2. Intertextuality — Responding to Other Texts

The Classical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Aristotle identified three primary means of persuasion. On the AP exam you are asked both to identify these appeals in MCQ reading passages and to use them deliberately in your own FRQ essays.

• Ethos (credibility): Appeals that establish the speaker's trustworthiness, expertise, or good character. Credentials, tone, acknowledgment of complexity, and willingness to concede a point all build ethos.
• Pathos (emotion): Appeals to the audience's feelings, values, or imagination. Anecdotes, vivid imagery, and emotionally charged diction invoke pathos. Effective pathos connects the issue to what the audience already cares about — it is not mere manipulation.
• Logos (logic): Appeals to reason, evidence, and logical structure. Statistics, cause-and-effect reasoning, analogies, and formal argumentation deploy logos. Strength depends on the validity of premises and soundness of the reasoning.

The AP task is not labeling — it is analyzing effect. How does this particular appeal work on this particular audience in this particular context? A logos appeal citing statistics an audience distrusts is weak; a pathos appeal resonating with deeply held values can be powerfully persuasive.

Writers in Conversation: Intertextuality

Most serious nonfiction writing responds to, builds on, or contests other texts and viewpoints. Analyzing intertextuality means asking: what position is the writer taking in relation to existing arguments? Are they extending a claim, refuting it, complicating it, or synthesizing multiple perspectives?

Writers signal their relationship to other arguments through direct quotation with attribution, paraphrase, implicit contrast ("Unlike approaches that focus solely on individual behavior..."), and concession ("While critics rightly point out X, this overlooks...").

The Synthesis Essay (Q1): Source Integration

The synthesis essay provides 6–7 sources and asks you to write an argument using at least 3. The critical skill is using sources as evidence for your own argument rather than letting the sources drive the essay.

Attribution requirements

Every source you use must be attributed. The minimum is a parenthetical reference — "(Source A)" — but stronger essays integrate attribution naturally into the prose. An unattributed source does not count toward the required minimum of 3, which can sharply reduce your Row B score.

Source selection strategy

Choose sources that best support your specific line of reasoning — not the sources easiest to summarize. Ask: which sources provide the most specific, concrete support for the exact claim I am making in this paragraph? One highly relevant source with strong commentary outscores three superficially mentioned sources.

Integrating quotation and paraphrase

Quote the specific phrase that does the analytical work, not the full passage. Paraphrase must be accurate and in your own words. After any quotation or paraphrase, add commentary explaining how this evidence advances your claim — not what it says, but why it matters to the argument.

Common Errors in This Unit

• Unattributed sources: Paraphrasing a source without identifying it disqualifies it from the minimum three-source count. Always attribute explicitly.
• Appeal checklist: Writing "the author uses ethos, pathos, and logos" as a mechanical list without analyzing how any specific appeal functions for the specific audience — this earns Row B floor credit (1 point) at best.
• Source-dominated essays: Letting source summaries fill the essay so your own line of reasoning disappears. The synthesis essay is your argument supported by sources.
• Equal-weight treatment of all appeals: Real rhetorical analysis identifies which appeal a particular writer foregrounds, why, and to what effect — not that all three are present in equal measure.