AP ENG 12 Unit 1 Vocab

Unit one vocabulary from textbook

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have

multiple audiences.

Concession

An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or rea-

sonable. In a strong argument, a concession is usually accompanied by a refuta-

tion challenging the validity of the opposing argument.

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its

dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are usually positive or neg-

ative, and they can greatly affect the author’s tone.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding

a text.

Counterargument

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

Rather than ignoring a counterargument, a strong writer will usually address it

through the process of concession and refutation.

Ethos

Greek for “character.” Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they

are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by

both who you are and what you say.

Logos

Greek for “embodied thought.” Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by

offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statis-

tics, or expert testimony to back them up.

Occasion

The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.

Pathos

Greek for “suffering” or “experience.” Speakers appeal to pathos to emo-

tionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on

the audience’s values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and preju-

dices, on the other.

Persona

Greek for “mask.” The face or character that a speaker shows to his or

her audience.

Polemic

Greek for “hostile.” An aggressive argument that tries to establish the

superiority of one opinion over all others. Polemics generally do not concede

that opposing opinions have any merit.

Propaganda

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.

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound

reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that acknowledges that an

opposing argument may be true or reasonable.

Rhetoric

As Aristotle defined the term, “the faculty of observing in any given

case the available means of persuasion.” In other words, it is the art of finding

ways to persuade an audience.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by empha-

sizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals

are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).

Rhetorical Triangle

A diagram that illustrates the interrela-

tionship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

SOAPS

A mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Pur-

pose, and Speaker. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that

make up the rhetorical situation.