Good Morning 11th Graders!
DO NOW: Write a note to a friend or family
member trying to persuade them to do
something. Write at least 5 sentences, and
begin every sentence with “You must…”
Rhetorical Devices
A Rhetorical Device is a technique that an
author or speaker uses to convey to the listener
or reader a meaning with the goal of
persuading him or her towards considering a
topic from a different perspective. Below are
some examples, however, there are countless
more.
• Alliteration-Repetition using the
beginning consonant sounds of two or
more neighboring words.
▫ Example: Students stalk the somber
streets of South.
•
• Allusion-is a reference to a familiar
person, place, or thing.
▫ Example: "And I can pledge our
nation to a goal: When we see that
wounded traveler on the road
to Jericho, we will not pass to the
other side." --George W. Bush, 2000
Inaugural Address
• Anecdote- a short story told to
illustrate a point.
▫ Example: If you are giving a speech
on stricter drunk driving laws, and
you relate a story about a relative
who was hit by a drunk driver.
• Hyperbole- an exaggeration for
effect
▫ Example: There are a million
reasons why you should recycle your
plastic and paper products.
• Irony (verbal)- using a word or
phrase to mean the exact opposite
of its literal meaning: sarcasm
▫ Example: Out of great respect
for my arguing skills, party
guests rarely come near me.
• Metaphor: figurative language; a
comparison that does not use like or
as.
▫ Example: My anxiety about being
perfect was a backpack filled with
rocks that I carried each day.
• Parallel Structure: the repetition
of words or phrases in meaning
and/or structure.
▫ Example: I came, I saw, I conquered
• Repetition: the uttering of the same word or
phrase in order to create a sense of cadence,
rhythm, and emphasis.
▫ Example: I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up…
• I have a dream that one day on the red hills
of Georgia…
• Rhetorical Questions: is a
question posed to highlight a point,
not for the purpose of eliciting a
response.
▫ Example: What are you going to do
about it?
•
• Quotations: famous words that
were spoken by someone in the past.
These words are highlighted in order
to lend understanding or credibility to
a concept the speaker is trying to
convey.
“Albert Einstein once said…”
Video Clip #1: Identify the Rhetorical
Devices
• http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeec
hes/moviespeechali1.html
Ali: I ain't draft-dodgin.' I ain't burnin' no flag. And I ain't
runnin' to Canada. I'm stayin' right here.
You wanna send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I've
been in jail for 400 years. I can be there for 4 or 5 more.
But I ain't goin' no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill
other poor people. If I wanna die, I'll die right here, right
now fightin' you -- if I wanna die.
You my enemy. Not no Chinese, no Viet Cong, no Japanese.
You my opposer -- when I want freedom.
You my opposer -- when I want justice.
You my opposer -- when I want equality.
Want me to go to somewhere and I fight for you. You won't
even stand up for me right here in America for my rights
and my religious beliefs. You won't even stand up for me
right here at home.
Video Clip #2: Cher in Clueless
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSvE5ul1Vr
w&feature=related
Mr. Hall: Should all oppressed people be allowed refuge in America?
Amber will take the con position. Cher will be pro. Cher: 2 minutes.
Cher: So, OK, like right now, for example, the Haitians need to come to
America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our
resources?"
But it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday,
right? I said R.S.V.P. because it was a sit-down dinner. But people
came that, like, did not R.S.V.P. So I was, like, totally buggin'. I had to
haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, squish in extra place
settings; but by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier!
And so, if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some
things, we could certainly party with the Haitians.
And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does not say
R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty?
Thank you very much.
•
Video Clip #3: Mad Men
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFps
Hus
Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent. Teddy told me
that in Greek, "nostalgia" literally means "the
pain from an old wound." It's a twinge in your
heart far more powerful than memory alone.
This device isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine.
It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a
place where we ache to go again. It's not called
the wheel, it's called the carousel. It let's us
travel the way a child travels - around and
around, and back home again, to a place where
we know are loved.
Independent Work: Using Rhetorical
devices in our own writing
• Write a short persuasive speech of at least 4-5
paragraphs.
• Your speech must include at least 5 of the 10 rhetorical
devices.
• Some topics to get you started:
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Cell phone use in schools
School uniforms in public/charter schools
Animal Testing
Fast food
Smoking in Public places
Should the legal driving age be 18?
Assisted Suicide
Gay marriage