AP LANG RHETORICAL CHOICES

TONE

TONE

describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. ____ is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author’s ____. Some words describing ____ are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, and somber. You should precede the word “ ___” in your writing with some adjective describing the specific ____ used. ____ often works to appeal to pathos.

Diction

_____ creates tone. _____ is, simply put, words, and refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. For the AP exam, you should be able to describe an author’s _____ (for example, formal or informal, ornate or plain) and understand the ways in which _____ can complement the author’s purpose. In commenting on _________ , you should always precede the word with some adjective such as “elevated _____,” “scholarly _____,” “inclusive _____,” “derogatory _____” “emphatic _____” etc. If you do not, you are really just saying the author used words.

Imagery

_____ creates tone. _____ is an unusually descriptive language that appeals to the five senses. This language is highly connotative and often works to appeal to pathos. You should precede the word “_____” in your writing with some adjective describing the specific ________ used.

Simile

a comparison using like or as.

Ex. She is like a flower.

Metaphor

a comparison NOT using like or as.

Ex. She is a flower.

Analogy

An _____ is something that shows how two things are alike, but with the ultimate goal of making a point about this comparison. The purpose of an _____ is not merely to show, but also to explain. For this reason, an _____ is more complex than a simile or a metaphor, which aim only to show without explaining. Ex. “What you’re doing is as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Here, the speaker is using a simile to compare the task being done to the task of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But, the ultimate goal is not just to compare one task to another, it is to communicate that the first task is useless—by comparing it to a similarly useless task, such as rearranging deck chairs on a ship that famously sank into the sea on its maiden voyage.

CONTRASTS

showing that two ideas, images, objects, are different.

Juxtaposition

When two words, phrases, images, ideas are placed closely together or side by side for contrast.

Ex. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” - Dickens

AMPLIFICATIONS

the act of intensifying an idea for emphasis

Hyperbole

an exaggeration made in a phrase.

Ex. I’ve told you a million times not to do that!

Enumeration

when a subject is divided into constituent parts or details, and may include a listing of causes, effects, problems, solutions, conditions, and consequences; the listing or detailing of the parts of something.

Ex. I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips.

Ex. “Who’s gonna turn down a Junior Mint? It’s chocolate; it’s peppermint; it’s delicious. . . It’s very refreshing!” – Kramer (Seinfeld).

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Repetition

the act of repeating something - whether it’s words, images, sentence structure, etc.

Alliteration

repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence.

Ex. [L]et us go forth to __l__ead the __l__and we __l__ove . . .the

Parallel Structure

a similarity of sentence structure structure in a pair or series of *related (*not the same) words, phrases, or clauses.

Ex. “I want to fish, hike, and picnic.

Ex. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."

Anaphora

a type of parallel structure in which the same word or words is/are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

Ex."So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom

ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania... “ - Dr. MLK Jr.

Hypophora

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions is/are asked and then answered, often at length, by one and the same speaker; raising and responding to one’s own question(s). A common usage is to ask the question at the beginning of a paragraph and then use the paragraph to answer it. You can use __________ to raise questions which you think the reader obviously has on his/her mind and would like to see formulated and answered.

Ex. “When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. It appealed to the heroism of its youth.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Rhetorical Question

differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no answer would suffice. It is used for effect,emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the fact at hand.

Ex. We shrink from change; yet is there anything that can come into being without it? What does Nature hold dearer, or more proper to herself? Could you have a hot bath unless the firewood underwent some change? Could you be nourished if the food suffered no change? Do you not see, then, that change in yourself is the same order, and no less necessary to Nature? -- Marcus Aurelius

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. __________ can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of __________. Sometimes __________ may be used for comparative purposes, but not always.

Ex. “Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” - Richard Cushing

Anecdote

a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person; used as evidence to support a writer’s claim.

Hypothetical Example

an example used to illustrate a claim that has not actually happened but could be true.

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Ex. “in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a part of my brethren under groaning captivity and cruel oppression”

APPEALS

________ is a fancy word for “intriguing” the audience with something that would persuade them to believe a writer’s argument.  Ethos, Logos, and Pathos essentially categorize three main areas in which people can be persuaded. The best writers use a combination of all three ________ to persuade their audiences.

Ethos

A means of convincing an audience of an argument via the authority or credibility of the writer. An author also makes an appeal to _____ when the writer mentions values, beliefs, or needs that the writer and the audience share. This works as an avenue to build trust.

Logos

A means of convincing an audience of an argument through the crafting of a logical argument. The writer uses convincing reasons and reliable evidence that supports those reasons. Writers CREATE _____ by using facts, statistics, data, expert opinion, credible sources, examples, anecdotes

Pathos

a means of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response within the reader. Writers appeal to _____ through their tone, diction, imagery, emotional anecdote.