Rhetorical Devices (91th)

​Powerful Language: How Writers Shape Meaning

By Nicole Miller

​Rhetorical Devices/Techniques/Strategies

Standards and Objectives

Students will:

• Define and recognize common literary/rhetorical devices. 9.RL.KID.2–3: Determine and analyze theme, tone, and characterization.

• Identify how authors use these techniques to create tone, mood, and meaning. 9.RI.KID.5: Analyze how rhetorical and literary devices advance purpose.

• Explain how devices support an author’s purpose and theme. 9.SL.CC.1: Engage in discussions to analyze ideas.

Essential Question:

How do authors and speakers use language to influence readers and reveal meaning?

• “What message is being communicated?”

• “What emotions or ideas do you notice through word choice, imagery, or tone?”

​

​“Authors and filmmakers use rhetorical and literary devices — tools that make language powerful. Let’s look at the ones you’ll see most often.”

“The Writer’s Toolbox"

Device	Definition	Example
Ethos	Appeal to credibility or ethics	“As a doctor, I can assure you…”
Pathos	Appeal to emotion	“Think of the children suffering…”
Logos	Appeal to logic or reason	“Studies show a 50% decrease in…”
Repetition	Repeating words or phrases for emphasis	“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds…”
Parallelism	Using similar grammatical structure for rhythm or emphasis	“Easy come, easy go.”
Rhetorical Question	Asking a question for effect, not for an answer

“The Writer’s Toolbox”

Device	Definition	Quick Example
Metaphor / Simile	Comparing two unlike things (simile uses like/as)	“Her smile was sunshine.”
Symbolism	An object stands for a larger idea	The mockingbird = innocence
Author’s Purpose / Topic	The writer’s reason for writing (inform, persuade, entertain)	MLK writes to inspire justice.
Characterization	How an author reveals personality traits	Atticus’s calm tone shows integrity.
Word Choice (Diction)	The author’s deliberate language to shape meaning	“Slender” vs. “skinny.”
Inferences	Logical conclusions based on clues + background knowledge	Scout infers Boo is kind.
Irony	Opposite of what’s expected	Fire station burns down.
Foreshadowing	Hints about what’s to come	Storm clouds before tragedy.
Conflict & Imagery	Struggles shown through vivid sensory details	“The waves crashed like fury.”
Tone / Mood	Tone = author’s attitude; Mood = reader’s feeling	Tone: hopeful; Mood: inspired.
Theme / Central Idea	The underlying message or insight	“Prejudice can destroy innocence.”
Compare / Contrast	Examining similarities and differences	Comparing Lennie and George.

“See It in Action”

Text Example:

Excerpt from MLK’s I Have a Dream

“I have a dream that one day… children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

• What rhetorical or literary devices are here?

  • Metaphor (dream=hope)

  • Parallelism

  • Tone = inspirational

  • What words tell us he's being inspirational and not angry?

  • Theme = equality and justice

  • Anaphora/Repetition

  • Pathos

• “How do these devices make the speech more powerful?”

Multiple Choice

Dunkin Doughnuts, Coca-Cola and Bed Bath and Beyond are examples of which rhetorical device?

• Personification

• Parallelism

• Allusion

• Alliteration

Multiple Choice

 “Mom, did you know that, according to newsweek.com, having a cell phone at school does not lead to lower grades. A study of 1,700 high school students found that there is absolutely no correlation between these two things. I can have my phone without my grades suffering.”

• ethos
• logos 
• pathos

Multiple Choice

What rhetorical device is seen in the sentence below?

Life is like a box of chocolates. 

• Metaphor

• Allusion

• Personification

• Simile

Multiple Choice

30 years later and teenagers are still addicted, but now to vaping and texting. 30 years later and parents are even less involved in teens' lives than they were. 30 years later and God has been taken out of the picture and replaced with materialism...

WHAT DEVICE and WHAT TONE?

• hopeful tone through ethos

• frustrated tone through anaphora

• annoyed tone through bias

• humorous tone through jokes

Multiple Choice

In this excerpt from his "Gettysburg Address", what mood does Abraham Lincoln create?

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

• Empowered

• Inquisitive

• Anxious

• Happy

Fill in the Blanks

What Rhetorical Device is seen in the sentence below?

The stars danced across the gorgeous night sky.

Multiple Choice

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive.

• Parallelism

• Analogy

• Alliteration

• Euphemism

Multiple Choice

"If my years as a Marine taught me anything, it's that caution is the best policy in this sort of situation."

• Ethos

• Logos

• Pathos

Multiple Choice

This quote is and example of . . .

• Allusion

• Antithesis

• Parallelism

• Repetition

Multiple Choice

In the story A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, a penny-pinching and bitter Ebenezer Scrooge values money more than people.

What is the meaning of the allusion in the sentence below?

Our neighbor has a reputation for being a Scrooge, so we don't even stop at his door any more when we're fundraising.

• generous

• kind

• stingy

• jealous

Multiple Choice

In the excerpt below, the speaker wanted to persuade the audience that kids are given too much homework. What words establish the use of pathos?

Imagine this: you have many assignments and you are very tired. You are only halfway done. You just want to sleep, but if you do you will get a big punishment. You start to panic. What would you do?

• The author evokes an anxious feeling from the reader with words like "big punishment" and "panic"

• The author makes the reader feel sympathy for him by referring to the reader as "you"

• The author attempts to make the reader feel curious by asking a question at the end

Multiple Choice

• Ethos

• Pathos

• Logos

Open Ended

Which type of rhetorical device do you find most effective? Why?

Open Ended

^Extension

^{Write 3–4 sentences describing a dramatic moment (real or fictional) using at least 2 of the rhetorical devices we talked about today.}

^{Example: “The wind screamed through the trees as the storm rolled closer. I knew this was no ordinary night.”
→ Imagery, Personification, Foreshadowing, Tone.}

^{"“I waited for him to call. I waited as the minutes stretched into hours, as the daylight dimmed and the streetlights flickered on. I waited—and with every moment, my hope thinned like the fading sun.” Repetition and tone.}