Rhetorical Devices

Alliteration

Repetition of the same letter or sound.

Anaphora

Repetition of the first part of the sentence throughout the piece.

Anecdote

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

Antithesis

Two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.

Aphorism

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. Ex. "We all boil at different degrees."

Diction

Choice of words that influences mood, attitude, dialect, and style of writing.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the sentences.

Irony

Use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms.

Parallelism

Two or more words, phrases, or clauses, that are similar in length and grammatical form.

Personification

A nonhuman object being given human qualities; similar to metaphor.

Rhetorical question

A question that is asked in order to make a point rather than to elicit an answer.

Simile

Makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things, using like or as.