AP Book Vocabulary

Context

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

Exigence

The aspects of the rhetorical situation that prompted the writer or speaker to create the text, including its occasion.

Message

is the main idea or position the writer wants to convey to the audience about the subject of a text involves intention , that is, a viewpoint or position on the subject at hand

Occasion

the specific circumstances and events that necessitate the text, is sometimes part of its exigence, but not always.

The writer

is the person or group who creates a text. This might be a politician who delivers a speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement

Persona

mask”; it means the face or character that a writer shows to the audience

Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text or performance. An audience has both shared and individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds. It’s also important to note that there are often multiple audiences for a text

Rhetorical Appeals

ways of making a message appealing to an audience. Ethos, logos, and pathos.

Ethos

is effective when the writer demonstrates trustworthiness and credibility on the topic

Logos

embodied thought”) means thinking logically — having a clear main idea and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back it up

Counter argument

anticipate objections or opposing views

Concede

common strategy is to agree that some or all of an opposing argument may be true or reasonable, or that in some circumstances that argument’s claims might have some validity

Refute

to deny, the validity of all or part of the argument, using evidence to support the refutation

Rebut

an argument; that is, you can present a contrasting perspective on an argument or its evidence to propose that some or all of a competing position is unfounded

Pathos

is an appeal to emotions, values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other

Style

It’s a mix of elements: the word choices writers make, the syntactical patterns they create in their writing, and the conventions of grammar and mechanics that they use. These language choices matter because they help shape our perceptions of a writer and may even determine whether we find that writer’s argument convincing.

Diction

writer’s choice of words is called, and understanding its effect is key to understanding a writer’s perspective and an important step toward analyzing rhetoric

Denotation

dictionary definition — but also to its underlying associations or connotations, which can be emotional triggers. A simple example is the difference between thin, slim, slender, and scrawny

Connotations

depending upon the context. “Thin” is generally neutral. Being described as “slender” or even “slim” is considered a compliment, while “scrawny” carries a negative connotation of being too thin, likely unhealthy, possibly even a pushover.

Clauses

words, phrases, that add description or qualification) are tools writers use to engage their audience and convey a perspective on the things they describe

Modifiers

most effective — and clearest — when they appear closest to the word, phrase, or clause they are meant to modify. They can appeal to the senses, increasing the audience’s understanding of how something looked or felt. Or, they might qualify a point such as “in some circumstances,” “primarily,” or “often.”

Formal diction

which sticks to grammatical rules and avoids colloquial or slang expressions.

Informal diction

which is more conversational and might include more casual expressions that your audience themselves use

Figurative language

involves words or phrases that are not meant to be taken literally and usually involve comparisons.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly compares two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another.

Simile

A figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using the words like, as, or as though to do so

Analogy

A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things. Often, an it uses something simple or familiar to explain something complex or unfamiliar.

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, an event, or a place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.

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

Sentences

They are made up of clauses, at least one of which must be an independent clause.

Independent Clause

The arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses within sentences, and of sentences within a text, are purposeful choices a writer makes to emphasize specific ideas

Compound

A word or phrase made by joining two or more words together to create a new meaning.

Coordination

(joining clauses with for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so)

Subordination

(joining clauses with when, because, until, if)

Periodic sentence

Often a writer will build a longer sentence with a series of clauses or modifiers, holding the main clause until the end

Cumulative sentence

with a series of modifiers at the end. Within these longer sentences

Parenthetical

which interrupts a sentence to provide information that may not be essential to understanding the writer’s main point but still furthers the writer’s purpose or speaks to the audience’s needs

Parallel Structure

repeating the same word, phrase, or clause for emphasis. We think of its effect as primarily to call attention, or to emphasize.

Antithesis

Contradictory ideas that are juxtaposed, often using parallel grammatical construction.

Punctuation

commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, and end marks all show the audience the relationships among ideas in a given sentence and throughout a text.

Tone

the writer’s attitude toward the subject — which is conveyed through the writer’s style. Tone is usually described with adjectives, as we did just now: casual, direct, grand, formal, ceremonial.

Shifts

A point in a text that indicates a change. It is most often a change in the writer’s or speaker’s tone or perspective.

Rhetoric Situation

of a text is made up of several factors: context, which includes setting and occasion, exigence, purpose, audience, writer, and message