that is informal or familiar to a group of people.

consonance

where a poet repeats the identical consonant sounds typically in the last syllable of words.

doppelganger

a German phrase that asserts that for each person there exists an exact replica, a shadow image.

elegy

a poem that reflects upon death.

enjambment

occurs when a poet continues the grammatical sentence into the next line.

epanalepsis

repetition of the beginning at the end of a clause or sentence.

ex: Blood hath brought blood, and blows have answered blows.

hubris

a Greek term that means excessive pride.

juxtaposition

the placement of items close together often for purposes of contrasting or comparison.

stance

attitude author has toward the audience.

chiasmus (a.k.a inverted parallelism)

a figure of speech in which a grammatical structure is repeated but in inverse order/ a reversal of ideas expressed in parallel clauses or phrases.

ex: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

situational irony

contrast between what you think will happen and what actually happens.

dramatic irony

the audience knows something the characters do not.

verbal irony

contrast between what is stated and what is meant.

pedantic

overly concerned in one's learning

euphemism

substitution of words that sound not as harsh
Ex. He "passed away" instead of he "died."

anachronism

something or someone not in correct time period
Ex. dinging clock in Julius Caesar

colloquialism

informal speech or expression "I wasn't born yesterday."

invective

 insulting or abusive words or expressions

discernible

distinguishable

ambiguity

unclear; doubtful

nostalgic

sentimental yearning for the happiness felt in a former time, place, or situation.

simile

comparing two things to clarify how they are alike...uses words *like* or *as*

metaphor

comparing two things without using *like* or *as*

red herring

meant to deter or throw off readers or speakers/ occurs when the writer creates a distraction

exordium

Latin word for beginning/ introduction to an essay

peroratio

brings the essay to a close

claim

assertion or proposition

claim of fact

asserts if something is true or not true

claim of value

argues if something is good or bad

claim of policy

proposing a change

to develop a claim into a thesis statement, you have to be more specific about what you intend to argue

closed thesis

statement of the main idea of the argument that ALSO previews the major points the writer tends to make

open thesis

the main idea of an argument but does not list all the points the writer intends to cover

**counterargument thesis statement**

this statement usually contains an *although* or a *but* **BEFORE** the writer's opinion

Ex. Although the Harry Potter series may have some literary merit, its popularity has to do less with storytelling and more with merchandising.

logical fallacies

potential weaknesses in an argument

fallacies of relevance

using evidence that is not relevant to the claim

ad hominem

tactic of switching from the topic at hand to attacking the CHARACTER of the other speaker

fallacies of accuracy

using information that is inaccurate (straw man fallacy- using an oversimplified example in order to ridicule an opponent's view ex. Candidate A wants continue to fund space exploration. Candidate B mocks him for "looking for little green men."

fallacies of insufficiency

hasty generalizations/ not enough evidence to support/ circular reasoning is repeating bad evidence resulting in no evidence at all

satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues in order to raise awareness or to bring about change;  ridiculing something in an attempt to bring about change or to raise awareness.

diction

What words does the author choose? Consider his/her word choice compared to another. Why did the author choose that particular word? What are the connotations of that word choice?

images

What images does the author use? What does he/she focus on in a sensory way? The kinds of images the author puts in or leaves out reflect his/her style? Are they vibrant? Prominent? Plain? NOTE: Images differ from detail in the degree to which they appeal to the senses.

details

What details does the author choose to include? What do they imply? What does the author choose to exclude? What are the connotations of their choice of details? PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts or fact-lets. They differ from images in that they don’t have a strong sensory appeal.

ex. An author describing a battlefield might include details about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not.

language

What is the overall impression of the language the author uses? Does it reflect education? A particular profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figurative? Poetic?

sentence structure

What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do they have multiple phrases? Are they choppy? Flowing? Sinuous like a snake? Is there antithesis, chiasmus, parallel construction? What emotional impression do they leave? If we are talking about poetry, what is the meter? Is there a rhyme scheme?

warrant

the general, hypothetical and often implicit logical statements that serve as bridges between the claim and the data

qualifier

statements that limit the strengths of the argument or statements that propose the conditions under which the argument is true

rebuttal

counter arguments or statements indicating circumstances when the general argument does not hold true

backing

statements that serve to support the warrants

syllogism

a logical structure that uses major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion.