AP English Language - Rhetorical Analysis & Argumentation

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Rhetorical Situation

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The combination of speaker, occasion, subject, and audience that governs a text. Understanding this is the first step in rhetorical analysis, as it dictates the writer's choices.

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SOAPSTone

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A strategy for analysis: **S**peaker, **O**ccasion, **A**udience, **P**urpose, **S**ubject, **T**one. It is a fundamental pre-writing step to ensure you understand the context of a piece before writing.

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Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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Aristotle's three modes of persuasion: **Ethos** (credibility/authority), **Pathos** (emotional appeal), and **Logos** (logical reasoning/evidence). Effective arguments usually weave all three together.

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Claim

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The central assertion or thesis statement the writer intends to prove. In AP scoring, a claim must be defensible and clear, usually appearing at the end of the introductory paragraph.

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Warrant

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The underlying assumption that connects a claim to its evidence (the 'because'). It explains *why* the evidence supports the claim. Uncovering unstated warrants is often key to sophisticated analysis.