rhetorical devices are techniques that are used to create a certain effect on an audience. when used with discretion, rhetorical devices can help achieve your purpose; that is, to draw attention to or emphasize, to add suspence and so on
rhetorical question - when you want to ask a question to which the answer is already known or implied
example - i mean, seriously, has there ever been a band as awesome as Led Zeppelin?
abnormal word order - a variation on the usual subject-verb-object sentence pattern - to give variety and emphasis (and zestiness) to your writing
example -
Normal: Superbad, produced by comedy legend Judd Apatow, may be the greatest comedy seen in the last 10 years
Abnormal:the past 10 years has not seen a movie as great as the Judd Apatow produced, Superbad
non-sentence fragment - when a full sentence is not necessary for it to make sense
example - the greatest band to come out of the nineties? Seattle's Pearl Jam of course. Undiluted awesomeness
repetition - for emphasis and rhythm
pun- when you're feeling saucy and want to play with words
example - a peanut was walking through the park one day and was assulted.
hyperbole - when you want to emphasize a point
example - batman is so scary, that criminals poo their pants before they leave the house just to save time
understatement - when you want to create the reverse effect (and add a touch or irony) by making the fact seem less significant
example - with devastating good looks, charisma radiating from her and paparazzi following her every move, I guess you could say Mrs. Rankin is midly popular
climatic parallelism - when you wish to present several facts in the order of their importance
example - Mr. Edwards has been many things to many people through the years: child prodigy, superstar athlete, self-help guru, amateur cardiologist and a teacher that brings hape and happiness to all
balanced sentence - when you want to parallel two or more equal ideas
example - the Philadelphia Flyers are this year's team of destiny; and destiny shall bring them to the promised land of the Stanley Cup
reversals - when you desire to make a balanced sentence more memorable
example - its not the women in my life that counts - its the life in my women
periodic sentence - when you wish to withhold an important part of the sentence until the end. The sentence should not make complete sense until you have read the last words
example - one reason to wake up everyday and get out of a warm, comforting bed is the very idea that at some point in time during the drudgery of the day-today monotony there will be a soul hugging, life -affirming cup of tea
figurative comparison when you feel like presenting your audience with a strong image
example - I had the same uneasy feeling that hitchhikers get on the side of the road when they encounter a ravenous magpie fiendishly pecking at the exposed eyeball of a coyote that's been dead on the inside of the road for two weeks
allusion - when you want to save yourself and the reader from many extra words and you think they may appreciate the reference
example - when Mr.Edwards delivers a decree in the manner of Zeus atop Mt. Olympus, people tend to listen
aphorism, which is a short, memorable statement
example - you had me at 'hello'
Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
example - everyone else is able to empathize
rhyme: correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry
onomatopoeia: the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle)
fairly obvious, you can always underline, italicize, or use quotation marks
paradox: a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true
juxtaposition: the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
semicolon: a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.
dash - a punctuation mark that is used to separate one part of the sentence from another to indicate a break or an abrupt change in the thought flow.