examples of rhetorical questions for essays

Rhetorical Questions: 30 Effective Examples and Definition

Oct 24, 2023

Rhetorical questions, in particular, possess the unique ability to captivate, engage, and provoke thought. Whether you’re a seasoned orator, a writer, or someone simply looking to enhance their persuasive skills, this article is your definitive guide to mastering this impactful technique. Delve into the world of rhetoric and discover how these 30 examples and expert tips can elevate your communication to new heights.

What Are Rhetorical Questions?

Rhetorical questions are a powerful tool in the realm of persuasive communication. They are a form of interrogative expression used to make a point or convey a message rather than to elicit a direct response. These questions are crafted with a specific intention, often to provoke thought, engage the audience, or emphasize a particular idea. Here’s a clear and easy-to-understand explanation of rhetorical questions:

Rhetorical questions are inquiries posed in conversation or writing that do not require or expect an actual answer. Instead, they serve as a persuasive or rhetorical device, designed to make a statement, emphasize a point, or provoke critical thinking in the audience.

The biggest difference between rhetorical questions and typical questions in that rhetorical questions are not used to gather information or seek a response from others. Rather, they function as a means of guiding the listener or reader’s thoughts in a particular direction. They are strategically employed to emphasize a message, create a sense of engagement, or encourage reflection.

Rhetorical questions are commonly used in persuasive speeches, essays, debates, and everyday communication to achieve various objectives. Here are a few key purposes:

Emphasis – Rhetorical questions can draw attention to a specific idea or argument by framing it as a question. For example, “Do we want to continue down a path of destruction?” emphasizes the gravity of the situation.

Engagement – These questions engage the audience by prompting them to consider the topic more deeply. For instance, “Have you ever wondered what the future holds?” encourages the audience to reflect on possibilities.

Affirmation – Rhetorical questions often lead the audience to agree with the implied answer, reinforcing the speaker’s point. An example is, “Is it not our moral duty to help those in need?” which presupposes that helping others is a moral obligation.

Persuasion – By framing an argument as a rhetorical question, the speaker can guide the audience to a specific conclusion. For instance, “Wouldn’t you agree that a healthier lifestyle leads to a happier life?” implies that the answer is yes.

30 Best Rhetorical Questions Examples

1. What’s not to love about a beautiful sunset? Rhetorical questions like this one evoke a sense of wonder and appreciation, inviting the audience to share the sentiment.

2. Are you going to let fear hold you back from your dreams? This question challenges the audience to confront their fears and consider the impact on their aspirations.

3. Do you think the world would be a better place without acts of kindness? By implying a positive response, this question emphasizes the importance of kindness in society.

4. Can you imagine a world without art and creativity? It highlights the significance of art and creativity in our lives, making the audience reflect on their value.

5. Is it possible to put a price on freedom? This question prompts reflection on the intangible value of freedom.

6. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up. Rhetorical questions like this can be motivational, emphasizing the importance of resilience.

7. Does anyone really believe in a perfect world? It invites contemplation about the idealistic notion of a perfect society.

8. What’s more important than the health and well-being of our children? This question highlights the paramount importance of children’s welfare.

9. Could we exist without the air we breathe? It emphasizes the fundamental nature of oxygen to human existence.

10. Is there a single recipe for happiness that suits everyone? This question suggests the subjectivity of happiness and personal fulfillment.

11. Is it fair to judge a book by its cover? This age-old question prompts reflection on the issue of prejudice and superficial judgments.

12. Can you really put a price on love? This question emphasizes the idea that love is priceless and beyond monetary value .

13. Who doesn’t want to be successful in life? This question assumes that everyone desires success, making the audience ponder their own aspirations.

14. Do you think anyone would willingly choose pain over pleasure? It underlines the universal preference for pleasure and avoidance of pain.

15. Is there anything more refreshing than a cold glass of water on a hot day? This question appeals to our shared experience of relief on a scorching day.

16. What could be more comforting than the embrace of a loved one? This rhetorical question highlights the emotional value of human connection.

17. Can we really call ourselves civilized when we still wage wars? This question provokes thought about the contradiction between civilization and conflict.

18. What’s stopping you from chasing your dreams? I t encourages self-reflection and motivation to overcome obstacles.

19. Is there anything better than the sound of laughter? This question celebrates the universal joy associated with laughter.

20. How can we expect change if we never take action? It underscores the necessity of taking the initiative to bring about change.

21. Do you think the world would be the same without great leaders? This question underscores the impact of influential leaders throughout history.

22. What would life be without a sense of humor? It highlights the role of humor in our lives, promoting its significance.

23. Is there any greater tragedy than the loss of a loved one? This question evokes empathy and reflection on the depth of human emotion.

24. Can you really put a limit on human potential? It challenges the idea of constraining human capabilities.

25. What could be more fundamental than the pursuit of knowledge? This rhetorical question emphasizes the inherent human curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

26. Can you imagine a world without hope? It prompts reflection on the importance of hope in people’s lives.

27. Is there any greater bond than the love between a parent and child? This question celebrates the profound connection between parents and their children.

28. What would life be without challenges to overcome? It highlights the role of adversity in personal growth and development.

29. Is there a more powerful force than the unity of a community? This question emphasizes the strength of community and solidarity .

30. Who would trade the beauty of nature for a concrete jungle? It encourages reflection on the value of preserving natural environments

Why People Use Rhetorical Questions?

Rhetorical questions serve various compelling purposes. Foremost among these is their ability to engage the audience or reader. They break the monotony of one-way communication and encourage active participation, thereby infusing the conversation or written text with dynamism and interactivity. Rhetorical questions also double as persuasive tools since they often imply a specific answer or point of view, subtly guiding the audience to consider the speaker or writer’s perspective.

Moreover, rhetorical questions can stimulate thought and critical thinking, encouraging individuals to ponder complex issues or view a subject from multiple angles. They possess the remarkable capacity to evoke emotions, eliciting empathy, curiosity, or reflection by framing an issue in a relatable manner. Additionally, rhetorical questions can be effectively employed to emphasize key points, rendering them memorable, and drawing attention to the essential aspects of a message.

Tips On How to Make Good Rhetorical Questions

Consider your audience’s interests, values, and knowledge. Pattern your questions to resonate with their experiences and perspectives.
Ensure your question is clear and concise . A complex question may confuse your audience and weaken the impact of your message.
Rhetorical questions should stimulate thought. Make questions that encourage your audience to reflect on the subject matter.
Rhetorical questions often imply an answer . Ensure that this answer connects with your intended message or argument.
Use rhetorical questions to evoke emotions . Appeal to your audience’s feelings to make your message more impactful.
Ensure that your rhetorical question is directly related to the topic at hand. Irrelevant questions can disrupt the flow of your communication.
Don’t overuse rhetorical questions. Use them strategically to emphasize key points or engage your audience when necessary.
While rhetorical questions can be powerful, using too many can lessen their impact. Use them sparingly for maximum effect.
Some questions can be more complex, but be mindful of your audience’s ability to engage with the topic. Balance between simple and hard questions as needed.
Crafting effective rhetorical questions is a skill that improves with Seeking feedback from peers or mentors to refine your use of rhetorical questions in your communication.

Upon discussing the key points about rhetorical questions, we learned that: the art of using rhetorical questions is a powerful tool in communication. As we’ve explored in this discussion, rhetorical questions can captivate your audience, prompt reflection, and enhance the impact of your message. By understanding your audience, tailoring your questions, and using them strategically, you can become a more persuasive and engaging communicator. Whether you’re delivering a speech, writing an essay, or simply engaging in a meaningful conversation, the use of rhetorical questions can elevate your communication to a new level. So, the next time you seek to make a point, inspire, or provoke thought, consider the art of the rhetorical question, and watch the power of your words come to life.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example - Free Samples

11 min read

Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The step-by-step writing process of a rhetorical analysis essay is far more complicated than ordinary academic essays. This essay type critically analyzes the rhetorical means used to persuade the audience and their efficiency.

The example provided below is the best rhetorical analysis essay example:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Sample

In this essay type, the author uses rhetorical approaches such as ethos, pathos, and logos . These approaches are then studied and analyzed deeply by the essay writers to weigh their effectiveness in delivering the message.

Let’s take a look at the following example to get a better idea;

The outline and structure of a rhetorical analysis essay are important.

According to the essay outline, the essay is divided into three sections:

Introduction
Ethos
Logos

A rhetorical analysis essay outline follows a traditional essay outline. Here’s how each part is typically written:

Rhetorical Analysis Introduction Example

An introduction for a rhetorical essay is drafted by:

Stating an opening sentence known as the hook . This catchy sentence is prepared to grab the audience’s attention to the paper.
After the opening sentence, the background information of the author and the original text are provided.

For example, a rhetorical analysis essay written by Lee Jennings on“The Right Stuff” by David Suzuki. Lee started the essay by providing the introduction in the following way:

Analysis of the Example:

Suzuki stresses the importance of high school education. He prepares his readers for a proposal to make that education as valuable as possible.
A rhetorical analysis can show how successful Suzuki was in using logos, pathos, and ethos. He had a strong ethos because of his reputation.
He also used pathos to appeal to parents and educators. However, his use of logos could have been more successful.
Here Jennings stated the background information about the text and highlighted the rhetorical techniques used and their effectiveness.

Thesis Statement Example for Rhetorical Analysis Essay

A thesis statement of a rhetorical analysis essay is the writer’s stance on the original text. It is the argument that a writer holds and proves it using the evidence from the original text.

A thesis statement for a rhetorical essay is written by analyzing the following elements of the original text:

Diction - It refers to the author’s choice of words and the tone
Imagery - The visual descriptive language that the author used in the content.
Simile - The comparison of things and ideas

In Jennings's analysis of “The Right Stuff,” the thesis statement was:

Example For Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement

Rhetorical Analysis Body Paragraph Example

In the body paragraphs of your rhetorical analysis essay, you dissect the author's work. Each body paragraph opens with a topic sentence that shows the main point of that paragraph.

This is where you present the main analysis of their rhetorical techniques, and provide evidence to support your analysis.

Let's look at an example that analyzes the use of ethos in David Suzuki's essay:

Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion Example

All the body paragraphs lead the audience towards the essay’s conclusion .

Here is the conclusion for rhetorical analysis essay example by Jennings:

In the conclusion section, Jennings summarized the major points and restated the thesis statement to prove them.

Rhetorical Essay Example For The Right Stuff by David Suzuki

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples for Students

Writing a rhetorical analysis for AP Language and Composition courses can be challenging. Here are some AP English language rhetorical analysis essay examples:

AP Language Rhetorical Essay Sample

AP Rhetorical Analysis Essay Template

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Here are a few more rhetorical analysis essay examples pdfs to help students:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example College

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example APA Format

Compare and Contrast Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

How to Start Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example High School

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example APA Sample

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Of a Song

Florence Kelley Speech Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example MLA

Writing a Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay with Example

The visual rhetorical analysis essay determines how pictures and images communicate messages and persuade the audience.

Usually, visual rhetorical analysis papers are written for advertisements. This is because they use strong images to convince the audience to behave in a certain way.

To draft a perfect visual rhetorical analysis essay, follow the tips below:

Analyze the advertisement deeply and note every minor detail.
Notice objects and colors used in the image to gather every detail.
Determine the importance of the colors and objects and analyze why the advertiser chose the particular picture.
See what you feel about the image.
Consider the objective of the image. Identify the message that the image is portraying.
Identify the targeted audience and how they respond to the picture.

An example is provided below to give students a better idea of the concept.

Simplicity Breeds Clarity Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Tips

Follow the tips provided below to make your rhetorical writing compelling.

Choose an engaging topic for your essay. The rhetorical analysis essay topic should be engaging to grab the reader’s attention.
Thoroughly read the original text.
Identify the SOAPSTone. From the text, determine the speaker, occasions, audience, purpose, subject, and tone.
Develop a thesis statement to state your claim over the text.
Draft a rhetorical analysis essay outline.
Write an engaging essay introduction by giving a hook statement and background information. At the end of the introductory paragraph, state the thesis statement.
The body paragraphs of the rhetorical essay should have a topic sentence. Also, in the paragraph, a thorough analysis should be presented.
For writing a satisfactory rhetorical essay conclusion, restate the thesis statement and summarize the main points.
Proofread your essay to check for mistakes in the content. Make your edits before submitting the draft.

All in all,

Following the tips and the correct writing procedure will guarantee success in your academics.

We’ve provided plenty of examples of a rhetorical analysis essay. But if you’re still struggling to draft a great rhetorical analysis essay, it’s a good idea to seek professional help.

MyPerfectWords.com can assist with all your academic assignments. Our analytical essay writing service is ready to help if you’re confused about your writing assignments or struggling to meet a deadline.

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Rhetorical Questions in Essays

Rhetorical Questions “Mr. Smith says that I shouldn’t use thought-provoking questions in my thesis statements,” said Issa. “May I read you my thesis?” “Sure. Let’s hear it,” responds Mandy. “My thesis is ‘Do people really want to be successful and happy?’” “Well, it is called a thesis statement , not a thesis question , ” Mandy replied. “Plus, doesn’t the answer appear in the question itself?” “Oh, I get it. It’s one of those rhetorical questions,” says Issa. “But, do you really get it?” asks Mandy. “Ah… A rhetorical question. Very funny.” “Apparently not so funny to Mr. Smith,” says Mandy.

Definition and Examples

A rhetorical question is a statement formed as a question. Rhetorical questions can be manipulative because they are designed to appear objective and open-ended, but may actually lead the reader to a foregone conclusion.

The rhetorical question takes several forms:

It may answer itself and require no response. Example: Do people want to be successful?
It may be used to provoke thought. Example: What if this generation could solve hunger?
It may be used to state the obvious. Example: Can students try a bit harder next time?
It may have no possible answer. Example: What if there is no answer to this problem?

Read the rules.

Don’t use rhetorical questions as thesis statements. Conclusion paragraphs may include rhetorical questions to provide questions for further study beyond the essay itself.

In the following sentences, [bracket] the rhetorical questions.

How could they know? Why are the couples traveling to Europe for business?
Without the tools the project was impossible to complete. Why bother? Does this project have a purpose?
What is the message within that painting? What if all works of art meant something?
If love is the answer, what is the question? Why do people fall in love? Does everyone do so?
What happens when dreams are delayed? Can dreams be real? Or are dreams simply dreams?

Revise the rhetorical question into a statement.

Of what use are rhetorical questions?

[How could they know?] Why are the couples traveling to Europe for business?
Without the tools the project was impossible to complete. [Why bother?] [Does this project have a purpose?]
What is the message within that painting? [What if all works of art meant something?]
[If love is the answer, what is the question?] [Why do people fall in love?] [Does everyone do so?]
[What happens when dreams are delayed?] [Can dreams be real?] [Or are dreams simply dreams?]

For more essay rules and practice, check out the author’s TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE . This curriculum includes 42 essay strategy worksheets corresponding to teach the Common Core State Writing Standards, 8 on-demand writing fluencies, 8 writing process essays (4 argumentative and 4 informative/explanatory), 64 sentence revision and 64 rhetorical stance “openers,” writing posters, and helpful editing resources.

Differentiate your essay instruction in this comprehensive writing curriculum with remedial writing worksheets, including sentence structure, grammar, thesis statements, errors in reasoning, and transitions.

Plus, get an e-comment bank of 438 prescriptive writing responses with an link to insert into Microsoft Word® for easy e-grading (works great with Google Docs) ,

Download the following 24 FREE Writing Style Posters to help your students learn the essay rules. Each has a funny or ironic statement (akin to “Let’s eat Grandma) to teach the memorable rule.

Writing composition rules , essay rules , essay structure , essay style , essay writing , essay writing rules , five paragraph essays , how to write an essay , Mark Pennington , questions in conclusions , questions in essays , rhetorical devices , rhetorical questions , Teaching Essay Strategies , thesis statement questions , using questions to provoke thought , writing programs

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How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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examples of rhetorical questions for essays

Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

What is the author’s purpose?
Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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Rhetorical Analysis Sample Essay

Harriet Clark

Ms. Rebecca Winter

13 Feb. 2015

Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in

Grose's "Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true. 1 One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, 2 and she argues that while the men recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women. 3 Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument. 4

In her article, Grose first sets the stage by describing a specific scenario of house-cleaning with her husband after being shut in during Hurricane Sandy, and then she outlines the uneven distribution of cleaning work in her marriage and draws a comparison to the larger feminist issue of who does the cleaning in a relationship. Grose continues by discussing some of the reasons that men do not contribute to cleaning: the praise for a clean house goes to the woman; advertising and media praise men’s cooking and childcare, but not cleaning; and lastly, it is just not fun. Possible solutions to the problem, Grose suggests, include making a chart of who does which chores, dividing up tasks based on skill and ability, accepting a dirtier home, and making cleaning more fun with gadgets. 5

Throughout her piece, Grose uses many strong sources that strengthen her credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build her argument. 6 These sources include, “sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai,” “a 2008 study from the University of New Hampshire,” and “P&G North America Fabric Care Brand Manager, Matthew Krehbiel” (qtd. in Grose). 7 Citing these sources boosts Grose’s credibility by showing that she has done her homework and has provided facts and statistics, as well as expert opinions to support her claim. She also uses personal examples from her own home life to introduce and support the issue, which shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand experience with the problem. 8

Adding to her ethos appeals, Grose uses strong appeals to logos, with many facts and statistics and logical progressions of ideas. 9 She points out facts about her marriage and the distribution of household chores: “My husband and I both work. We split midnight baby feedings ...but ... he will admit that he’s never cleaned the bathroom, that I do the dishes nine times out of ten, and that he barely knows how the washer and dryer work in the apartment we’ve lived in for over eight months.” 10 These facts introduce and support the idea that Grose does more household chores than her husband. Grose continues with many statistics:

[A]bout 55 percent of American mothers employed full time do some housework on an average day, while only 18 percent of employed fathers do. ... [W]orking women with children are still doing a week and a half more of “second shift” work each year than their male partners. ... Even in the famously gender-neutral Sweden, women do 45 minutes more housework a day than their male partners. 11

These statistics are a few of many that logically support her claim that it is a substantial and real problem that men do not do their fair share of the chores. The details and numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a problem worth discussing. 12

Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in the beginning and middle sections. 13 Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.” 14 The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’ work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” These words help establish the unfairness that exists when women do all of the cleaning, and they are an appeal to pathos, or the readers’ feelings of frustration and anger with injustice. 15

However, the end of the article lacks the same level of effectiveness in the appeals to ethos. 16 For example, Grose notes that when men do housework, they are considered to be “’enacting “small instances of gender heroism,” or ‘SIGH’s’—which, barf.” 17 The usage of the word “barf” is jarring to the reader; unprofessional and immature, it is a shift from the researched, intelligent voice she has established and the reader is less likely to take the author seriously. This damages the strength of her credibility and her argument. 18

Additionally, her last statement in the article refers to her husband in a way that weakens the argument. 19 While returning to the introduction’s hook in the conclusion is a frequently-used strategy, Grose chooses to return to her discussion of her husband in a humorous way: Grose discusses solutions, and says there is “a huge, untapped market ... for toilet-scrubbing iPods. I bet my husband would buy one.” 20 Returning to her own marriage and husband is an appeal to ethos or personal credibility, and while that works well in the introduction, in the conclusion, it lacks the strength and seriousness that the topic deserves and was given earlier in the article. 21

Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end, where she most needs to drive home her argument. Readers can see the problem exists in both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. 22 Grose could have more seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man. 23

Works Cited

Grose, Jessica. “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” New Republic. The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Article author's claim or purpose
Summary of the article's main point in the second paragraph (could also be in the introduction)
Third paragraph begins with a transition and topic sentence that reflects the first topic in the thesis
Quotes illustrate how the author uses appeals to ethos
Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of ethos as noted in the thesis
Transition and topic sentence about the second point from the thesis
Quote that illustrates appeals to logos
Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of logos, as noted in the thesis
Transition and topic sentence about the third point from the thesis
Quotes that illustrate appeals to pathos
Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of pathos, as noted in the thesis
Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from the thesis
Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos
Analysis explains how quote supports thesis
Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis
Conclusion returns to the ideas in the thesis and further develops them
Last sentence returns to the hook in the introduction

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10 Rhetorical Situation Examples

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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rhetorical situation examples and definition, explained below

The term ‘rhetorical situation’ is defined as “the context in which speakers or writers create discourse” (Bitzer, 1999, p. 217)

If a literacy teacher asks you to describe the rhetorical situation, they’re asking you to analyze the context of the discourse.

So, what does this mean?

Usually, it means you need to examine two things:

The rhetorical elements used, and
The rhetorical devices used.

I’ll summarize these below so we can jump straight to our examples, then elaborate on them toward the end of the article. Here’s the TL;DR:

Rhetorical Elements

You’ll need to examine the following elements first and foremost to demonstrate the ‘rhetorical situation’:

Text: e.g. a books, speech, podcast, film, video, etc.
Author: e.g. the speaker, writer, or producer of the text.
Audience: e.g. the listener, reader, viewer, or consumer of the text.
Purpose: e.g. why the text was produced.
A setting: e.g. the time, location, and contextual factors (Gabrielsen, 2010).

Rhetorical Devices

These are the methods of communicating utilized in the text, including:

Logos: the use of logic to communicate.
Ethos: the use of authority or credibility when conveying a message.
Pathos: the use of emotion to communicate.

These devices are based on Aristotle’s philosophy.

By examining rhetorical elements and devices, we can develop a deeper understanding of a rhetorical situation, how it works, and perhaps, why it hasn’t worked so well!

Rhetorical Situation Examples

1. steve jobs stanford speech (2005).

In 2005, Steve Jobs delivered the commencement address at Stanford University, sharing personal stories of his life and career. The speech, titled “Connecting the Dots,” has since become iconic, offering lessons on life, work, and following one’s passion. Jobs addressed a crowd of graduates, faculty, and family members, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.

To determine the rhetorical situation, let’s unpick the key elements and devices in this discourse:

Text: The text was a commencement address, consisting of anecdotes from Jobs’ life, including dropping out of college, being fired from Apple, and facing a life-threatening illness, to convey broader life lessons.
Author: The author was Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios, known for his innovation in the technology and entertainment industries.
Audience: The primary audience was the graduating class of Stanford University, along with faculty and families, but the speech has since reached a global audience through various media.
Purpose: The purpose of the speech was to inspire and motivate the graduates by encouraging them to pursue their passions, face setbacks with resilience, and see opportunities in life’s challenges.
Rhetorical Devices: Jobs employed storytelling as a major rhetorical device, using personal anecdotes to create an emotional connection (pathos) with the audience. He also established ethos through his reputation as a successful entrepreneur and innovator. The use of repetition and parallel structure helped emphasize key points and make the speech memorable.

2. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (1997)

In 1997, J.K. Rowling released “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” the first book in a series that would become a global phenomenon. The novel introduced readers to a magical world filled with complex characters, intricate plots, and a battle between good and evil. The book, and the series it initiated, captivated audiences worldwide, influencing an entire generation and beyond.

Text: The text is a fantasy novel, blending elements of magic, adventure, and coming-of-age to explore themes of friendship, courage, and the choice between good and evil.
Author: The author, J.K. Rowling, was relatively unknown at the time but has since become one of the most successful and influential writers in modern literature.
Audience: Initially aimed at children and young adults, the novel quickly attracted readers of all ages, transcending demographic boundaries.
Purpose: The primary purpose was to entertain, but the novel also sought to explore deeper themes and values, such as the importance of choice, the value of friendship, and the nature of courage.
Rhetorical Devices: Rowling used vivid imagery and detailed world-building to immerse readers in the magical universe. The use of allegory allowed for the exploration of real-world themes within a fantastical context, and character development served to engage and invest the audience in the narrative.

3. Malala Yousafzai’s UN Speech (2012)

In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, delivered a speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly, advocating for the right to education for every child. This speech came after she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban for her activism. Her address, titled “Malala Day,” called for worldwide access to education and emphasized the power of youth.

Text: The text was a formal speech, rich with personal anecdotes, global examples, and a call to action, focusing on the importance of education and the role of youth in enacting change.
Author: The author, Malala Yousafzai, was a young education activist from Pakistan, who became a symbol of resilience and advocacy for girls’ education worldwide.
Audience: The primary audience was the United Nations Youth Assembly, but the speech was also broadcast globally, reaching a diverse international audience.
Purpose: The purpose was to advocate for universal access to education, particularly for girls, and to inspire young people to take action for change.
Rhetorical Devices: Malala used ethos by sharing her personal experiences and challenges, pathos by evoking emotions related to the struggles of children deprived of education, and logos by presenting facts and logical arguments for universal education. The repetition of phrases like “We will continue” emphasized determination and resilience.

4. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

In 2006, former Vice President Al Gore released the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” aiming to educate the public about the reality and dangers of climate change. The film combined data, personal anecdotes, and visual imagery to present a compelling case for urgent action. It played a significant role in raising global awareness about climate change and won two Academy Awards.

Text: The text was a documentary film, utilizing a mix of scientific data, visual graphics, personal narratives, and future projections to convey the urgency of addressing climate change.
Author: The author and narrator of the documentary was Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States, and a long-time environmental advocate.
Audience: The intended audience was the global public, policymakers, and anyone with a stake in the future of the planet.
Purpose: The film aimed to raise awareness about the reality of climate change, educate the public on its consequences, and inspire individual and collective action to address it.
Rhetorical Devices: Gore effectively used ethos, drawing on his political background and environmental advocacy. Pathos was employed through alarming visual imagery and projections of climate impact, and logos through the presentation of scientific data and facts. The juxtaposition of current realities with future projections served to emphasize the urgency of action.

5. Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech (2019)

In 2019, Greta Thunberg, a young climate activist from Sweden, addressed the United Nations Climate Action Summit, passionately urging world leaders to take immediate action against climate change. Her speech, “How Dare You,” criticized the inaction of political leaders and highlighted the urgent need for substantive change to combat environmental degradation. The address became a rallying cry for environmental activists around the world.

Text: The text was a concise yet powerful speech, marked by emotive language, direct criticism, and a clear call for urgent and meaningful action against climate change.
Author: The author, Greta Thunberg, was a teenage climate activist from Sweden, who gained international recognition for her Fridays for Future movement and candid advocacy for environmental protection.
Audience: The primary audience was the world leaders and delegates at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, but the speech also reached a global audience through extensive media coverage.
Purpose: The purpose of the speech was to hold world leaders accountable for their inaction, raise awareness about the climate crisis, and galvanize immediate and substantive action to protect the environment.
Rhetorical Devices: Thunberg employed pathos through her passionate and emotive delivery, ethos by referencing her personal sacrifices and commitment to climate activism, and logos by citing scientific data on climate change. The repeated phrase “How dare you” served as a powerful rhetorical device to emphasize her criticism and demand accountability.

6. Facebook (2004-Now)

In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, a social networking platform initially for Harvard students, which quickly expanded to other universities and eventually to the general public. Facebook’s mission was to connect people and build community, but it also raised questions about privacy, data security, and the impact on social dynamics. The platform revolutionized communication and became a subject of scrutiny and debate.

Text: The text in this scenario is the platform itself, Facebook, which included user profiles, status updates, friend requests, and various features that allowed for online social interaction and information sharing.
Author: The author is, well, anyone with a Facebook profile who wants to make a post!
Audience: The initial audience was Harvard students, but it quickly expanded to include a diverse and global user base, ranging from teenagers to older adults.
Purpose: The primary purpose of Facebook was to connect people, facilitate communication, and build online communities, but it also aimed to monetize user engagement through targeted advertising.
Rhetorical Devices: The platform utilized user-friendly interface and features to appeal to a wide audience (ethos), incorporated real-time notifications and updates to engage users emotionally (pathos), and used algorithms and data analytics to optimize user experience and advertising (logos). The concept of “friends” and “likes” served as rhetorical devices to foster a sense of community and validation.

7. MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech (1963)

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech articulated King’s vision of a future where people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character. This address became a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement and a symbol of the ongoing fight for racial equality.

Text: The text was a public speech, characterized by its rhythmic cadence, vivid imagery, and references to the American Dream, the Bible, and the U.S. Constitution.
Author: The author, Martin Luther King Jr., was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement, known for his advocacy for nonviolent resistance and racial equality.
Audience: The immediate audience was the over 250,000 civil rights supporters present at the march, but the speech was also broadcast nationwide, reaching a much wider audience.
Purpose: The purpose of the speech was to advocate for an end to racism and segregation, inspire hope and solidarity among civil rights supporters, and call for freedom and equality for all.
Rhetorical Devices: King employed a range of rhetorical devices including anaphora, through the repetition of the phrase “I have a dream,” metaphors, comparing racial injustice to a “bank of injustice,” and allusions to biblical and historical texts, establishing ethos, pathos, and logos.

8. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1590s)

William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet,” written in the early 1590s, is a tragic tale of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona. The play explores themes of love, fate, conflict, and death, and it has been celebrated for its exploration of the human condition and the consequences of societal discord. The timeless story has been adapted countless times across various mediums.

Text: The text is a play, written in iambic pentameter, consisting of dialogue, soliloquies, and stage directions, exploring complex characters and universal themes.
Author: The author, William Shakespeare, was an English playwright and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and world literature.
Audience: The original audience was the theatergoers of Elizabethan England, but the play has since reached a global audience and has been studied and performed worldwide.
Purpose: The purpose of “Romeo and Juliet” was to entertain, but also to explore and reflect on human nature, societal conflict, love, and fate.
Rhetorical Devices: Shakespeare used a variety of rhetorical devices including metaphor, simile, foreshadowing, and dramatic irony. The use of soliloquies provided insight into characters’ thoughts and motivations, and the poetic structure added rhythm and emphasis to the dialogue.

9. Churchill’s We Shall Fight on the Beaches (1944)

In 1940, Winston Churchill delivered one of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom during World War II, known as the “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech. The speech was a powerful call to arms, aiming to inspire the British people and maintain morale during a particularly challenging time in the war. Churchill’s words became a symbol of British resilience and determination.

Text: The text was a wartime speech, characterized by its defiant tone, vivid imagery of defense, and the repeated assurance of Britain’s resolve to fight against Nazi Germany, regardless of the circumstances.
Author: The author, Winston Churchill, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, known for his leadership during World War II and his ability to inspire and unite the British people through his speeches.
Audience: The immediate audience was the House of Commons, but the speech was also broadcast over the radio to the British public and the wider world.
Purpose: The purpose of the speech was to bolster British morale, assure the public of the government’s commitment to victory, and demonstrate resolve to the international community.
Rhetorical Devices: Churchill employed anaphora, with the repetition of the phrase “We shall fight,” to emphasize determination. He used vivid imagery to depict various battle scenarios, and pathos to evoke a sense of national pride and duty.

10. The US Declaration of Independence (1776)

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the United States Declaration of Independence, a document that declared the thirteen American colonies independent from British rule. The text outlined the philosophical justification for independence, listed grievances against King George III, and articulated the fundamental principles that the new nation would embody. The Declaration is a foundational document of the United States and a symbol of the pursuit of liberty.

Text: The text is a formal political document, characterized by its eloquent prose, philosophical reasoning, and clear enumeration of grievances and principles.
Author: The principal author was Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father and the third President of the United States, with contributions from John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.
Audience: The immediate audience was the British Crown, but the document was also addressed to the international community and the American people, both contemporaneous and future.
Purpose: The purpose of the Declaration was to formally announce and justify the colonies’ decision to sever ties with Britain and to articulate the foundational principles of the new nation, including equality, liberty, and self-governance.
Rhetorical Devices: Jefferson employed a range of rhetorical devices including parallelism, in the listing of grievances; allusion, to philosophical and Enlightenment ideas; and pathos, to evoke a sense of injustice and the desire for liberty. The famous phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident” exemplifies the use of ethos to establish the moral grounding of the American cause.

Let’s dive deeper into the five rhetorical elements you’ll want to look at in order to explain a rhetorical istuation:

The text is the medium through which the message is conveyed.

It can take various forms, such as books, speeches, podcasts, films, videos, or digital content, each with its unique characteristics and conventions.

The nature of the text influences how the message is received and interpreted by the audience (Gabrielsen, 2010).

For instance, a speech might appeal to the audience’s emotions through tone and delivery, while a written article might rely on structured arguments and evidence (Toye, 2013). Understanding the nuances of the text is crucial for analyzing the effectiveness of the communication.

See More: A List of Text Types

The author is the originator of the message, responsible for crafting the content and delivering it to the audience.

This person utilizes their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to shape the message, whether they are a speaker, writer, filmmaker, or content creator.

The author’s credibility, intentions, and relationship with the audience play a significant role in how the message is received (Toye, 2013). For example, a well-respected expert in a field may have more influence over an audience than an unknown individual.

Analyzing the author’s background, motivations, and biases is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the rhetorical situation.

3. Audience

The audience is the recipient of the message, whose interpretation and response are integral to the communication process.

This group can be diverse, encompassing listeners, readers, viewers, or consumers, each bringing their unique perspectives, values, and expectations to the interaction.

The audience’s background, beliefs, and context significantly influence how they perceive and react to the message (Gabrielsen, 2010; Toye, 2013).

A successful communicator must understand and consider the audience’s needs, expectations, and potential biases to effectively convey their message. The audience’s engagement and response are key indicators of the success or failure of the rhetorical situation.

See More: Examples of Intended Audiences

The purpose is the driving force behind the creation of the text, answering the question of why the message was produced.

It can range from informing, persuading, entertaining, inspiring, to challenging the audience, and it shapes the content, tone, and structure of the message (Gabrielsen, 2010).

Understanding the purpose is crucial for both the author and the audience, as it guides the creation of the message and influences how the audience interprets and responds to it (Toye, 2013).

A clear and well-defined purpose is more likely to result in effective communication and achieve the desired outcome. Analyzing the purpose provides insight into the goals of the author and the potential impact of the message.

Analyzing purpose is a particularly important media literacy skill .

The setting encompasses the time, location, and contextual factors that frame the rhetorical situation (Toye, 2013).

This includes the historical, cultural, social, and political environment in which the communication occurs.

The setting influences both the creation and reception of the message, shaping the author’s perspective and the audience’s interpretation.

For example, a speech delivered during a time of crisis may be received differently than one given in a period of stability.

Understanding the setting is essential for a holistic analysis of the rhetorical situation, providing context and background that illuminate the motivations, challenges, and implications of the communication (Gabrielsen, 2010).

Rhetorical Devices (Aristotle)

Besides elements of the text, we can also examine the text’s rhetorical devices, which are the methods employed to communicate and persuade.

Generally, we refer to Aristotle’s writings on rhetoric for this.

Here are Aristotle’s rhetorical devices:

1. Logos (Appeal to Logic)

Logos is a rhetorical device that involves the use of logical reasoning to persuade the audience. It often incorporates facts, statistics, data, and well-structured arguments to appeal to the audience’s sense of reason.

A communicator using logos will aim to present clear, concise, and coherent arguments that are supported by evidence and sound reasoning (Bitzer, 1998).

This approach is particularly effective when discussing topics that require a rational and objective perspective.

By appealing to the audience’s intellect, logos helps to establish the credibility of the argument and the reliability of the speaker or writer.

2. Ethos (Appeal to Credibility)

Ethos is a rhetorical device focused on establishing the credibility and moral character of the speaker or writer.

It involves demonstrating knowledge, expertise, and a sense of ethics to gain the trust and respect of the audience.

Ethos can be established through the author’s reputation, professional background, and the way they present themselves and their arguments.

The use of appropriate language, tone, and style, as well as showing respect for differing viewpoints, contributes to building ethos (Bitzer, 1998; Rapp, 2022).

When the audience perceives the communicator as credible and trustworthy, they are more likely to be persuaded by the message.

3. Pathos (Appeal to Emotions)

Pathos appeals to the emotions, values, and desires of the audience to elicit feelings that support the speaker or writer’s argument.

It involves the use of emotive language, vivid imagery, and personal anecdotes to create an emotional response.

Pathos can be particularly effective in persuading the audience by making them feel a certain way, whether it be compassion, anger, joy, or sorrow (Bitzer, 1998).

However, it is important for pathos to be balanced with logos and ethos to ensure the argument does not become overly emotional or manipulative.

When used effectively, pathos can create a strong connection between the audience and the message, making the argument more compelling.

4. Telos (Purpose)

Telos is not traditionally listed as a rhetorical device in the same manner as logos, ethos, and pathos.

However, in a broader sense, telos refers to the purpose or goal of a rhetorical situation or a speaker’s intention in communication (Rapp, 2022). It involves considering the end purpose of the message and how it aligns with the values, expectations, and needs of the audience.

Understanding telos is crucial for both the communicator and the audience, as it provides insight into the motivations behind the message and its intended impact. A clear and well-defined telos is essential for effective communication and achieving the desired outcome.

5. Kairos (Timing)

Kairos refers to the opportune moment or the right timing in which to deliver a message. It involves considering when the audience will be most receptive and when the message will have the greatest impact.

Kairos takes into account external factors such as the cultural, social, and political climate, as well as internal factors like the audience’s mood and level of interest (Rapp, 2022).

Recognizing and seizing the opportune moment can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the message.

Kairos, therefore, emphasizes the importance of context and timing in rhetorical situations, contributing to the persuasiveness and success of the communication.

Aristotle. (2014). The Art of Rhetoric . Toronto: HarperCollins.

Bitzer, L. (1998). The Rhetorical Sitaution . In Condit, C. M., Lucaites, J. L., & Caudill, S. (Eds.). Contemporary Rhetorical Theory, First Edition. Guilford Publications.

Gabrielsen, J. (2010). The Power of Speech . Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Rapp, C. (2022). Aristotle’s Rhetoric. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2022). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/

Toye, R. (2013). Rhetoric: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, rhetorical question, definition of rhetorical question, common examples of rhetorical question.

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Rachel: Guess what, guess what? Chandler: Let’s see, the fifth dentist caved, now they all recommend trident?

Joey (making fun of Chandler): I’m Chandler. Could I BE wearing any more clothes?

Significance of Rhetorical Question in Literature

Examples of rhetorical question in literature.

Yossarian attended the education sessions because he wanted to find out why so many people were working so hard to kill him. A handful of other men were also interested, and the questions were many and good when Clevinger and the subversive corporal finished and made the mistake of asking if there were any. “Who is Spain?” “Why is Hitler?” “When is right?”

This example of rhetorical question is meant to highlight the absurdity of war. The character of Clevinger asks if there are any questions, and the soldiers in Yossarian’s troop ask questions for which there are no answers. They do this to irritate the men who are higher in command, but also to bring attention to the fact that nothing ever really makes sense during wartime, and the reality of their lives is just as absurd as their questions.

`Take some more tea,’ the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. `I’ve had nothing yet,’ Alice replied in an offended tone, `so I can’t take more.’ `You mean you can’t take less ,’ said the Hatter: `it’s very easy to take more than nothing.’ `Nobody asked your opinion,’ said Alice. `Who’s making personal remarks now?’ the Hatter asked triumphantly.

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

That spring, in the bustle of grooming and riding and shoeing, I remember I let him go to a neighbor I thought was a friend, and the following fall she sold him down the river. Oh Jack, tethered in what rough stall alone did you remember that one good winter?

Test Your Knowledge of Rhetorical Question

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

What did they draw?’ said Alice, quite forgetting her promise. `Treacle,’ said the Dormouse, without considering at all this time. Alice did not wish to offend the Dormouse again, so she began very cautiously: `But I don’t understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?’ `You can draw water out of a water-well,’ said the Hatter; `so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well—eh, stupid?’

A. “What did they draw?” B. “Where did they draw the treacle from?” C. “Eh, stupid?” [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″] Answer: C is the correct answer. Alice’s two questions are both in earnest, as she wants to know the answer. The Mad Hatter’s rhetorical question is only meant to infuriate Alice.[/spoiler]

Literary Terms
Rhetorical Question
Definition & Examples
When & How to Write a Rhetorical Question

I. What is a Rhetorical Question?

A rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer from the audience or reader. It’s just posed to make a point. Don’t we do this all the time in everyday speech? Sometimes a rhetorical question will just be left open, but other times the speaker will immediately go on to answer it. In either case, no answer from the audience is expected.

II. Examples of a Rhetorical Question

“What’s the deal with airline food?”

This sort of rhetorical question is often asked by standup comedians. They’re not actually asking the audience to answer the question – they’re just setting up a joke or monologue about the subject of airline food.

“Want to order a pizza?”

“Sure, why not?”

You’ve probably used this rhetorical question before. Rather than just saying “yeah,” you ask a question. But the question is entirely rhetorical. Imagine if someone actually responded by explaining why you shouldn’t order a pizza – you might suspect that they missed your point.

III. The Importance of a Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical questions are so common in everyday speech that it’s hard to define their overall effect. It’s just part of the way people speak in real life, so using a rhetorical question here and there can make your writing sound more natural. In addition, a question gives the feel of a dialogue, because the reader feels as though he or she is being addressed directly by the writer. (The fancy word for this is that rhetorical questions “interpellate” the reader.)

There’s at least one clear purpose for rhetorical questions in formal essays : they’re a great way to move an argument forward (see section 6 for an example). Instead of just saying “I will now talk about x ,” you can ask a question about x and give your reader a better idea of where you’re going. This is a much more natural and conversational way to write. Imagine a dinner party where someone raised their hand and announced what they were going to talk about next – no one does this! But you can easily imagine someone raising a rhetorical question instead. You can mimic this flow of conversation in your writing.

V. Examples of a Rhetorical Question in Literature

“ What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet!” (Juliet, Romeo and Juliet )

One of Shakespeare’s most famous lines is a rhetorical question. In this line, Juliet is raising the question to prove a point – that names don’t mean anything and it shouldn’t matter if Romeo’s last name is unacceptable to her parents. She’s asking the question rhetorically, and doesn’t expect that someone will come in and tell her what is in a name.

“Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (Play by Edward Albee)

This rhetorical question also contains a clever pun. The play is all about a pair of English professors who discuss the work of British author Virginia Woolf; they also sing a humorous version of the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” onstage.

VI. Examples of Rhetorical Question in Pop Culture

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “If vegetarians eat vegetables, then what do humanitarians eat?”

This joke is an example of a rhetorical question. It doesn’t really need an answer, since the punch line is already implied by the question – do humanitarians eat humans?

“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” “Seven!” (Mona and Homer Simpson, The Simpsons )

In this episode of The Simpsons , Mona Simpson is singing a famous song by Bob Dylan in which the first line is “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” Obviously it’s a rhetorical question because the singer doesn’t expect an answer, but Homer fails to understand this and hazards a guess.

VII. Related Terms

An “aporia” is a rhetorical expression of doubt, usually when the author doesn’t actually feel the doubt. An aporia is often expressed in question form, and in these cases it’s an example of a rhetorical question. It’s often used in philosophy and other argument-heavy fields when the author wants to move the conversation forward. Take this line from a philosophy paper, transitioning from one section into another:

Therefore, the democratic citizen should speak as plainly as possible so that his or her fellow-citizens can understand. But what exactly does it mean to “speak plainly” when it comes to complicated political issues? And are there exceptions to the general rule?

In these sentences, the author is getting ready to raise a new point in the argument, and the rhetorical questions help smooth the transition. Obviously, the author isn’t expecting a response – in fact, the author is about to go forward and answer the questions herself.

List of Terms

Alliteration
Amplification
Anachronism
Anthropomorphism
Antonomasia
APA Citation
Aposiopesis
Autobiography
Bildungsroman
Characterization
Circumlocution
Cliffhanger
Comic Relief
Connotation
Deus ex machina
Deuteragonist
Doppelganger
Double Entendre
Dramatic irony
Equivocation
Extended Metaphor
Figures of Speech
Flash-forward
Foreshadowing
Intertextuality
Juxtaposition
Literary Device
Malapropism
Onomatopoeia
Parallelism
Pathetic Fallacy
Personification
Point of View
Polysyndeton
Protagonist
Red Herring
Rhetorical Device
Science Fiction
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Synesthesia
Turning Point
Understatement
Urban Legend
Verisimilitude
Essay Guide
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Rhetorical Questions: Learn What They Are and How To Use Them

You’ve probably heard of the term “rhetorical question,” but do you know what it means? And no, that’s not a rhetorical question. Don’t worry—we’ll tell you exactly what they are with easy-to-understand explanations and examples.

White text over gray background reads "What Is a rhetorical question"?

Rhetorical Question: Quick Summary

A rhetorical question is a question that is not meant to be answered, but is asked to make a point or create a desired effect.

Pretend you’ve worked on a puzzle for three days. You finally finished, and then your teenage brother destroys it in a second. You might ask:

Are you crazy?

This is a rhetorical question because you aren’t expecting a response. Instead, you’re emphasizing shock or confusion (and maybe heartbreak).

If it looks like a question and sounds like a question, it must require an answer, right?

Well, no, not always.

Rhetorical questions aren’t meant to be answered. Below, we’ll explain what they are and how to use them.

What’s a Rhetorical Question?

A rhetorical question is a statement that’s formulated as a question that is not meant to be answered. Instead, it creates an effect or emphasizes a point.

Consider the following scenario: You’re watching the news with a friend and hear that someone in your town has won the lottery. You might say to your friend

Can you imagine?

It’s technically a question, but you aren’t expecting a “yes” or “no” response. Instead, the point you’re trying to make is more similar to stating “Imagine that.”

The real meaning of rhetorical questions is often implied or suggested, but not explicitly stated.

Rhetorical questions are extremely common. They can be found in everyday speech and writing, but also in literature and persuasive texts, like debates, speeches, essays, and marketing advertisements.

What Are the Different Types of Rhetorical Questions?

There are different types of rhetorical questions, with each of them serving a distinct purpose.

Hypophora (Anthypophora)

Hypophora (also known as anthypophora ) is when a speaker or writer poses a question and then immediately provides an answer to it. It engages the audience or reader by anticipating their questions and addressing them directly.

What’s the easiest way to improve our public education system? Pay teachers more.

What is the key to success in business? Forming strong relationships with your customers and clients.

How can we improve income inequality in our society? Easy—raise the minimum wage.

It should be noted that there is disagreement among scholars regarding the precise definition of hypophora and anthypophora. The Century Dictionary defines hypophora as the inquiry, while anthypophora refers to the response. Nowadays, both terms have come to encompass both the questioning and answering elements of the technique.

Epiplexis is a type of rhetorical question that is used to rebuke or reprimand the audience. It challenges and engages the audience in a pointed and sometimes confrontational manner. This type of rhetorical device is meant to persuade (or shame) the audience into accepting the speaker’s perspective.

I can’t believe you skipped class. Do you not care about your education or future?

That’s horrible. How could you think such a thing?

Are you really going to let fear stop you from reaching your fullest potential?

As a rhetorical device, erotesis is asked to elicit a strong response, either in affirmation or denial, but they typically anticipate a negative response.

Do you really think it’s okay that basic healthcare is only accessible to those who can afford it?

Is it really worth it to risk your career just to impress someone?

Do you actually think it’s a good idea to stay up all night before the big exam?

How Do You Punctuate a Rhetorical Question?

That’s a good question, and one that doesn’t have a definitive answer. The punctuation used for a rhetorical question can vary depending on the context. Some options include using a question mark, period, or exclamation mark. However, some experts argue that a question mark should always be used for any type of question, whether it’s rhetorical or not.

We’d recommend punctuating rhetorical questions with a question mark.

Here’s a fun fact for you: In the 1580s, Henry Denham proposed using a reverse question mark for these particular types of questions. Known as a percontation mark , it never became standard.

Examples of Rhetorical Questions

Below, you ’ ll find several examples of rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical Questions Found in Literature

William Shakespeare often used rhetorical questions in his writing. A few of them are:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet 18)

Was he not born of [ a] woman? (Macbeth)

Can one desire too much of a good thing? (As You Like It)

Common Rhetorical Questions Used in Everyday Speech

Are you kidding me?

Isn’t that the craziest thing you’ve ever seen?

Did you really think I would believe that?

Can’t you take a joke?

What’s the harm in trying?

Do you think I was born yesterday?

Who do you think you are?

Using Rhetorical Questions in Your Writing

Keep in mind that rhetorical questions can:

Keep readers engaged.
Draw attention to something important.
Encourage reflection.

In short, rhetorical questions can be a powerful tool for writers to use to engage their audience and emphasize their ideas. Another great tool for writers to use is LanguageTool—a multilingual spelling and grammar checker that goes above and beyond to elevate your writing.

Wasn’t this the most helpful, easy-to-understand guide on rhetorical questions you’ve ever read?

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31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

What is a rhetorical device and why are they used.

As with all fields of serious and complicated human endeavor (that can be considered variously as an art, a science, a profession, or a hobby), there is a technical vocabulary associated with writing. Rhetoric is the name for the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and though a writer doesn’t need to know the specific labels for certain writing techniques in order to use them effectively, it is sometimes helpful to have a handy taxonomy for the ways in which words and ideas are arranged. This can help to discuss and isolate ideas that might otherwise become abstract and confusing. As with the word rhetoric itself, many of these rhetorical devices come from Greek.

Ready, set, rhetoric.

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

wild and woolly, threatening throngs

Syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another

you really should have—well, what do you expect?

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next

rely on his honor—honor such as his?

A literary technique that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence : flashback

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground

The repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first

we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately

The usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings

this giant of 3 feet 4 inches

The use of a proper name to designate a member of a class (such as a Solomon for a wise ruler) OR the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name (such as the Bard for Shakespeare)

The raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it

we won't discuss his past crimes

An expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect

to be, or not to be: that is the question

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases

An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases

working hard, or hardly working?

A disjunctive conclusion inferred from a single premise

gravitation may act without contact; therefore, either some force may act without contact or gravitation is not a force

The substitution of a disagreeable, offensive, or disparaging expression for an agreeable or inoffensive one

greasy spoon is a dysphemism for the word diner

Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

of the people, by the people, for the people

Emphatic repetition [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

An interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence from a more logical to a less logical relationship

you are lost to joy for joy is lost to you

A transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order

judge me by my size, do you?

Extravagant exaggeration

mile-high ice-cream cones

The putting or answering of an objection or argument against the speaker's contention [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

not a bad singer

The presentation of a thing with underemphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect : UNDERSTATEMENT

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them ( Metaphor vs. Simile )

drowning in money

A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated

crown as used in lands belonging to the crown

The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words

cruel kindness

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense : REDUNDANCY

I saw it with my own eyes

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"

cheeks like roses

The use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense

she blew my nose and then she blew my mind

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (such as fifty sail for fifty ships ), the whole for a part (such as society for high society ), the species for the genus (such as cutthroat for assassin ), the genus for the species (such as a creature for a man ), or the name of the material for the thing made (such as boards for stage )

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one

opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy

MORE TO EXPLORE: Rhetorical Devices Used in Pop Songs

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Rhetorical Question

Definition of rhetorical question, common rhetorical question examples, how to punctuation rhetorical questions, rhetorical question and hypophora, rhetorical question and aporia, use of rhetorical questions in sentences, examples of rhetorical questions in literature, example #1: romeo and juliet by william shakespeare.

JULIET: ” ’Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague ? It is nor hand, nor foot , Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name ? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Example #2: Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley

“…O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind ?”

Example #3: Creation by Hladia Porter Stewart

“What made you think of love and tears And birth and death and pain?”

Example #4: The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth

“Will no one tell me what she sings?”

Example #5: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

Function of Rhetorical Question

Synonyms of rhetorical question, related posts:, post navigation.

An Introduction to Rhetorical Questions

Is This a Rhetorical Question?

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

A rhetorical question is a question (such as "How could I be so stupid?") that's asked merely for effect with no answer expected. The answer may be obvious or immediately provided by the questioner. Also known as erotesis , erotema, interrogatio, questioner , and reversed polarity question (RPQ) .

A rhetorical question can be "an effective persuasive device, subtly influencing the kind of response one wants to get from an audience " (Edward P.J. Corbett). See Examples and Observations, below. They may also be used for dramatic or comedic effect, and may be combined with other figures of speech , such as puns or double entendres .

In English, rhetorical questions are commonly used in speech and in informal kinds of writing (such as advertisements). Rhetorical questions appear less frequently in academic discourse .

Pronunciation: ri-TOR-i-kal KWEST-shun

Types of Rhetorical Questions

Anthypophora and Hypophora

Examples and Observations

"Something [rhetorical] questions all have in common . . . is that they are not asked, and are not understood, as ordinary information-seeking questions, but as making some kind of claim , or assertion, an assertion of the opposite polarity to that of the question." (Irene Koshik, Beyond Rhetorical Questions . John Benjamins, 2005)
" Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution? " (H. L. Mencken)
"It did not occur to me to call a doctor, because I knew none, and although it did occur to me to call the desk and ask that the air conditioner be turned off, I never called, because I did not know how much to tip whoever might come— was anyone ever so young? " (Joan Didion, "Goodbye to All That." Slouching Towards Bethlehem , 1968)
"The means are at hand to fulfill the age-old dream: poverty can be abolished. How long shall we ignore this under-developed nation in our midst ? How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer? How long" (Michael Harrington, The Other America: Poverty in the United States , 1962)
"Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery ? Is that a question for republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to understand?" ( Frederick Douglass , "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" July 5, 1852)
"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? If you prick us, do we not bleed, if you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? ( Shylock in William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice )
"Can I ask a rhetorical question ? Well, can I?" (Ambrose Bierce)
"Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?" (1960s television advertisement for Dial soap)
"To actually see inside your ear canal--it would be fascinating, wouldn't it?" (Letter from Sonus, a hearing-aid company, quoted in "Rhetorical Questions We'd Rather Not Answer." The New Yorker , March 24, 2003)
"If practice makes perfect, and no one's perfect, then why practice?" (Billy Corgan)
"Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do 'practice'?" ( George Carlin )
"Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites, and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back three thousand years, haven't yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food?" (Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island . Doubleday, 1995)
"The Indians [in the Oliver Stone movie The Doors ] serve the same function they did in Dances With Wolves : they make the far more highly paid white movie actors seem soulful and important and in touch with ancient truths. Do Indians enjoy being used this way, as spiritual elves or cosmic merit badges?" (Libby Gelman-Waxner [Paul Rudnick], "Sex, Drugs, and Extra-Strength Excedrin." If You Ask Me , 1994)

Rhetorical Questions in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

Rhetorical questions are those so worded that one and only one answer can be generally expected from the audience you are addressing. In this sense, they are like the unmentioned premises in abbreviated reasoning, which can go unmentioned because they can be taken for granted as generally acknowledged. "Thus, for example, Brutus asks the citizens of Rome: 'Who is here so base that would be a bondman?' adding at once: 'If any, speak, for him have I offended.' Again Brutus asks: 'Who is here so vile that will not love his country?' Let him also speak, 'for him I have offended.' Brutus dares to ask these rhetorical questions, knowing full well that no one will answer his rhetorical questions in the wrong way. "So, too, Marc Antony , after describing how Caesar's conquests filled Rome's coffers, asks: 'Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?' And after reminding the populace that Caesar thrice refused the crown that was offered him, Antony asks: 'Was this ambition?' Both are rhetorical questions to which one and only one answer can be expected." (Mortimer Adler, How to Speak How to Listen . Simon & Schuster, 1983)

Are Rhetorical Questions Persuasive?

"By arousing curiosity, rhetorical questions motivate people to try to answer the question that is posed. Consequently, people pay closer attention to information relevant to the rhetorical question. . . . "At this point, I think it is important to note that the fundamental problem in the study of rhetorical questions is the lack of focus on the persuasive effectiveness of different types of rhetorical questions. Clearly, an ironical rhetorical question is going to have a different effect on an audience than an agreement rhetorical question. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on how different types of rhetorical questions operate in a persuasive context." (David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, "What Is the Role of Rhetorical Questions in Persuasion?" Communication and Emotion: Essays in Honor of Dolf Zillmann , ed. by Jennings Bryant et al. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003)

Punctuating Rhetorical Questions

"From time to time, people become dissatisfied with the broad application of the question mark and try to narrow it down, usually by proposing distinct marks for the different kinds of question. Rhetorical questions have attracted particular attention, as—not requiring any answer—they are so different in kind. An Elizabethan printer, Henry Denham, was an early advocate, proposing in the 1580s a reverse question mark (؟) for this function, which came to be called a percontation mark (from a Latin word meaning a questioning act). Easy enough to handwrite, some late 16th century authors did sporadically use it, such as Robert Herrick. . . . But printers were unimpressed, and the mark never became standard. However, it has received a new lease of life online . . .." (David Crystal, Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation . St. Martin's Press, 2015)

The Lighter Side of Rhetorical Questions

-Howard: We need to ask you a question. - Professor Crawley: Really? Let me ask you a question. What does an accomplished entomologist with a doctorate and twenty years of experience do when the university cuts all his funding? - Rajesh: Ask uncomfortable rhetorical questions to people? (Simon Helberg, Lewis Black, and Kunal Nayyar in "The Jiminy Conjecture." The Big Bang Theory , 2008) -Penny: Sheldon, have you any idea what time it is? - Sheldon: Of course I do. My watch is linked to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. It's accurate to one-tenth of a second. But as I'm saying this, it occurs to me that you may have again been asking a rhetorical question . (Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons in "The Loobenfeld Decay." The Big Bang Theory , 2008) -Dr. Cameron: Why did you hire me? - Dr. House: Does it matter? - Dr. Cameron: Kind of hard to work for a guy who doesn't respect you. - Dr. House: Why? - Dr. Cameron: Is that rhetorical ? - Dr. House: No, it just seems that way because you can't think of an answer. ( House, M.D. ) "I forget, which day did God create all the fossils?" (An anti-creationism bumper sticker, cited by Jack Bowen in If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers . Random House, 2010) Grandma Simpson and Lisa are singing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" ("How many roads must a man walk down/Before you call him a man?"). Homer overhears and says, "Eight!" -Lisa: "That was a rhetorical question !" -Homer: "Oh. Then, seven!" -Lisa: "Do you even know what 'rhetorical' means?" -Homer: "Do I know what 'rhetorical' means?" ( The Simpsons , "When Grandma Simpson Returns")

What Is a Rhetorical Question? Definition and Examples
erotesis (rhetoric)
Stasis Theory in Rhetoric
Anthypophora and Rhetoric
Figures of Speech: Epiplexis (Rhetoric)
Hypophora (Rhetoric)
Definition and Examples of Dialectic in Rhetoric
Logos (Rhetoric)
epimone (rhetoric)
An Introduction to Declarative Questions
Elenchus (argumentation)
Rhetorical Move
Broad Reference (Pronouns)
sentence fragment
What Are Tropes in Language?
Understanding Percontation Punctuation Marks

How It Works
Prices & Discounts

How to Use Rhetorical Questions in Essay Writing Effectively

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The 20 Most Useful Rhetorical Devices

General Education

Rhetoric is the art of effective communication; if you communicate with others at all, rhetorical devices are your friends!

Rhetorical devices help you make points more effectively, and help people understand you better. In this article, I'll be covering some important rhetorical devices so you can improve your own writing!

What Are Rhetorical Devices?

A lot of things that you would think of as just regular everyday modes of communicating are actually rhetorical devices That’s because ‘rhetorical devices’ is more or less a fancy way of saying ‘communication tools.’

Most people don’t plan out their use of rhetorical devices in communication, both because nobody thinks, “now would be a good time to use synecdoche in this conversation with my grocery clerk,” and because we use them so frequently that they don’t really register as “rhetorical devices.”

How often have you said something like, “when pigs fly!” Of those times, how often have you thought, “I’m using a rhetorical device!” That’s how ubiquitous they are!

However, being aware of what they are and how to use them can strengthen your communication , whether you do a lot of big speeches, write persuasive papers, or just argue with your friends about a TV show you all like.

Rhetorical devices can function at all levels: words, sentences, paragraphs, and beyond. Some rhetorical devices are just a single word, such as onomatopoeia. Others are phrases, such as metaphor, while still others can be sentence-length (such as a thesis), paragraph-length (hypophora), or go throughout the entire piece, such as a standard five-paragraph essay.

Many of these (such as the thesis or five-paragraph essay) are so standard and familiar to us that we may not think of them as devices. But because they help us shape and deliver our arguments effectively, they're important to know and understand.

The Most Useful Rhetorical Devices List

It would be impossible to list every single rhetorical device in one blog post. Instead, I've collected a mixture of extremely common devices you may have heard before and some more obscure ones that might be valuable to learn.

Amplification

Amplification is a little similar to parallelism: by using repetition, a writer expands on an original statement and increases its intensity .

Take this example from Roald Dahl’s The Twits :

“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

In theory, we could have gotten the point with the first sentence. We don’t need to know that the more you think ugly thoughts, the uglier you become, nor that if you think good thoughts you won’t be ugly—all that can be contained within the first sentence. But Dahl’s expansion makes the point clearer, driving home the idea that ugly thoughts have consequences.

Amplification takes a single idea and blows it up bigger, giving the reader additional context and information to better understand your point. You don’t just have to restate the point— use amplification to expand and dive deeper into your argument to show readers and listeners how important it is!

Anacoluthon

Anacoluthon is a fancy word for a disruption in the expected grammar or syntax of a sentence. That doesn’t mean that you misspoke—using anacoluthon means that you’ve deliberately subverted your reader’s expectations to make a point.

For example, take this passage from King Lear :

“I will have such revenges on you both, That all the world shall—I will do such things, What they are, yet I know not…”

In this passage, King Lear interrupts himself in his description of his revenge. This has multiple effects on the reader: they wonder what all the world shall do once he has his revenge (cry? scream? fear him?), and they understand that King Lear has interrupted himself to regain his composure. This tells us something about him—that he’s seized by passion in this moment, but also that he regains control. We might have gathered one of those things without anacoluthon, but the use of this rhetorical device shows us both very efficiently.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis refers to purposeful repetition at the end of one sentence or clause and at the beginning of the next sentence or clause. In practice, that looks something like a familiar phrase from Yoda:

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Note the way that the ending word of each sentence is repeated in the following sentence. That’s anadiplosis!

This rhetorical device draws a clear line of thinking for your reader or listener—repetition makes them pay closer attention and follow the way the idea evolves. In this case, we trace the way that fear leads to suffering through Yoda’s purposeful repetition.

Antanagoge is the balancing of a negative with a positive. For example, the common phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” is antanagoge—it suggests a negative (lots of lemons) and follows that up with a positive (make lemonade).

When writing persuasively, this can be a great way to respond to potential detractors of your argument. Suppose you want to convince your neighborhood to add a community garden, but you think that people might focus on the amount of work required. When framing your argument, you could say something like, “Yes, it will be a lot of work to maintain, but working together will encourage us all to get to know one another as well as providing us with fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.”

This is a little like procatalepsis, in that you anticipate a problem and respond to it. However, antanagoge is specifically balancing a negative with a positive, just as I did in the example of a garden needing a lot of work, but that work is what ultimately makes the project worth it.

Apophasis is a form of irony relating to denying something while still saying it. You’ll often see this paired with phrases like, “I’m not saying…” or “It goes without saying…”, both of which are followed up with saying exactly what the speaker said they weren’t going to say.

Take this speech from Iron Man 2 :

"I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a phoenix metaphor been more personified! I'm not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day! It's not about me."

Tony Stark isn’t saying that he’s responsible for all those things… except that’s exactly what he is saying in all of his examples. Though he says it’s not about him, it clearly is—all of his examples relate to how great he is, even as he proclaims that they aren’t.

A scene like this can easily be played for humor, but apophasis can also be a useful (albeit deceptive) rhetorical tool. For example, this argument:

Our neighborhood needs a community garden to foster our relationships with one another. Not only is it great for getting to know each other, but a community garden will also provide us with all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables. It would be wrong to say that people who disagree aren’t invested in others’ health and wellness, but those who have the neighborhood’s best interests in mind will support a community garden.

That last sentence is all apophasis. Not only did I imply that people who don’t support the community garden are anti-social and uncaring (by outright stating that I wouldn’t say that, but I also implied that they’re also not invested in the neighborhood at all. Stating things like this, by pretending you’re not saying them or saying the opposite, can be very effective.

Assonance and Alliteration

Assonance adds an abundance of attractive accents to all your assertions. That’s assonance—the practice repeating the same vowel sound in multiple words in a phrase or sentence, often at the beginning of a word, to add emphasis or musicality to your work. Alliteration is similar, but uses consonant sounds instead of vowel sounds.

Let’s use Romeo and Juliet as an example again:

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

Here, we have repetition of the sounds ‘f’ and ‘l’ in ‘from forth...fatal...foes,’ and ‘loins...lovers...life.’

Even if you don’t notice the repetition as you’re reading, you can hear the effects in how musical the language sounds. Shakespeare could easily have just written something like, “Two kids from families who hate one another fell in love and died by suicide,” but that’s hardly as evocative as the phrasing he chose.

Both assonance and alliteration give your writing a lyrical sound, but they can do more than that, too. These tools can mimic associated sounds, like using many ‘p’ sounds to sound like rain or something sizzling, or ‘s’ sounds to mimic the sounds of a snake. When you’re writing, think about what alternative meanings you can add by emphasizing certain sounds.

Listen, asterismos is great. Don’t believe me? How did you feel after I began the first sentence with the word ‘listen?’ Even if you didn’t feel more inspired to actually listen, you probably paid a bit more attention because I broke the expected form. That’s what asterismos is—using a word or phrase to draw attention to the thought that comes afterward.

‘Listen’ isn’t the only example of asterismos, either. You can use words like, ‘hey,’ ‘look,’ ‘behold,’ ‘so,’ and so on. They all have the same effect: they tell the reader or listener, “Hey, pay attention—what I’m about to say is important.”

Dysphemism and Euphemism

Euphemism is the substitution of a more pleasant phrase in place of a familiar phrase, and dysphemism is the opposite —an un pleasant phrase substituted in place of something more familiar. These tools are two sides of the same coin. Euphemism takes an unpleasant thing and makes it sound nicer—such as using 'passed away' instead of 'died'—while dysphemism does the opposite, taking something that isn't necessarily bad and making it sound like it is.

We won’t get into the less savory uses of dysphemism, but there are plenty that can leave an impression without being outright offensive. Take ‘snail mail.’ A lot of us call postal mail that without any real malice behind it, but ‘snail’ implies slowness, drawing a comparison between postal mail and faster email. If you’re making a point about how going electronic is faster, better for the environment, and overall more efficient, comparing email to postal mail with the phrase ‘snail mail’ gets the point across quickly and efficiently.

Likewise, if you're writing an obituary, you probably don't want to isolate the audience by being too stark in your details. Using gentler language, like 'passed away' or 'dearly departed' allows you to talk about things that might be painful without being too direct. People will know what you mean, but you won't have to risk hurting anyone by being too direct and final with your language.

You’ve no doubt run into epilogues before, because they’re a common and particularly useful rhetorical device! Epilogues are a conclusion to a story or work that reveals what happens to the characters in the story. This is different from an afterword, which is more likely to describe the process of a book’s creation than to continue and provide closure to a story.

Many books use epilogues to wrap up loose ends, usually taking place in the future to show how characters have changed as a result of their adventures. Both Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series use their epilogues to show the characters as adults and provide some closure to their stories—in Harry Potter , the main characters have gotten married and had children, and are now sending those children to the school where they all met. This tells the reader that the story of the characters we know is over—they’re adults and are settled into their lives—but also demonstrates that the world goes on existing, though it’s been changed forever by the actions of the familiar characters.

Eutrepismus

Eutrepismus is another rhetorical device you’ve probably used before without realizing it. This device separates speech into numbered parts, giving your reader or listener a clear line of thinking to follow.

Eutrepismus is a great rhetorical device—let me tell you why. First, it’s efficient and clear. Second, it gives your writing a great sense of rhythm. Third, it’s easy to follow and each section can be expanded throughout your work.

See how simple it is? You got all my points in an easy, digestible format. Eutrepismus helps you structure your arguments and make them more effective, just as any good rhetorical device should do.

You’ve probably used hypophora before without ever thinking about it. Hypophora refers to a writer or speaker proposing a question and following it up with a clear answer. This is different from a rhetorical question—another rhetorical device—because there is an expected answer, one that the writer or speaker will immediately give to you.

Hypophora serves to ask a question the audience may have (even if they’re not entirely aware of it yet) and provide them with an answer. This answer can be obvious, but it can also be a means of leading the audience toward a particular point.

Take this sample from John F. Kennedy’s speech on going to the moon:

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

In this speech, Kennedy outright states that he’s asking questions others have asked, and then goes on to answer them. This is Kennedy’s speech, so naturally it’s going to reflect his point of view, but he’s answering the questions and concerns others might have about going to the moon. In doing so, he’s reclaiming an ongoing conversation to make his own point. This is how hypophora can be incredibly effective: you control the answer, leaving less room for argument!

Litotes is a deliberate understatement, often using double negatives, that serves to actually draw attention to the thing being remarked upon. For example, saying something like, “It’s not pretty,” is a less harsh way to say “It’s ugly,” or “It’s bad,” that nonetheless draws attention to it being ugly or bad.

In Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave , he writes:

“Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.”

Notice the use of “not uncommon.” Douglass, by using a double negative to make readers pay closer attention, points out that some slaves still sought superiority over others by speaking out in favor of their owners.

Litotes draws attention to something by understating it. It’s sort of like telling somebody not to think about elephants—soon, elephants becomes all they can think about. The double negative draws our attention and makes us focus on the topic because it’s an unusual method of phrasing.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to a sound represented within text as a mimicry of what that sound actually sounds like. Think “bang” or “whizz” or “oomph,” all of which can mean that something made that kind of a sound—”the door banged shut”—but also mimic the sound itself—”the door went bang .”

This rhetorical device can add emphasis or a little bit of spice to your writing. Compare, “The gunshot made a loud sound,” to “The gun went bang .” Which is more evocative?

Parallelism

Parallelism is the practice of using similar grammar structure, sounds, meter, and so on to emphasize a point and add rhythm or balance to a sentence or paragraph.

One of the most famous examples of parallelism in literature is the opening of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities :

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

In the beginning, every phrase begins with “It was,” which is itself a parallelism. But there are also pairs of parallelism within the sentence, too; “It was the ___ of times, it was the ___ of times,” and “it was the age of ___, it was the age of ___.”

Parallelism draws your reader deeper into what you’re saying and provides a nice sense of flow, even if you’re talking about complicated ideas. The ‘epoch of incredulity’ is a pretty meaty phrase, but Dickens’ parallelism sets up a series of dichotomies for us; even if we don’t know quite what it means, we can figure it out by comparing it to ‘belief.’

Personification

Personification is a rhetorical device you probably run into a lot without realizing it. It’s a form of metaphor, which means two things are being compared without the words like or as—in this case, a thing that is not human is given human characteristics.

Personification is common in poetry and literature, as it’s a great way to generate fresh and exciting language, even when talking about familiar subjects. Take this passage from Romeo and Juliet , for example:

“When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads.”

April can’t wear clothes or step on winter, and winter can’t limp. However, the language Shakespeare uses here is quite evocative. He’s able to quickly state that April is beautiful (“well-appareled”) and that winter is coming to an end (“limping winter”). Through personification, we get a strong image for things that could otherwise be extremely boring, such as if Shakespeare had written, “When beautiful April comes right after winter.”

Procatalepsis

Procatalepsis is a rhetorical device that anticipates and notes a potential objection, heading it off with a follow-up argument to strengthen the point. I know what you’re thinking—that sounds really complicated! But bear with me, because it’s actually quite simple.

See how that works? I imagined that a reader might be confused by the terminology in the first sentence, so I noted that potential confusion, anticipating their argument. Then, I addressed that argument to strengthen my point—procatalepsis is easy, which you can see because I just demonstrated it!

Anticipating a rebuttal is a great way to strengthen your own argument. Not only does it show that you’ve really put thought into what you’re saying, but it also leaves less room for disagreement!

Synecdoche is a rhetorical device that uses a part of something to stand in for the whole. That can mean that we use a small piece of something to represent a whole thing (saying ‘let’s grab a slice’ when we in fact mean getting a whole pizza), or using something large to refer to something small. We often do this with sports teams–for example, saying that New England won the Super Bowl when we in fact mean the New England Patriots, not the entirety of New England.

This style of rhetorical device adds an additional dimension to your language, making it more memorable to your reader. Which sounds more interesting? “Let’s get pizza,” or “let’s grab a slice?”

Likewise, consider this quote from Percy Bysshe Shelly’s “Ozymandias”:

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them.”

Here, Shelly uses ‘the hand’ to refer to the sculptor. The hand did not sculpt the lifeless things on its own; it was a tool of the sculptor. But by using just the hand, Shelly avoids repeating ‘the sculptor,’ preserves the poem’s rhythm, and narrows our focus. If he had referred to the sculptor again, he’d still be a big important figure; by narrowing to the hand, Shelly is diminishing the idea of the creator, mirroring the poem’s assertion that the creation will outlast it.

Tautology refers to using words or similar phrases to effectively repeat the same idea with different wording. It’s a form of repetition that can make a point stronger, but it can also be the basis of a flawed argument—be careful that your uses of tautology is the former, not the latter!

For example, take this section of “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe:

“Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme… From the bells, bells, bells, bells.”

Poe’s poetry has a great deal of rhythm already, but the use of ‘time, time, time’ sets us up for the way that ‘bells, bells, bells, bells’ also holds that same rhythm. Keeping time refers to maintaining rhythm, and this poem emphasizes that with repetition, much like the repetitive sound of ringing bells.

An example of an unsuccessful tautology would be something like, “Either we should buy a house, or we shouldn’t.” It’s not a successful argument because it doesn’t say anything at all—there’s no attempt to suggest anything, just an acknowledgment that two things, which cannot both happen, could happen.

If you want to use tautology in your writing, be sure that it’s strengthening your point. Why are you using it? What purpose does it serve? Don’t let a desire for rhythm end up robbing you of your point!

That thing your English teachers are always telling you to have in your essays is an important literary device. A thesis, from the Greek word for ‘a proposition,’ is a clear statement of the theory or argument you’re making in an essay. All your evidence should feed back into your thesis; think of your thesis as a signpost for your reader. With that signpost, they can’t miss your point!

Especially in longer academic writing, there can be so many pieces to an argument that it can be hard for readers to keep track of your overarching point. A thesis hammers the point home so that no matter how long or complicated your argument is, the reader will always know what you’re saying.

Tmesis is a rhetorical device that breaks up a word, phrase, or sentence with a second word, usually for emphasis and rhythm . We often do this with expletives, but tmesis doesn’t have to be vulgar to be effective!

Take this example from Romeo and Juliet :

“This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.”

The normal way we’d hear this phrase is “This is not Romeo, he’s somewhere else.” But by inserting the word ‘other’ between ‘some’ and ‘where,’ it not only forces us to pay attention, but also changes the sentence’s rhythm. It gets the meaning across perfectly, and does so in a way that’s far more memorable than if Shakespeare had just said that Romeo was somewhere else.

For a more common usage, we can turn to George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion , which often has Eliza Doolittle using phrases like “fan-bloody-tastic” and “abso-blooming-lutely.” The expletives—though mild by modern standards—emphasize Eliza’s social standing and make each word stand out more than if she had simply said them normally.

What’s Next?

Rhetorical devices and literary devices can both be used to enhance your writing and communication. Check out this list of literary devices to learn more !

Ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos are all modes of persuasion—types of rhetorical devices— that can help you be a more convincing writer !

No matter what type of writing you're doing, rhetorical devices can enhance it! To learn more about different writing styles, check out this list !

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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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Rhetorical Question

Ai generator.

A rhetorical question is a powerful tool in English that engages the audience by asking a question where the answer is implied rather than directly stated. This technique, often used in speeches and writing, helps emphasize a point, provoke thought, or persuade the audience without expecting a response. By incorporating rhetorical questions, writers and speakers can make their message more compelling and memorable, effectively utilizing one of the key rhetorical devices in the English language.

What Is a Rhetorical Question?

Types of rhetorical question.

Hypophora A hypophora occurs when the speaker asks a question and immediately answers it. This technique helps guide the audience to the speaker’s conclusion. For example, “What makes a great leader? A great leader inspires and motivates their team.”
Erotesis An erotesis is a strong, emphatic question asked to assert or deny something. The speaker does not expect an answer because the question itself implies it. For instance, “How could I be so careless?” suggests the speaker acknowledges their mistake.
Epiplexis Epiplexis involves asking a question to criticize or reproach rather than to elicit an answer. This type often conveys frustration or disapproval. For example, “Why do you never listen?” expresses the speaker’s dissatisfaction with the listener’s behavior.
Ratiocinatio Ratiocinatio uses a question to anticipate and refute possible objections. The speaker asks a question that the audience might have, then provides the answer to counter the objection. For instance, “You might wonder if this plan is too ambitious. However, we have the resources and dedication to succeed.”
Antipophora Antipophora is similar to hypophora but focuses on asking and answering the audience’s likely questions or concerns. The speaker addresses potential doubts directly. For example, “What if this strategy fails? We have a backup plan to ensure we stay on track.”

Examples of Rhetorical Question

“Isn’t it a bit too late to start now?”
“Who doesn’t love a good story?”
“Can you imagine living without electricity?”
“Why bother trying if you don’t believe in yourself?”
“Is the sky blue?”
“What’s the point of all this effort if no one appreciates it?”
“How could I be so foolish?”
“Do you really think money grows on trees?”
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“Isn’t it time we took a stand for what’s right?”

Examples of Rhetorical Question in a Sentences

“Isn’t it a beautiful day today?”
“Why can’t we all just get along?”
“Do you want to be a follower or a leader?”
“Who wouldn’t want to win the lottery?”
“Why should we accept mediocrity?”
“Is this the best we can do?”
“How can anyone deny climate change?”
“Isn’t knowledge the greatest power?”
“Why do you always leave your homework until the last minute?”
“Can you imagine a world without art?”

Examples of Rhetorical Questions in Literature

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?” – William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
“Are we not like two volumes of one book?” – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, To Alphonse de Lamartine
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
“O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind
“What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man.” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
“How can I then return in happy plight, That am debarred the benefit of rest?” – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 28
“When will you be wise, O wandering mind?” – Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” – William Shakespeare, Macbeth
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?” – Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

Examples of Rhetorical Question for Students

“Do you want to fail this class?”
“Isn’t it important to study for your exams?”
“How can you learn if you don’t ask questions?”
“Do you think success comes without effort?”
“Why wouldn’t you take advantage of extra credit opportunities?”
“Isn’t participating in class discussions beneficial?”
“Can you imagine a future without a good education?”
“Why would you ignore the importance of homework?”
“Do you want to be unprepared for the test?”
“Isn’t it easier to complete your assignments on time?”

1. Rhetorical Question Template

2. Rhetorical Questions as Redundant Interrogatives

3. Rhetorical Questions Powerpoint

4. Rhetorical Question Use and Resistance to Persuasion

5. Pragmatics of Rhetorical Questions

6. Rhetorical Questions in Sunwar

7. Three Rhetorical Questions

8. Presentations Rhetorical Questions

9. Rhetorical Question Concerning Glitch

10. Rhetorical Questions in German Political Speech

11. Cognitive Pragmatic Study of Rhetorical Questions

How To Use Rhetorical Questions as a Literary Device

Well-written rhetorical questions can improve specific parts of the text by allowing the writer to emphasize certain points of their written text. There are many studies of rhetorical questions and templates you can look up on the list above.

Step 1: Outline the Whole Statement, Scene, or Text

Begin by creating an outline that will try and succinctly cover the whole text. The outline will provide the structure and direction, which will allow you to easily plot out the setup and the rhetorical question.

Step 2: Write the Set Up for the Rhetorical Question

An effective rhetorical question needs to be preceded by a set-up that creates context and provides the reader with a recent event. Write a situation or a couple of statements that will preface the rhetorical question.

Step 3: Formulate a Question that is Opposite of The Most Recent Event

The rhetorical questions should try to ask a question that is obviously opposite or a juxtaposition of the recent event or set-up you have provided. Be sure to pose the rhetorical question as question with the appropriate punctuation.

Step 4: Re-read and Edit the Whole Text

When you have finished writing the whole text, be sure to re-read the whole text and edit any issues that may pop up. You can also have an outside person read the text and provide feedback for you to work on.

Tips for Using Rhetorical Questions

Know Your Purpose – Use rhetorical questions to emphasize a point, provoke thought, or engage the audience.
Use Sparingly – Avoid overusing rhetorical questions to maintain their impact and effectiveness.
Match Tone and Context – Ensure the question fits the tone of your message and the context in which you’re speaking or writing.
Be Clear and Direct – Make sure the rhetorical question is easily understood and directly related to your main point.
Anticipate Audience Reaction – Consider how your audience might respond mentally to the question to ensure it achieves the desired effect.
Complement with Evidence – Follow rhetorical questions with supporting evidence or statements to strengthen your argument.
Engage Emotionally – Use questions that resonate emotionally to create a stronger connection with your audience.
Use in Introductions and Conclusions – Employ rhetorical questions at the beginning to hook the audience or at the end to leave a lasting impression.
Vary Your Questions – Mix different types of rhetorical questions (e.g., hypophora, erotesis) to keep your audience engaged.
Practice Delivery – If speaking, practice your delivery to ensure the rhetorical question sounds natural and impactful.

How do you know if a question is rhetorical?

A question is rhetorical if it doesn’t seek an answer but aims to make a point, provoke thought, or emphasize an idea.

What Is the Rule of Rhetorical Question?

The rule of a rhetorical question is to ask without expecting a response, using it to highlight an argument or engage the audience.

How to Ask a Rhetorical Question?

Ask a rhetorical question by posing a thought-provoking query that emphasizes a point or leads the audience to a conclusion without needing an answer.

What Is a Question That Cannot Be Answered?

A question that cannot be answered often addresses complex, philosophical, or hypothetical scenarios, such as “What is the meaning of life?”

Why use rhetorical questions?

They engage the audience, emphasize a point, and encourage deeper thinking about a topic.

Are rhetorical questions answered?

Typically, no. They imply their own answers.

Where are rhetorical questions used?

They are commonly used in speeches, literature, and persuasive writing to engage and persuade the audience.

Can rhetorical questions be used in essays?

Yes, they can highlight important points and engage readers in essays.

Do rhetorical questions need answers?

No, rhetorical questions are meant to provoke thought or emphasize a point, not to be answered.

What is meant by a rhetoric question?

A rhetorical question is a question asked to make a point or provoke thought rather than to get an answer. It emphasizes an idea or encourages reflection.

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What Is a Rhetorical Analysis and How to Write a Great One

By Helly Douglas

Do you have to write a rhetorical analysis essay? Fear not! We’re here to explain exactly what rhetorical analysis means, how you should structure your essay, and give you some essential “dos and don’ts.”

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

How do you write a rhetorical analysis, what are the three rhetorical strategies, what are the five rhetorical situations, how to plan a rhetorical analysis essay, creating a rhetorical analysis essay, examples of great rhetorical analysis essays, final thoughts.

A rhetorical analysis essay studies how writers and speakers have used words to influence their audience. Think less about the words the author has used and more about the techniques they employ, their goals, and the effect this has on the audience.

In your analysis essay, you break a piece of text (including cartoons, adverts, and speeches) into sections and explain how each part works to persuade, inform, or entertain. You’ll explore the effectiveness of the techniques used, how the argument has been constructed, and give examples from the text.

A strong rhetorical analysis evaluates a text rather than just describes the techniques used. You don’t include whether you personally agree or disagree with the argument.

Structure a rhetorical analysis in the same way as most other types of academic essays . You’ll have an introduction to present your thesis, a main body where you analyze the text, which then leads to a conclusion.

Think about how the writer (also known as a rhetor) considers the situation that frames their communication:

Topic: the overall purpose of the rhetoric
Audience: this includes primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences
Purpose: there are often more than one to consider
Context and culture: the wider situation within which the rhetoric is placed

Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about how language can be used as a means of persuasion. He described three principal forms —Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—often referred to as the Rhetorical Triangle . These persuasive techniques are still used today.

Rhetorical Strategy 1: Ethos

Are you more likely to buy a car from an established company that’s been an important part of your community for 50 years, or someone new who just started their business?

Reputation matters. Ethos explores how the character, disposition, and fundamental values of the author create appeal, along with their expertise and knowledge in the subject area.

Aristotle breaks ethos down into three further categories:

Phronesis: skills and practical wisdom
Arete: virtue
Eunoia: goodwill towards the audience

Ethos-driven speeches and text rely on the reputation of the author. In your analysis, you can look at how the writer establishes ethos through both direct and indirect means.

Rhetorical Strategy 2: Pathos

Pathos-driven rhetoric hooks into our emotions. You’ll often see it used in advertisements, particularly by charities wanting you to donate money towards an appeal.

Common use of pathos includes:

Vivid description so the reader can imagine themselves in the situation
Personal stories to create feelings of empathy
Emotional vocabulary that evokes a response

By using pathos to make the audience feel a particular emotion, the author can persuade them that the argument they’re making is compelling.

Rhetorical Strategy 3: Logos

Logos uses logic or reason. It’s commonly used in academic writing when arguments are created using evidence and reasoning rather than an emotional response. It’s constructed in a step-by-step approach that builds methodically to create a powerful effect upon the reader.

Rhetoric can use any one of these three techniques, but effective arguments often appeal to all three elements.

The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances behind and around a piece of rhetoric. It helps you think about why a text exists, its purpose, and how it’s carried out.

The rhetorical situations are:

1) Purpose: Why is this being written? (It could be trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain.)
2) Audience: Which groups or individuals will read and take action (or have done so in the past)?
3) Genre: What type of writing is this?
4) Stance: What is the tone of the text? What position are they taking?
5) Media/Visuals: What means of communication are used?

Understanding and analyzing the rhetorical situation is essential for building a strong essay. Also think about any rhetoric restraints on the text, such as beliefs, attitudes, and traditions that could affect the author's decisions.

Before leaping into your essay, it’s worth taking time to explore the text at a deeper level and considering the rhetorical situations we looked at before. Throw away your assumptions and use these simple questions to help you unpick how and why the text is having an effect on the audience.

Image showing what to consider when planning a rhetorical essay

1: What is the Rhetorical Situation?

Why is there a need or opportunity for persuasion?
How do words and references help you identify the time and location?
What are the rhetoric restraints?
What historical occasions would lead to this text being created?

2: Who is the Author?

How do they position themselves as an expert worth listening to?
What is their ethos?
Do they have a reputation that gives them authority?
What is their intention?
What values or customs do they have?

3: Who is it Written For?

Who is the intended audience?
How is this appealing to this particular audience?
Who are the possible secondary and tertiary audiences?

4: What is the Central Idea?

Can you summarize the key point of this rhetoric?
What arguments are used?
How has it developed a line of reasoning?

5: How is it Structured?

What structure is used?
How is the content arranged within the structure?

6: What Form is Used?

Does this follow a specific literary genre?
What type of style and tone is used, and why is this?
Does the form used complement the content?
What effect could this form have on the audience?

7: Is the Rhetoric Effective?

Does the content fulfil the author’s intentions?
Does the message effectively fit the audience, location, and time period?

Once you’ve fully explored the text, you’ll have a better understanding of the impact it’s having on the audience and feel more confident about writing your essay outline.

A great essay starts with an interesting topic. Choose carefully so you’re personally invested in the subject and familiar with it rather than just following trending topics. There are lots of great ideas on this blog post by My Perfect Words if you need some inspiration. Take some time to do background research to ensure your topic offers good analysis opportunities.

Image showing considerations for a rhetorical analysis topic

Remember to check the information given to you by your professor so you follow their preferred style guidelines. This outline example gives you a general idea of a format to follow, but there will likely be specific requests about layout and content in your course handbook. It’s always worth asking your institution if you’re unsure.

Make notes for each section of your essay before you write. This makes it easy for you to write a well-structured text that flows naturally to a conclusion. You will develop each note into a paragraph. Look at this example by College Essay for useful ideas about the structure.

1: Introduction

This is a short, informative section that shows you understand the purpose of the text. It tempts the reader to find out more by mentioning what will come in the main body of your essay.

Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses
Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. “implies,” “asserts,” or “claims”
Briefly summarize the text in your own words
Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect

Create a thesis statement to come at the end of your introduction.

After your introduction, move on to your critical analysis. This is the principal part of your essay.

Explain the methods used by the author to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience using Aristotle's rhetorical triangle
Use quotations to prove the statements you make
Explain why the writer used this approach and how successful it is
Consider how it makes the audience feel and react

Make each strategy a new paragraph rather than cramming them together, and always use proper citations. Check back to your course handbook if you’re unsure which citation style is preferred.

3: Conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize the points you’ve made in the main body of your essay. While you will draw the points together, this is not the place to introduce new information you’ve not previously mentioned.

Use your last sentence to share a powerful concluding statement that talks about the impact the text has on the audience(s) and wider society. How have its strategies helped to shape history?

Before You Submit

Poor spelling and grammatical errors ruin a great essay. Use ProWritingAid to check through your finished essay before you submit. It will pick up all the minor errors you’ve missed and help you give your essay a final polish. Look at this useful ProWritingAid webinar for further ideas to help you significantly improve your essays. Sign up for a free trial today and start editing your essays!

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You’ll find countless examples of rhetorical analysis online, but they range widely in quality. Your institution may have example essays they can share with you to show you exactly what they’re looking for.

The following links should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for ideas:

Pearson Canada has a range of good examples. Look at how embedded quotations are used to prove the points being made. The end questions help you unpick how successful each essay is.

Excelsior College has an excellent sample essay complete with useful comments highlighting the techniques used.

Brighton Online has a selection of interesting essays to look at. In this specific example, consider how wider reading has deepened the exploration of the text.

Image showing tips when reading a sample essay

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can seem daunting, but spending significant time deeply analyzing the text before you write will make it far more achievable and result in a better-quality essay overall.

It can take some time to write a good essay. Aim to complete it well before the deadline so you don’t feel rushed. Use ProWritingAid’s comprehensive checks to find any errors and make changes to improve readability. Then you’ll be ready to submit your finished essay, knowing it’s as good as you can possibly make it.

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Helly Douglas

Helly Douglas is a UK writer and teacher, specialising in education, children, and parenting. She loves making the complex seem simple through blogs, articles, and curriculum content. You can check out her work at hellydouglas.com or connect on Twitter @hellydouglas. When she’s not writing, you will find her in a classroom, being a mum or battling against the wilderness of her garden—the garden is winning!

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Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical Question Definition

What is a rhetorical question? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in which a question is asked for a reason other than to get an answer—most commonly, it's asked to make a persuasive point. For example, if a person asks, "How many times do I have to tell you not to eat my dessert?" he or she does not want to know the exact number of times the request will need to be repeated. Rather, the speaker's goal is to emphasize his or her growing frustration and—ideally—change the dessert-thief's behavior.

Some additional key details about rhetorical questions:

Rhetorical questions are also sometimes called erotema.
Rhetorical questions are a type of figurative language —they are questions that have another layer of meaning on top of their literal meaning.
Because rhetorical questions challenge the listener, raise doubt, and help emphasize ideas, they appear often in songs and speeches, as well as in literature.

How to Pronounce Rhetorical Question

Here's how to pronounce rhetorical question: reh- tor -ih-kuhl kwes -chun

Rhetorical Questions and Punctuation

A question is rhetorical if and only if its goal is to produce an effect on the listener, rather than to obtain information. In other words, a rhetorical question is not what we might call a "true" question in search of an answer. For this reason, many sources argue that rhetorical questions do not need to end in a traditional question mark. In the late 1500's, English printer Henry Denham actually designed a special question mark for rhetorical questions, which he referred to as a "percontation point." It looked like this: ⸮ (Here's a wikipedia article about Denham's percontation point and other forms of "irony punctuation.")

Though the percontation point has fallen out of use, modern writers do sometimes substitute a traditional question mark with a period or exclamation point after a rhetorical question. There is a lively debate as to whether this alternative punctuation is grammatically correct. Here are some guidelines to follow:

In general, rhetorical questions do require a question mark.
When a question is a request in disguise, you may use a period. For instance, it is ok to write: "Will you please turn your attention to the speaker." or "Can you please go to the back of the line."
When a question is an exclamation in disguise, you may use an exclamation point. For instance, it is okay to write: "Were they ever surprised!"
When asking a question emotionally, you may use an exclamation point. For instance, " Who could blame him!" and "How do you know that!" are both correct.

Rhetorical Questions vs. Hypophora

Rhetorical questions are easy to confuse with hypophora , a similar but fundamentally different figure of speech in which a speaker poses a question and then immediately answers it. Hypophora is frequently used in persuasive speaking because the speaker can pose and answer a question that the audience is likely to be wondering about, thereby making the thought processes of the speaker and the audience seem more aligned. For example, here is an example of hypophora used in a speech by Dwight Eisenhower:

When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. It appealed to the heroism of its youth.

While Eisenhower asked this question without expecting an answer from his audience, this is an example of hypophora because he answered his own question. In a rhetorical question, by contrast, the answer would be implied in the question—to pose a rhetorical question, Eisenhower might have said instead, "When the enemy struck, who in their right mind would have done nothing to retaliate?"

Rhetorical Questions vs. Aporia

Rhetorical questions are also related to a figure of speech called aporia . Aporia is an expression of doubt that may be real, or which may be feigned for rhetorical effect. These expressions of doubt may or may not be made through the form of a question. When they are made through the form of a question, those questions are sometimes rhetorical.

Aporia and Rhetorical Questions

When someone is pretending doubt for rhetorical effect, and uses a question as part of that expression of doubt, then the question is rhetorical. For example, consider this quotation from an oration by the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes:

I am at no loss for information about you and your family; but I am at a loss where to begin. Shall I relate how your father Tromes was a slave in the house of Elpias, who kept an elementary school near the Temple of Theseus, and how he wore shackles on his legs and a timber collar round his neck? Or how your mother practised daylight nuptials in an outhouse next door to Heros the bone-setter, and so brought you up to act in tableaux vivants and to excel in minor parts on the stage?

The questions Demosthenes poses are examples of both aporia and rhetorical question, because Demosthenes is feigning doubt (by posing rhetorical questions) in order to cast insulting aspersions on the character of the person he's addressing.

Aporia Without Rhetorical Questions

If the expression of doubt is earnest, however, then the question is not rhetorical. An example of aporia that is not also a rhetorical question comes from the most famous excerpt of Shakespeare's Hamlet:

To be or not to be—that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?

While Hamlet asks this question without expecting an answer (he's alone when he asks it), he's not asking in order to persuade or make a point. It's a legitimate expression of doubt, which leads Hamlet into a philosophical debate about whether one should face the expected miseries of life or kill oneself and face the possible unknown terrors of death. It's therefore not a rhetorical question, because Hamlet asks the question as an opening to actually seek an answer to the question he is obsessing over.

Rhetorical Question Examples

Rhetorical question examples in literature.

Rhetorical questions are particularly common in plays, appearing frequently in both spoken dialogue between characters, and in monologues or soliloquies, where they allow the playwright to reveal a character's inner life.

Rhetorical Questions in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice :

In his speech from Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice , Shylock uses rhetorical questions to point out the indisputable similarities between Jews and Christians, in such a way that any listener would find him impossible to contradict:

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

Rhetorical questions in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet :

In this soliloquy from Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet , Juliet poses a series of rhetorical questions as she struggles to grasp the difficult truth—that her beloved Romeo is a member of the Montague family:

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself.

Rhetorical Question Examples in Political Speeches

Rhetorical questions often "challenge" the listener to contradict what the speaker is saying. If the speaker frames the rhetorical question well, it gives the impression that his or her view is true and that it would be foolish, or even impossible, to contradict the speaker's argument. In other words, rhetorical questions are great for speeches.

Rhetorical Questions in Ronald Reagan's 1980 Republican National Convention Acceptance Address:

In this speech, Reagan uses a series of rhetorical questions—referred to as "stacked" rhetorical questions—to criticize the presidency of his predecessor and running opponent, Jimmy Carter:

Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say, "Well done"? Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Carter Administration took office with where we are today and say, "Keep up the good work"? Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today say, "Let's have four more years of this"?

Rhetorical Questions in Hillary Clinton's 2016 Democratic National Convention Speech:

In this portion of her speech, Clinton argues that her opponent Donald Trump is not temperamentally fit to become president:

A president should respect the men and women who risk their lives to serve our country—including Captain Khan and the sons of Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, both Marines. So just ask yourself: Do you really think Donald Trump has the temperament to be commander-in-chief?

Rhetorical Question Examples in Song Lyrics

Love has left even the best musicians of our time feeling lost, searching for meaning, and—as you might expect—full of rhetorical questions. Musicians such as Tina Turner, Jean Knight, and Stevie Wonder have all released hits structured around rhetorical questions, which allow them to powerfully express the joy, the pain, and the mystery of L-O-V-E.

Rhetorical Questions in "What's Love Got to do with It" by Tina Turner

What's love got to do, got to do with it What's love but a second hand emotion What's love got to do, got to do with it Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken

Rhetorical Questions in "Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight

Now because you wear all those fancy clothes (oh yeah) And have a big fine car, oh yes you do now Do you think I can afford to give you my love (oh yeah) You think you're higher than every star above

Mr. Big Stuff Who do you think you are Mr. Big Stuff You're never gonna get my love

Rhetorical Questions in "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder

Isn't she lovely Isn't she wonderful Isn't she precious Less than one minute old I never thought through love we'd be Making one as lovely as she But isn't she lovely made from love

Stevie Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely" to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha. The title is a perfect example of a rhetorical question, because Wonder isn't seeking a second opinion here. Instead, the question is meant to convey the love and amazement he feels towards his daughter.

Why Do Writers Use Rhetorical Questions?

Authors, playwrights, speech writers and musicians use rhetorical questions for a variety of reasons:

To challenge the listener
To emphasize an idea
To raise doubt
To demonstrate that a previously asked question was obvious

The examples included in this guide to rhetorical questions have largely pointed to the persuasive power of rhetorical questions, and covered the way that they are used in arguments, both real and fictional. However, poets also frequently use rhetorical questions for their lyrical, expressive qualities. Take the poem below, "Danse Russe (Russian Dance)" by William Carlos Williams:

If when my wife is sleeping and the baby and Kathleen are sleeping and the sun is a flame-white disc in silken mists above shining trees,— if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself: "I am lonely, lonely. I was born to be lonely. I am best so!" If I admire my arms, my face, my shoulders, flanks, buttocks against the yellow drawn shades,— Who shall say I am not the happy genius of my household?

The rhetorical question that concludes this poem has the effect of challenging the reader to doubt Williams' happiness—daring the listener to question this intimate, eccentric portrait of the poet's private world. By ending the poem in this way, Williams maintains a delicate balance. Throughout the poem, he draws the reader in and confides secrets of his interior life, but the question at the end is an almost defiant statement that he does not require the reader's approval. Rather, the reader—like the mirror—is simply there to witness his happy solitude.

Is the sky blue? Do pigs fly? Do dogs woof? Rhetorical question examples for empowering ELA teachers

More content, what is a rhetorical question, the purpose of rhetorical questions in casual conversations, how to write a rhetorical question, rhetorical question examples in speeches and essays, rhetorical question flashcards, rhetorical question examples in literature.

A rhetorical question is asked without expecting an answer or when the answer is obvious. Rhetorical questions are generally either questions that don't have an answer, or they have very obvious and easy answers. Like most types of figurative language , a rhetorical question has multiple uses, but usually, it is a tool to help persuade an audience, to emphasize a point, or for humor.

Rhetorical questions are common in everyday conversation but are also used in more formal situations, particularly in speeches and persuasive essays. They are less common in formal academic writing, although you may sometimes encounter them there as well. In addition, you will see rhetorical questions in literature.

There are many different reasons you might use rhetorical questions in casual conversations.

When You Want to Express Surprise

Sometimes, rhetorical question examples have an obvious answer, and sometimes they don't need to be answered at all. Rhetorical questions to show your surprise could be to start a debate, stir up trouble, or start a conversation. These aren't questions with an answer, at least not a clear one.

Are you kidding me?
Are you crazy?
Why bother?
Are you serious?

Rhetorical Questions to Make a Point

Want to make a point? Or drive an important point home so the person you're speaking to gets it; try one of these.

Do you want to get us in trouble?
Do you want to be a failure in life?
Do you think money grows on trees?
Can my day get any worse?
Can you go any slower?

To Point Out An Obvious Answer

Do pigs fly? Is water wet? These are all rhetorical question examples. They have obvious answers because, of course, water is wet, and nope, sorry, pigs don't fly. These rhetorical questions, also called rhetorical affirmations, can be used to talk about facts or to emphasize a point. The answers could also be suggested from context clues.

Are you excited about your vacation?
Is rain wet?
Can dolphins swim?
Is the pope a Catholic?
Kids grow up, don't they?

Here are a few more rhetorical question examples that are common in everyday usage:

What am I going to do?
How could you not see this coming?
What's not to like?

Rhetorical questions can also be a way of introducing a subject. You might use this in casual conversation. It's also a format you may have heard comedians use to start a joke. These are usually cues for agreement, but the main purpose is setting up the topic you want to discuss. Usually, the person asking it goes straight into the story after asking the question, although there might be nods or other signs of agreement from the audience. Just remember that rhetorical questions provoke thought.

Don't you hate when your car is making a weird noise, and then you take it to a mechanic, and it stops making it?
You know when you go to the doctor, and they ask you to wait even though you have an appointment?
Have you ever had one of those veggie burgers that costs twice as much as anything else on the menu and has half as much flavor?
It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.
What do batteries run on?

Politicians and important speakers use rhetorical questions all the time, that's because a rhetorical question asks the audience to think about something important, often to take action or vote in a certain way. Here are some examples.

Is this the kind of people we are? The rhetorical question here aims to turn the audience's attention upon themselves and make them search for their consciences.

Who do we want to be as a people and a nation? This invites listeners to reflect on the question and the nature of how they see themselves and their country.

Can we allow this to continue?

The writer is trying to persuade readers that something currently happening is wrong.

Often a rhetorical question is used to persuade, influence, or change something. Look at these rhetorical question examples on flashcards; each has a specific purpose.

"What day is it?" Is this a rhetorical question?

No. This question has a specific answer, so it's not a rhetorical question.

What does a rhetorical question do?

A rhetorical question provokes thought. The question will most likely have an obvious answer or no answer that is used for emphasis. Here are some examples.

What do we actually hope to achieve?
Is it just because it's the way we've always done things?

"What time do you call this?" Is this a rhetorical question?

Yes. This question is a rhetorical question because it doesn't have an obvious answer and is used to emphasize the speaker's point.

Rhetorical questions are not just for conversation, speeches and essays. You'll see them in poems and stories as well. Writers love to give their readers something to think about or reflect on, so what better way than using rhetorical question examples? Leaving a question unanswered allows the reader time to spend time thinking. Here are some examples:

A love poem might include a line like this: has there ever been a face so lovely as yours?
You might encounter a rhetorical question in a story with a first-person narrator, in dialogue, or in a character's thoughts: Wasn't I just as important as everyone else in the family? Didn't I deserve the same consideration? Was I not just as vulnerable to despair as the rest of them?
Here's a rhetorical question that might be posed by the story's narrator or a character. Note that the question does not ask for exact numbers but invites the reader to reflect on the question without expecting an answer: How many had already died in pursuit of this ideal, and how many more would follow them?
"Am I a coward? Who calls me a villain?" - Hamlet by William Shakespeare. We're not expected to answer, but with this rhetorical question, we observe how Hamlet feels.
"Will no one tell me what she sings?" - The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth. Again no answer is necessary, but William Wordsworth uses a rhetorical question to emphasize his surprise.

Got a question about a rhetorical question? See if we've answered it here.

What is a rhetorical question?

Why use rhetorical questions in speech?

What is the purpose of rhetorical strategy?

Are rhetorical questions figurative language?

Before you go...

A rhetorical question can be a powerful literary device when you are trying to persuade your audience of something. It can be combined with other literary devices , such as hyperbole or irony , to drive your point home even more effectively. Recognizing and understanding its function can make your own writing stronger.

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Rhetorical Analysis Sample Essay

10 Rhetorical Situation Examples

Rhetorical Elements

Rhetorical Situation Examples

2. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (1997)

3. Malala Yousafzai’s UN Speech (2012)

4. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

5. Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech (2019)

6. Facebook (2004-Now)

7. MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech (1963)

8. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1590s)

9. Churchill’s We Shall Fight on the Beaches (1944)

10. The US Declaration of Independence (1776)

3. Audience

Rhetorical Devices (Aristotle)

1. Logos (Appeal to Logic)

2. Ethos (Appeal to Credibility)

3. Pathos (Appeal to Emotions)

4. Telos (Purpose)

5. Kairos (Timing)

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Literary Devices

Significance of Rhetorical Question in Literature

Test Your Knowledge of Rhetorical Question

I. What is a Rhetorical Question?

II. Examples of a Rhetorical Question

III. The Importance of a Rhetorical Question

V. Examples of a Rhetorical Question in Literature

VI. Examples of Rhetorical Question in Pop Culture

VII. Related Terms

List of Terms

Rhetorical Questions: Learn What They Are and How To Use Them

Rhetorical Question: Quick Summary

What’s a Rhetorical Question?

What Are the Different Types of Rhetorical Questions?

Hypophora (Anthypophora)

How Do You Punctuate a Rhetorical Question?

Examples of Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical Questions Found in Literature

Common Rhetorical Questions Used in Everyday Speech

Using Rhetorical Questions in Your Writing

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