Unit 1 Vocabulary Notes Assignment AP English Language & Composition
Setup Your Composition Book
Title Page: Write "Unit 1: Rhetorical Foundations - Key Terms" and today's date
Save Space: Leave the first 4 pages (front and back) for a table of contents
Start Writing: Begin vocabulary on page 5
Number Pages: Write page numbers at the bottom
Format for Each Term
CATEGORY HEADING - Write in ALL CAPS and underline
Term - Write in bold or underline, aligned to the left margin
Definition - Copy the full definition exactly as given
My Words - Write the definition in your own words
Space - Leave 1-2 lines for examples to be added later
What to Copy by CATEGORY (32 Terms Total)
Rhetorical Situation (6 terms)
Claims and Evidence (11 terms)
Methods of Development (5 terms)
Commentary and Analysis (4 terms)
Writing Process (6 terms)
Requirements ✅ All 32 terms included ✅ Neat handwriting ✅ Complete definitions (no abbreviations) ✅ Personal paraphrase for each term ✅ Space left for future examples
🎯Due Date: September 4, 2025
Why This Matters You'll use these notes for rhetorical analysis, synthesis essays, and the AP exam. Take time to make them clear and complete.
AP English Language Unit 1: Rhetorical Foundations
Key Concepts and Vocabulary
RHETORICAL SITUATION
Rhetorical Situation - The context in which communication occurs, including the exigence, audience, writer, purpose, context, and message that collectively shape how a text is created and received.
Exigence - The issue, problem, or situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts a writer to create a text.
Purpose - What the writer hopes to accomplish with their text; writers may have multiple purposes in a single work.
Audience - The intended readers of a text who have shared as well as individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds.
Context - The time, place, and occasion surrounding the creation and reception of a text.
Message - The content and meaning that the writer seeks to communicate to the audience.
Genre - The category or type of text (e.g., essay, speech, editorial, letter).
Stance - The writer's position or attitude toward the subject.
Persona - The character or voice adopted by the writer.
APPEALS (MODES OF PERSUASION)
Appeals - The modes of persuasion writers use to convince their audience (ethos, pathos, logos).
Ethos - An appeal to credibility or character; establishing the writer's authority, expertise, or moral standing to speak on a subject.
Pathos - An appeal to emotion; using language, examples, or stories that evoke feelings in the audience.
Logos - An appeal to logic or reason; using facts, statistics, logical arguments, and sound reasoning.
Kairos - The opportune moment or timeliness; understanding when the right time is to deliver a message or make an argument.
CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE
Claim - A statement that requires defense with evidence; a position that a writer seeks to prove or defend through reasoning.
Thesis - The main, overarching claim a writer is seeking to defend or prove by using reasoning supported by evidence.
Evidence - Facts, anecdotes, analogies, statistics, examples, details, illustrations, expert opinions, personal observations, personal experiences, testimonies, or experiments used to support claims.
Textual Evidence - Specific words, phrases, details, or passages from a source that support an analytical claim.
Sufficient Evidence - Evidence that provides adequate quantity and quality to aptly support an argument's claims.
Strategic Evidence - Evidence that is purposefully selected to illustrate, clarify, set a mood, exemplify, associate, or amplify a point.
Anecdote - A short personal story used to illustrate a point or make an argument more relatable.
Analogy - A comparison between two things to explain or clarify an idea.
Expert Opinion - Testimony or statements from authorities in a particular field.
Personal Observation - Evidence based on what the writer has directly witnessed or experienced.
Testimony - A formal statement or declaration of fact, especially by a witness.
SOURCE INTEGRATION
Source Material - Information from external texts that writers integrate into their own arguments through quotation, paraphrase, or summary.
Topic Sentence - The first sentence of a paragraph that states the main idea or claim that will be developed in the paragraph.
Concrete Detail - Specific evidence from the text, including facts, quotes, examples, or paraphrases that support the topic sentence.
Commentary - The explanation that connects chosen evidence to a claim and explains how the evidence supports the line of reasoning; analysis and interpretation of the concrete details.
Closing Sentence - The final sentence of a paragraph that wraps up the ideas presented and/or provides a transition to the next paragraph.
Quotation - The exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks.
Paraphrase - Restating someone else's ideas in your own words while maintaining the original meaning.
Summary - A brief overview of the main points of a source.
Synthesis - The process of combining different perspectives from multiple sources to form support for a coherent argument.
Attribution - The acknowledgment of words, ideas, images, texts, and other intellectual property of others through citation or reference.
Citation - Giving credit to the source of information or ideas.
Credibility - The degree to which a source or writer can be trusted to provide reliable and accurate information.
Bias - The prejudices, limitations, or particular perspectives that may affect how a source presents information.
METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Methods of Development - Common approaches writers use to develop and organize the reasoning of their arguments, providing audiences with means to trace a writer's reasoning.
Narration - A method of development where writers offer details about real-life experiences and provide reflections and insights on the significance of those experiences.
Cause-Effect - A method of development where writers present a cause and assert effects or consequences, or present a series of causes and subsequent effects.
Comparison-Contrast - A method of development where writers examine similarities and/or differences between subjects using like categories of comparison.
Definition/Description - A method of development where writers relate the characteristics, features, or sensory details of an object or idea, sometimes using examples or illustrations.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Line of Reasoning - The logical sequence of claims and evidence that work together to support an overarching thesis.
Analysis - The process of examining how various elements work together to create meaning and achieve a writer's purpose.
Rhetorical Analysis - The examination of how writers' choices in language, structure, and style contribute to their purpose and effect on the audience.
STYLE AND LANGUAGE
Tone - The writer's attitude toward the subject, conveyed through word choice and style.
Diction - The choice and use of words and phrases; word choice.
Syntax - The arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences; sentence structure.
WRITING PROCESS
Introduction - The opening of an argument that introduces the subject and/or writer to the audience, may present the thesis, and orients, engages, and/or focuses the audience.
Conclusion - The ending of an argument that brings the argument to a unified end, may present the thesis, and engages the audience by explaining significance, making connections, or calling for action.
Coherence - The logical connection of ideas at different levels in a piece of writing, where ideas in clauses, sentences, and paragraphs logically link to create unity.
Transitional Elements - Words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or paragraphs that assist in creating coherence by showing relationships among ideas.
Organization - The arrangement and structure of ideas in a text that reflects the writer's line of reasoning and creates unity.
Revision - The process of making changes to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and impact of writing.