AP Rhetorical Strategies

Direct Address

a speaker engages an audience or individual directly using second-person pronouns, names, or titles

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emphasize certain ideas or emotions, persuade, or gain trust, using the second-person pronoun "you," names, or titles

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ex) "How would you feel if this happened to you?"

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences

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creates a sense of rhythm and flow, putting emphasis on what the author is trying to push

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ex) "I have a dream....I have a dream...I have a dream..."

Antistrophe

repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or lines

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emphasize an idea and persuade the

audience to think, feel, and take action

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ex) "Government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Antithesis

pairs opposing or contrasting ideas within a parallel grammatical structure to juxtapose two opposing ideas

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appears more logical, compelling, and favorable when compared to the other

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ex) "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Aposiopesis

a speaker abruptly stops, leaving a thought unfinished

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encourages audience engagement

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ex) "If you don't stop interfering with this investigation, well, you'll find out..."

Apophasis

the speaker calls attention to a subject or topic without taking responsibility

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"I won't bring up the war."

Chiasmus

words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form

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creates memorable, balanced statements that make arguments feel logical and absolute to audiences

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ex) "Fair is foul and foul is fair."

Connotative Diction

an author's specific choice of words

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used to evoke an emotional response from the audience and persuade them to take action for their cause

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ex) "Everyday hundreds of turtles die from choking on the plastic filth that litters our fragile marine ecosystems, threatening their limited population."

Counterargument

a speaker acknowledges an opposing viewpoint, skepticism, or alternative evidence to their main argument

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ex) Prompt: Explain why speaking up is better than staying quiet

"Although some may argue staying quiet allow individuals to stay out of drama, it ultimately does not benefit the situation, as the perpetrator is not aware of their wrongdoing."

Inductive Reasoning

taking specific observable evidence to create a broader generalization in order to understand the purpose of the speaker's argument

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builds persuasion - specific to general

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ex) "Every cat you have observed purrs, therefore all cats purr."

Deductive Reasoning

begins with a generally accepted premise or truth and applies it to a specific case to reach a guaranteed logical conclusion

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persuade the audience to agree with the conclusion - general to specific

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ex) "To legally drive, a person must have a valid driver's license (Rule). Chloe is driving a car (Instance). Therefore, Chloe must have a valid driver's license (Conclusion)."

Dramatic Pause

a deliberate pause in a speech, dialogue, or writing that is used to create tension, highlight key ideas, and give audience time to process information

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creates a more impactful argument

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ex) "For those who were harmed, those who were killed, [pause] they are part of our family

Ellipsis

an omission of words that leaves certain things unsaid

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create suspense or indicate a pause/hesitation

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ex) "I was thinking maybe we could... no, never mind."

Ethos

creating a speaker credibility, authority, and moral character

extrinsic ethos vs. intrinsic ethos

Extrinsic ethos is reputation a speaker brings to a situation from the outside

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intrinsic ethos is the credibility developed within the speech itself through tone and character

Hyperbole

a deliberate, vibrant, and over-the-top rhetorical tool used to inject drama, humor, and emotional intensity into language when literal words are too boring

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ex) "We've been slowly dying waiting for the test results."

Irony

saying the opposite of what is meant or creating a sharp contrast between expectations and reality

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emphasizes a point, provoke thoughts, or adds humor

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ex) "We should invest in more fossil fuels because we certainly don't have enough pollution."

Logos

uses logic, reasoning, and factual evidence to support an argument

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persuade an audience to believe the argument

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ex) "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place."

Metaphor

equates two unlike things to make abstract or complex ideas tangible and memorable

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influences audiences

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ex) "Racism is a virus."

Metonymy

referring to an object or concept by the name of something closely associated with it, rather than its name

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substitutes a word with a closely related, associated concept

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ex) Crown (monarchy)

Paradox

A statement, idea, or situation that seems self-contradictory, illogical, or impossible, but reveals a deeper truth

unexpected resolution of tension and a new understanding

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.makes the audience trust the message more

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ex) "The more you argue, the less

likely you are to convince someone."

Parallelism

repetition of similar grammatical structures, words, or phrases to create balance, rhythm, and emphasis

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more compelling, memorable, and impactful arguments

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ex) "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

Pathos

appealing to their emotions

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act on their emotions

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ex) commercial showing sad animals in cages with melancholy music

Personification

gives human traits, emotions, actions, or characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or abstract ideas

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to persuade the audience by creating a visual representation

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ex) "The screaming rain encouraged the people outside to come back in their house."

Repetition

intentional reuse of sounds, words, phrases, or ideas

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to persuade an audience toward believing a specific point of view

Simile

compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'

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to persuade or evoke emotion within an audience

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ex) "No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Synecdoche

part is made to represent the whole, or the whole represents a part

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ex) "All hands on deck!"

"hands" refers to the workers as a whole and creates a sense of urgency and teamwork

Suspense

delaying crucial information or creating intense anxiety about someone's fate which causes the audience to become more active of the outcome of events

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blends emotional tension with rhetorical persuasion, to not only keep the audience engaged but also to persuade their attitudes, beliefs, or actions

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ex) "Our hearts beat louder and louder, each second as we anticipated for the firefighters to save the diminishing houses lives."

Tautology

the saying of the same thing twice in different words, creating an emphasis on the impact of the action/topic and using redundant repetition

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emphasize a point and create a sense of absolute certainty

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ex) "Our nation must come together to unite."

Rhetorical question

used to provoke thought, make a point, or create a dramatic effect, has an implied answer

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attract the thought of the audience, and persuades them to follow the speaker's ideas

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ex) "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"

Imagery

visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, or kinesthetic

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to influence an audience's emotions, attitudes, or perceptions rather than just painting a picture

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"notes of a distant song,"

to set a specific mood

Juxtaposition

placing two contrasting elements side-by-side to highlight their differences

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ideas, images, characters, or scenes

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ex) Dove and a soldier to promote

peace.

Shift

a significant change in tone, attitude, subject matter, or perspective that indicates a move in thought, argument, or mood, changing how a person views the topic by providing an opposite perspective

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ex) "He told us he would pick us up from school, but he forgot and left us there for two days."

This changes how others would view the driver as responsible to more of a forgetful and irresponsible.