Language Arts Lesson 6
Writing Strategies: Organization and Focus (Grades 9-12)

Instruction 6-6

Controlling Impression, Coherent Thesis (Grades 9-10) | Active Verb Usage (Grades 9-10) | Elements of Discourse (Grades 11-12) | Reaching Rhetorical and Aesthetic Purposes (Grades 11-12) | Structuring Ideas and Arguments (Grades 11-12) | How to Use Rhetorical Devices (Grades 11-12) | Natural, Fresh, and Vivid Language Usage (Grades 11-12) | Summary

HOW TO USE RHETORICAL DEVICES (GRADES 11-12)

Having a good idea or something important to say is not enough. Often how you say something matters as much when it comes to getting your ideas across as the ideas themselves. You need to communicate message to your audience, and do it in such a way that both the message and its importance are received and understood.

Remember that rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively. Therefore, a rhetorical device is a tool that helps you speak or write effectively. There are many rhetorical devices in your toolbox, and we’ll discuss a few here.

Have you ever had a line from a song get stuck in your head? You keep hearing the same line over and over again. Often this is because it’s sung over and over again in the song. Repetition is the use of any element of language—a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence—more than once. Repetition is powerful because it reinforces an idea. It also makes the audience remember it, sometimes months or years later!

Poetry often uses repetition, but so does prose. Look at this example of repetition:

Evil minds will use evil means.

Repeating the word “evil” reinforces the idea that this sentence is conveying. It also lends a rhythm to the sentence, which helps the audience to remember it.

Here are a couple other types of repetition:

Alliteration: the repetition of the initial consonant sounds beginning several words in sequence.

"....we shall not falter, we shall not fail." President G.W. Bush Address to Congress following 9-11-01 Terrorist Attacks.

Can you see the pattern in the example above? In each phrase, the words begin with W, SH, N, and F sounds. The audience will probably not even notice the technique, but repetition like this strengthens the idea.

"Let us go forth to lead the land we love." President J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural 1961

Notice that Kennedy used several L consonants in this sentence. He used alliteration to lend a rhythm to his words, as did Julius Caesar in this famous statement:

"Veni, vidi, vici." Julius Caesar (I came, I saw, I conquered)

Assonance is another form of repetition. The author repeats the same vowel sounds in words close to each other. Here’s an example:

The child of mine was lying on her side.

Notice that the “i” sound is repeated in this sentence. Assonance also lends a rhythm and a sound to the words that strengthens them and makes them memorable.

When a writer repeats a word or phrase, it is called parallelism. Read this example:

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." President J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural 1961

Here is another example:

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

Notice how the phrases echo each other. They lend strength to each other. Parallelism is can help an author develop a writing "voice."

Let’s look at one more rhetorical device. An analogy is a comparison between two ideas or events. These two things are usually alike in some ways. Writers use analogies to explain a difficult or unfamiliar concept. They show how the concept is similar to a familiar concept.

You may recall that a simile is a comparison between two unlike objects using “like” or “as”:

“My love is like a red, red rose.”

And a metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things that does not use “like” or “as”:

“My love is a red, red rose.”

Sometimes a simile and analogy overlap. However, the simile is usually more artistic. It’s general short, for effect and emphasis. In contrast, an analogy is usually more practical. Writers use analogies to explain a thought process, a line of reasoning, or the abstract in a concrete way. Usually, analogies are longer than similes.

For example, you might say that writing an essay is like following a cookie recipe. You have to include all of the ingredients and go through all of the steps in order to make good cookies. In essay writing, you also have to include all of the “ingredients” (thesis, supporting ideas, and so forth) and go through all the steps (research, write an outline, write a rough draft, revise) in order to “make” a good essay.

This is an analogy. We’ve compared two unlike ideas that have some similarities. Can you see how analogies help to explain difficult concepts?

For more information on rhetorical devices, click the links below.

Links for Students, Parents and Teachers

Now let's do Practice Exercise 6-6 (top). 

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