AP Language Chapter 1 Terms and Main Ideas

Rhetoric

"the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion"

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text (can be multiple audiences)

Texts

Cultural products that can be "read," meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated

Exigence

The catalyst that prompts the speaker to address a topic

Context

The historical, cultural, and social movements of a time

Occasion

The specific circumstances, atmospheres, attitudes, and events surrounding the creation of the text

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve

The Rhetorical Triangle

Speaker

The person or group who creates a text

Persona

Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Subject

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

The three main rhetorical appeals

Ethos, logos, pathos

Ethos

Where the speaker proves credibility to the audience

Automatic Ethos

The speaker's title or reputation can automatically establish ethos

Building Ethos

Writers and speakers often have to build their ethos by explaining their credentials or background to the reader, or by emphasizing shared values. You're more likely to listen to someone who is qualified to speak on a subject or who shares your interests and concerns

Logos

An appeal to the audience's logic/using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony

Counterargument

An opposing argument to the one the writer is putting forward.

Concession

An acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument. A refutation often follows a concession that acknowledges the validity of an opposing argument

Pathos

An appeal to an audience's emotions

Propagandistic

The spread of ideas and information to further a cause. In its negative sense, propaganda is the use of rumors, lies, disinformation, and scare tactics in order to damage or promote a cause.

Polemical

Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others

Connotations

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition. Connotations are often positive or negative, and they often greatly affect the author's tone

Combining Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

If you lay out your argument logically, that will help to build your ethos. It is only logical to listen to an expert on a subject, so having ethos can help build a foundation for an appeal to logos.

It's also possible to build your ethos based on pathos (who better to speak about the pain of losing a loved one than someone who has gone through it)

Taking Rhetorical Risks

As a reader and writer, you want to develop the skills to anticipate interpretive responses different from your own.

Like making assumptions

Humorous and Satirical Rhetoric

Humor might work by wrapping a challenge in a joke, making us seem more receptive.

Also, humor can work by exaggerating a concept in order to make us see its faults.

Humour may help a writer make a point without seeming to preach or take himself too seriously.