Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Tautology

Answer 1

Using similar words or phrases to repeat the same idea using different words
Example: “The reason being is because”

Question 2

Synecdoche

Answer 2

Using a part of something as a representative of the whole thing.
Example: “The bureaucrat’s pen dripped and blotted ink across the page as they wrote the new, complicated regulation on construction sites.”

Question 3

Amplification

Answer 3

Repetition of ideas throughout a text in order to emphasize those ideas. The ideas may be phrased differently, or similarly, it’s still amplification.
Example: “The carpenter’s daughter lay dead in her grave. Cold, lifeless, and still she stagnated there in the darkness. Forevermore, her life force extinguished, she lay fallow, shed of her mortal coil in that tomb.”

Question 4

Anacoluthon

Answer 4

A syntactic strategy used in order to generate mystery or suspense by interrupting yourself mid-sentence.

Question 5

Tmesis

Answer 5

Example: “Abso-fu**ing-lutely”

Question 6

Anadiplosis

Answer 6

begin the next clause or sentence with the final word of the previous clause or sentence. It’s most often used to explain a causal or snowball effect.
Example: “Napoleon’s lust for power leads to violence, violence leads to oppression, oppression returns the Animal Farm to its original state under Mr. Jones.”

Question 7

Procatalepsis

Answer 7

A persuasive or argumentative technique in which you address a counterargument and follow swiftly with a rebuttal. This is also used in common everyday speech when we are trying to convince someone of something.
Example: “I know what you’re thinking: the catapult won’t work, but you’re wrong—it will work because we’re going to make it out of a harder wood!

Question 8

Antanagoge

Answer 8

A rhetorical method balancing the positive with the negative. It’s similar to procatalepsis in the sense that you are dismissing a potential objection, but it’s different because instead of providing a rebuttal, you essentially find a silver lining by explaining how a negative can actually be viewed as a positive.
Example: “You’re concerned that we won’t have enough bunk leaders to have outdoor school this year, but that means we’re going to have to trust more people with leadership roles to be bunk leaders, which will instill new confidence and responsibility in them.”

Question 9

Rhetorical Parallelism

Answer 9

A syntactic and rhyming strategy following a particular pattern. Parallelism is more often used for contrast than comparison, and follows a AA-AA-AA-AA in which you repeat the structure of the beginning and end.
Example: “He’s a brilliant man, he’s a foolish man, he’s a shy man, he’s an adventurous man, he’s the best allies, he’s the worst of enemies.”

Question 10

Apophasis

Answer 10

An ironic rhetorical device. It is most commonly used to celebrate or take credit for something without saying it directly, but its main use is to declare something without declaring it openly. Most commonly, this takes the form of mentioning something by saying you will not mention it.
Example: “I’m not saying that if we listened to my plan we wouldn’t have got lost in the woods, nor am I saying that my plan would have resulted in much more fun and a better lunch, and I’m especially not saying that no one actually understood or listened to my plan.”

Question 11

Asterismos

Answer 11

Asterismos is the use of a word or phrase—possibly an interjection—to gain the reader’s attention and direct it toward what follows.
Example: “Mind my words, I’m not saying we have to leave tonight, but we must leave this week.”

Question 12

Eutrepismus

Answer 12

Emphasize ideas by listing, explicitly. It can be numerical, but it could also be by letter. The purpose is to drive home a clear, possibly casual way of thinking about something.
Example: “Let me lay the plan out for you: A, we plant a lemon seed in the corner of the yard, B, we let it grow to maturity, C, we pick lemons and eat them.

Question 13

Hypophora

Answer 13

Present a question and follow it immediately with a very clear answer. This is similar in structure to procatalepsis, but you aren’t providing a counter argument, just an answer to a question.
Example: “Why switch to eating organics over conventional foods? The answer is simple, you will improve your health by reducing exposure to pesticides and free radicals that cause inflammation and illness.”

Question 14

Litotes

Answer 14

Intentionally understate something, often using double negatives by denying its opposite in order to make a claim. This is very commonly used in everyday speech: you might say, “it’s not great” instead of saying it’s terrible.
Example: “It’s not unusual for students to use ChatGPT to provide an answer.”

Question 15

Chiasmus

Answer 15

This rhetorical device is often referred to as inverted parallelism. This is because unlike parallelism, chiasmus inverts each successive comparison. Instead of AA-AA it becomes AB-BA. Chiasmus is very common in Biblical literature. Below, I provided two examples: one from Biblical literature, one from an expository excerpt.
Example: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 121:1-2

Question 16

Asyndeton / Polysyndeton

Answer 16

Remove or add extra conjunctions in order to emphasize an idea. Both serve the same purpose: to exaggerate or draw attention to the severity, simplicity, or degree of something.
Example: “The CAFO chicken industry is simple: breed, abuse, slaughter, chicken sandwich. (Asyndeton).
Example: “The CAFO chicken industry is simple: first breed the chickens, then, as it goes, abuse the chickens even though the slaughtering with lethality is nonetheless achieved without the abuse, and, finally, a chicken sandwich is subsequently provided. (Polysyndeton).

Question 17

Anaphora / Epistrophe

Answer 17

Emphasize through repetition: in anaphora, the first word or phrase of successive sentences or clauses is repeated, and in epistrophe the last word or phrase of successive sentences or clauses is repeated.
Example: “Amador created the link program in order to have a system of introduction for freshmen that was by the students, for the students.” (Epistrophe).
Example: “For love, he sailed the high seas, with love he defeated his foes, by love he was sustained.” (Anaphora)

Question 18

Zeugma

Answer 18

This is a rhetorical device in which one word, typically an adjective or verb, applies to two or more words in different senses. It is used to emphasize a connection between ideas.
Example: “The enraged fan admirably held his tongue and his fist.

Question 19

Hyperbole

Answer 19

Make a statement or claim that is not meant to be taken literally. It can be used to emphasize the severity of something by overstating it, or possibly by understating something for the purpose of showing how it is actually a bigger issue than it seems. Hyperbole can be meant seriously, or it can’t be used for humorous purposes.
Example: “Every time congress passes a bill it’s like walking barefoot across hot coals!”

Question 20

Aphorism

Answer 20

Make a concise statement presenting an obvious cultural truism. By applying a sense of folksy wisdom, one can appeal rhetorically to common sense in a complicated situation. It is also a way of making a statement indirectly, and journalists will use aphorisms to make claims without risking lawsuits.
Example: “The fast food industry claims it’s invested in improving Americans’ health, but actions speak louder than words.”

Question 21

Rhetorical (Verbal) Irony

Answer 21

Say one thing while meaning another. It is a useful rhetorical strategy for emphasizing an unexpected success or criticizing a failure. This is known as rhetorical irony—there are other forms of irony.
Example: “Internationally, agencies have been working toward a manned mission to Mars for decades, and yet, they’ve not managed to put someone on the Moon in decades: as you can clearly see, things are going precisely according to plan.”

Question 22

Paradox

Answer 22

A paradox is a statement that, on the surface, appears to be self-contradictory or illogical, but when understood more deeply demonstrates a truth or fact.
Example: “A recent study suggested that every green energy site requires a fossil fuel site for off peak hours and downtime. The green energy industry will need to put themselves out of business in order to stop the use of fossil fuels.”

Question 23

Rhetorical Antithesis

Answer 23

Contrast opposing ideas or elements in parallel structure. This is typically done in consecutive sentences, but it can be spaced out in a piece of writing as long as the reader is likely to recall or be reminded of the first example. Antithesis often makes a figurative point that may not be immediately obvious, or is more rhetorically effective when stated indirectly.
Example: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” -Patrick Henry

Question 24

Cacophony / Euphony

Answer 24

Use harsh or sweet sounding words or consonants to draw attention to a particular idea. Specifically, it’s used to emphasize the harshness, violence, cruelty, or severity of something, or alternatively, the gentle, sweet, or harmonious nature of something: disharmony vs. harmony.
Example: “The batting blades, the pounding tenderizers, the blasting of the pressure hoses: the CAFO slaughterhouse is a cacophony of terror.” (Cacaphony)
Example: “The murmur of the hens, the hum of the tenderizers, the nicety of the butchers, there is no music sweeter than the CAFO slaughterhouse, a euphony of relaxation. (Euphony)

Question 25

Aporia

Answer 25

Rhetorically, aporia is used to suggest that a problem, situation, or question may be too complex to solve in order to invite discussion, challenges, and debate. Aporia can make a great hook to an expository essay.
Example: “Some say there are no easy answers when it comes to improving school lunches, but it may be more correct to say there are no viable answers at all.”

Question 26

Analogy

Answer 26

Make an argumentative comparison. An analogy is similar to a metaphor or simile, but is an argumentative comparison between two seemingly unlike things. The purpose is to show a figurative connection in order to advance an argument on a particular topic.
Example: “Phasing out fossil fuels to avert climate change is no different than phasing out CFCs to protect the ozone layer.”

Question 27

Axiom

Answer 27

Declare an unproven, but generally established, self-evident, and universally accepted truth. Axioms (noun) are considered axiomatic (adjective) when they are unproven, or unprovable principles. For example, it is axiomatic that logos is a superior appeal to pathos because it is based on facts and evidence as opposed to feelings, which have no substance.
Example: “Chris McCandless’s choice to ghost his family was axiomatic: when faced with dysfunction in a relationship, one should exit the relationship.

Question 28

Truism

Answer 28

Declare an established truth or cliché. A truism is a statement so obviously self-evident and universally accepted that it is a cliché. Unlike an axiom, which is either unproven, unprovable, or both: truisms are considered proven and beyond reproach.
Example: “What goes up, must come down: by separating himself from the one support group in his life tempering his dangerous ambitions for the wild, Chris McCandless doomed himself when he ghosted his family.”