AP Language Rhetorical Analysis Terms

rhetorical situation

Factors of a text: context, which includes setting and occasion, exigence, purpose, audience, writer, and message

context

Broad historical, cultural, and social movements of a text including time, place, and circumstances

exigence

Aspects of a rhetorical situation making the text urgent

occasion

Specific circumstances and events necessitating the text

purpose

The goal of the text

writer/speaker

Person/group who creates a text

persona

The role of the writer in delivering a speech or publishing a text

message

Main idea or position the writer seeks to convey

audience

Listener, viewer, or reader of a text or performance

subject

Topic of a text

Ethos

Appeals to expertise, knowledge, experience, sincerity, shared values, and/or a mix of these factors

Logos

Appeals to reason by offering clear, logical ideas

Counterargument

Anticipation of objections or opposing views

Concede

Agreement that some or all of an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

Refute

Denial of all or part of an argument's validity using evidence

Rebut

Presentation of a contrasting perspective on an argument to show that some or all of an opposing position is unfounded

Pathos

Appeals to emotions, values, desires, and hopes, fears, or prejudices

Balanced Appeals

Balancing appeals to emotion with appeals to logic

Simple sentence

A sentence composed of one main clause without any subordinate clauses.

Compound sentence

Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

Complex sentence

A sentence containing an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

Compound-complex sentence

A combination of a compound sentence and a complex sentence; it is often fairly long.

Hortative sentence

A sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.

Imperative sentence

A sentence that issues a command. The subject of an imperative sentence is often implied rather than explicit.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that begins with details, qualifications, or modifications, building toward the main clause.

Cumulative sentence

A sentence in which an independent clause is followed by details, qualifications, or modifications in subordinate clauses or phrases.

Inverted sentence

A sentence that deviates from the traditional subject-verb-object order; the verb may appear before the subject.

Interrupted sentence

A sentence of any pattern modified by interruptions that add descriptive details, state conditions, suggest uncertainty, voice possible alternative views, or present qualifications.

Diction

Word choice

denotation

Dictionary definition

connotation

Idea or feeling evoked by a word alongside the literal definition

modifiers

Words, phrases, or clauses adding description or qualification

formal diction

Follows grammatical rules and avoids colloquial or slang expressions

Informal diction

conversational language including common expressions used by audience

Figurative language

Words or phrases not meant to be taken seriously

metaphor

Comparison of two unlike things without the terms "like" or "as"

simile

Comparison using "like" or "as"

analogy

Comparison between the familiar and unfamiliar to explain a concept

personification

Attribution of human characteristics onto non-human beings

syntax

The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. This includes word order (subject-verb-object, for instance, or an inverted structure); the length and structure of sentences (simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex); and such schemes as parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole.

independent clause

A clause that can stand by itself and still make sense. In other words, it contains a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb).

coordination

Joins two ideas with a conjunction, usually to show that both ideas are equally important

subordination

Joins two ideas with a conjunction, usually to show that one idea is less important than the other

parenthetical

Interrupts a sentence to provide nonessential information that furthers a speaker's purpose or addresses needs of the audience

parallel structure

Repetition of the same word, phrase, or clause for emphasis that must also reflect the repetition of grammatical and/or structural elements.

tone

The writer's attitude towards a subject

shifts

Changes in tone that alert the audience to a potential qualification, refinement, or reconsideration of perspective or argument

irony

An incongruity between expectation and reality.

verbal irony

A figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable incongruity.

situational irony

A pointed discrepancy between what seems fitting or expected and what actually happens.

dramatic irony

Tension created by the contrast between what a character or writer says or thinks and what the audience knows to be true.

hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or an ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point.

understatement

The presentation or framing of something as less important, urgent, awful, good, powerful, and so on, than it actually is, often for satiric or comical effect; the opposite of hyperbole, it is often used along with this technique, and for similar effect.

Dependent/subordinate/relative clause

A group of words containing a subject and a verb that is less important and dependent on another group of words containing a subject and a verb.

Sentences

Made up of clauses, one of which must be an independent clause

Wry

Using or expressing dry, clever, mocking humor; often with a sense of irony or exaggeration

Earnest

Showing sincere or intense conviction

Strident

Loud or harsh; grating

Pedantic

Showing off knowledge; overly concerned with details

Ingratiating

Intended to gain approval or favor

ambivalent

Having contradictory feelings

equivocal

Open to more than one interpretation; Ambiguous; uncertain or questionable in nature

polemical

Involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech

enigmatic

Mysterious; difficult to understand; complex

reproachful

Expressing disapproval or disappointment