Rhetorical Stylistic Devices

Use at least three of these in your persuasive essay

Antithesis• Juxtaposing (comparing two unlike) ideas

Examples“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times […].” -Charles Dickens

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Angelic, baby-faced kids are committing diabolical, adult crimes.”

Distinctio• Elaborate on the definition of a word to make

sure there no mistake and to create emphasis (by “x” I mean, which is to say that, that is…)

Example:“The courts say a juvenile is a child who is under 18; a child, is by nature, childish and immature. A child is not afforded the rights of an adult because they are immature in their attributes; a child is not given the respect of an adult because they are childish in their reasoning.”

Climax• To arrange the sentence so that it increases in

importance. To arrange an essay so that the arguments and evidence increase in importance.

Examples:“The newly elected president was not so much interested in serving herself as she was eager to serve her family, her community, and her nation.”“We do not afford children with the same adult rights because they are limited in physical age, emotional maturity, and mental reasoning.”

Anaphora• Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning

of a clause, or two or more sentences.

Example:“Not time, not money, not laws, but willing diligence will get this done.”

“She did not act juvenile when she planned the murder; she did not act juvenile when she executed the murder; she did not act juvenile when she covered-up the murder.”

Epistrophe• Repeating a word or phrase at the end of a

clause, or two or more sentences. Adds emphasis.

Examples:“…of the people, for the people, by the people.”

“Planning the murder was not juvenile; committing the murder was not juvenile; covering up the murder was not juvenile.”

Denotation & Connotation

• Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word• Connotation: the ideas and feelings associated

with a word

Word Choice & Connotation• Remember word choice when writing your

argument. Child, kid, teen, adolescent, juvenile, and minor all have the same basic denotation, but different connotations. Remember, these connotations will affect the audience’s pathos.

• Child, kid, teen have a more innocent connotation

• Adolescent, juvenile, minor have a more neutral connotation