AP LANG

8/17

  1. Rhetorical information

    1. Rhetoric: the art of persuasion 

      1. Mostly in non-fiction (learning about rhetorical techniques) 

    2. Rhetorical situation: a set of relationships

      1. When analyzing text, keep in mind + think about their relationship:

        1. speaker/writer 

        2. Audience

        3. subject/topic


        1. Challenge 1: address, in your introduction, as much as possible about the relationship among these three aspects in as few words as possible

        2. Challenge 2: keeping this relationship in mind as you analyze specific passages from the text in body paragraphs

      3. Context:  the circumstances surrounding the situation

      4. Exigence: the specific occasion or event that prompted the message to be spoken or written 

      5. Message: what the writer wants the audience to think or know

      6. Purpose: why the speaker is conveying the message

      7. Example: Berlin, 1942

        1. Holocaust, Jews

        2. Message and Purpose: 1937- Hitler’s message of antisemitism to manipulate people 

      8. The rhetorical situation now

        1. Exigence: dr. cosca teaching us ap lang

        2. Purpose: engagement and understanding in the class and succeed

        3. Genre: in an academic or teaching context 

        4. Context: speaker is Dr. Cosca, we are audience, we are starting ap lang, 2026, high school students, monte vista, after lunch, chose to take this class

    3. When analyzing text we should identify:

      1. The strategies the speaker uses to appeal to his or her audience

      2. Any shared values between the speaker and the audience which are implicit in the text

        1. Audience, speaker, and topic

    4. The rhetorical appeals

      1. There are 3 different ways authors use to make an audience accept their ideas (rhetorical appeals)

        1. Ethos: means “credibility,” referring to the trustworthiness of the writer/ speaker

          1. A goal of persuasion: to convince your audience that you are someone that should be believed/trusted

          2. One can establish methods:

            1. Through the way one speaks

            2. By showing one’s knowledge, integrity, and experience 

            3. By finding common ground with the audience

            4. Present themselves as an ethical person by sharing values to an audience 

          3. Connection: ethos and ethics

8/18

  1. Pathos: means “feeling” or “emotion” that refers to a writer or speaker that make an audience feel specific emotions with his/her words

    1. Making individuals feel certain emotions to convince them to accept the idea

    2. Fear is extremely useful, also anger, excitement, love, guilt, pride, sympathy

    3. Like ads

  2. Logos: means “reason” or “logic”  and is an appeal to someone’s intelligence

    1. Sudoku

    2. It’s essentially saying, “This is logical and it makes sense: here is the proof.” 

    3. We appeal to someone’s intelligence by using clear, rational thinking and evidence:

      1. Facts

      2. Explanations of cause and effect

      3. Definitions

      4. Examples and comparisons

      5. Statistics

  1. To sum up:

    1. Ethos = “Trust me”

    2. Pathos = “Feel this”

    3. Logos = “Think about this” 

  2. Literary devices

    1. Tone: the writer’s or speaker’s (implied) emotional attitude

      1. Applied to:

        1.  his or her subject

        2. His or her audience

        3. His or her self

      2. Is the emotional meaning of a text

      3. Characterized by any emotions that humans experience (sad, happy, angry, bitter, affectionate)

      4. Can be used  as a device

      5. Uses a _____ tone in order to _____. 

    2. Contrast: the state of being noticeably different from something

      1. Can be used as a device

        1. Example: contrasting a role (myself) to other people

      2.   A writer contrasts _____ and _____ for _____ effect.

      3. OR emphasizes the contrast between _____ and _____.

    3. Juxtaposition: placing different things or elements together, typically to emphasis the way they contrast 

      1. Writer juxtaposes _____ and _____ in order to _____.

    4. Imagery: representation through language sense of experience

      1. In literary texts, imagery can represent:

        1. Sound (auditory)

        2. Smell (olfactory)

        3. Taste (gustatory)

        4. Touch (tactile)

        5. Movement or tension of body (kinesthetic) 

    5. Verbal irony (there are three types: situational + dramatic): a rhetorical device where a writer or speaker writes or says something but intentionally means something different 

      1. writers/speakers can use ironic tones- tone calls attention to the fact that they are being ironic

    6. Hyperbole: exaggeration for effect

      1. Also called overstatement, not intended to be interpreted as literally true

      2. Can be used for serious, comic, or ironic effect

        1. Example: “I’m literally starving to death.” 

    7. UnderstatementL opposite of hyperbole: a figure of speech meant to say less than intended, minimizes situation for effect, mostly in ironic way 

      1. Example: It’s a little chilly today. (It's snowing)

      2. I did okay. (They did really good on this test) 

      3. I got a little upset. (They got very upset) 

8/25

  1. Persona: Literally, a persona is a mask

    1. Rhetorical device: a persona is a separate self created by and distinct from the author, through which he or she speaks

    2. Persona is not a character and does not necessarily directly reflect the author’s personal voice

      1. Example: you might speak differently when you are with grandparents, friends, siblings, teachers, and classmates

  2. Kairos: the exactly right time to say something/ do something in particular

  3. Patterns of Argumentative Development

    1. Narration: often government by chronology- which is crafting a story that supports a major point or claim

      1. Example: anecdote: brief account of a story about an individual or incident (like the kid who came up to him and wants to be president- in speeches) 

      2. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that the writer/speaker narrates _____ in order to _____.

    2. Description: evokes the senses by using sensory language

      1. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that the writer/speaker describes _____ to establish_____. 

        1. You need to find the purpose and the meaning to have a good and proper analysis

    3. Process analysis (more rare but possible): explains how something works, how to complete a task, or how something is accomplished

      1. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that a writer/speaker provides a process analysis of _____ to_____.

    4. Comparison: juxtaposing two things to highlight their similarities and differences

    5. Illustration: to clarify an idea using examples

      1. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that the writer/speaker illustrates _____ to enable the audience to understand _____.

    6. Observation: stating perceived facts or direct sensory evidence

      1. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that the writer/speaker observed the intricacies of _____ to _____. 

    7. Reasoning: uses established principles (like definitions) or strong patterns (like cause/effect or signs) to logically link facts to a claim

      1. In rhetorical analysis, we can say that a writer/speaker reasons that _____ to illustrate _____. 

  4. Structure 

    1. How is the essay or speech put together?

      1. Notice and consider: 

        1. What order are the topics arranged in? How does it begin and how does it end?

        2. How much time is spent on specific topics?

        3. How and why has the writer chosen to progress from one topic to another?

        4. How have these choices affected the development of the text?

        5. Example: Clinton covers several topics but periodically comes back to specific parts of the speech- says “I have sinned” in many different ways

      2. Mode of address: how is the piece addressed or whom is it addressed?

        1. Notice and consider: is the author speaking in

          1. The 1st person? (I am forced to endure…)

          2. The 2nd person? (You will be glad to know…)

          3. The 3rd person? (They were abandoned)

          4. 1st person plural (We…) 

8/31

  1. Sentence Length and Variety: does the length of the sentences change?

    1. Notice and consider:

      1. Are the sentences long and complex? What effect might this have on an audience?

        1. Can be confusing but offer more details

      2. Are the sentences short and rapid? What effect might this have on the audience?

        1. Usually more authoritative and direct, easy to digest and understand

        2. Incorporate a sense of urgency

  2. Repetition: does the author/speaker repeat words or phrases?

    1. Notice and consider:

      1. What ideas is the author/speaker trying to emphasize in the text?

      2. What apples might the author be using through each emphasis?

  3. Motif: something that occurs repeatedly in a literary text

    1. Can be physical (example: bodies of water)

    2. Can be conceptual (example: floating or spinning)

    3.  Can also appear in different forms: we might find an ocean in one scene, a river in another, and a frozen lake in another

    4. When doing rhetorical analysis, we can say that a writer initiates a motif of _____.

      1. Establishes a motif of _____ in order to _____.

      2. Develops a motif of _____ when describing _____ to _____. 

  4. Argument: the main idea the author is trying to convey (also called the thesis)

    1. An argument is an assertion that is supported with evidence 

    2. Argument is supported by:

      1. claim/reasons: help to convince us that the thesis is valid; they are various statements the author makes to support his or her argument

  5. Evidence: information and data that supports the claim and reasoning

    1. Smartest thing to do is to provide evidence that will convince your audience, specifically

      1. This is why rhetorical situation is important

9/1

  1. Diction: writers employ diction, or word choice, to communicate ideas and impressions and to evoke emotions and associations to the reader

  2. Denotation and Connotation: 

    1. a denotation of a world is its most literal meaning

      1. Example: the word eagle may be defined in a dictionary as a large bird of prey with a massive hooked bill and long broad wings

    2. A connotation refers to the associations, feelings, suggestions or implications that a word has in addition to its literal meaning

      1. A word’s connotations derive from how the word has been commonly used in a particular group and the associations people make with it

        1. Example: in american society, the term eagle connotes ideas of liberty and freedom and have little to do with the word’s denotative meaning

        2. Childish vs. childlike

          1. Comparing someone who isn’t a child to something having to do with a child (childish is more negative and childlike is more neutral/positive)

        3. Lady vs. women

          1. Lady is more distinguished and polite, whereas women is more neutral and standard (lady is similar to lord, and used to be used as a label of high power or sophistication)

        4. Gang vs. club

          1. Gang implies more danger or a more negative group, while club feels more positive and is something to feel belonging

        5. House vs. home

          1. House is the physical being of a living space/ building while home is more subjective and is associated to emotions felt from people, familiarity, family, and memories

        6. Old vs. antique

          1. Old is more negative and less valuable where antique describes a higher quality of something that’s old 

    3. Connotation and association: a writer can use the various connotations of a word to make different, or many associations between things/ideas

      1. Clinton’s speeches

        1. “I don’t think that there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned.”

        2. “...in hope that with a broken spirit and still strong heart I can be used for greater good…” 

    4. When doing rhetorical analysis, we can say that a writer

      1. Establishes an association between _____ and  _____ to _____ 

      2. Relies on the _____ connotations of the term _____ to suggest _____.

    5. Associations and binary oppositions: writers can use the various connotations of a word in order to make us think in term of opposites

      1. light/dark

      2. good/evil

      3. truth/lie

      4. strong/weak

      5. old/young 

9/8

  1. Simile, metaphor, personification

    1. Simile: a figure of speech used to make a comparison of two unlike ideas using “like” or “as”

      1. Example: chapter 1 of book of Zephaniah

        1. “And their blood shall be spilled like dust and their flesh like turds.”

          1. The context helps to build up to the outcome and induces a sense of urgency

          2. To degrade bodies falling and creating a comparison of being “gross”

          3. “Dust” implies a sort of unnatural and disturbing 

    2. Metaphor: a figure of speech comparing two unlike terms without using “like” or “as”

      1. “Their tongue is a well-honed arrow,/deceit they speak with their mouths”  (Jeremian 9:7).

      2. Metaphor from The Illiad

    3. Allusion: a brief reference to a person, event, or idea from history or literature

      1. Allusions often refer to a biblical story, a scene from Shakespeare’s plays, historic figures, wars, and influential films (Also the Bible)

    4. Personification: a figure of speech in which a non-human subject is described with human characteristics and/or attributes

    5. Developing New Associations: a skilled writer can encourage us to see familiar things in new ways

      1. To put it another way, effective writing can provide us with new insights about things we already know about

      2. When doing rhetorical analysis, we can say that a writer

        1. Challenges prevailing notions about _____ by portraying _____.

        2. Challenges popular ideas about _____ by characterizing _____.

        3. Invites the audience to reshape its perspective about _____ by demonstrating _____.