Rhetorical Device

Question 1

Jargon

Answer 1

The language of a specialized trade profession/group
E.g. Idiopathic hypersomnia (medical jargon)

Question 2

Colloquialism

Answer 2

Words/expressions that belong to a certain geographic location/language
E.g. This lobstah is wicked good. (Boston)

Question 3

Interrupted Sentence

Answer 3

A sentence that is interrupted by a parenthetical aside

Question 4

Inverted syntax

Answer 4

Begin with a part of speech other than the subject. Used to either create suspense or connect ideas between sentences more clearly
E.g. In the forest ran the deer.

Question 5

Listing

Answer 5

A sentence with multiple phrases that create a list
E.g. Never in his life, nor as a son, nor as a parent

Question 6

Cumulative/
Loose sentence

Answer 6

Sentence whose main clause is at the beginning and then builds through at least three parallel elements
E.g. She holds me in strong arms, arms that have chopped cotton, dismembered trees, scattered corn for chickens, cradled infants, shaken the daylights out of half-grown upstart teenagers.

Question 7

Periodic Sentence

Answer 7

Sentence that begins with at least three parallel elements and the main clause is at the end to build a climax
E.g. But if life hardly seems worth living, if liberty is used for subhuman purposes, if the pursuers of happiness know nothing about the nature of their quarry or the elemental techniques of hunting, these Constitutional rights will not be very meaningful.

Question 8

Repetition

Answer 8

Repeating the same word/phrase to add emphasis or make a point
E.g. Peace is great, peace is amazing, peace is wonderful.

Question 9

Parallel Sentence Structure, General Info

Answer 9

Using the same pattern of words/phrases/clauses to show that two or more ideas have equal weight
E.g. Mary likes hiking, swimming, and biking.

Question 10

Parallel Structure, specialized (Antithesis)

Answer 10

Contrast of ideas/words in a parallel construction
E.g. “That’s one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.”

Question 11

Parallel Structure,
specialized
(Anaphora)

Answer 11

Repetition of a word/phrase at the beginning of successive phrases/clauses
E.g. Worried about ________, worried about ____________, worried about ____________

Question 12

Rhetorical Question

Answer 12

A question posed by the speaker not to seek an answer by affirm/deny a point simply by asking a question about it
E.g. “. . . For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults, what is the good of living on? –Marcus Aurelius

Question 13

Ellipsis

Answer 13

A rhetorical strategy in which one or more words are understood to be omitted.
E.g. John forgives Mary and Mary, John.

Question 14

Asyndeton

Answer 14

The omission of a conjunction from a list.
E.g. “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural

Question 15

Polysyndeton

Answer 15

The use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton.
E.g. “[He] pursues his way, / And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.”
–John Milton

Question 16

Parenthetical Aside

Answer 16

Consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence
E.g. Our leader—a fearless man whom we all respect–was hiding in the library.

Question 17

Aphorism

Answer 17

A brief statement that expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation.
E.g. “The book of Nature is the book of Fate”
“So far as a man thinks, he is free.”

Question 18

Imagery

Answer 18

The author’s use of the five senses to create images for the reader.

Question 19

Juxtaposition

Answer 19

Placing two or more things side by side, usually to show contrast
E.g. A juxtaposition in Romeo and Juliet occurs between the realistic, informal Mercutio and the love-sick, unrealistic Romeo.

Question 20

Paradox

Answer 20

A statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nevertheless
E.g. “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” George Bernard Shaw

Question 21

Allusion

Answer 21

An indirect, passing reference to some event, person, place or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which are not explained but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is thus mentioned.

Question 22

Analogy

Answer 22

Analogies argue that 2 seemingly different items are proportional, and in so doing, build an argument about a larger issue.
E.g. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get

Question 23

Hyperbole

Answer 23

Extreme exaggeration

Question 24

Understatement

Answer 24

Expresses an idea with less emphasis/ to a lesser degree than is the actual case.

Question 25

Verbal Irony

Answer 25

The contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant.

Question 26

Metaphor

Answer 26

Comparison without using like or as

Question 27

Metonymy

Answer 27

Another form of metaphor in which an object or concept is referred to not by its own name, but instead by the name of something closely associated with it.
E.g. —”The White House declined to comment”: Here, the metonym “White House” refers to the President of the United States.

Question 28

Oxymoron

Answer 28

A paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun, used to emphasize contrasts
E.g. “The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, with loads of learned lumber in his head.” —Alexander Pope

Question 29

Personification

Answer 29

The metaphorical representation of an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes

Question 30

Simile

Answer 30

Comparison using like or as

Question 31

Synecdoche

Answer 31

A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole or the whole for a part
E.g. “He has many mouths to feed.”

Question 32

Appeal to Credibility/Ethics

Answer 32

A rhetorical appeal to an audience based on the speaker/writer’s credibility, authority, values, or good will.

Question 33

Appeal to Emotion

Answer 33

The emotional appeal to an audience.

Question 34

Appeal to Logic

Answer 34

Rhetorical appeals used to convince the audience based on logic or reasoning.

Question 35

Faulty analogy

Answer 35

Comparing two things that are irrelevant, do not pose a valid comparison
E.g. People who have to have a cup of coffee every morning before they can function are the same as alcoholics who have to have their alcohol each day to sustain them.

Question 36

Cause and Effect (expository)

Answer 36

Arguing from the presence/absence of the cause to the (non) existence of the result
E.g. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff

Question 37

Comparison/contrast (expository)

Answer 37

The subject is shown more clearly by pointing out similarities or differences.
E.g. Men Are from Mars; Women Are from Venus, John Gray

Question 38

Definition (expository)

Answer 38

Writing that has the goal of specifically defining—through examples, anecdotes, and other illustrations—the writer’s own personal view of a term or concept.
E.g. “Being a Man,” Paul Theroux

“On Self-Respect,” Joan Didion