Rhetorical Devices

1. Rhetorical Devices

2. EQ: What are rhetorical devices? • Rhetorical devices are techniques writers use to enhance their arguments and make their writing effective.

3. EQ: What are some of the common rhetorical devices I can use in my essay? • Repetition • Parallelism • Rhetorical Question • Argument by Analogy • Loaded Words

4. Repetition • Repetition is the repeated use of a word, phrase, or clause more than once for emphasis.

5. Example The curfew law should be repealed—repealed immediately in fairness to the community, the police and the students.

6. Parallelism • Parallelism is the repetition of the same grammatical form to express equal, or parallel ideas. A noun is paired with a noun, a phrase with a phrase, a clause with a clause, and so on.

7. Example • This week, the Riverdale High School student council had to cancel its annual charity Bowl-a-Thon—not because of a lack of interest, not because of a shortage of funds, and not because of a failure to sign up enough enthusiastic volunteers.

8. Rhetorical Question • Rhetorical questions are questions that are not meant to be answered but are asked for effect.

9. Example • Should students who are out late because of such events be jailed or fined? Should such school activities be dropped?

10. Argument by Analogy • Argument by analogy draws a parallel between basically dissimilar events or situations.

11. Example • If the curfew law aims to reduce youth crime, it mistakenly targets the wrong hours. It is much like shutting the corral gate after the horses have escaped.

12. Loaded Words • Loaded words carry strong emotional associations.

13. Example • Our baseball team won the tournament, pulverizing the Brantley County Herons in the final.