Rhetorical Strategies Rhetoric is the study and use of
persuasive language. You use these techniques all of the time
without even realizing it.
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Warning: This is the hardest unit to cover in American
Literature. These techniques and phrases must be understood in
order to pass the Graduation Test. You cannot afford to miss days
from school during this unit. We will write several papers, have
numerous debates, and pick famous speeches and other pieces of
Literature apart to identify rhetorical devices. No distractions of
any kind will be tolerated. If you cannot follow the rules and do
your best, I will send you to Mr. Johnson without hesitation.
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Rhetoric Charts: You are responsible for bringing this chart,
along with the rest of your materials, to class every single day.
If you forget your chart, you will be assigned an automatic after
school detention. No exceptions.
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The 3 Central Concepts of Rhetoric: 1.Logos 2.Pathos 3.Ethos
Prepare to define the terms on your chart.
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Logos: appeals to logic. Logos often focuses on using tangible
things like statistics and other facts to support their point.
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Pathos: appeals to emotion. Pathos tries to persuade by
appealing to someones emotions or by making him/her feel a sense of
danger.
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Ethos: ethical appeals Ethos appeals to a persons sense of
right and wrong.
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Choosing a Persuasive Technique: There are two basic ways to
tell your side of an argument. 1. Deductive Reasoning: start with a
conclusion and then discuss reasons. 2. Inductive Reasoning: start
with reasons to reach a conclusion.
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Rhetorical Questions: A question to which no answer is expected
because the answer is obvious. These types of questions are often
used in persuasive writing to emphasize a point of create an
emotional effect. Example: Do you want to be grounded for the rest
of your life?
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Parallelism: When a speaker or writer expresses ideas of equal
worth with the same grammatical form, the technique is called
parallelism. Example: We have pleaded, we have asked, we have
begged you to try your best in class.
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Repetition: Repetition is the reoccurrence of words, phrases,
or lines. Example: I want her to live. I want her to breathe. I
want her to survive.
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Charged/Inflammatory Words: These are words that evoke
emotional response. Example: Mark Twains use of the N word in
Huckleberry Finn.
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Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant
sounds at the beginnings of words. Example: Doubting, dreaming
dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. Edgar Allan Poe
**Think tongue twisters**
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Assonance and Consonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel
sounds within words. Example: Along the window-sill, the lipstick
stubs Glittered in their steel shells. Rita Dove Consonance is the
repetition consonant sound within and at the ends of words.
Example: Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.
Edgar Allan Poe
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Simile and Metaphor: A simile is a comparison of two things
that have something in common using like or as. Example: Good
coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong. A metaphor
makes a direct comparison between two things that are similar
without using like or as. Example: Hope is the thing with
feathers.
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Anecdote: An anecdote is a brief story that focuses on a single
episode or event in a persons life and that is used to illustrate a
particular point. Example: Stories passed down from the older
people in your family.
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Personification: Personification is the figure of speech in
which an object, animal, or idea is given human characteristics.
Example: The wind gave a shout as it ran.
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Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which the truth
is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect. Example: I am so
hungry I could eat a horse!
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Allusion: An allusion is an indirect reference to a person,
place, event, or literary work with which the author believes the
reader to be familiar. Example: Never allow for someone to betray
you with a kiss. allusion to the Apostle Judas, who betrayed Jesus
by kissing him
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Imagery: The descriptive words of phrases that a writer uses to
re-create sensory experiences are called imagery. By appealing to
the 5 senses, imagery helps a reader imagine exactly what the
characters and experiences being described are like. Example: Mr.
Brooks farts reek of rotten eggs, baked beans and fried fish.
