1. Rhetorical Devices – Analytical Shortcuts

2. Analytical Devices – Purpose and effects
I would recommend writing these notes down
The more devices you can identify and analyze, the easier it will be for you when writing
Anecdote
Allusion
Anaphora
Antithesis
Asyndeton vs. polysyndeton
Parallelism
Rhetorical question
Pronouns

3. Goal with purpose
Purpose always is explaining how this is helping the speaker to do what needs to be done
Most of the time, how does it help persuade

4. Anecdote’s purpose What it is? – personal story about his or her life
Why use it?
Prove this actually happens/this problem exists
Explain speaker’s motivation
Establish ethos
Example: when Hathaway refers to her own positive experience with her dad, she explains why fathers are important, which helps her overall purpose of advocating for paid parental leaves since it will allow others to then share this moment

5. Allusion’s purpose
What it is? – reference to something famous (person, piece of art/writing, historical event, etc.)
Why use it?
Evoke/call to mind a similar, famous instance
Explain speaker’s motivation
Example – by referring to MLK’s “I have a dream” speech, a speaker can remind the audience of this famous fight for equality, and can persuade people to fight for the speaker’s cause as well

6. Anaphora’s purpose
What it is? – repeating the same words at the beginning of a sentence or a phrase
Why use it?
Emphasize what is being repeated
Example – by repeating “I have a dream”, MLK is emphasizing that he is hopeful that the segregation of his present will not be forever, and he can inspire his audience to create change

7. Antithesis’s purpose What it is? – contrasting 2 things or concepts
Why use it?
Differentiate between how things were with how they are
Differentiate between how things should be
Differentiate between 2 different views of a problem
Example – by contrasting her family’s hardships with other families’ dreams, Hathaway is able to emphasize that if her family could benefit from paid family leave, other families would even more.

8. Asyndeton vs. polysyndeton’s purpose
What it is? – listing without conjunctions (asyndeton) or listing with many conjunctions (polysyndeton)
Why use it?
Further emphasizing what is being listed
Example – by listing something, speakers bring attention to all the things that are included (think Jefferson’s “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”) in order to further highlight what is included in either the problem or the solution

9. Parallelism’s purpose
What it is? – repeating structure
Why use it?
Emphasize what is being repeated
Example – when Whitman includes all the instances of the different people who are singing in America, he is emphasizing America’s diversity

10. Pronoun’s purpose What it is? – using pronouns repeatedly Why use it?
I/me/my – emphasize the speaker personally
We/us/our – emphasize unity
Him/her/he/she – emphasize other people
They/them – emphasize an outgroup
Example – by using “we”, Hathaway advocates that everyone needs to work to fix the problem

11. Using the short cuts
Remember, this is to help you think about why an author uses these device
It always needs to be applied to in context