Rhetorical Devices and Structures

1
Rhetorical Devices and Structures

• or
• How to sound really convincing and eloquent to
  win people over to your side!

2
Rhetoric

• Definition
• Using language effectively to please or
  persuade.
• wordnetweb.princeton.edu

3
Rhetorical Structures

• How an author or speaker arranges what they will
  say in order please or persuade better.
• Two Types
• Repetition
• Parallelism

4
Repetition

• Using the same words frequently to emphasize a
  message or point

5
Parallelism

• Repeating a grammatical structure or set of words
• Example Martin Luther King I Have a Dream
  Speech
• I have a dream that one day this nation will
  rise up and live out the true meaning of its
  creed We hold these truths to be self-evident
  that all men are created equal.
• I have a dream that one day the red hills of
  Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons
  of former slave owners will be able to sit
  together at the table of brotherhood.
• I have a dream that my four little children will
  one day live in a nation where they will not be
  judged by the color of their skin but by the
  content of their character.

6
Rhetorical Devices

• Techniques used to persuade better
• Two Types
• Analogy
• Restatement

7
Analogy

• Shows a comparison between two unlike things
• Can be metaphors table of brotherhood MLK
• Can be similes freedom is like a beautiful kite
  that can go higher with the breeze GH Bush
• Can be SAT problems
• Hat is to head as shoe is to _____.

8
Restatement

• Expresses the same idea but in different words to
  help explain a point better
• Example The United States will continue to
  offer any assistance we can as Japan continues to
  recover
• We are heartbroken by the unfolding tragedy in
  Japan. Obama, 14 March 2011
• Different words, same message restated like your
  conclusion paragraphs!

9
Summary

• Repetition Using the same words frequently to
  emphasize a message or point
• Parallelism Repeating a grammatical structure or
  set of words
• Analogy Shows a comparison between two different
  things
• Restatement Expresses the same idea but in
  different words to help explain a point better