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Monday, April 28, 2014

The "Rhetorical Strategies" AP Exam Question





(updated) April 19, 2017:

I'm going to guess that, even though the AP exam is upon us, you might still be unclear about what exactly a rhetorical strategy is. There's actually a good reason for that. "Rhetorical strategy" is one of those umbrella terms that encompasses many different ideas. One source will tell you that Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are the key strategies. Another source will tell you that words like "anaphora" and "euphony" are the way to go.

And, of course, they're both right.

Because the study of rhetoric has been around since ancient Greece, it's a given that there will be an overwhelming mass of different information that different authors think is important. The best thing you can do for the AP exam is to not over-think it.

Stick with this.You know what rhetorical strategies are. At their simplest, they are the techniques that an author uses to improve the delivery of his/her message. Things like word choice, comparison, contrast, word order, imagery, repetition, irony, humor, rhetorical questions, hyperbole, etc. are all potential "rhetorical strategies." If you can explain the author's argument and explain how s/he uses these techniques to develop his/her argument, then you are well on your way to writing a great essay.

If you'd like to delver further into examples in an actual AP exam question, click past the break and go for it.