ap lang summer terms

purpose

the goal the speaker wants to achieve

speaker

the person or group who creates a text

occasion

the time and place a speech is given or a piece is written

audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text

subject

the topic of a text; what the text is about

tone

a speaker’s attitude toward the subject conveyed by stylistic and rhetorical choices

mood

the feeling or atmosphere created by a text

syntax

the arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences

diction

a speaker’s choice of words

anecdote

a brief story used to illustrate a point or claim

rhetoric

the art of finding ways of persuading an audience

claim

states the argument’s main idea or position

counterargument

an opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward

concession

an acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable

refutation

addresses the counterargument; bridge between proof and conclusion

logos

Greek for “embodied thought”; reason

ethos

Greek for “character”; credibility and trustworthiness

pathos

Greek for “suffering”/“experience”; emotional motivation

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

polysyndeton

the deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases, causes, or words

parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

connotation

meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition; often positive or negative and greatly affect the author’s tone

simile

a figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it to something else, using like, as, or though

metaphor

a figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as

analogy

a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things

allusion

brief reference to a person, event, or place, or to a work of art

hyperbole

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

understatement

a figure of speech in which something is presented as less important, dire, urgent, good, etc. than it actually is, often for satiric or comedic effect

paradox

a statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth

juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences

irony

a figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means another, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected

rhetorical question

figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer

induction

logical process wherein you reason from particulars to universals, using specific cases in order to make a generalization

deduction

logical process wherein you reach a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universalization and applying it to a specific case