AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment: Analysis
Reading Log:
• Take notes in the form of a reading log. Read over the explanation and example carefully. It is strongly
recommended you have completed eight log entries from five separate sources by the first day of
school (August 14).
To complete the log, actively read your articles and look for one examples of rhetorical strategies and/or
stylistic techniques (see the attached lists) from each article. Choose a quote/passage that serves as an
example of each technique you identify and record it in the chart on the following page; you may type your
logs instead. You will use your logs to write an analysis essay when you return in August.
When addressing the “connection to meaning” column, answer the following:
1) How does this technique help the writer develop the central point or argument he/she is making?
o To do this correctly, the first thing to do is determine the author’s central argument.
2) Why does the writer choose to use this particular strategy in this particular context?
3) How does it capture his/her attitude towards the point h/she is making (i.e., tone)?
Log example:
The following is from This is the Beat Generation by John Clellon Holmes followed by a sample log entry.
“No single comparison of one generation against another can accurately measure effects, but it seems
obvious that a lost generation, occupied with disillusionment and trying to keep busy among the broken
stones, is poetically, moving, but not very dangerous. But a beat generation, driven by a desperate craving for
belief and as yet unable to accept the moderations which are offered it, is quite another matter.”
Technique
Quotation
How technique supports argument/theme
juxtaposition
see above
This juxtaposition highlights the contrast between the “moving,
but not very dangerous” WWI generation and the potentially
“dangerous” beat generation that followed WWII (1).
Juxtaposition is particularly appropriate here when Holmes uses
diction like “disillusionment” and “broken” to describe a lost
generation, but then suddenly uses more vibrant diction like
“driven” and “craving” to describe a listless lost generation (2).
“Dangerous” has a positive connotation in this context, reflecting
Holmes’ laudatory tone and underlying argument that the beat
generation has more potential to incite change (1 & 3). (Numbers
reflect the questions answered.)
parallelism
Questions? Miss Hannah: ehannah@bssd.net Mr. Rusert: rrusert@bssd.net
Miss Crump scrump@bssd.net Mr. Kriegel: skriegel@bssd.net
AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment: Analysis
Date/Source Strategy/Technique
Quotation
How technique supports argument/theme
Questions? Miss Hannah: ehannah@bssd.net Mr. Rusert: rrusert@bssd.net
Miss Crump scrump@bssd.net Mr. Kriegel: skriegel@bssd.net
AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment: Analysis
Date/Source Strategy/Technique
Quotation
How technique supports argument/theme
Questions? Miss Hannah: ehannah@bssd.net Mr. Rusert: rrusert@bssd.net
Miss Crump scrump@bssd.net Mr. Kriegel: skriegel@bssd.net
AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment: Analysis
AP English Language and Composition: Rhetorical Strategies and Stylistic Devices
The following are two lists of terms used in the discussion and analysis of print and non-print texts:
•
List One contains terms used to discuss all types of texts intended to persuade or support a claim
(thesis), most of which you have heard and used in English courses in the past. Use these terms to
develop your “connection to meaning.”
•
List Two contains some of the additional terms we’ll be using in our discussion of fiction and nonfiction
texts in AP Language and Composition; most of these terms, like those in List One, will appear on the
AP Exam. These are the strategies and devices writers use to develop their claims; you should note
them in your reading logs because you will analyze their use in your essay.
Word List One:
Diction—the word choices made by a writer (formal, informal, technical)
Figurative language—language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.)
Rhetoric—the art of presenting ideas and messages in a manner that is clear, effective, and persuasive for a
particular audience
Rhetorical devices—literary and persuasive techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of a message or
text
Rhetorical pattern or mode—format or general structure used in a text (chronological, cause-and-effect,
problem-solution, comparison/contrast)
Structure—the arrangement or framework of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work
Style—the choices a writer makes in structure, diction, figurative language to create a total effect in a piece
Syntax—the arrangement of the words into phrases and clauses; sentence structure
Theme—central idea or message of the work
Thesis—the position the writer or speaker takes on the topic; the statement of the claim and approach to
supporting it
Tone—the attitude the writer takes towards the subject or audience
Word List Two:
allusion: a reference to someone or something well-known that is outside of the text. It recalls another work,
time, event, or person to make a point about some character, person, or situation being discussed in the text.
Example: referring to a beautiful woman as a “Venus.”
analogy: an extended comparison of two objects, ideas, or situations to emphasize certain traits of either one
or both. Example: comparing a political campaign and a football match.
anecdote: a brief account of an interesting or entertaining incident, often to make a point.
antithesis: the claim that opposes the thesis or central claim; or directly opposing two ideas, usually in
grammatically parallel form. “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your
country.”
Questions? Miss Hannah: ehannah@bssd.net Mr. Rusert: rrusert@bssd.net
Miss Crump scrump@bssd.net Mr. Kriegel: skriegel@bssd.net
AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment: Analysis
aphorism: a short, pointed statement that purports to reveal a truth or principle. Example: “No man is an
island unto himself.”—John Donne
cause-and-effect analysis: explaining how certain motives/actions lead to particular results.
comparison/contrast analysis: explaining how certain objects, places, people, situations, times, or events are
like or unlike each other, usually to make a point about one or both.
deductive reasoning: beginning with a generalization, claim, or premise and then providing specific details,
examples, and reasons to support it.
inductive reasoning: organizing an argument by introducing example after example and then drawing the
conclusion or generalization to which these examples lead.
appeal to logos: appeal to reason or logic. This includes the use of relevant examples, inductive or deductive
arguments, and a rational, detached tone.
appeal to ethos: an appeal to credibility, including the appeal to the writer’s or speaker’s background, history,
skills, or expertise or to authorities on the subject; an appeal to the reader’s or listener’s ethical sense.
appeal to pathos: an appeal to emotion through diction, imagery, vivid description, anecdotes.
hyperbole: exaggeration for effect: “My opponent has the worst voting record ever recorded in history.”
juxtaposition: making one idea more dramatic by placing it next to its opposite: “The gas savings from a
hybrid car as compared to a standard car seem impressive until one compares the prices of the two vehicles.”
irony: saying the opposite of what one means (verbal irony); the contrast between what one expects to
happen and what actually happens (situational irony); the contrast between what a character thinks to be true
and what the reader knows to be true.
metaphorical language: language that compares objects in two unlike classes, often a concrete object with a
feeling or idea. Example: “His mind was like a maze.”
paradox: a statement that is logically contradictory but can nevertheless be true in a given context. Example:
“our greatest strength can be our greatest weakness.”
parallelism: a grammatically parallel pattern in a sentence or group of sentences, used for emphasis of the
ideas. Example: “We will fight on the beaches; we will fight in the forests; we will fight in the air.”
rhetorical question: a question whose answer is assumed; a question asked not to seek information but to
make a point. Example: “Who wants to die fighting for a futile cause?”
understatement: the opposite of hyperbole or exaggeration; used for emphasis by contrast.
Example: “After getting no sleep for 36 hours, the candidate was a little tired.
Questions? Miss Hannah: ehannah@bssd.net Mr. Rusert: rrusert@bssd.net
Miss Crump scrump@bssd.net Mr. Kriegel: skriegel@bssd.net