AP Lang Final Study Guide
Rhetorical Devices and Terminology
SPACE CAT
SPACE for introduction, CAT for effective commentary in rhetorical analysis
Speaker - who wrote this, what do we know about them, does this text have a particular meaning because of WHO wrote/said it?
Purpose - what is the speaker hoping to accomplish by putting this out into the world?; to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to entertain.
Audience - who was the actual audience of this text, and was that the intended audience? what did the speaker assume about their audience? how does that impact what they say and how they say it?
Context - what was going on in the world/culture when this text was produced? what were the biggest issues that the speaker might be directly or indirectly addressing? how would this same text be received differently by a different audience in or in a different time?
Exigence - why “NOW” for the speaker? what was the spark or catalyst that moved the speaker to act? Note: context is “happening” all the time, but usually a localized event/series of events serves as the exigence.
rhetorical Choices; function/significance
persuasive Appeals; how it impacts audience (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos)
Tone, Task, Tie to thesis; how it helps author/audience
DIDLS
Style & tone
Diction - author’s word choice; helps create meaning (especially denotation and connotation); isolated words/phrases
Imagery - use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Details - facts that give life to characters, settings, and situations; literal
Language - entire body of words in a text
Syntax - sentence structure and craft to create meaning
AEC
Assertion, Evidence, Commentary; pattern for body paragraphs in argumentative essays
Accumulation
a list of words or ideas which embody similar abstract/physical qualities or meanings; the words/ideas are listed together to build meaning because of their shared quality
ex: itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini
Allegory
the rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text
ex: Aesop's Fables
Alliteration
repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words; effect: to increase memory retention, add emphasis, or create rhythm
Anaphora
Repetition of a word/phrase at the start of successive lines
Allusion
a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or literary work - real or fictional
ex: chocolate was her Achilles' heel
Analogy
a comparison between ideas or things that are quite different from one another; its goal is to explain/give meaning to a more complex idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar
ex: atom's structure is like Solar System, nucleus is the Sun, electrons are planets revolving
Anecdote
a short account/narrative of an interesting/amusing incident, often intended to illustrate/support some point
Antithesis
rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses
ex: "you're easy on the eyes and hard on the heart"
Aristotelian triangle
how the speaker, audience, and topic connect
Asyndeton
a technique in which conjunctions are omitted between a series of words, phrases, or clauses
ex: "are all their conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, shrunk to this little measure?"
Audience
listener, viewer, reader
Apostrophe
when a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present
ex: Macbeth talking to his dagger, Romeo talking to death
Antonomasia
a kind of metonymy in which an epithet or phrase takes the place of a proper name
ex: "The Bard" to mean Shakespeare
Appositive
a noun or noun phrase that follows, defines, and provides information about another noun or noun phrase
ex: my cat, Nala
Chiasmus
a rhetorical term in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order and in the same form or a modified form
ex: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate" -JFK
Connotation
the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning
Dependent clause
aka subordinate clause, a long phrase that has become disconnected from the main clause
Diction
author’s word choice; helps create meaning (especially denotation and connotation); isolated words/phrases
ex: metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole
Ethos
the rhetoric that gives an author/speaker credibility as a reputable source of information
Epizeuxis
a rhetorical device in which the word(s) or phrase(s) are repeated in quick succession for emphasis
ex: alone, alone, all, all, alone
Evidence
(comes from you): facts, statistics, examples, expert statements, text/media, observation, personal experience/anecdote, analogy, current event, history
Exemplification
a pattern of essay development that uses specific instances/examples to clarify a point, to add interest, or to persuade
ex: we have a close family; we have weekly Sunday dinner
Exigence
an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak
ex: Gettysburg Address
Epistrophe
the repetition of the same word/words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
ex: gov of the people, by the people, for the people
Fallacy
a failure in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
ex: people died of cancer before cigarettes; smoking doesn't cause cancer
Figurative language
the use of words in a way that deviates from the conventional order and meaning in order to convey a complicated meaning, colorful writing, clarity, or evocative comparison
Hyperbole
exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Hypophora
a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a rhetorical question and then answers the question
Imagery
use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Independent clause
a group of words that could be a complete sentence all by itself
Juxtaposition
a literary technique in which 2 or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
ex: "man can abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life"
Kairos
the rhetorically correct time to say or do a particular thing depending on the context
ex: Gettysburg Address gave nation motivation
Language
entire body of words in a text
Litotes
an ironic understatement that expresses a positive sentence using its negative form in order to emphasize an idea/situation, rather than minimizing its importance
ex: you won't be sorry
Logos
an appeal to logic/way of persuading with reason, using facts and figures
Metaphor
compares one thing to another; X is Y
Metonymy
when a word is associated with/related to something is used to refer to that thing
ex: "crown" for "king/queen/monarchy"
Occasion
time and place
Oxymoron
contradiction; two contradictory terms or ideas used together
ex: "parting is such sweet sorrow" "jumbo shrimp"
Parallelism
a device in which grammatically, structurally, aurally, or semantically similar components are used throughout.a sentence or passage to create balance
ex: "I've done some good, offered some service, shed some light, healed some wounds..."
Pathos
an appeal to emotion; a way of convincing the audience of an argument by creating an emotional response
Pleonasm
the use of redundant words within a phrase to emphasize an idea
ex: burning fire
Persona
"mask" the face, role, or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience
Personification
the attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman
ex: leaves danced across the yard
Polysyndeton
a technique in which conjunctions (and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed
ex: we have ships and men and money and stores
Pun
a play on words in which a homophone is repeated but used in a different sense
ex: "You have dancing shoes / With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead." -Romeo
Purpose
speaker’s goal
Repetition
the repeating of a word or phrase
Rhetoric
the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing; “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” -Aristotle
Rhetorical question
a written question which expects no answer; used to make points, persuade, and get audience thinking
Simile
compare two things using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”
Spatial order
when you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space
Strong verbs
verbs in which the vowel in the stem is changed to indicate tenses
ex: ring → rang → rung
Structure
a theory of text organization which provides a framework for an analysis of text
Symbolism
the use of words or images to symbolize specific concepts, people, objects, or events
Syntax
sentence structure and craft to create meaning
ex: parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and compound, complex, periodic, cumulative, and imperative sentences
Synesthesia
a device where one sense is described in terms of another (often as a simile)
ex: "Skittles: Taste the Rainbow"
Thesis
a defensible claim that an be argued, takes a clear position on the issues/examines the author’s rhetorical choices
essay contains information to support thesis; it’s the main idea of the essay
1 sentence, 2-3 subpoints/subclaims/assertions (x, y, z,), located in the introduction
Transition
a word or phrase that shows the relationship between paragraphs or sections of a text or speech
Tone
author’s attitude toward the subject; found through diction
Understatement
an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected
Zeugma
a figure of speech in which a verb or adjective applies to more than one noun, and blends together different ideas
ex: Irish farmers grew potatoes, barley, and bored.
MLA 8
Paper format
Header
12pt Times New Roman double spaced
Works cited page format
Last name, first name middle initial. “Title of article/chapter.” Title of Journal/magazine/novel, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location.
ex: Ruggieri, Colleen A. “The Great Gatsby and the Cacophony of the American Dream.” The English Journal, vol. 97, no. 3, 1 Jan. 2008, pp. 109-110, JSTOR, doi: 10.2307.
In-text citations
(last name pg numbers)
ex: (Ruggieri 109-110)
Citing texts using MLA 8
Footnote/endnote
the use of superscript numbers in the document that correspond to supplemental information
Fallacies
Ad hominem
focuses our attention on people rather than evidence; the arguer attacks his/her opponent instead of the opponent’s argument
ex: “Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that the advertisement industry is harmful to women. But Dworkin is just ugly and bitter, so why should we listen to her?”
Ad populum (bandwagon)
“to the people” fallacy; arguer takes advantage of the desire most people have to be liked and to fit in with others and uses that desire to try to get the audience to accept his/her argument
ex: in a court of law, the jury vote by majority; therefore, you should always agree with the other jury members because they understand justice and are always right
Circular reasoning
either relies on a premise that says the same things as the conclusion, or simply ignore an important (but questionable) assumption that the argument rests on
ex: my plan to improve our community is to create change by doing things differently.
Straw man
the arguer sets up a weak version of the opponent’s position and tries to score points by knocking it down
ex: after Will said that we should put more money into education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending.
False dichotomy (either/or fallacy)
the arguer sets up the situation so that it looks like there are only two choices, then eliminates once choice so it seems like there’s only one option—the one the arguer wanted the audience to pick, but there are really many different options
ex: “Caldwell Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students’ safety. Obviously, we shouldn’t risk anyone’s safety, so we must tear the building down”
Faulty analogy
many arguments rely on analogies between two or more objects, ideas, or situations; if the two things that are being compared aren’t really alike in the relevant respects, the analogy is weak
ex: “guns are like hammers—they’re both tools with metal parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers.”
Hasty generalization
making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it’s too small); stereotypes about people
ex: “my roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I’m in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!” “librarians are shy and smart” “wealthy people are snobs”
Slippery slope
the arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but there’s really not enough evidence for that assumption
ex: “animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don’t respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now.”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
“after this, therefore, because of this” fallacy is the assumption that because B comes after A, A caused B. but sometimes, two events that seem related aren’t really related as cause and effect; correlation isn’t the same as causation
ex: “President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.”
Red herring
partway through an argument, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what’s really at stake
ex: “grading this exam on a curve would be the fairest thing to do. After all, classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well.”
Rhetorical Analysis
Accumulation
a list of words or ideas which embody similar abstract/physical qualities or meanings; the words/ideas are listed together to build meaning because of their shared quality
ex: itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini
Allegory
the rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text
ex: Aesop's Fables
Allusion
a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or literary work - real or fictional
ex: chocolate was her Achilles' heel
Analogy
a comparison between ideas or things that are quite different from one another; its goal is to explain/give meaning to a more complex idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar
ex: atom's structure is like Solar System, nucleus is the Sun, electrons are planets revolving
Apostrophe
when a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present
ex: Macbeth talking to his dagger, Romeo talking to death
Chiasmus
a rhetorical term in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order and in the same form or a modified form
ex: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate" -JFK
Euphemism
an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or harsh
ex: we put our dog to sleep
Hyperbole
exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Hypophora
a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a rhetorical question and then answers the question
Imagery
use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Juxtaposition
a literary technique in which 2 or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
ex: "man can abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life"
Metaphor
compares one thing to another; X is Y
Metonymy
when a word is associated with/related to something is used to refer to that thing
ex: "crown" for "king/queen/monarchy"
Mood
feeling created in the audience by work
Paradoxical
a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
Personification
the attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman
ex: leaves danced across the yard
Simile
compare two things using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”
Speaker
creator
Symbol
anything that hints at something else, usually something abstract, such as an idea or belief
Syntax *sentence types
declarative (statement), exclamatory (exclamation), interrogative (question), imperative (command)
simple (1 subject, 1 verb), compound (2 independent clauses), complex (1 independent clause and 1+ dependent clause), compound-complex (2+ independent clauses and 1+ dependent clause)
balanced, periodic, loose/cumulative, inverted, split order, interrupting phrase, juxtaposition
Text structures
a theory of text organization which provides a framework for an analysis of text
Tone
author’s attitude toward the subject; found through diction
Understatement
an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected
Universal statement
says that a certain property is true of all elements in a set
ex: all swans are white
Argument
4 types of argument
(fact, proposal (should/shouldn’t), evaluation (judgment), definition (meaning))
3 occasions of argument
forensic (past) - evidence and testimony, analyzes causes and effects of past events
ex: court decisions, legal documents
epideictic (present) - contemporary values debated in society
ex: eulogies, inaugural addresses
deliberative (future) - establish policies/laws for future; could be speculative
ex: proposals, bills, mandates
Differences between persuasive and argumentative writing
persuasive - relies on opinions and feelings; writer uses his own passion and/or plays off reader emotions to get what he wants; audience agrees with writer because of strong emotional appeals
argumentative - arguments rely on logical reasons that are all substantiated by facts, data, expert quotes, and evidence; audience agrees with writer because of strong logical appeals.
Assertion
claim (x, y, z)
Call to action
where you clearly tell the audience a role they can play after they leave your talk; what should the audience do?
Claim
your position in an argument
Concession
speaker/writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point
Conclusion
how did you prove claim/thesis? synthesize, show readers how your points fit together
why should audience care?
what is the big picture? show how your topic is one piece of the whole picture
come full circle, return to key images, ideas, analogies
what should audience do? call to action
Counterargument
opposing position to assertion
Evidence, support
(comes from you): facts, statistics, examples, expert statements, text/media, observation, personal experience/anecdote, analogy, current event, history
Opponent
naysayer, holds opposing position in argument
Proponent
advocate, one who argues in favor of something
Qualifier
words like “some,” “many,” “few,” “sometimes,” “usually,” etc.
Qualitative data
non-numerical information you can observe and record; often gathered from interviews and focus groups, personal diaries and lab notebooks, maps, photographs, and other printed materials or observations
Quantitative data
data that can be counted or measured in numerical values; height in feet, age in years, weight in pounds
Refutation/rebuttal
logical reasons for rejecting counterargument
Warrant (commentary)
explains why evidence is important, how it proves assertion/thesis
Passage + answering multiple choice questions identifying parts of argument, type of argument, and type of evidence.
Essay
Choose between 2 different prompts
Rhetorical Devices and Terminology
SPACE CAT
SPACE for introduction, CAT for effective commentary in rhetorical analysis
Speaker - who wrote this, what do we know about them, does this text have a particular meaning because of WHO wrote/said it?
Purpose - what is the speaker hoping to accomplish by putting this out into the world?; to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to entertain.
Audience - who was the actual audience of this text, and was that the intended audience? what did the speaker assume about their audience? how does that impact what they say and how they say it?
Context - what was going on in the world/culture when this text was produced? what were the biggest issues that the speaker might be directly or indirectly addressing? how would this same text be received differently by a different audience in or in a different time?
Exigence - why “NOW” for the speaker? what was the spark or catalyst that moved the speaker to act? Note: context is “happening” all the time, but usually a localized event/series of events serves as the exigence.
rhetorical Choices; function/significance
persuasive Appeals; how it impacts audience (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos)
Tone, Task, Tie to thesis; how it helps author/audience
DIDLS
Style & tone
Diction - author’s word choice; helps create meaning (especially denotation and connotation); isolated words/phrases
Imagery - use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Details - facts that give life to characters, settings, and situations; literal
Language - entire body of words in a text
Syntax - sentence structure and craft to create meaning
AEC
Assertion, Evidence, Commentary; pattern for body paragraphs in argumentative essays
Accumulation
a list of words or ideas which embody similar abstract/physical qualities or meanings; the words/ideas are listed together to build meaning because of their shared quality
ex: itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini
Allegory
the rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text
ex: Aesop's Fables
Alliteration
repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words; effect: to increase memory retention, add emphasis, or create rhythm
Anaphora
Repetition of a word/phrase at the start of successive lines
Allusion
a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or literary work - real or fictional
ex: chocolate was her Achilles' heel
Analogy
a comparison between ideas or things that are quite different from one another; its goal is to explain/give meaning to a more complex idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar
ex: atom's structure is like Solar System, nucleus is the Sun, electrons are planets revolving
Anecdote
a short account/narrative of an interesting/amusing incident, often intended to illustrate/support some point
Antithesis
rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses
ex: "you're easy on the eyes and hard on the heart"
Aristotelian triangle
how the speaker, audience, and topic connect
Asyndeton
a technique in which conjunctions are omitted between a series of words, phrases, or clauses
ex: "are all their conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, shrunk to this little measure?"
Audience
listener, viewer, reader
Apostrophe
when a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present
ex: Macbeth talking to his dagger, Romeo talking to death
Antonomasia
a kind of metonymy in which an epithet or phrase takes the place of a proper name
ex: "The Bard" to mean Shakespeare
Appositive
a noun or noun phrase that follows, defines, and provides information about another noun or noun phrase
ex: my cat, Nala
Chiasmus
a rhetorical term in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order and in the same form or a modified form
ex: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate" -JFK
Connotation
the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning
Dependent clause
aka subordinate clause, a long phrase that has become disconnected from the main clause
Diction
author’s word choice; helps create meaning (especially denotation and connotation); isolated words/phrases
ex: metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole
Ethos
the rhetoric that gives an author/speaker credibility as a reputable source of information
Epizeuxis
a rhetorical device in which the word(s) or phrase(s) are repeated in quick succession for emphasis
ex: alone, alone, all, all, alone
Evidence
(comes from you): facts, statistics, examples, expert statements, text/media, observation, personal experience/anecdote, analogy, current event, history
Exemplification
a pattern of essay development that uses specific instances/examples to clarify a point, to add interest, or to persuade
ex: we have a close family; we have weekly Sunday dinner
Exigence
an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak
ex: Gettysburg Address
Epistrophe
the repetition of the same word/words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
ex: gov of the people, by the people, for the people
Fallacy
a failure in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
ex: people died of cancer before cigarettes; smoking doesn't cause cancer
Figurative language
the use of words in a way that deviates from the conventional order and meaning in order to convey a complicated meaning, colorful writing, clarity, or evocative comparison
Hyperbole
exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Hypophora
a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a rhetorical question and then answers the question
Imagery
use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Independent clause
a group of words that could be a complete sentence all by itself
Juxtaposition
a literary technique in which 2 or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
ex: "man can abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life"
Kairos
the rhetorically correct time to say or do a particular thing depending on the context
ex: Gettysburg Address gave nation motivation
Language
entire body of words in a text
Litotes
an ironic understatement that expresses a positive sentence using its negative form in order to emphasize an idea/situation, rather than minimizing its importance
ex: you won't be sorry
Logos
an appeal to logic/way of persuading with reason, using facts and figures
Metaphor
compares one thing to another; X is Y
Metonymy
when a word is associated with/related to something is used to refer to that thing
ex: "crown" for "king/queen/monarchy"
Occasion
time and place
Oxymoron
contradiction; two contradictory terms or ideas used together
ex: "parting is such sweet sorrow" "jumbo shrimp"
Parallelism
a device in which grammatically, structurally, aurally, or semantically similar components are used throughout.a sentence or passage to create balance
ex: "I've done some good, offered some service, shed some light, healed some wounds..."
Pathos
an appeal to emotion; a way of convincing the audience of an argument by creating an emotional response
Pleonasm
the use of redundant words within a phrase to emphasize an idea
ex: burning fire
Persona
"mask" the face, role, or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience
Personification
the attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman
ex: leaves danced across the yard
Polysyndeton
a technique in which conjunctions (and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed
ex: we have ships and men and money and stores
Pun
a play on words in which a homophone is repeated but used in a different sense
ex: "You have dancing shoes / With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead." -Romeo
Purpose
speaker’s goal
Repetition
the repeating of a word or phrase
Rhetoric
the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing; “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” -Aristotle
Rhetorical question
a written question which expects no answer; used to make points, persuade, and get audience thinking
Simile
compare two things using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”
Spatial order
when you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space
Strong verbs
verbs in which the vowel in the stem is changed to indicate tenses
ex: ring → rang → rung
Structure
a theory of text organization which provides a framework for an analysis of text
Symbolism
the use of words or images to symbolize specific concepts, people, objects, or events
Syntax
sentence structure and craft to create meaning
ex: parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and compound, complex, periodic, cumulative, and imperative sentences
Synesthesia
a device where one sense is described in terms of another (often as a simile)
ex: "Skittles: Taste the Rainbow"
Thesis
a defensible claim that an be argued, takes a clear position on the issues/examines the author’s rhetorical choices
essay contains information to support thesis; it’s the main idea of the essay
1 sentence, 2-3 subpoints/subclaims/assertions (x, y, z,), located in the introduction
Transition
a word or phrase that shows the relationship between paragraphs or sections of a text or speech
Tone
author’s attitude toward the subject; found through diction
Understatement
an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected
Zeugma
a figure of speech in which a verb or adjective applies to more than one noun, and blends together different ideas
ex: Irish farmers grew potatoes, barley, and bored.
MLA 8
Paper format
Header
12pt Times New Roman double spaced
Works cited page format
Last name, first name middle initial. “Title of article/chapter.” Title of Journal/magazine/novel, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location.
ex: Ruggieri, Colleen A. “The Great Gatsby and the Cacophony of the American Dream.” The English Journal, vol. 97, no. 3, 1 Jan. 2008, pp. 109-110, JSTOR, doi: 10.2307.
In-text citations
(last name pg numbers)
ex: (Ruggieri 109-110)
Citing texts using MLA 8
Footnote/endnote
the use of superscript numbers in the document that correspond to supplemental information
Fallacies
Ad hominem
focuses our attention on people rather than evidence; the arguer attacks his/her opponent instead of the opponent’s argument
ex: “Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that the advertisement industry is harmful to women. But Dworkin is just ugly and bitter, so why should we listen to her?”
Ad populum (bandwagon)
“to the people” fallacy; arguer takes advantage of the desire most people have to be liked and to fit in with others and uses that desire to try to get the audience to accept his/her argument
ex: in a court of law, the jury vote by majority; therefore, you should always agree with the other jury members because they understand justice and are always right
Circular reasoning
either relies on a premise that says the same things as the conclusion, or simply ignore an important (but questionable) assumption that the argument rests on
ex: my plan to improve our community is to create change by doing things differently.
Straw man
the arguer sets up a weak version of the opponent’s position and tries to score points by knocking it down
ex: after Will said that we should put more money into education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending.
False dichotomy (either/or fallacy)
the arguer sets up the situation so that it looks like there are only two choices, then eliminates once choice so it seems like there’s only one option—the one the arguer wanted the audience to pick, but there are really many different options
ex: “Caldwell Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students’ safety. Obviously, we shouldn’t risk anyone’s safety, so we must tear the building down”
Faulty analogy
many arguments rely on analogies between two or more objects, ideas, or situations; if the two things that are being compared aren’t really alike in the relevant respects, the analogy is weak
ex: “guns are like hammers—they’re both tools with metal parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers.”
Hasty generalization
making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it’s too small); stereotypes about people
ex: “my roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I’m in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!” “librarians are shy and smart” “wealthy people are snobs”
Slippery slope
the arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but there’s really not enough evidence for that assumption
ex: “animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don’t respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now.”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
“after this, therefore, because of this” fallacy is the assumption that because B comes after A, A caused B. but sometimes, two events that seem related aren’t really related as cause and effect; correlation isn’t the same as causation
ex: “President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.”
Red herring
partway through an argument, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what’s really at stake
ex: “grading this exam on a curve would be the fairest thing to do. After all, classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well.”
Rhetorical Analysis
Accumulation
a list of words or ideas which embody similar abstract/physical qualities or meanings; the words/ideas are listed together to build meaning because of their shared quality
ex: itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini
Allegory
the rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text
ex: Aesop's Fables
Allusion
a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or literary work - real or fictional
ex: chocolate was her Achilles' heel
Analogy
a comparison between ideas or things that are quite different from one another; its goal is to explain/give meaning to a more complex idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar
ex: atom's structure is like Solar System, nucleus is the Sun, electrons are planets revolving
Apostrophe
when a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present
ex: Macbeth talking to his dagger, Romeo talking to death
Chiasmus
a rhetorical term in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order and in the same form or a modified form
ex: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate" -JFK
Euphemism
an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or harsh
ex: we put our dog to sleep
Hyperbole
exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Hypophora
a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a rhetorical question and then answers the question
Imagery
use of figurative language to appeal to senses; helps convey tone & style
Juxtaposition
a literary technique in which 2 or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
ex: "man can abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life"
Metaphor
compares one thing to another; X is Y
Metonymy
when a word is associated with/related to something is used to refer to that thing
ex: "crown" for "king/queen/monarchy"
Mood
feeling created in the audience by work
Paradoxical
a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
Personification
the attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman
ex: leaves danced across the yard
Simile
compare two things using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”
Speaker
creator
Symbol
anything that hints at something else, usually something abstract, such as an idea or belief
Syntax *sentence types
declarative (statement), exclamatory (exclamation), interrogative (question), imperative (command)
simple (1 subject, 1 verb), compound (2 independent clauses), complex (1 independent clause and 1+ dependent clause), compound-complex (2+ independent clauses and 1+ dependent clause)
balanced, periodic, loose/cumulative, inverted, split order, interrupting phrase, juxtaposition
Text structures
a theory of text organization which provides a framework for an analysis of text
Tone
author’s attitude toward the subject; found through diction
Understatement
an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected
Universal statement
says that a certain property is true of all elements in a set
ex: all swans are white
Argument
4 types of argument
(fact, proposal (should/shouldn’t), evaluation (judgment), definition (meaning))
3 occasions of argument
forensic (past) - evidence and testimony, analyzes causes and effects of past events
ex: court decisions, legal documents
epideictic (present) - contemporary values debated in society
ex: eulogies, inaugural addresses
deliberative (future) - establish policies/laws for future; could be speculative
ex: proposals, bills, mandates
Differences between persuasive and argumentative writing
persuasive - relies on opinions and feelings; writer uses his own passion and/or plays off reader emotions to get what he wants; audience agrees with writer because of strong emotional appeals
argumentative - arguments rely on logical reasons that are all substantiated by facts, data, expert quotes, and evidence; audience agrees with writer because of strong logical appeals.
Assertion
claim (x, y, z)
Call to action
where you clearly tell the audience a role they can play after they leave your talk; what should the audience do?
Claim
your position in an argument
Concession
speaker/writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point
Conclusion
how did you prove claim/thesis? synthesize, show readers how your points fit together
why should audience care?
what is the big picture? show how your topic is one piece of the whole picture
come full circle, return to key images, ideas, analogies
what should audience do? call to action
Counterargument
opposing position to assertion
Evidence, support
(comes from you): facts, statistics, examples, expert statements, text/media, observation, personal experience/anecdote, analogy, current event, history
Opponent
naysayer, holds opposing position in argument
Proponent
advocate, one who argues in favor of something
Qualifier
words like “some,” “many,” “few,” “sometimes,” “usually,” etc.
Qualitative data
non-numerical information you can observe and record; often gathered from interviews and focus groups, personal diaries and lab notebooks, maps, photographs, and other printed materials or observations
Quantitative data
data that can be counted or measured in numerical values; height in feet, age in years, weight in pounds
Refutation/rebuttal
logical reasons for rejecting counterargument
Warrant (commentary)
explains why evidence is important, how it proves assertion/thesis
Passage + answering multiple choice questions identifying parts of argument, type of argument, and type of evidence.
Essay
Choose between 2 different prompts