Rhetoric & Analyzing Word Choice

Rhetoric

• Definition: The study of writing or speaking.
• The study of how the authors make in structuring and developing their texts.

Rhetoric Questions are divided in to 5 categories

• Analyzing word choice: Understanding how an author selects words, phrases, and language patterns to influence meaning, tone, and style.
• Analyzing text structure: Describing how an author shapes and organizes a text and how the parts of the passage contribute to the whole text.
• Analyzing purpose: Determining the main rhetorical aim of a passage or a part of the passage, such as a paragraph.
• Analyzing arguments: Examining the claims, counterclaims, reasoning, and evidence an author uses in an argument.

Prefixes

Roots

Suffixes

Analyzing Word Choice

• Analyzing word choice questions focus less on definitions and more on the rhetorical impact, style, and tone of the passage.

Ex:

• 

  Question 1 represents the word of choice concept. In this type of question, the student can deal with this question by reading the sentences prior and look for keywords to choose the best word that is consistent with the meaning and the objective of the paragraph.

• We can see, in the example above, that (she doesn’t have a definite idea of when it might happen), this can be a clue for the student.
• The first keyword “definite idea” refers to being not completely sure about something, and the other keyword is “when it might happen” shows that she knows this will happen, but it doesn’t have solid is trying to predict something in the future.
• If we look at the options, all words look like they have the same meaning, but when we analyze in depth the words and what hints we have, we can approach the answer.
• Option “A” demands: an insistent and peremptory request, made as if by right.
• Option “B” speculates: form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence.
• Option “C” doubts: a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.
• Option “D” establishes: show (something) to be true or certain by determining the facts.
• After analyzing every single word, we can validate what we need according to our keywords “definite idea” and “when it might happen”.
• Option A “demands” doesn’t meet the requirement of the keywords.
• Option B “speculates” does meet the meaning of the evidence of forming a solid theory “definite idea”, but without firm evidence “when it might happen.
• Option C “doubts” might meet the requirement from the first sight, but when we look deeper, we will see that doubt means lack of conviction, and the keywords show that she knows it will happen but doesn’t know when.
• Option D “establishes” there are no facts to illustrate as she doesn’t know when it will happen.
• Therefore, the most logical choice will be option B “speculates” as she is guessing.