Download Rhetorical Devices

Persuasion and
Rhetorical Devices
Nonfiction Unit
And
Persuasive Speeches and Essays
PERSUASION
Persuasion is used when the writer or
speaker is trying to convince a reader or
listener to think or act in a particular
way.
PERSUASIVE APPEALS
Appeals to Reason/Logic
 Logical
arguments based on verifiable
evidence, such as facts, statistics, or
expert testimony
PERSUASIVE APPEALS
Appeals to Emotion
 Statements
intended to affect
listeners’/readers’ feelings about the
subject. These statements often include
charged language-words with strong
positive or negative associations.
Testing Persuasive Appeals

Is the author’s argument supported by
evidence, or is it based on faulty
assumptions?

Does the author link ideas clearly or
make leaps in logic?

Is the argument consistent or
contradictory?
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Speakers use rhetorical devices to:

emphasize their ideas

help their listeners to remember the
important points

arouse an emotional response in an
audience
ALLITERATION

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant
sounds.
 Writers use alliteration to give emphasis to
words, to imitate sounds, and to create
musical effects.
“Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I wondered weak and weary,…”
“The Raven”-Edgar Allen Poe
ALLITERATION – Guess That Tune!
“Sometimes silence can seem so loud”
I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly
“Tonight’s gonna be a good good night”
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
“She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul”
“Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start
to sing along”
All Summer Long – Kid Rock
RHETORICAL QUESTION

A Rhetorical Question is a question with
an obvious answer.

A question that you don’t expect people
to answer, but it is a question that
makes people THINK!
REPETITION

Repetition is expressing different ideas
using the same words or images in
order to reinforce concepts and unify
the speech.
RESTATEMENT

Restatement is expressing the same idea in
different words to clarify and stress key
points.
What’s What?

“We will never give up; we will never
surrender, we will never be defeated.”
“We will never…” is an
example of…
repetition
“Never give up,”
“never surrender,” and
“never be defeated.” is an
example of…
restatement
What’s What?
“I wanna talk about me,
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about #1”
“Wanna talk about” is an example of…
-repetition
“me”, “I” and “#1” is an example of…
-restatement
PARALLELISM

Parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical
structure or an arrangement of words in
order to create rhythm and make words more
memorable.
Faulty Parallelism Example
faulty parallelism:
She revels in chocolate, walking under
the moonlight, and songs from the
1930s jazz period.
Better Parallelism
good parallelism: She revels in sweet
chocolate eclairs, long moonlit walks,
and classic jazz music.
"She revels in”
"sweet chocolate eclairs," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]
"long moonlit walks," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]
"and classic jazz music." [Adjective--Adjective--Object]
Even Better Parallelism
more good parallelism: She loves eating
chocolate eclairs, taking moonlit walks,
and singing classic jazz.
She revels in"
"eating chocolate eclairs" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]
"taking moonlit walks" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]
"and singing classic jazz." [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]
Parallelism in Speeches

http://www.schooltube.com/video/a3c28
50e06a9629c3237/Dylan-M-Parallelism
EXTENDED METAPHOR
In an extended metaphor, as in a
regular metaphor, the writer speaks of
or writes of a subject as though it were
something else.
 An extended metaphor sustains the
comparison for several lines.
 An analogy is a type of extended
metaphor

EXTENDED METAPHOR/ANALOGY
“Life is a Highway”
There ain’t not load that I can’t haul
Roads are rough, this I know
I’ll be there when the light come in
Just tell em we’re survivin’
Life is a Highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you’re going my way, I wanna drive it all night long.
ALLUSION

An allusion is a reference to a well-know
person, place, event, literary work, or work of
art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYCdlX6y2
M8&feature=related
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
Topic
Audience
Purpose
“Shadow Dreams”
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith)

Annotate (label) the
song for examples of








Extended
Metaphor/Analogy
Allusion (2)
Parallelism
Restatement
Repetition
Extended Metaphor
Alliteration (many)
Rhetorical Question

See if you can find…

Personification
 Metaphor
 Simile
 End Rhyme
 Cliché
“Shadow Dreams”
as Nonfiction
If a song could be
nonfiction, how
could “Shadow of
Dreams” be
classified as
nonfiction?







Topic
Audience
Purpose
Voice
Style
Appeal to Logic
Appeal to Emotion