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AP language Rhetorical Terms Flashcards

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14993268356audiencethe listener, viewer, or reader of a text0
14993268357concessionAn acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.1
14993268358ConnotationMeanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.2
14993268359contextThe circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.3
14993268360Counterargumentan opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward4
14993268361EthosGreek for "character." Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.5
14993268362LogosGreek for "embodied thought." Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.6
14993268363occasionthe time and place a speech is given or a piece is written7
14993268364PathosGreek for "suffering" or "experience." Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.8
14993268365PersonaGreek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.9
14993268366polemicGreek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others. Polemics generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.10
14993268367Propagandathe spread of ideas and information to further a cause11
14993268368purposethe goal the speaker wants to achieve12
14993268369Refutationa denial of the validity of an opposing argument13
14993268370Rhetoricthe faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. the art of finding ways to persuade an audience14
14993268371rhetorical appealsRhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).15
14993268372rhetorical triangleA diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.16
14993268373SOAPSSubject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker17

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