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Rhetorical Terms - AP Language - Chapter 1 Flashcards

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7299288243audienceThe listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences.0
7299288244concessionAn acknowledgement that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument, a concession is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.1
7299288245connotationMeanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are usually positive or negative, and they can greatly affect the author's tone.2
7299288246contextthe circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.3
7299288247conterargumentAn opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward. Rather than ignoring a counterargument, a strong writer will usually address it through the process of concession and refutation.4
7299288248ethos (greek)character5
7299288249ethosSpeakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by both who you are and what you say.6
7299288250logos (greek)embodied thought7
7299288251logosSpeakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.8
7299288252occasionThe time and place a speech or a piece is written.9
7299288253pathos (greek)suffering or experience10
7299288254pathosSpeakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeal to pathos might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.11
7299288255persona (greek)mask12
7299288256personaThe face of character that a speaker shows his or her audience.13
7299288257polemic (greek)hostile14
7299288258polemicAn 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.15
7299288259propagandaThe 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.16
7299288260purposeThe goal the speaker wants to achieve.17
7299288261refutationA denial of the validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.18
7299288262rhetoric (greek)the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion19
7299288263rhetoricThe art of finding ways to persuade the audience.20
7299288264rhetorical 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).21
7299288265rhetorical triangleA diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.22
7299288266SOAPSA mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.23
7299288267speakerThe person or group who creates a text. This might be a politician who delivers speech, a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement.24
7299288268subjectThe topic of a text. What the text is about.25
7299288269textWhile 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.26
7299288893aristotle trianglesame thing as rhetorical triangle, aristotle came up with it27

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