How to Write a Rhetorical Device
If you have ever written or spoken, you’ve used rhetorical devices. It’s impossible to write or speak without drawing on these techniques, because they are buried in our language and culture, and you have been absorbing them from the moment you started listening to those around you. So it takes no effort to use rhetorical devices in your writing.
Using rhetorical devices effectively, though, does take a little effort. You have to learn the basics of each rhetorical device individually, and then practice using it in your own writing.
It’s also important to notice the way that other authors use rhetorical devices. Over time, you’ll build up a repertoire of techniques and devices that you can easily recognize while you read, and ultimately you’ll be able to analyze any text in terms of its rhetorical techniques. This will be a powerful tool as you think about how to improve your own writing.
When to Use Rhetorical Devices
Different rhetorical devices are appropriate in different contexts. There are some, such as parallelism, that are appropriate in all contexts. Others, such as enjambment, can only be used in poetry. There are still others that can only be used in formal arguments, and so on. To find out when each rhetorical device is appropriate, find some information on the individual device itself.