English Exam tropes

Hypophora

Asking answering questions

ex - why is combustion better than EV, this is why…

Deductive Reasoning

General to particular

ex - You see a dog with 3 legs, you know something is wrong because it’s supposed to have 4

Inductive Reasoning

Particular to general

ex - Every apple I've ever seen is red therefore all apples are red

Political Rhetoric

Future Tense

Forensic Rhetoric

Past Tense

Epideictic Rhetoric

Present Tense

Anadiplosis

Kernal then seed, proximity

ex - Anger leads to fear. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

If you give a mouse a cookie, you have to give him milk…

Simile

Week comparison, familiar plus strange

ex - Bob was as sharp as a tack

Anaphora

A device in which a writer repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple clauses or sentences.

ex - I am not weak, I am not frail, I am not brittle, I am not scrawny

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences.

ex - See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.

ex - Captain shouted, all hands-on deck (hands substituted for men)

Prolepsis

The anticipation and answering of possible objections in rhetorical speech.

ex - Do you think I can climb to the top of that tree? I’m pretty short, I doubt I can get to the first branch, however.
I heard you say this, but actually

Aporia

Weaponized doubt

ex - I have heard that X, and I don't know what to say about that. In my experience Y, But you can decide.

Antithesis

Two contrasting points, parallel constructions

ex - Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.

Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open.

Stasis

Arguing with facts (ex laws)

Arguing with definitions (ex loopholes)

Quality (ex it was just one drink)

Distincto

Elaboration/specifications

Parenthesis

The F word (fun) is a staple of all wholesome cartoons for children.

The best sport in the world, by which I mean volleyball, is so much fun to watch.

Metanoda

Self correction

Reflex (desire to self correct

“The score of the game last night was 80-82, no wait it was 83-86

Sychrosis

Concede and replace

Sacrificial pawn

“Yes being on time is important, but not if it is sloppy work”

“Rules of the road can be frustrating, but they keep us safe”

Zeugma

Instant cleverness

"Jack lost the race and the scholarship”

“The teens, the parents, and the candle flames, danced into the night”

Shows you know how to manipulate a sentence

Can sometimes slow a reader down

“The team and the coaches left the bus”

Allusion

References/shortcuts

Potentially

"I was surprised his nose wasn't growing like Pinocchio's"

“Calculus was his kryptonite”

Appositives

Rename of redefine

“Lou introduced me Jack Dempsey, the great boxer”

“Jack grew a huge carrot, a record breaking carrot”

Metabasis

Short summary

Optional Gesture

Where are we going?

Short summary after providing info

Sententia

Ending a passage by summing up with a quote, proverb, etc.

Works best when used sparingly

Apophasis

Affirmation by denial

Dening something but then doing it anyway

Similar to aporia

Type of doubt

“I was going to blame my brother for breaking that, but that would be wrong”

Lets the reader come up with the idea on their own and doesn’t look bad for you.