Rhetorical question

One of the most commonly used techniques within persuasive speech giving is the use of rhetorical questions. The speaker generally gives questions to the audience to make them ponder about the subject, and then the speaker gives an immediate response to the question just asked. This way there is no mistaking what the author is trying to get across with his questions during the speech. George Whitefield asks numerous rhetorical questions within his sermon saying, “What sign would they have? Will none of you be friends to the blessed Jesus? And shall not we follow so excellent an example? My brethren, till Christian conversation is more agreeable to us, we cannot expect to see the gospel of Christ run and be glorified” (Whitefield). From this…

The overall rhetorical situation discussed in the special event "Question Bridge: Black Males" was the problems associated in the young black male communities and how certain scenarios are not that different, racial wise. This does sound broad, but it does fit the topic appropriately since the volunteers associated with the documentary touched on a lot of topics pertaining to young black male communities like finding that special someone, discussing how drugs and smoking is viewed as,…

pure and superior. Unfortunately, the same can be said when comparing ethnicities. It is not appropriate to judge somebody solely on the color of his or her skin, as they did not make the decision to be black or white. In Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”, she demonstrates how one woman can break stereotypes and rise above all hardships. Maya’s use of rhetorical questions keeps one pondering how she is able to overlook the negative remarks and believe in herself. Additionally, Maya’s use of…

He has experience with the situation, which gives the tone a more formal tone. He uses rhetorical statements when he says doesn’t everyone know not to eat two fast-food meals a day? He also adds a pun in the conclusion by saying, “I say, let the fried chips fall where they may.” This is a common American pun, and by adding fried is appealing to the argument. The way he wrote his sentences were very simple, he did not use many complicated words and that was to appeal to his intended audience.…

An Example of where the author has used a rhetorical question is ‘Wouldn’t that send a better message to everyone that Australia Day is for ALL Australians to celebrate?’ The author has emphasised the word “ALL’ to get the reader’s attention as well as using a rhetorical question to encourage the reader to think about the question and engage the reader. An example of a generalisation is ‘Most people don’t even care about that actual date, the just want a day of work, or to have a few drinks, or…

In “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, the speaker’s identity is slowly developed throughout the poem so that we are not completely sure of the speaker’s identity. The speaker is a black female that while she is speaking for herself, she is also speaking for an entire population of people just like her. People like her who are determined to rise above the historical oppression saying, “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear/ I rise/ Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear/ I rise…” (lines 35-38).…

She uses an appeal to authority when citing Wellford, a criminologist that explains possible reason being the War on drugs causing lower clearance rate for murder. She further strengthens her conclusion with premises that support an appeal to common knowledge when alluding to the tragedy of police violence and stop and frisk policies. She uses a similar structure when introducing another rhetorical question and backing it with an appeal to authority and emotionally appealing statements to…

Although shown to be excessive and tailored to certain scenarios, distinct relatable experiences strengthen the reader’s ability to decipher arguments. For instance, rhetorical questions such as, “Have you ever bought an expensive pair of shoes only to discover that they are so uncomfortable… (Schwartz, 2004)” challenges the reader to relate it to their own lives. Bold introductory statements are made at the beginning of each section to be then reasoned out in a logical “general to specific"…

In Andre Dubus’s rough, unadulterated memoir “Townie”; he accounts in detail of the despair and violence that emerges from a childhood of poverty and parental absence. Dubus speaks of his main conflict, an internal one that tempts him, which is the power of violence and its hold on him and his struggle to break free. He speaks of violence, his desire to hurt someone, yet he rarely resorts to the actual act. When he does, however, he reacts full force, flat out, no holds barred. The author…

international news”(Lukianoff and Haidt 47) These are examples of the rhetorical devise, Exemplum, figure of amplification using an example, brief or extended, real or fictitious, to illustrate a point; an example. Exemplum is a powerful technique for one simple reason: human beings respond more to stories than to raw facts or abstract ideas. When the authors tell their stories of how they came to be interested in the topic of the article this is also a rhetorical devise known as Flashback. A…