Rhetorical Devices

Hook Line
 Interesting
 Pulls the reader in
 Not a quote from the text
 Not about specific topic from text
 If a question, does not use
“you” and is not superficial or mundane
 Don’t start with a yes/no question
Introduction
 Provides needed background for the reader
 Includes a quote or example
 Gets to the “Hidden Issue”
Thesis Statement
 Located as the last sentence of the Intro.
 Is only one sentence
 Is a list of 2 or 3 topics to be discussed
 Uses Parallelism
 Is opinion/ arguable and not a statement of facts
Body Paragraphs
 Contain a topic sentence
 Expands on idea listed in
Thesis Statement
 Provide relevant examples
Counter-Claim
 Looks at the other side of the argument
 Provides at least 2 justification for the other side
 Provides a “shift” word:
However, But, Therefore,
Although, Even though
Refutation
 Explains why your opinion/ line of thinking is correct
 Provides at least one example
Conclusion
 Links back to Thesis
 Relates back to idea from your Hook Line
Call to Action
 Is the last line of essay
 Leaves the reader with an action to take
 Do not use: you, your, you’re, ya’ll
 Do not start a sentence with:
“Well” or any conjunction:
(FANBOYS) or “Because”
 Delete the use of: Things, Stuff,
A lot, This, That, These, Those,
 Change weak To Be verbs (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, have, had, has) to Vivid verbs
 There/Their/They’re
 To/Too/Two
 Its/It’s
 Kinda/Kind of & Shoulda/ should have
 Use Active Voice instead of
Passive Voice
 Everyone/Their or
Everybody/Their
 A lot/Alot
 Using unparallel form when listing items in a sentence
 Don’t shift the verb tense; keep it in present tense
 Delete sentence fragments
 Delete Run-on sentences
 Don’t create comma splices
 No his/her or he/she – pick one and hold to it
 Vary diction for mundane words
 Vary these overused verbs:
Use, Show, Says, States, Make,
Think, Feel
 Make sure each sentence has proper ending punctuation
 Even if you are making an indirect citation, cite where the idea, thought, or quote came from
 Uses Personal anecdotes
 Current Events
 Pop Culture Examples
 Literary Examples
 Historical Examples
 Scientific or Economic
Impact
 Local level
 State level
 National level
 International level
Delete from Introduction
 In this essay I will…
 I’m going to talk about…
 In this essay…
 I will be explaining…
 Have you ever…
 My opinion is…
 Imagine…
Delete from Anywhere in Essay
 I think…
 I believe…
 I feel…
 In my opinion…
 Any use of: you, your, you’re, ya’ll, I, me, my, us, we, our
 Exclamation points (you get 1 per essay)
 Do not start a sentence with: “Well” or any conjunction: (FANBOYS) or “Because”
 The fact that…
 Contractions
Delete from Transitions
 First/Firstly
 Second/Secondly
 Third/Thirdly
 Last/Lastly
 In conclusion
Delete from Conclusion
 After reading this essay..
 Thank you for reading my essay…
 As I said…
 As you can see…
 In conclusion…
 All in all…
 At the end of the day…
 So now that you agree with me…
Vicky Bryan © 2014
 Uses Parallel structure
 Uses Repetition only for emphasis and is not over used
 Rhetorical Questions help support the main idea and do not use
“you”
 Analogies must be actual comparisons of 2 dissimilar things
 Analogies must be explained and relate back to your thesis
 Uses a variety of
Rhetorical Devices throughout the essay
 Ideas & events should be discussed in present tense
 Checked for repeated conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
 Checked for use of joining 2 independent clauses correctly – S&W
4&5 – with a comma & conjunction or with a semi-colon
 Uses a variety of sentence structure
 Uses a variety of elevated diction choices
 Read essay out loud at least once listening for flow and coherence
 Does not use texting or slang language
 Limit first person pronouns: I, me, my, we, us
 Vary your transitions between paragraphs
 Doesn’t say the type of essay – ie: Persuasive
 Doesn’t repeat the prompt – ie: School
Uniforms
 Is interesting & memorable & stands out
 No bold/ underline/ italics