Rhetorical Devices

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Rhetorical Devices

• Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.
• - Plato

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• Good writing depends upon more than making a
  collection of statements worthy of belief,
  because writing is intended to be read by others,
  with minds different from your own. Your reader
  does not make the same mental connections you
  make he does not see the world exactly as you
  see it he is already flooded daily with
  thousands of statements demanding assent, yet
  which he knows or believes to be false, confused,
  or deceptive. If your writing is to get through
  to him--or even to be read and considered at
  all--it must be interesting, clear, persuasive,
  and memorable, so that he will pay attention to,
  understand, believe, and remember the ideas it
  communicates.

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Rhetorical Devices

• Literary techniques that an author or speaker use
  to convey meaning with the goal of persuading the
  reader or listener to consider a topic from a
  different perspective
• The goal of rhetoric is persuasion

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Biased Language

• Bias is the predisposition of a writer toward the
  particular subject about which he/she is writing
• Bias doesnt need to be stated directly
• Often established through the connotation of
  words used
• Review
• Denotation - Dictionary definition or literal
  meaning
• Connotation - Implied meaning

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Bias - Example

• For example, all of the following words have
  similar denotations but their connotations are
  very different
• PERFUME
• SCENT
• ODOUR
• STENCH
• Which words have positive connotations, and which
  are negative?
• Use of one over the other reveals an authors bias

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Hyperbole

• A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement which
  helps to emphasize a point
• In formal writing, must be clearly intended as an
  exaggeration and should be used sparingly
• Treat hyperbole like an exclamation point, to be
  used only once a year.

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Hyperbole - Example

• An effective attention getter or introductory
  line
• There are a thousand reasons why more research
  is needed on solar energy.
• Make a single point very enthusiastically
• I said rare not raw. Ive seen cows hurt
  worse than this get up and get well.
• Exaggerate one thing to show how really different
  it is from something supposedly similar to which
  its being compared
• This stuff is used motor oil compared to the
  coffee you make, my love.

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Understatement

• Deliberately expresses an idea as less important
  than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis
  or for politeness/tact
• Example If your audience already knows a lot
  about the subject, so the writer/speaker chooses
  to draw on the audiences own power of
  description
• Speaking about the destruction of a massive
  earthquake The earthquake in Haiti interrupted
  business somewhat in that area.
• The reader supplies a more vivid and personal
  description than the writer might have

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Understatement (continued)

• Example As a tool for modesty and tactfulness,
  such as whenever you represent your own
  accomplishments or position and want to avoid
  people accusing you of being egotistical or
  self-interested
• Yes, I know a little bit about coaching rowing.
• Especially useful in dealing with a hostile
  audience or in disagreeing with someone, because
  you can make the same point without being as
  offensive.
• The goal is to persuade, not offend - The degree
  and power of pride in the human heart must never
  be underestimated.

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Rhetorical Question

• Asked merely for effect, with either no answer
  expected or an obvious answer implied
• Used for effect, emphasis, provocation, or for
  drawing a conclusion from the facts at hand
• Be carefult to avoid sinking into absurdity!
• The use of this device allows your reader to
  think, query and conclude along with you but if
  your questions become ridiculous, your essay may
  become wastepaper!

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Repetition

• The repeating of words or phrases for emphasis
• Amplification Repeating a word or expression
  while adding more detail to it
• This orchard, this lovely, shady orchard, is the
  main reason I bought this property.
• Anaphora Repetition of the same word or words at
  the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or
  sentences
• In books I find the dead as if they were alive
  in books I foresee things to come in books
  warlike affairs are set forth from books come
  forth the laws of peace.

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Irony

• The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact
  opposite of its literal meaning
• Verbal Irony When an author says one thing and
  means something else (a.k.a. sarcasm)
• Situational Irony Incongruity between what is
  expected or intended and what actually occurs

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Allusion

• A short, informal, direct or indirect reference
  to a well-known person, place, thing or event
  that the writer assumes the reader is familiar
  with
• Allusions should be well-known, not obscure
• Best sources are literature, history, Greek myth,
  Bible
• Reference serves to explain, clarify or enhance
  whatever subject is under discussion, without
  sidetracking the reader
• Plan ahead it wasnt raining when Noah built
  the ark.

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Abnormal Word Order

• Modify the usual subject-verb sentence pattern
• Gives variety emphasis to your writing
• Example
• Normal word order (subject-verb) The actors
  worst nightmares stood laughing at him from the
  shadows.
• Abnormal word order (verb-subject) Laughing at
  him from the shadows stood the actors worst
  nightmare.

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Balanced Sentence

• Expresses two or more equal and parallel ideas
• Two ideas are set one against the other in
  statements that are grammatically similar
• Example Silence is as deep as eternity speech
  is as shallow as time.

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Balanced Sentence (continued)CONTRAST

• You can also use parallel structure to
  demonstrate contrast
• Example Not that I loved Caesar less, but that
  I loved Rome more.
• Example Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.

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Climactic Word Order

• Presents several facts from least to most
  important
• Example The young politicians career rise was
  meteoric after beginning as a municipal
  councilor, she became mayor, and three short
  years later a Member of Parliament.

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Parallel Structure

• Repeats specific words, phrases, or clauses in a
  series, giving emphasis to key words and making
  them memorable
• Ideas which are parallel in thought should be
  parallel in form
• Example Government of the people, by the
  people, for the people
• Preposition definite article noun repeated in
  a series

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Periodic Sentence

• Withholds an important part of the sentence until
  the end so that it doesnt make complete sense
  until the last word is read
• Keeps the reader in suspense
• Example Whether playing a young wild
  adventurer, a fugitive from the law, or a U.S.
  president, there is one actor whose films always
  make money Harrison Ford.

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Sentence Fragment

• Places emphasis on key words to create an overall
  effect, such as humour or suspense
• Example A cold room. A lonely room. A bare
  room. No place to spend twenty years of a life.

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Reversals (Chiasmus)

• Make a balanced sentence even more memorable by
  repeating words in reverse order
• Ask not what your country can do for you as
  what you can do for your country.