AP Language and Composition

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All persuasive works rely on reasoning to lead the reader through the line of argument.

It includes a thesis, the body of the text, and a series of claims that provide evidence for the thesis.

-- Thesis: The main claim to be proven.

-- Claims: Statements that establish the line of reasoning and are supported with evidence.

Thesis

Claim

Evidence and Commentary

Claim

Evidence and Commentary

Claim

Evidence and Commentary

Each claim has to be supported with explicit evidence.

-- Explicit: specific or clear.

All presented evidence must be commented upon.

--Commentary: this is the explanation of what the evidence reveals or how it supports the claim.

When proving claims, you have to gather evidence from a credible source.

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Rhetoric is the methods people use to communicate and understand each other, often with the goal of modifying the perspectives of another.

Rhetorical Situation is any circumstance where a writer or speaker uses rhetoric to achieve this communication and persuasion.

Exigence is what motivates the writer or speaker to craft the text in the first place.

Tone is the expression of the authors attitude toward his or her subject and audience. It's created through carefully-chosen diction and carefully-constructed syntax.

Diction is word choice, and it helps to create a specific tone.

Denotation is the specific and literal meaning of the word, as found in the dictionary.

Connotation is the emotional association a word implies. This suggested meaning is based on the social,cultural, and personal experiences of individuals.

Context is the situation with which a word you don't understand lies.

Syntax sentence structure, specifically sentence structure designed to achieve an effect. It works with diction to create a specific tone.

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American Literary Movements:

1620-1728 (Puritanism)

Colonists' arrival in North America.

Plymouth Plantation founded.

Jamestown settlement.

Salem witch trials.

1750-1800 (Rationalism)

French and Indian War.

Stamp Act.

Boson Massacre.

Revolutionary War.

Fugitive Slave Act.

1800-1860 (Romanticism)

Industrial Revolution.

Emancipation Proclamation.

Louisiana Purchase.

Lewis and Clark Expedition.

War of 1812.

Underground Railroad.

1836-1860 (Transcendentalism)

Brook Farm.

Abolition.

Women's Suffrage Movement.

Trail of Tears.

Indian Removal Act.

1850-1900 (Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism)

Civil War

Reconstruction.

Slavery Abolished.

Spanish American War.

1900-1950 (Modernism)

World War I.

The Great Depression.

The Dust Bowl.

World War II.

1920-1932 (Harlem Renaissance)

World War I Great Migration.

Prohibition.

1950-Present (Contemporary)

Korean War.

Vietnam War.

McCarthy Hearings.

Civil Rights Movement.

Cold War.

Space Exploration.

Immigration Act.

Creation of Microsoft.

Three Mile Island, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

Fall of Berlin Wall.

Persian Gulf Wars.

Los Angeles Riots.

Oklahoma City Bombing.

9/11.

War on Terror.

First Female Supreme Court Justice.

First African-American President.

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