AP Language and Composition
Summer Reading Assignment
Rhetorical Devices and Terms
Define the attached list of rhetorical terms. Use the resources to put the definitions in your own words. Leave space
after the definitions to add examples as we go throughout the year.
The Best American Essays of the Century, ed. Joyce Carol Oates
Read these designated four essays PLUS four essays of your choice. For each essay, complete an analysis of the
rhetorical situation (aka SOAPSToneD) using the chart below as a guide. Your answers should be well-developed; a
single word will not do. Include textual evidence or line numbers to support your observations. You can create the
charts by hand on paper or use copies of the blank one attached.
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“Of the Coming of John,” W.E.B. Du Bois
“Stickeen,” John Muir
“Bop,” Langston Hughes
“The Search for Marvin Gardens,” John McPhee
PLUS four essays of your choice
What is the
Subject?
What is the piece about?
Write about the general topic, content, and ideas.
You should be able to state the subject in a few words or a short phrase.
What is the
Occasion?
When/Where/Why did the piece occur?
Write about the time/place of the piece as well as the current situation in the piece.
Write about the context that encouraged the writing to happen.
(What caused the writing?)
To Whom is the piece written?
Write about the group of readers to whom the piece is directed.
The audience may be one person, a small group, or a large group; it may be a
certain person or a certain people.
Remember that the writer always writes for someone.
Why was the piece written?
Write about the reason the writer is writing.
General purposes include to describe, to entertain, to inform, or to persuade.
Who is the
Audience?
What is the
Purpose?
Who is the
Speaker?
What is the
tone?
What rhetorical
devices does
the author use?
Who is talking?
What Voice tells the story?
From what perspective or viewpoint is the story told?
Consider age, gender, ethnicity, class, etc. when identifying speaker.
The speaker is NOT necessarily the author.
What is the author’s attitude towards the subject?
Is it different from the speaker’s attitude?
Many times the tone is more complex than a single word – can you find that
complexity or a shift in attitude?
Think about diction, syntax, figurative language, and structure.
What does the author do with language to impact the audience?
Try to find at least 2 of the most prominent devices.
Your Name: _________________________________________
Title: _______________________________________________ Author: __________________________________________
Date of publication: __________________________________
Your Observations
What is the
Subject?
What is the
Occasion?
Who is the
Audience?
What is the
Purpose?
Who is the
Speaker?
What is the
tone?
What
rhetorical
devices does
the author
use?
Textual Evidence