TROPES AND SCHEMES RESOURCE PAGE
TROPES (artful diction):
SCHEMES (artful use of syntax):
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Simile (Ex: Your pencil wields power like
Zeus’s thunderbolt)
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Sentence Types (short vs. Long
sentence)
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Metaphor (Your pencil is an energized
thunderbolt)
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Interrogative Sentences ( a question
Ex. Where would you like to go?)
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Personification (the tree reached out to
me)
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Oxymoron (Ex: A fine mess)
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Paradox (Ex: the government which rules is
one that does not govern at all)
Imperative Sentences ( A command
ex: Sit down!)
Rhetorical questions (Ex: Can’t you
do anything right?)
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Parallel structure
(Syn: parallelism/ Ex: “I came, I saw, I
conquered” – Julius Caesar)
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Punctuation (colon, semi-colon)
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Hyperbole (Syn: exaggeration Ex: I ate a
pizza the size of Texas)
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Allusion: (reference to a famous text)
STEPS FOR ANALYSIS IN WRITING:
1) Identify which trope or scheme is being used
2) Describe how the trope or scheme is being used (pull parts of the quote and explain how it is
functioning).
3) Describe how this trope or scheme contributes to the development of ethos, pathos, or logos.
SENTENCE STARTERS FOR STEP 1:
The author uses _________________________ (trope or scheme) to achieve his purpose of __________.
SENTENCE STARTERS FOR STEP 2:
The author compares ______________to __________________in order to ____________. (simile or metaphor)
The author uses a ______________________ . This helps the reader visualize ____________________. (imagery)
SENTENCE STARTERS FOR STEP 3:
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ETHOS: The author builds credibility of the audience when ______________________________.
PATHOS: The author appeals to the audiences sense of _________(insert adjective here ex: fear, anger etc)
LOGOS: The author appeals to the audience’s sense of reasoning when___________________________________.