evil AP lang rhetorical terms

good luck

*Alliteration

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

*Allusion

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

*Ambiguity (Ambiguous)

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence or passage.

*Analogy

A comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things.

*Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines: … not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need not as a call to battle, though embattled we are…

*Anecdote

A brief story used to illustrate a point or claim.

Annotation

The taking of notes directly on a text.

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order: [A]sk not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country

Antithesis

Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.
[W]e shall… support any friend, oppose any foe…

*Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth and moral principle: "All that glitters is not gold."

Archaic Diction

Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words.

*Argument

A process of reasoned inquiry. A persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and consideration movement from a claim to a conclusion.

Assertion

A statement that presents a claim or thesis.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunction between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

[W]e shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

*Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text.

*Claim

Also called an assertion or proposition, states the argument’s main idea or position. A claim differs from a topic or subject in that a claim has to be arguable.

Closed Thesis

A closed thesis is a statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.

*Colloquialism (Colloquial Speech)

Words or phrases that have a conversational feel and are not generally used in formal written English.

Complex Sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

*Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.

*Context

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

Cumulative Sentence

Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.

*Denotation

The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color.

*Diction

A speaker’s choice of words.

*Emphasis

Allows the writer to place importance on a particular idea. (types include *Position, *Proportion, *Isolation, *Repetition).

*Ethos

Greek for “character.” Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.

*Euphemism

Greek for “good speech,” a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. May be used to adhere to political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement.

*Figurative Language (figure of speech)

Nonliteral language, sometimes referred to as tropes or metaphorical language, often evoking strong imagery, figures of speech often compare one thing to another either explicitly (simile) implicitly (metaphor).

*Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point. My first and last name together generally served the same purpose as a high brick wall. — Firoozeh Dumas

*Imagery

A description of how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds.

Imperative sentence

Sentence used to command or enjoin. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. — John F. Kennedy

Inversion

Inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the Subject: United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do. — John F. Kennedy)

*Irony

A figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means something else, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable incongruity.

*Jargon

Specialized terminology used by a particular group of people. Obscure and often pretentious language.

*Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences.

*Logos

Greek for “embodied thought.” Speakers appeal to reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up. Gehrig starts with the thesis that he is “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” and supports it with two points: (1) the love and kindness he’s received in his seventeen years of playing baseball, and (2) a list of great people who have been his friends, family, and teammates.

*Metaphor

Figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.

Metonymy

Figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing that is related to it or emblematic of it. The pen is mightier than the sword.

Modifier

An adjective, adverb, phrase, or clause that modifies a noun, pronoun, or verb. The purpose of a modifier is usually to describe, focus, or qualify. Sprawling and dull in class, he comes alive in the halls and in the cafeteria. — David Denby

*Mood

The feeling or atmosphere created by a text.

*Narration

In classical oration, the factual and background information, establishing why a subject or problem needs addressing; it precedes the confirmation, or laying out of evidence to support claims made in the argument.

Nominalization

The process of changing a verb into a noun.

Occasion

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

Open thesis

An open thesis is one that does not list all of the points the writer intends to cover in an essay.

*Oxymoron

A paradox made up of two seemingly contradictory words.

*Paradox

A statement or situation that is seemingly contradictory on the surface, but delivers an ironic truth: There is that scattereth, yet increaseth. — The Bible

*Parallelism

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

*Pathos

Greek for “suffering” or “experience.”

Periodic sentence

Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end: To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support . . . — John F. Kennedy

*Persona

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

*Personification

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

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words: I paid for my plane ticket, and the taxes, and the fees, and the charge for the checked bag, and five dollars for a bottle of water.

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.

*Rhetoric

Aristotle defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” In other words, it is the art of finding ways of persuading an audience.

*Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling.

*Rhetorical Question

Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer. Will you join in that historic effort? — John F. Kennedy

*Satire

The use of irony or sarcasm to critique society or an individual.

Scheme

Artful syntax; a deviation from the normal order of words. Common schemes include parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole.

*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.

Speaker

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.

Stance

A speaker’s attitude toward the audience (differing from tone, the speaker’s attitude toward the subject).

*Style

A writer’s specific way of saying things. Includes arrangement of ideas, word choice, syntax, and figurative language. We can analyze and describe an author’s personal style and make judgments on how appropriate it is to the author’s purpose.

Subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Symbol

Generally, something that represents or stands for something else. In this class, we look at ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLS. One system classifies symbols into three categories: Natural symbols—objects from nature to represent ideas commonly associated with them (dawn symbolizing a new beginning, a tree meaning knowledge), Conventional symbols—invested meaning by a group (religious symbols such as the cross or Star of David; national symbols such as the eagle or flag; group symbols such as the scales of justice for lawyers). Literary symbols—found in a variety of works and are generally recognized. Objects that stand for abstract ideas.

Synecdoche

Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. — John F. Kennedy

*Syntax

The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Synthesize

Combining two or more ideas in order to create something more complex in support of a new idea.

Text

While this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be “read”— meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.

*Theme

A writer’s thoughts on a topic. It is not JUST the topic, but what the author develops in terms of what he believes about the topic.

*Tone

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

Trope

Artful diction; from the Greek word for “turning,” a figure of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy, or synecdoche.

*Understatement

A figure of speech in which something is presented as less important, dire, urgent, good, and so on, than it actually is, often for satiric or comical effect. Also called litotes, it is the opposite of hyperbole.

You might want to write clearly and cogently in your English class. The night in prison was novel and interesting enough. — Henry David Thoreau

*Vernacular

The speech patterns of a particular group of people or region.

*Voice

The unique flavor of a piece based upon the author.

Wit

In rhetoric, the use of laughter, humor, irony, and satire in the confirmation or refutation of an argument.

Zeugma

Use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings.

When you open a book, you open your mind. Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need — not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden . . . — John F. Kennedy