Rhetorical Analysis / Close
Reading: Multiple-Choice Stems
From the AP Literature and Composition exam:
1. What is the author's attitude toward the subject of this passage?
2. What is this passage about?
3. What does the phrase, ______________, mean?
4. How would you characterize the style of the passage?
5. Which of the following best summarizes
the main point in lines _____?
6. What is the main point in _____? (the passage, the second paragraph, etc.)
7. How would you restate the meaning of
_______________?
8. How would you define the phrase
___________?
9. What is the speaker’s purpose in
_____________?
10. What
thought is reflected in the allusion ____________?
11. What is
the tone of the passage?
12. How would
you define the word ____________?
13. How would
you describe the diction and style of the passage?
14. In lines
_____, what is the speaker asserting?
15. Why
is ___________ described as __________?
16. What is
significant about the structure of sentence #____ in lines ____?
17. In sentences
_____, what contrasts are developed or implied?
18. In lines
________, why does the author pair quotations?
19. In lines
________, what is the effect of pairing quotations?
20. What is
the dominant technique used in lines ______?
21. In lines
______, what is the effect of using a metaphor?
22. In lines
_____, juxtaposing _________ and ___________ serves the purpose of
________________.
23. What does
the speaker accomplish in using __________?
24. By using
the words _______, the speaker shows the belief that _____.
25. In lines
_____, how is the speaker portrayed?
26. The shift
in point of view from...has the effect of...
27. What is
the theme of the ____________ (e.g., second paragraph, whole piece)?
28. In lines
____, the passage shifts from _________ to __________.
29. Why does
the author represent _______________ as ______________ in lines ____?
30. What is
the purpose of the syntax in sentence _____?
31. What does __________________ symbolize in
lines ____?
32. The
speaker's attitude toward ___________ is best described as one of
_________________.
33. In _____,
the author is asserting that __________________.
34. The term
_____ conveys the speaker's belief that ______________.
35. The
speaker assumes that the audience's attitude toward ____________will be one of
____________.
36. In the
_______ (e.g., first, second, last) paragraph, the speaker seeks to interest us
in the subjects of the discussion by stressing the __________.
37. It can be
inferred by ____________ that __________________.
38. The ________
(e.g., first, second) sentence is unified by metaphorical references pertaining
to _________________.
39. The
speaker's mention of _________is appropriate to the development of the argument
as an illustration of ______________.
40. As the
sentence in lines _____ is constructed, _____________ is parallel to
___________________.
41. It can be
inferred from the description of
__________ that the qualities of
______________ are valued by the
speaker.
42. According
to the passage, ___________ is ____________ because
______________________________.
43. In the
context of the passage, __________is best interpreted as ______.
44. Sentence
_________ is best described as _______________.
45. The
antecedent for ________in line ________is ________.
46. What type
of argument does the writer employ in lines ______?
47. Why does
the speaker use the sequence of ideas in lines _____?
48. We can
infer from ______________ that __________________.
49. What
pattern of exposition does the writer use in this passage?
50. What is
the point of view in this passage/poem?
51. What is the purpose of the statement in
lines _____?
52. What
atmosphere or mood is established in lines _______?
53. The
_______ (e.g., first, fourth) sentence is coherent because of its use of
_______________.
54. What
qualities are present in the scene described in lines _____?
55. What
words and details suggest a _________ (adjective) attitude on the part of the
author?
56. In line
_______, the use of __________instead of ___________accomplishes _____________.
57. In
line__________, the author emphasizes _______because he/she_______.
58. The use
of _________suggests that ____________.
59. What is
the function of the __________ (sentence, detail, clause, phrase, and so on) in
lines _______?
60. The
subject of the sentence in lines _________is ________.
61. What
assertions does the author make in the passage, and what is his/her purpose in
doing this?
62. By
________, the author most probably means ______.
63. What
meanings are contained in the word ______ in line _____?
64. What can
we infer from the passage about _________________________?
65. The
author apparently believes that __________________________.
66. In
lines________, the phrase_________ is used to refer to _______.
67. The
author believes that we should_______________________________.
68. The
_________ (e.g., first, last, third) sentence of the passage is chiefly
remarkable for its____________________________________.
69. What does
the author want to encourage in a person?
70. What is
the function of ______________ in relation to __________?
Rhetorical Analysis / Close
Reading: Multiple-Choice Stems
From the AP Language and
Composition exam:
1.
What is the author's attitude toward the subject?
2.
The word _________ in context (line ____ ) is best interpreted
to mean . . .
3.
What does the phrase ______mean?
4.
The phrase _________ functions primarily as . . .
5.
The word/phrase _____________ in line ____ refers to which of the
following?
6.
How would you characterize the style of the passage?
7.
The style of the passage as a whole is most accurately
characterized as . . .
8.
What is the main point of the passage?
9.
Restate the phrase, ________.
10.
Define the phrase, _________.
11.
What does the speaker accomplish in this passage?
12.
What is the speaker's purpose in writing this passage?
13.
What is the speaker's purpose in lines _______.
14.
The speaker’s reference to _______________ serves
primarily to . . .
15.
Lines ___ can be interpreted to mean . . .
16.
In lines ___, the speaker employs which of the following
rhetorical strategies?
17.
In the sentence beginning _________, the speaker employs all of the
following EXCEPT . . .
18.
The type of argument employed by the speaker is most
similar to which of the following?
19.
The speaker describes ____________ in an order best
described as from the . . .
20.
Why does the writer use the allusion to______________?
21.
Which of the following best summarizes the main topic of
the passage?
22.
The attitude of the entire passage (or parts of the
passage) is one of . . .
23.
What is the tone of the passage?
24.
How would you characterize the diction and style of the
passage?
25.
What is the speaker asserting in lines________?
26.
In relation to the passage as a whole, the statement in
the first sentence presents . . . [syntax]
27.
The second sentence (line ___ ) is unified by
metaphorical references pertaining to . . .
28.
The sentence ___________________________ in lines ____ contains which of the following?
29.
Describe the structure of the sentence in lines_____.
30.
What contrast does the speaker develop in lines _______?
31.
What effect is achieved by the speaker's using the
phrases _______?
32.
What dominant technique is the speaker using in lines
______?
33.
In lines _______, ________________is a metaphorical way
of saying _________________________________.
34.
What does the author achieve by juxtaposing ___________________
and _______________________________?
35.
What does the choice of words show about the speaker's
beliefs?
36.
Where is there a shift of tone in the passage?
37.
The reason for the shift in tone is due to . . .
38.
The tone of the passage shifts from one of __________ to
one of ______________.
39.
The syntax in lines ________serves to
___________________________.
40.
What is the speaker's attitude toward the subject?
41.
What assumptions does the speaker make about the
audience?
42.
It can be inferred by the description of ___________
that which of the following qualities are valued by the speaker?
43.
How does the author seek to interest us in the first
paragraph?
44.
What method does the author use to develop the argument?
45.
Line ________is parallel to what other line in the
passage?
46.
What can you infer about the author's attitudes toward
the subject?
47.
What is the antecedent for _______?
48.
What type of argument is the author using in this
passage?
49.
What pattern of exposition is the author using in this
passage?
50.
What is the atmosphere established in lines _______?
51.
Why is the sentence in lines _______ coherent, despite
its length?
52.
In line______, the use of _______ instead of _________
accomplishes what?
53.
What is the function of _______________________in the
passage?
54.
What is the subject of the sentence in lines ______?
55.
The primary rhetorical function of lines _____ is to . .
.
56.
The main rhetorical strategy of the _____ paragraph is
for the purpose of . . .
57.
What does the author apparently believe about the
subject?
58.
What does the author believe we should do in response to
this passage?
59.
The author uses this (certain image) for the purpose of .
. .
60.
The principal contrast employed by the author in the
passage/paragraph is between _______________ and __________________
61.
Why is the sentence in lines ________ remarkable?
62.
The antecedent for _______ in the clause
______________________ is . . .
63.
The pattern of exposition exemplified in the passage is
best described as . . .
64.
The point of view indicated in the phrase
________________ in line _____ is that of . . .
65.
The atmosphere established in the ___ sentence of
paragraph ___is mainly one of . . .
66.
The function of the clauses introduced by ___________)_
in lines _____ is to. . .
67.
What is the function of paragraph _________? of line _______?
68.
In the passage, the speaker makes all of the following
assumptions about his/her readers EXCEPT
69.
The diction in the passage is best described as
70.
One prominent stylistic characteristic of the ___
paragraph is the use of _________
From Jane Schaffer on the AP ListServ <JaneCSchaffer@cs.com>
