Rhetorical devices

Anecdote

A short, amusing, or interesting story about a real incident or person.

Juxtaposition

Placing two things side by side for comparison or contrast.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.

Antithesis

The direct opposite or a contrast of ideas in a parallel structure.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, event, or piece of literature.

Parallelism/Parallel Structure

Repetition of similar grammatical structures in sentences.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Epistrophe

Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech combining contradictory terms.

Polysyndeton

Repetition of conjunctions (e.g., and, or) in close succession.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between phrases for emphasis.

Zeugma

A figure of speech where one word applies to multiple parts of a sentence.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical figure where concepts are repeated in reverse order.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect expression used to replace one that may be too harsh or blunt.

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth.

Loose Sentence

A sentence where the main idea comes first, followed by additional details.

Periodic Sentence

A sentence where the main idea is withheld until the end for emphasis.

Hortative

A word, phrase, or sentence that encourages, urges, or calls to action.