AP Lang -- Intro to Rhetoric Test

Kardelis 2023

the rhetorical situation

the rhetorical situation

speaker, purpose, audience, context, exigence (SPACE)

speaker

background info about the author of a piece

purpose/claim

what is the author trying to do with this work?

audience

who is reading/seeing this?

context

what was happening at the time (broad)

exigence

what inspired the author to write the text (specific context)

concession

an acknowlegement that an opposing argument may be true

refutation

denial of the validity of an opposing argument

qualify

developing ideas and exploring solutions

quantify

support a claim with ideas such as “how much,” “how many,” “how often”

aristotelian trangle

diagram which illustrates the relationships between speaker, subject, and audience

rhetorical appeals

ethos, logos, pathos

ethos

establishes the trustworthyness of the author

logos

offering clear, rational ideas backed with fact

pathos

appeal to emotions: fear, patriotism, anger, hope, prejudices

archaic language

using old-fashioned language

aliteration

using words that start with the same letter one after another

colloquialism

using language that reflects the actual way people speak, using slang

connotation

implied or contextualized meaning of a word

denotation

the literal meaning of a word

ellipsis

omitting some parts of a sentence to give the reader a chance to fill the gaps

jargon

language that is specific to a place, period, or occupation

repetition

repeating words/phrase in order to emphasize or reiterate

cumulative sentence

sentence where the main clause is at the beginning and then more details are added

hortative sentence

an imploring/entreating call to action

imperative sentence

a commanding/demanding call to action

periodic sentence

sentence that builds up to the main point, the main clause is held until the end

anaphora

repetition of words of phrases in the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

antimetabole

repetition of words in reverse order

example of anaphora

““It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness”

example of antimetabole

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

example of antithesis

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

antitihesis

opposition of words using parallel construction

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between phrases, clauses, or words

example of asyndeton

"He ran, jumped, laughed, played."

juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize differences

example of juxtaposition

"War and Peace"

parallelism

using similar structure in successive phrases or clauses

example of parallelism

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

syndeton

addition of multiple conjunctions between words or phrases

example of syndeton

"I ate pizza and pasta and salad."

allusion

reference to another source

example of allusion

"In the story, he was a real Romeo with the ladies."

anecdote

a (typically short) narrative used to illustrate or explain

antecedent

a thing or event that existed before or logically precedes another; what pronouns refer to

example of antecedent

"John lost his wallet."

In this sentence, "John" is the antecedent of the pronoun "his."

assonance

repeating vowel sounds

consonance

repetition of identical or similar consonants in different words

example of assonance

"The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”

example of consonance

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

epithet

a descriptive term or phrase used to characterize a person, place, or thing.

example of an epithet

"Alexander the Great" - the term "the Great" is an epithet used to describe Alexander

euphemism

the substitution of a harsh word or phrase for something more agreeable

example of a euphemism

“he passed away”

extended metaphor

a comparison between two unlike things throughout a series of sentences

example of an extended metaphor

"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts."

hyperbole

a deliberate exaggeration

example of hyperbole

"I've told you a million times to clean your room!"

imagery

descriptive language appealing to all five senses, painting a picture

example of imagery

"The golden sun sank below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow across the tranquil, turquoise sea.”

maxim

a short statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct

example of a maxim

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”

metaphor

a comparison that replaces on object for another

example of a metaphor

"Her voice is music to my ears."

metonymy

the substitution of the name for an attribte of the thing

example of metonymy

“suit” for “business executive”

motif

a repeating symbol throughout a text

example of a motif

blood in Macbeth

oxymoron

using two contradictory words next to eachother

example of an oxymoron

“peaceful revolution”

paradox

a statement that seems contradictory yet could be true

example of a paradox

"it was the beginning of the end."

personification

describing an inanimate object as if it were a person

example of personification

“With history the final judge of our deeds”

rhetorical question

posing a question for effect rather than to get an answer

example of a rhetorical question

“Will you join in that historic effort?”

similie

a comparison that uses “like” or “as”

example of a similie

“cool as a cucumber”

symbol

object used to represent an idea or theme

example of a symbol

rose —> love

synecdoche

using one part to refer to the whole

example of synecdoche

refering to a car as a “set of wheels”

tone

authors attitude towards a subject or matter

zeugma

using two different meanings of the same word within a sentence

example of zeugma

“When we bear arms, we bear a burden of responsibility”

claims of fact

an assertion that something is true or not; can be proven by fact

claims of value

assertion that something is good/bad, right/wrong

claims of policy

suggestion of a course of action BASED on claims of fact and value

firsthand evidence

something the writer KNOWS from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge

secondhand evidence

information accessed through research, reading, etc; typically factual

open thesis

does not list all the points the author intends to include, suggests an abstract/vague claim of value

closed thesis

lists main points in a specific, limited claim of value

counter-argument thesis

summary of primary counterargument, is preceded by “but” or “although”, and is usually followed by the writer’s primary claim

fallacies of relevance

using evidence that is irrelevant to the claim

ad hominem

attacking character of speaker instead of addressing topic

appeal to false authority

using someone as an “expert” who is not actually and expert

faulty analogy

a comparison between two irrelevant things

red herrings

introducing new and unrelated topic before addressing argument topic

fallacies of accuracy

using innacurate evidence (whether intentionally or unintentionally)

non sequitur

claim where the reason does not logically connect