AP Lang Summer Assignment

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Inference

A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience.

Style

the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work

Genre

A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.

Text

something composed (e.g. articles; research studies; foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; speeches; broadcasts, and personal accounts; artistic works and performances) that conveys a perspective and can be examined

Rhetorical Situation

A complete set of circumstances that prompts a writer to write. Why the text exists in the first place.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Purpose

One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.

Subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Occasion

Occasion in AP English refers to the time, place, and situation in which a piece of writing or a speech is created.

Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text

Persona

Persona is the version of themselves a writer or speaker chooses to present. It's not the writer's whole real personality. It's a constructed role, built on purpose, for a particular audience and occasion. Think of it like a profile picture for a voice. The same person picks a different one depending on who's looking.

Exigency

In AP Lang, exigence is the specific issue, event, or problem that prompts a writer or speaker to create a text.

Constraints

Constraints are the limitations or restrictions that influence the writer's choices. These can be related to the writer, the audience, the topic, or the situation itself. Constraints are not necessarily negative; they are the "rules of the game" that can force a writer to be more creative, precise, or strategic.

To persuade

to convince

To inform

to give information

To entertain

to interest and amuse

Description mode

to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described.

Narration mode

A rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.

Argument mode

Argumentation and persuasion are rhetorical modes used to convince an audience to accept a point of view or take action (sometimes both).

Argumentation = logos

Persuasion = pathos and ethos

Exposition mode

Exposition, or expository writing, is used to explain or inform the audience about a topic. The focus is on presenting facts, evidence, or widely accepted ideas rather than the author's personal opinion.

Example/Illustration mode

Rhetorical mode that uses specific examples to illustrate an idea

Definition mode

A mode of writing in which you tell what something is by stating its general class and characteristics

Comparison mode

A mode of writing that looks at the similarities between two subjects

Contrast mode

A mode of writing that looks at the differences between two subjects

Analysis mode

Process analysis provides a detailed and step-by-step explanation of how to do something (e.g., change a tire) or how something works (e.g., how a hurricane is formed).

Division and classification mode

Classification breaks down broad subjects into smaller, manageable parts. It organizes information into categories based on shared characteristics.

Analogy mode

An analogy is an extended comparison between two things that share important similarities.

Cause and Effect

A mode of writing in which the author analyzes why an event happened and/or traces its consequences

In medias res

In medias res (Latin for "in the middle of things") is a narrative technique where a story opens mid-action rather than at the chronological beginning, forcing the author to fill in earlier events later, often through flashbacks, and shaping how readers interpret characters and theme.

Flashback (analepsis)

A narrative technique that interrupts the chronological sequence to present events that occurred earlier in time.

Flash-forward (prolepsis)

a literary device in which a scene interrupts and takes the narrative forward in time from the current time in a story

Foreshadowing

A narrative technique that hints at or suggests future events before they occur in the story.

Cliffhanger

An ending to a section, chapter, or book that leaves the reader in suspense

DEVELOPING ARGUMENT

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Inductive reasoning

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.

Deductive reasoning

reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)

Defend

Argue for an issue, agree with a position/assertion.

Challenge

Argue against an issue, disagree with a position/assertion.

Qualify

Agree with some points of an argument but disagree with others.

Argument/Claim

A statement or assertion that a writer makes and must support with evidence and reasoning in an argument.

Premise

an assumption; the basis for a conclusion

Syllagosim

an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises); a common or middle term is present in the two premises but not in the conclusion, which may be invalid (e.g. all dogs are animals; all animals have four legs; therefore all dogs have four legs).

Refutation

In AP Lang, refutation is the move where a writer presents an opposing claim and then proves it false or invalid using evidence and reasoning. It's the strongest of the three responses to counterargument (concede, rebut, refute) covered in Topic 9.1.

Rebuttal

In AP Lang, a rebuttal is a writer's direct response to an opposing argument that uses evidence and reasoning to show why that opposing view is weak, flawed, or less convincing, a core move in Topic 9.1 alongside concession and refutation.

Counterargument

Arguments or evidence that oppose or challenge the writer's main claim.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.

Anecdote

A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.

Diction

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Logical Fallacy

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid

Ad Hominem

a fallacy that attacks the persons character rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

Circumlocution

talking in circles. saying toooooo many words

Glittering Generalities

using words that sound good but don't have a definite meaning

Bandwagon

A fallacy which assumes that because something is popular, it is therefore good, correct, or desirable.

False Dilemma

A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available.

Slippery Slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

Hasty Generalization

A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Synechdoche

Uses a part to explain a whole or a whole to explain a part. ex. Lend me an ear.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the turf for horse racing.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Euphony

pleasant, harmonious sound

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

FIGURATIVE MEANING

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Hyperbation

An inversion of the normal order of words, especially for the sake of emphasis, as in the sentence ' this I must see'. *USUALLY changes many words

Antanaclasis

the repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first

Anastrophe

Anastrophe is a more specific type of hyperbaton. Rather than transposing multiple words and phrases, it only changes the position of a single word (USUALLY). So while all anastrophes are hyperbatons, not all hyperbatons are anastrophes.

Chiasmus

a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversed structure. Think of it like this: If you say "A is to B as C is to D," a chiasmus would be "A is to C as B is to D." It's all about that reversal! eg. By day the frolic, and the dance by night.

Anacolution

a deliberate disruption of grammatical structure, typically involving a sudden change in construction within a sentence. eg. He went to the store, and a good time was had by all.

Zeugma

a figure of speech in which a single word, usually a verb or an adjective, is used to refer to two or more other parts of a sentence, but in different senses. It creates a surprising and often humorous effect by linking disparate ideas. eg. She broke his car and his heart.

Apposition

a relationship between two or more words or phrases in which the two units are grammatically parallel and have the same referent (e.g. my friend Sue; the first US president, George Washington). in simpler words, its js two nouns/noun phrases next to each other referring to the same thing

Parenthesis

A parenthesis is a word, phrase, or clause inserted into a sentence as an explanation or afterthought. When a parenthesis is removed, the surrounding text is still grammatically sound. A parenthesis is usually offset with parentheses, commas, or dashes. These are called parenthetical punctuation marks.

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds

Polyptoton

Polyptoton is a figure of speech that involves the repetition of words derived from the same root (such as "blood" and "bleed"). For instance, the question, "Who shall watch the watchmen?" is an example of polyptoton because it includes both "watch" and "watchmen."

Anaphora

Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. For example, Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech contains anaphora

Epistrophe

a rhetorical device characterized by the repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences. eg. Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis is a figure of speech in which a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause or sentence. This line from the novelist Henry James is an example of anadiplosis: "Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task."

Antimetabole

Antimetabole is a figure of speech in which a phrase is repeated, but with the order of words reversed. John F. Kennedy's words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," is a famous example of antimetabole.

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

Irony

A stylistic device where there is a contrast or incongruity between what is stated and what is meant, or between expectations and reality, used to create a complex perspective in an argument.

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony occurs when a speaker says something that contradicts what they actually mean or believe.

Situational Irony

Situational Irony occurs when there's a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word, or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings

Antiphrasis

a figure of speech where a descriptive word or phrase is used in a way that's opposite to its conventional meaning

Parody

parody, in literature, an imitation of the style and manner of a particular writer or school of writers. Parody is typically negative in intent

Caricature

A caricature is a device used in writing, as well as in visual arts, when a character or subject is exaggerated.

Hyperbole

a figure of speech that involves an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis or effect. eg. im so sleepy i could sleep for a year

Litotes

a figure of speech in which understatement is used for rhetorical effect. It involves stating a positive affirmation by negating its contrary. eg. shes not a bad cook

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Antithesis

Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammatical structures. For instance, Neil Armstrong used antithesis when he stepped onto the surface of the moon in 1969 and said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory but contains a deeper truth. eg. less is more

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition literally means "placing things side by side." In literary analysis, it refers to the placement of two or more contrasting elements - ideas, characters, images, scenes, etc. - near each other for a specific effect. It's not simply about contrast; it's about the relationship created by that contrast.