What if don’t emphasize on devices but on the ideas and what effect does that idea has? What do you think of it?
Know this front and back:
Rhetorical Appeals (these are not devices)
● Ethos: an appeal to shared values, ethics, or respected authority
● Logos: an appeal based on facts and logic
● Pathos: an appeal based on emotion - creating an emotion in the audience in order to change their
mind.
Rhetorical Devices
(If you want to make an appeal - these are the tools you use to make it)
- Anaphora: A type of parallelism, with the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of
successive lines, phrases, or sentences - Antithesis: two opposites are placed close together to achieve a contrasting effect.
- Connotation: All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests rather than the literal
definition. - Diction: a speaker’s choice of words
- Figurative Language: words or phrases not to be taken literally
- Imagery: description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
- Irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of the literal meaning or a reversal of
expectations - Parallel Structure: the repetition of the grammatical structure of similar words and phrases
- Juxtaposition: putting two things next to each other to make an argument
- Allusion: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, work of art, song, etc. that
exists outside the text.
Types of Figurative Language
● Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
● Metaphor: a figure of speech making a comparison by referring to one thing as another
● Personification: a figure of speech in which an object or an animal is given human feelings, thoughts,
or attitudes
● Simile: making a comparison using “like” or “as”
Idea driven essays are what I teach my students to write. We chunk our essays into each section and a claim is made in terms of what each section of the essay/address is trying to achieve. This allows you to not back yourself into a corner with devices. You are free to speak about whatever you choose in regards to how the speaker is proving that point. Here is a roadmap of a body paragraph for a device driven essay:
II. Body Paragraph #1:
A. Topic sentence/transition: “(author’s last name) begins with/by…(make your claim about what strategy yousee working address the purpose/prompt)”
B. Intro to evidence to avoid a “quotebomb” (this can be a clause at the beginning of your sentence - AKA embedded evidence)
She gives specific examples of situations that have been improved during her lifetime.
C. Specific example to support idea: provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your comments to support your claim. Thoroughly discuss all strategies used in the beginning section, supporting with text. (Should be at least two or more complex, stylistic sentences.)
At this point you should repeat B & C - This would be another piece of added evidence (typically of a different type than already used) and commentary.
D. Discussion of how examples support idea: Connect the strategy back to your main claim/thesis/purpose.
In my opinion, idea-driven essays with a couple devices as examples is the strongest way to communicate the essay in an impactful and sophisticated manner
Thank you so much!
This! 
