Advanced Rhetoric
A reversal of grammatical structure in successive phrases or clauses, like “Ask not what your country can do for you…”
What is chiasmus?
You must include at least this many sources in your synthesis essay to score above a 4.
What is three?
This type of reasoning moves from specific examples to a general conclusion.
What is inductive reasoning?
The emotional attitude of the speaker toward the subject.
What is tone?
This is the single most important sentence in your introduction.
What is the thesis statement?
A strategy in which an author deliberately downplays something for effect.
What is understatement?
What is integrating quotes into your own original sentences?
This fallacy occurs when someone misrepresents an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack.
What is a straw man?
A casual, conversational tone often uses this type of diction.
What is colloquial language?
This type of sentence connects one idea to the next between body paragraphs.
What is a transition sentence?
A rhetorical strategy that criticizes by praising faintly or ironically.
What is sarcasm?
This kind of fallacy might result from using only one source heavily, especially if it’s emotionally charged.
What is bias or cherry-picking?
This is the “so what?” of your argument—it explains why the claim matters.
What is the implication?
The difference between tone and mood is this.
What is tone reflects the author's attitude; mood reflects the reader’s emotional response?
This style of essay - not recommended on the AP exam - has the author repeat their thesis in each paragraph, slightly changing it each time based on the effect made by the source presented in the paragraph.
What is the evolving thesis?
An appeal to this may have the author establish a clear ethical persona to build trust with the audience.
What is ethos?
The synthesis essay is most similar this collegiate writing task.
What is a research paper?
Name for the element in Toulmin’s model that connects the evidence to the claim.
What is the warrant?
This refers to the writer’s unique use of syntax, diction, and figurative language.
What is style or voice?
This technique helps avoid repetitive sentence structure and keeps writing engaging.
What is varying sentence types and lengths?
The term for a repeated grammatical structure, often used for emphasis and rhythm.
What is parallelism?
A sophisticated synthesis essay does more than quote—it does this to demonstrate control of argument and source material.
When crafting an argument, students should aim to balance these two types of appeals for a more persuasive case. (Hint: not ethos)
What are emotional and logical appeals?
A tone that is sarcastic but also critical and witty is often described with this term.
What is satirical?
To score a 6 in rhetorical analysis, you must do this with rhetorical choices—not just name them.
What is analyze their function and effect within the text?