AP Lang & Comp: Rhetorical Devices and Appeals

ethos

ethos

An appeal that relies on the speaker’s credibility and trustworthiness (usually accompanied by first person pronouns “I” or me) MUST make the speaker (not any other person) sound credible, trustworthy, or ethical. The goal is to make the audience want to listen to the speaker’s message because they respect them as an individual.

pathos

An appeal that relies on influencing the audience’s emotions. Powerful stories, examples, or description that include inspirational moments or sad/unbearable situations. Incorporates stark contrasts and figurative language to describe situations, ideas, or images. Includes repetition to emphasize powerful points. Include powerful word choices that are chosen carefully to elicit specific emotions.

logos

An appeal that relies on logic, evidence, and reason. Facts or statistics. Dates and times of events. Logical statements that the audience can relate to through reason and past experience. Incorporates “evidence” that is (or appears to be) backed up by research.

juxtaposition

Placing two contrasting images or ideas next to each other for dramatic effect.

anaphora

Repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or paragraphs.

epistrope

Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or paragraphs.

euphemism

Taking something that would be particularly negative (harsh, cruel, scary, etc.) and phrasing it in a much more positive light.

hyperbole

An exaggeration used to describe a particular point or argument.

parallelism

Constructing different parts of a complex sentence in an equal manner by using the same grammatical structures.

rhetorical question

Using hypothetical questions (ones where the answer is already implied) to add evidence to a critical argument.

understatement

Using targeted phrasing to make a very important development or occurrence sound less important than it really is.

amplification

Repeating an important word or phrase while adding more details and examples to it each time.

paradox

Contradicting ideas that might sound illogical, but with further investigation, might possibly be true.

polysyndeton

Including more conjunctions than necessary between successive phrases within a sentence.

asyndeton

Failing to include conjunctions between successive phrases within a sentence.