Introduction to the AP Exam, Rhetoric and Stylistic Devices

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Introduction to the AP Exam, Rhetoric and
Stylistic Devices

• AP Language and Composition

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1st!!!!

• Create a college board account!!
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• www.collegeboard.org
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The AP Language Exam

• Before we begin the course, please read a full
  description of the course on College Board's
  website.

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The AP Language Exam

• Today you will read an entire exam and reflect on
  the expectations of the course. The first part of
  the exam is Multiple Choice. Every essay you will
  read will be non-fiction and will cover the 17th
  century to the present. Then you will be
  introduced to the 3 different types of essays on
  the exam the synthesis essay, the rhetorical
  analysis essay, and the argumentative essay.

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The AP Language Exam

• Throughout this course you will be taught how to
  read nonfiction and respond to it accordingly.
  You will also be taught how to write each of the
  essays. The course will begin with non-fiction
  reading and the rhetorical analysis essay. 

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The AP Language Exam

• AP Langauge Sample Exam
• Please click on the words above. This link will
  take you to a post from The College Board.
  Carefully read pages 13-48. 
• Page 13 is a brief overview of the exam followed
  by multiple choice questions and 4 essays.

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The AP Language Exam

• The AP exam focuses around rhetoric, the art of
  language. A person with good rhetorical skills is
  an effective communicator they know how to use
  language to clearly express what they wish to
  convey. Rhetorical analysis involves the study of
  rhetoric and how others have used language to
  convey their meaning we look at what is said as
  well as how it is said.

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The AP Language Exam

•  Throughout this entire course we will focus on
  the power of rhetoric we will learn how to
  properly analyze and write about rhetoric, and we
  will learn the value of honing our own rhetorical
  skills. In May, you will put all that you have
  learned to the test - literally! - when you take
  the AP Language and Composition exam. Pay close
  attention as you move through the items in this
  folder as they will provide you with the critical
  foundation that you need on this important
  concept.

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The Conventions of Rhetoric

• An Amateurs Guide to Rhetorical Elements of Style

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What is Rhetoric?

• The Oxford American Dictionary defines rhetoric
  as the art of effective speaking or writing
  language designed to persuade or impress
  eloquence, way with words, gift of gab.

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Ordinarily speaking, rhetoric is the art of
writing and speaking persuasively, compellingly.
It is made up of all of those strategies and
techniques a writer will use to make a case, tell
a story, or drive home a point.
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All of us are occasionally speakers and writers
who try to sway, influence, or impress a point
upon an audience, and can therefore benefit from
mastering the art of rhetorical expression.
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In other words, rhetoric deals with HOW we say or
write what we say or write, and how those
decisions affect our writing as a whole.
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Rhetorical Analysis cannot only help us better
understand contextual meaning of texts that we
read, but will also help us to identify those
conventions of writing that, if properly
employed, will help developing young writers
improve the quality and clarity of their own
writing.
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Conventions?What conventions?
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Some conventions of style include
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Syntax

• Deals with the grammatical arrangement of words -
  whether the subject is at the front or back of
  the sentence, whether the passage is written in
  passive or active voice, whether the sentence
  structure is simple, compound, or complex.

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Diction...

• Refers to the authors choice of words, which can
  be presented on three different levels formal
  (elevated), informal (every-day), and colloquial
  (slang / jargon).

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Point of View

• Often confused with tone, point of view deals
  mostly with consideration of other viewpoints,
  and is seen most often in the narrative or
  fiction genre. Sometimes and author will explore
  point of view in writing in order to establish a
  sense of audience

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Language Devices

• The English language truly is a masterpiece of
  poetry in motion. The sounds and images that we
  can create just by manipulating consonant sounds
  or through the repetition of vowel sounds (or via
  the infamous onomatopoeia) is tied intricately to
  meaning.

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Tone...

• This element stands alone on the Rhetorical
  Triangle, yet can be thought of in terms of
  style. Generally, the tone is the overall
  attitude the author has towards his / her subject
  matter - happy and carefree, or serious and
  condescending? Silly and enigmatic, or
  melancholy and desolate? No matter what the form
  of writing, the tone is key to readers
  perceptions of the authors message.

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Imagery

• Tied to description and playing on humankinds
  natural tendency to visualize every piece of
  information that we take in, creating imagery
  through the use of language is crucial to
  inviting the reader in to stay a while, to asking
  them to not only read what youve written, but to
  become a part of it themselves, to relate what
  youve written to their own existence.

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Figures of Speech

• From euphemisms to colloquialisms, similes to
  metaphors, hyperbole to personification, figures
  of speech play an important role in any writers
  work. They help the writer to go beyond just
  saying what they have to say figures of speech
  help them say it with style!

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Grammar / Phrasing

• Getting the right word in the right place or the
  right phrase in the right space represents the
  poetic nature of the written word. The very
  nature of the English language offers writers the
  liberty of changing word order - the location of
  the subject and predicate, of the object or
  preposition - for the purpose of emphasis. An
  authors choice in phrasing can give huge clues
  to his or her meaning.

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Parallelisms

• The precision of parallel structure not only
  offers a sense of balance in a sentence or piece
  of writing, but it can also be used to emphasize
  style, voice, or meaning in a writers work.
  Other times, writers choose NOT to create
  parallel structure in order to force the readers
  attention to a detail or point - to throw them
  intentionally off balance.

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Repetition

• Ever since Pavlov and his dogs demonstrated that
  repetition is a key to remembrance, everyone has
  followed suit, from parents to teachers to dog
  trainers. Good writers have figured out that
  repetition grabs the readers attention, first of
  all, and then aids in the readers remembrance of
  their main points, or an image, or other aspect
  of their writing.

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Presentation of Detail

• Details are the spice of life. We dont want to
  just know that the schools hottest couple has
  broken up - we want all the juicy tidbits of the
  how and where and why. The way an author chooses
  to present details - vivid and exciting or
  mechanical and matter of fact - will reveal much
  about the authors meaning and intentions.

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Through careful analysis of an authors style, we
can not only make connections between style and
meaning, but we can apply that same connection to
our own writing, which will help us to make
conscious decisions about our own writing
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• Maya Angelo on the Power of Words