Rhetorical Strategies and Literary Terms

Rhetorical Devices Cheat Sheet

Devices found in every piece: Devices found in most pieces:

Punctuation Imagery
Diction Metaphor
Mood Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance
Point of View Parallelism
Setting
Tone

Figurative Language--Means something other than what it says (You have to figure it out) Imagery--Relating to one of the five senses.
I walked outside and the cool grass brushed against my bair feet.   Metaphor--Comparison of two unlike things. (Make sure that the comparison is not actually real. For instance, I don't actually have an iron heart. If the line said Mr. Flynn has a "beating heart," that would just be a description.)
Mr. Flynn has an iron heart. Simile--Comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”
I run like an antelope. Personification--Giving objects human characteristics.
The sky looked angry. Allusion--A reference to something outside the text
Call me Ishmael.  (Ishmael is a Biblical name) Symbol--When an object has a meaning larger than itself

Frederick Douglass Project

Frederick Douglass Project

Create a prezi in which you present the following:
(Prezi.com) ← Mainsite
(prezi.com/learn) ← Teach yourself Prezi
Example

3 arguments that Douglass makes against Slavery.

-These should be factual, in your own words, type of statements. For instance, if I were doing this for Into the Wild and nature, I might say that “Chris McCandless states that nature is a place where man can challenge himself and bring out the truest version of his humanity.”

-They must be backed up BY QUOTING THE TEXT
-The text must be close read, and unpacked. In the close reading (2-3 sentences) there should be an explanation of why the text leads you to believe that Douglass is making the argument you have previously identified.

3 different “rhetorical strategies” that Douglass employs to deliver this argument
(Note, the strategies do not have to match with the arguments.)

-It’s one thing to state an argument, it’s another thing entirely to sway others to your point of view. To do so takes craft and skill as a writer. Here is a list from the almighty AP board:

Diction, Syntax, Imagery, Tone, Selection of detail, Irony, Satire, Point of View, Structure, Humor, Sarcasm, Analogy, Soliloquy, Persuasion, Oxymoron, Onomatopoeia, Parallel Structure, Contrast, Comparison, Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Symbolism, Assonance, Alliteration, Paradox, Anecdote, Attitude, Juxtaposition, Hyperbole, Exaggeration, Repetition, Punctuation, Quotations, Foreshadowing, Characterization, Flashback, Rhetorical questioning

(We’ve already gone over a number of these strategies both as vocabulary and within our own close reading work.)

-However, you might also think about rhetorical strategies in a more general way and come up with your own concepts. For instance, you might claim that Jon Krakauer uses “mystery” when he presents McCandless as an anonymous hitchiker on the side of the road sporting an odd nickname. You might build on a term from above and discuss how Abraham Lincoln uses “Religious Allusions” when he writes about “the better angels of our nature” in the First Inaugural Address.

-Again, once you state the rhetorical strategies you MUST QUOTE THE TEXT you’re referrring to.

-Additionally, you must close read the text (2-3 sentences) and explain the rhetorical strategy and why the strategy is effective.

2 different myths that Douglass attempts to dispel with his Autobiography
-Be sure to include the myth and how Douglass attempts to dispel it.
-As always, you need a statement, a textual example, and a close reading.

2 different examples of emotional appeals that Douglass makes to the reader
-Not everything that Douglass tries to do is rational. At times he tries to make the reader FEEL something.
-Explain what he makes us feel and how he gets the feeling across.
-As always, quote the text and analyze it.


Grading: 100 points

10 points for each argument, rhetorical, myth, or emotional appeal strategy
-Proper label for the argument and rhetorical strategy (2 points)
-Textual evidence (2 points)
-Close reading that refers back to the quotations and the particular argument and strategy (5 points.
The key to this project is to explain clearly HOW Douglass gets his point across. This is where rhetorical analysis and close reading comes in.
-Perfect grammar (1 point)