Conclusions with DRAMA! How to give them Rhetorical Punch!

Parallel Structure Definition: Repeated Grammatical Pattern Examples: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling. Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to bike. Rand’s Objectivism conveys how to live, how to exist, and how to be. Try this now with the last sentence of your conclusion. Select a structure to repeat 3 times. Work with a partner if you need help. Write the new sentence onto your draft as an OPTION.

Concluding Sentence with Parallel Structure The Gothic genre fulfills the horrific fantasies of the reader, entices the terrifying imaginations of viewers, and evokes the understanding of human nature.

Antithesis Definition: Parallel structure that uses opposites to create emphasis Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness […]” --Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Try it out now.

Concluding Sentence with Antithesis The Gothic genre terrifies its readers; the Gothic genre entertains its readers.

Anaphora Definition: Repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses Example: “In the time the savage bull sustains the yoke, In the time all haggard hawks will stoop to lure, In the time small wedges cleave the hardest oak, In the time the flint is pierced with softest shower.” --Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy Try it out now.

Concluding Sentence with Anaphora Gothic evokes fear; gothic evokes paranoia.

Epistrophe Definition: repeating the same words at the end of successive phrases or clauses Examples: “Where affections bear rule, their reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued.” --Thomas Wilson “[…]this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from earth.” --Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address Try it out now.

Concluding Sentence with Epistrophe The Gothic epitomizes the fear of death, the paranoia of death, and the insanity of death.

Short Sentence A short sentence can provide nice, dramatic impact if it is located among longer sentences Example: “She pluck’d, she eat.” --John Milton, Paradise Lost Try it out now with the last sentence of the conclusion.

Concluding Sentence with Short Sentence Gothic is fear.

Dash The dash can be a nice device to set apart an important word or phrase that provides much more separation and attention than simply using commas (be sure to hit the hyphen twice to create the dash) Examples: Her taste in music –from country to rap– exemplifies her eclectic personality. The vegetarian gasped in horror when he saw lining the wall of the cabin a collection of animal heads—moose, deer, bears, squirrels, all dead. Kira shows that nothing in life is worthwhile without that which makes us happy– ourselves. Try it out now.

Concluding Sentence with a Dash The iniquities of humanity are brought forth by the Gothic genre’s most powerful trait– fear.

Decision Time Rhetoric must be tasteful– not too much and not too little. Look over the rhetorical sentences you’ve created and decide on which ONE you want to use as your LAST SENTENCE!