Most Common Rhetorical Strategies/Devices

Terms Definition Example/Explanation

Analogy Explaining something "An amateur playing in a professional

complex by comparing game is like an ibex stepping into a
it to something more lion's den."
simple.

Argument The combination of Too comprehensive a concept for a

reasons, evidence, etc single example! In effective rhetoric,
that an author uses to every phrase serves to further build
convince an audience the argument.
of their position.

Aristotelian Three different See ethos, logos and pathos.

appeals methods of appealing
to an audience to
convince them—
ethos, logos, and
pathos.

Attitude The writer's personal Difficult to convey in a short example,

views or feelings but something like "the deplorable
about the subject at state of this school" would convey
hand. that the author has a negative attitude
towards the school.

Audience Who the author is When you create a resume, your

directing his or her audience is potential employers.
message towards

Compare and Discussing the

contrast similarities and “Hybrid cars have a much smaller
differences between carbon footprint than traditional
two things to some midsize vehicles.”
persuasive or
illustrative purpose.

Connotation The implied meaning conscientious = positive connotation

of a word; words can
broadly have positive, fussy = negative connotation
 negative, or neutral
connotations.

Context The extra-textual If I am delivering a congratulatory

environment in which speech to awards recipients, the
the text is being immediate context might be the
delivered. awards presentation ceremony; the
broader context might be the purpose
or significance of the awards
themselves.

Counterargument The argument(s) If I want to eliminate the dress code, a

against the author's counter argument might be that this
position. will place a burden on students of a
lower socioeconomic status, who
must now afford an entire school
wardrobe or risk unwanted attention.

Deductive A form of logical If all planets orbit a star, and Theta II

reasoning reasoning wherein a is a planet, then it must orbit a star.
general principle is
applied to a specific
case.

Denotation The literal, dictionary- The denotation of "chair" is "a place to

definition meaning of a sit."
word.

Diction The style of language You might say "What's up, loser?" to
used; generally your little brother, but you would
tailored to be probably say "How are you doing
appropriate to the today?" to your principal.
audience and
situation.

Ethos Setting up a source as "Given my PhD in the subject and

credible and years of experience in the field" is an
trustworthy. appeal to ethos.
Evidence The information If I were arguing that Anne is a good
presented meant to student, I might reference her
persuade the straight-A report card and her 1500
audience of the SAT score as pieces of evidence.
author's position.

Figurative The use of language "The sky's like a jewel box tonight!"
language in a non-literal way;
i.e. metaphor, simile,
etc.

Genre The specific type of Broader categories include "novel"

work being presented. and "play," while more specific genres
would be things like "personal essay"
or "haiku."

Imagery Any descriptive "The water was a pearl-studded sea

language used to of azure tipped with turquoise."
evoke a vivid sense or
image of something;
includes figurative
language.

Implication When something is "Watch your wallet around Paul,"

suggested without implies that Paul is a thief without
being concretely coming out and saying "Paul is a
stated. thief."

Inductive Making a All of the planets in this solar system

reasoning generalization based orbit a star, so all planets probably
on specific evidence orbit stars.
at hand.

Irony At the most basic "I do so hope there are more papers
sense, saying the to sign," is something that might be
opposite of what you said ironically.
mean; also used to
describe situations in
which the results of an
action are dramatically
different than
intended.
Juxtaposition Placing two very "There they stood together, the
different things beggars and the lords, the princesses
together for effect. and the washerwoman, all crowding
into the square."

Logos Appealing to Citing peer-reviewed scientific studies

someone's sense of is an appeal to logos.
concrete facts and
logic.

Occasion The reason or When giving a graduation speech, the

moment for writing or occasion is graduation.
speaking.

Organization How the different parts Think about the outlines you write in
of an argument are preparation for drafting an
arranged in a piece of argumentative essay and you'll have
writing or speech. an idea of what organization is.

Pathos An Aristotelian appeal. Animal shelters ads with pictures of

Involves appealing to cute sad animals and dramatic music
someone's emotions. are using pathos.

Purpose The author's If you are trying to convince your

persuasive intention. mother you should get a dog, your
purpose in addressing an essay on
the subject to her would be to
convince her that you should get a
dog.

Repetition Re-using a word or "We run, and we run, and we run, like
phrase repeatedly for rats on a wheel."
effect or emphasis.

Rhetoric The use of spoken or Almost everything is an example of

written word (or a rhetoric!
visual medium) to
convey your ideas and
convince an audience.
Rhetorical The relationship The author communicates to the
triangle between the author, reader via the text; and the reader
the audience, the and text are surrounded by context.
text/message, and the
context.

Speaker The persona adopted Similar to the difference between

by the author to author and narrator in a work of
deliver his or her fiction.
message; may or may
not actually be the
same person as the
author.

Style The author's own We might say the Taylor Swift's

personal approach to songwriting style is straightforward
rhetoric in the piece; and emotive.
similar to voice.

Symbolism Using a symbol to "Fire" is commonly used a symbol for

refer to an idea or passion and/or anger.
concept.

Syntax The way sentences "She likes pie," is syntactically simple.

are grammatically On the other hand, "As it so
constructed. happened, when Barbara got out of
class early she liked to have a piece
of pie—key lime or pecan, always—at
the corner diner; while she was there
she watched the people passing by
the window and imagined herself
inside each of their lives, riding in
their heads for moments and
moments until the afternoon was
whiled away and she'd become fifty
people," is syntactically complicated.

Synthesis Combining sources or A typical research paper involves

ideas in a coherent synthesizing sources to make a
way in the purpose of broader point about the topic.
a larger point.
Themes Overarching ideas or
driving premises of a
work.
Tone The use of stylistic
devices to reveal an
author's attitude
toward a subject.
Voice An author's unique
sound. Similar to style.
Bonus Rhetorical Terms
Terms Definition
Alliteration Using words with the
same first letter repeatedly
close together in a phrase
or sentence.
Allusion Making a brief reference
to the cultural canon—e.g.
the Bible, Shakespeare,
classical mythology, etc.
Anecdote Offering a brief narrative
episode. This device can
serve many functions in a
text—for example,
introducing an issue,
serving as evidence, to
illustrate a point, and so
on.
Some themes you will probably hear
in your high school graduation speech
include leaving behind a legacy,
moving into the great unknown,
becoming an adult, and changing the
world.
Only a narrow distinction from
attitude. The phrase "the deplorable
state of this school" reveals a
negative attitude, but the word choice
of "deplorable" is part of the author's
tone.
Think of the way that you can
recognize a pop singer on the radio
without hearing who it is first.
Example/Explanation
"She purchased the pretty purple
parka."
"Like Eve in the Garden of Eden,
George was not good at resisting
temptation."
"When I went to buy my morning
coffee, I ran into an old friend. He
told me he had won the lottery and
he was about to buy a yacht. Two
months later I heard he had
declared bankruptcy."
Concession Agreeing with the
opposing viewpoint on a
certain smaller point (but
not in the larger
argument).
Didactic A text with an instructive
purpose, often moral.
Euphemism Referring to something
with a veiled phrase
instead of saying it directly
Exemplification Providing examples in
service of a point.
Hyperbole Overstating a situation for
humorous or dramatic
effect.
Idiom A commonly used phrase
that signifies something
very different than its
literal meaning.
Onomatopoeia Using "sound-effect"
words (e.g. "clap," "buzz).
Paradox A phrase or assertion that
appears to contradict itself
(but the contradiction itself
may have its own
meaning).
Parallelism Repeated structural
elements in a sentence.
“While I admit that hybrid cars have
higher carbon production costs than
conventional automobiles, this is
dramatically offset by the much-
smaller lifetime carbon footprint of
the vehicles.”
Aesop's fables are an example of a
didactic work.
"She let Bob go," is a euphemism
for "she fired Bob."
“The Town Beautification Funds are
being sorely misused; the streets
are full of litter, the parks are full of
broken equipment, and City Hall's
facade is drab and crumbling.”
"My backpack weighs tons!"
"This costs an arm and a leg!" is an
idiom which means "This is very
expensive."
"We heard an ominous hiss from
the kitchen."
Paradoxical phrases include "dark
angel," "fresh rot," "blissful hell,"
etc.
"We went to sea; we went to war;
we went to bed."
Parody Using the form of Weird Al is the master of the
something to mimic and musical parody genre.
make fun of it.

Personification Giving human "The sun was shining happily

characteristics to a today."
nonhuman object or idea.

Sarcasm Mockingly stating the "Did you come up with that all by
opposite of what you yourself?" might be delivered
mean. Easier to convey in sarcastically after someone delivers
the spoken word than via a poorly-thought out idea.
writing.

Satire A genre of humorous and Stephen Colbert is a popular

mocking criticism to modern satirist.
expose the ignorance
and/or ills of society.

Synecdoche Referring to one part of "Ask for her hand" is a synecdoche

something as a way to for marriage; the "hand" stands in
refer to the whole. for the whole woman.

Understatement Deliberately minimizing "My mom's a little bit irritated I

something, usually for crashed the car—I'm grounded for
humorous effect. the next twenty-four months."