Rhetorical Devices
A short story told to develop a point or humor within an argument.
Anecdote
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
Metaphor
Writing to persuade someone to do or believe something.
Argumentation
The author's word choice.
Diction
Exaggeration of the likely consequences of an action, designed to show that a misstep today could result in a disaster in the future.
Slippery Slope
Allusion
Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
Writing to clarify something by using two examples to highlight their similarities and differences.
Compare and contrast
The structure of a sentence.
Syntax
Unfair oversimplification of an issue by providing only two options as possible solution.
Either/Or
Putting two opposite things near each other to highlight their differences.
Juxtaposition
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
Idiom
Writing to show the relationship between events or ideas and how they influence each other.
Cause and Effect
The attitude of the speaker.
Tone
Arguments urging you to follow the same path that everyone else is taking.
Bandwagon
Sentences with repeating or identitcal grammatical patterns.
Parallel Structure
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept that is represented by one of its parts, or vice versa.
Synechdoche
Writing to tell a story following a plot structure.
Narration
The author's style and craft in writing. A personal element of the speaker in the writing.
Voice
Playing on an audience's emotions to distract them from the facts.
Drawing attention to a political or societal problem by saying the opposite of what you really mean.
Irony
A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
Synesthesia
Writing to explore ideas using examples, possibly from research.
Exposition
When the subject of the sentence receives the action.
Passive voice
Attacking one's character instead of the quality of his/her ideas.
Ad Hominum