Introduction to Rhetorical Choices (College Board AP® English Language & Composition): Study Guide

This study guide introduces you to rhetorical choices in AP Lang.  It explains how writers make choices based on an audience’s beliefs, values and needs.  It also covers the CAT of SPACE CAT, common rhetorical choices, rhetorical appeals, tone, a step-by-step guide to identifying choices, a worked example and common mistakes students make. 

What are rhetorical choices in AP Lang?

Rhetorical choices are the decisions a writer makes to influence an audience and achieve a purpose. These choices are closely connected to the rhetorical situation. Before making choices, a writer considers the situation surrounding the text, including:

• Who the audience is

• What the audience believes, values or needs

• What the writer wants to achieve

• What issue or occasion has prompted the text

• What context surrounds the argument

Writers then make choices that fit that situation. These choices may involve:

• Words

• Details

• Examples

• Evidence

• Tone

• Structure

• Sentence patterns

• Rhetorical appeals

For example, a writer responding to an urgent problem may use forceful language, repetition or emotional examples because the purpose is to motivate immediate action. 

The CAT of SPACE CAT: choices, appeals, tone

SPACE CAT is a framework you can use to analyze rhetoric. The first part, SPACE, helps students identify the rhetorical situation:

• Speaker

• Purpose

• Audience 

• Context

• Exigence

The second part, CAT, helps you analyze how the writer responds to that situation: 

• Choices

• Appeals

• Tone

How CAT extends the rhetorical situation

The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances surrounding a text. CAT explains how the writer responds to those circumstances.  

For example:

• An audience may be skeptical (rhetorical situation) — in response, the writer chooses to acknowledge opposing views

• An audience may feel afraid (rhetorical situation) — in response, the writer chooses to use a calm tone

• The issue is urgent (rhetorical situation) — in response, the writer chooses to present a call to action

Why CAT matters for AP Lang analysis

CAT helps you avoid vague analysis that simply identifies some surface-level aspect. For example, a weak response might say: 

Strong AP Lang analysis is deeper, usually explaining what choice the writer makes, how the choice works and why the choice matters for the audience and purpose. This stronger response might say:

Rhetorical choices: word choice, syntax and structure

Writers use many rhetorical choices, but three important categories are word choice, syntax and structure.  

Word choice

Word choice refers to specific words a writer uses. Word choice can affect:

• Tone

• Mood

• Emphasis

• Credibility

• Emotional impact

• The audience’s attitude toward a subject

For example, calling a policy “necessary” creates a different effect from calling it “harmful.”

Syntax

Syntax is the arrangement of words, phrases and clauses in a sentence.

Writers may use syntax to:

• Create emphasis

• Build momentum

• Slow the pace

• Show contrast

• Create urgency

• Make an idea memorable

For example, a writer may use a short sentence, or a purposeful fragment, after a long sentence to make a point feel final or forceful.

Structure

Structure is the way ideas are organized across a paragraph, passage or whole text.

Writers may structure ideas by:

• Beginning with a problem

• Moving from cause to effect

• Comparing two ideas

• Acknowledging a counterargument

• Building from personal experience to a broader claim

• Ending with a call to action

It is important to identify structure because the order of ideas can guide the audience’s response.

Rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, logos and kairos

Writers use rhetorical appeals to influence how an audience thinks, feels or responds. The main rhetorical appeals are as follows:

• Ethos: an appeal to credibility or character:

  • It shows the writer is trustworthy, knowledgeable, fair or moral

• Pathos: an appeal to emotion:

  • The writer evokes feelings such as sympathy, anger, fear, hope or pride

• Logos: an appeal to logic:

  • The writer uses evidence, facts, examples, statistics or clear reasoning

• Kairos: an appeal to timing or urgency:

  • The writer shows why an issue matters at that particular moment

For more on rhetorical appeals, see Rhetorical Appeals.

Tone in AP Lang

Tone is the writer’s attitude toward the subject or audience. It matters because it shapes how the audience receives the message. For example, a writer addressing a grieving audience may use a solemn, respectful tone, while a writer criticizing injustice may use an indignant tone.  

Tone should be connected to purpose. You should ask why the writer creates that attitude and how it affects the audience.

How rhetorical choices serve a writer’s purpose

A rhetorical choice is effective when it helps the writer achieve a purpose.  

How to identify rhetorical choices: step-by-step

1. Identify the rhetorical situation:

   • Who is the writer addressing and what does the writer want to achieve?

2. Look for patterns:

   • Does the writer repeat certain words, ideas or sentence structures?

3. Identify specific choices:

   • What does the writer do with word choice, syntax, structure, evidence, appeals or tone?

4. Ask how the choice works:

   • Does it build trust, create emotion, clarify a point, emphasize urgency or guide the audience’s thinking?

5. Connect the choice to the audience:

   • Why would this choice matter to this particular audience?

6. Connect the choice to purpose:

   • How does this choice help the writer achieve the purpose?  

Worked example: annotated analysis of rhetorical choices

Context:

Frederick Douglass was a formerly enslaved American writer, speaker and abolitionist. In 1852, he was invited to speak at an event connected to Independence Day, the American holiday celebrating freedom from British rule. In his speech, Douglass challenged the audience to consider the contradiction between America’s celebration of liberty and the continued existence of slavery.

Directions:

• Read the following excerpt from Douglass’ speech

• Identify the rhetorical choices (for MSCAPE analysis, see Introduction to The Rhetorical Situation)

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?  I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. . . . I will not enlarge further on your national inconsistencies.  The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism a sham, your humanity a base pretense, and your Christianity a lie.  It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home.  It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a bye-word to a mocking earth.  It is the antagonistic force in your government, the only thing that seriously disturbs and endangers your Union.  It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes.  Oh!  Be warned!  Be warned!  A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nation’s bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic; for the love of God, tear away, and fling from you the hideous monster, and let the weight of twenty millions crush and destroy it forever!

Common mistakes when analyzing rhetorical choices

• Naming a device without explaining its effect:

  • Students should explain how the choice shapes the audience’s understanding or response

• Using vague verbs such as “shows” or “uses” without analysis:

  • Strong analysis explains how the choice persuades, emphasizes, contrasts, clarifies or builds trust

• Ignoring the audience:

  • A choice should connect to what the audience believes, values, needs or fears

• Ignoring the writer’s purpose:

  • You should explain how the choice helps the writer achieve a goal

• Treating appeals as separate from choices:

  • Appeals are created through choices such as evidence, word choice, examples, tone or structure

• Assuming tone is the same as mood:

  • Tone is the writer’s attitude, while mood is the feeling created for the audience

• Writing a list instead of analysis:

  • A strong response explains the relationship between the rhetorical situation, the writer’s choices and the intended effect

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between rhetorical choices and rhetorical appeals?

Rhetorical choices are the decisions a writer makes, such as using specific words, examples, syntax, structure or tone. Rhetorical appeals are the persuasive effects those choices create, such as ethos, logos, pathos or kairos.  

How do I move from naming choices to analyzing them?

You should ask what the choice does for the audience and purpose. Instead of writing, “The writer uses repetition,” you should explain what the repetition emphasizes and why that emphasis matters.  

Why is tone treated separately from other rhetorical choices?

Tone is often treated separately because it shapes the audience’s overall impression of the writer and message. However, the tone is still created through choices such as word choice, syntax, details and structure.  

How are rhetorical choices tested in AP Lang FRQs?

In the rhetorical analysis essay, you explain how a writer’s choices help achieve a purpose for a particular audience. In synthesis and argument essays, you make your own rhetorical choices when developing claims, selecting evidence and addressing the audience.

Key terms and glossary

• Audience: the person or group the writer addresses

• Appeal: a method of persuasion used to influence an audience

• Call to action: a statement that urges the audience to do, think or feel something

• Ethos: an appeal to credibility or character

• Kairos: an appeal to timing or urgency

• Logos: an appeal to logic or reason

• Pathos: an appeal to emotion 

• Purpose: what the writer wants to accomplish

• Rhetorical choice: a decision a writer makes to influence an audience and achieve a purpose

• Structure: the organization of ideas in a paragraph, passage or whole text

• Syntax: the arrangement of words, phrases and clauses in a sentence

• Tone: the writer’s attitude toward the subject or audience

• Word choice: the specific words a writer selects