rhetorical devices
Artful speech methods
Rhetorical devices are techniques writers and speakers use to persuade, emphasize, or create effect.
The category includes figures of speech like metaphor and hyperbole, structural patterns like repetition and parallelism, and appeals to emotion, logic, or authority.
The speech was loaded with rhetorical devices—anaphora, tricolon, the works.
Students learn to identify rhetorical devices in literature and deploy them in their own writing.
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
personification · synecdoche · metonymy · litotes · zeugma · allegory · paradox · euphemism
Repeated opening words
- epistropheRepeating concluding words
- chiasmusInverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- tricolonThree-part rhetorical structure
polysyndeton · alliteration · assonance · consonance · conduplicatio · climax
Collective moral character
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- logosBrand identification symbols
- appealFormal review request
- exigenceUrgent situation demanding attention
audience · purpose · framing · spin · loaded language · dog whistle · call to action · bandwagon
Formal deductive argument structure
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
rebuttal · refutation · counterargument · evidence · inference · assertion · proposition · fallacy
Persuasive verbal grace
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- pacingRate of movement
- emphasisStress given to something
pauses · diction · articulation · enunciation · projection · tone · pitch · volume
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
oxymoron · personification · synecdoche · metonymy · litotes · zeugma · allegory · paradox · euphemism · antithesis
anaphora
Repeated opening words
- epistropheRepeating concluding words
- chiasmusInverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
tricolon · polysyndeton · alliteration · assonance · consonance · conduplicatio · climax
ethos
Collective moral character
exigence · audience · purpose · framing · spin · loaded language · dog whistle · call to action · bandwagon · testimonial
syllogism
Formal deductive argument structure
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- deductionConclusion from premises
induction · rebuttal · refutation · counterargument · evidence · inference · assertion · proposition · fallacy · validity
eloquence
Persuasive verbal grace
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- pacingRate of movement
emphasis · pauses · diction · articulation · enunciation · projection · tone · pitch · volume · timing
rhetorical devicesplain language
Easily understood communication
plain speech · simple language · direct speech · colloquial speech
rhetorical devicesneutral language
Unbiased mode of expression
expository writing · technical documentation · journalistic objectivity
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