Rhetorical Situation
This term describes the following aspects of a piece of writing: writer, message, purpose, exigence, context, audience
What is the rhetorical situation?
A sudden shift in tone
What is a shift in tone?
What is connotation?
the appeal that targets the audience's emotions to persuade them
What is pathos?
In this FRQ, students read several sources and write an evidence-based argument that incorporates at least 3 of the provided sources.
What is a synthesis?
the reason or goal behind a piece of writing; Ex: to persuade, to inform, to entertain, to inspire, etc.
What is the writer's purpose?
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of success clauses; Ex: "We shall fight on the benches, we shall fight on the landing grounds..."
What is anaphora?
What is a metaphor?
the appeal that establishes the credibility and trusthworthiness of the speaker or writer
What is ethos?
In this FRQ, students analyze how a writer uses rhetorical strategies (devices and appeals) to convey a specific message and to achieve a specific purpose in relation to their audience.
What is a rhetorical analysis?
This refers to who is actually speaking or writing, including their credibility and perspective.
Who is the writer or speaker?
This device places two contrasting IDEAS (not words) side by side to highlight their differences, often in parallel structure, as in "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
What is an antithesis?
a type of figurative language that attributes human qualities to non-human things; Ex: "The wind whispered through the trees."
What is personification?
the appeal, associated with logic and reason, that uses facts, data, and structured arguments to persuade
What is logos?
In this FRQ, students develop their own argument about a given topic using evidence from their own reading, experience, and observations.
What is an argument?
This refers to the element of the rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, or provokes a writer to create a text.
What is exigence?
The repetition of the same grammatical structure in successive phrases or clauses to create rhythm and balance; Ex: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
What is parallelism or parallel structure?
the use of vivid, descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the five senses to create a mental picture or experience for the reader
What is imagery?
Identify two appeals: a writer who cites a Harvard study, uses precise statistics, and structures the argument in logical steps
What are logos and ethos?
When writing a rhetorical analysis, students should move beyond identifying devices in THIS PART of the BODY PARAGRAPH and explain HOW the device contributes to the writer's purpose.
What is commentary?
A writer who adjusts vocabulary, tone, and examples based on whether readers are experts or part of the general public is considering this aspect of the rhetorical situation.
Who is the audience?
What is a litote?
A writer who chooses "passed away" instead of "died" or "rambunctious" instead of "loud" is making careful choices about this.
What is diction?
Identify two appeals: These are not abstract numbers-12,000 children in our country go hungry every single night, and that is not a statistic we can afford to ignore.
What are logos and pathos?
While writing a synthesis essay, students should avoid doing this when providing commentary for the evidence they cited.
What is summarizing the evidence instead of analyzing how it supports my thesis statement?