APLang Rhetorical Devices

Ethos

Appeals to credibility

Logos

Appeals to logic

Pathos

Appeals to emotion

Metaphor

Direct comparison, doesn’t use “like” or “as”

Simile

Comparison using “like” or “as”

Personification

Giving human qualities to non human things

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Allusion

Reference to a person, event, or well-known work

Symbolism

Using symbols to represent ideas

Diction

Word choice (formal, informal, loaded, abstract, etc.)

Syntax

Sentence structure (short, long, varied)

Tone

Authors attitude

Parallelism

Repeating grammatical structures

Juxtaposition

Placing two contrasting things side-by-side

Antithesis

Placing opposite ideas together (it was the best of time)

Anaphora

Repetition at the beginning of sentences/clauses

Epistrophie

Repetition at the end of sentences/clauses

Rhetorical question

Asked for effect, not an answer

Organizational choices

Cause and effect

Compare and contrast

Chronological

Problem and solution

Definition

Classification

Anecdote

Short personal story

Concession and refutation

Acknowledging then rebutting the opposing side

Imagery

Vivid sensory details

Irony

Contrast between expectation and reality

Understatement

Making something seem less important

Analogy

Explaining through comparison

Claim

The writers main point

Counterclaim

The opposing argument

Evidence

Facts or reasoning that support a claim

Warrants

Assumptions that link evidence to claims

Rebuttal

A response to a counterclaim

Thesis

Main argument in an essay