Writing Techniques for Effect
Recognise rhetorical questions and tricolon, select local sentence revisions, and match metaphors and deliberate repeated openings to stated effects
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify a rhetorical question for a stated persuasive purpose and recognise a tricolon in supplied writing
- Select local revisions that vary sentence openings or use parallel verb phrases while preserving the specified meaning and event order
- Select a metaphor for a stated effect and identify how deliberate repeated openings can connect and emphasise demands
1 · Read
You have chosen words and forms for an audience. A rhetorical question makes a point or invites thought without requesting a reply. Read the situation to judge its purpose. The same wording could be used to ask for information in another situation.
Zara writes a speech urging people to reduce plastic waste. She asks, 'Do we really want our beaches buried in plastic?' She expects listeners to think about an unwanted result, not supply information. The question invites them to consider her appeal. It cannot guarantee that every listener agrees.
A tricolon has three parallel parts, such as matching clauses or verb phrases. They can appear within one sentence. Matching forms can create rhythm and emphasis. When revising a list, keep each intended point and put the parts into matching forms. Three items alone do not guarantee an effective line; check their meaning and purpose.
Repeated openings may distract in a plain account. Vary some openings or combine related sentences while keeping their meaning and event order. Short sentences can focus attention; longer ones can connect ideas. Deliberately repeating an opening for emphasis is called anaphora. It can connect several demands in a speech. Decide whether repetition serves your purpose.
The openings vary while the account keeps its events in order.
To apply a device from reading, study its effect and create your own wording. A metaphor describes one thing as another: 'Hope was a lantern' suggests guidance. Choose an image that fits your intended feeling. Contrast places differences together to draw attention to them. Explain the effect you want, then check whether your words fit that aim.
Choose techniques for your audience and purpose. Keep your meaning when revising, and explain the effect you intend.
Lesson, practice questions and flashcards on writing techniques written for this dataset.
Five original readings written for this dataset. OER Commons resource descriptions and an OpenStax writing-to-speak record informed teaching design; their wording and examples are not reproduced.
More to read
Move a technique into your own writing
Read a short passage and choose one feature to study. It could be a comparison, a repeated opening or a change in sentence length. Use the surrounding words to explain what that feature contributes.
Now choose a different subject for your own writing. Decide what you want readers to notice or feel. Create new wording that uses the technique for that purpose. Using a comparison does not require copying the image you read.
Compare your draft with your stated aim. Does the wording fit? Explain your choice using details from your own sentence. Describe an intended or possible effect rather than claiming that every reader must respond alike.
Revise the pattern without losing the meaning
Before changing a sentence pattern, list the meaning you need to keep. In an account, that includes who acts, what happens and the order of events.
Try combining two closely related sentences. You could also begin with a time or place phrase when it fits. Check that any moved phrase still describes the intended person or thing.
Read the result aloud. A short sentence can draw attention to a moment; a longer sentence can connect details. Neither length is always better.
Repeated openings also need a purpose check. In a plain account they may distract. In a campaign speech they may connect demands and build emphasis. Revise according to the job the passage needs to do.
Choose an order readers can follow
The purpose of a piece helps you choose its arrangement. An account may follow time order. An explanation may introduce a cause before describing its result. A comparison may examine one shared feature at a time.
Make a short outline showing what each part contributes. Check that readers will have the information they need when they reach each point. Move a section if another order makes the relationship clearer.
Persuasive reasons do not have one required order. You might begin with a reason the audience already understands, then develop another. Explain how each reason supports the claim. Rhythm and memorable wording cannot replace evidence.
Give a persuasive technique a purpose
Imagine asking your school to provide more quiet reading space. State the request and explain why it would help. Check any factual information you use.
You could use a rhetorical question to invite readers to consider the need. A tricolon could group three related benefits in matching phrases. Choose wording that expresses your reasons accurately.
Consider a concern someone might raise, such as finding a suitable room. Answer that concern fairly. Repeating a request does not prove that everyone agrees with it.
Explain what you intend the technique to add. Then ask a partner what they understood. Their response can help you decide whether to keep or revise the wording.
Listen to a speech draft
Read a speech draft aloud at a pace your audience could follow. Notice places where an idea is hard to understand or a sentence is difficult to say.
Try one change at a time. Split a crowded sentence, explain an unfamiliar word or connect two related points. Read the changed passage again before deciding which version to keep.
A repeated opening may connect several requests. A question may invite listeners to consider a problem. Use these choices where they serve the message, not in every paragraph.
Ask someone to explain the passage back to you. If they miss an intended connection, look again at its wording and order. You can return to drafting and revision several times.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.