Rhetorical Devices and Concepts

We’re students in a fall 2011 rhetoric course–“Intro to Rhetoric–Theory and Practice” (ENGL 4551/5551)–at Tennessee Tech University. This project is designed to illustrate and explain to our readers ways in which selected rhetorical devices and concepts–some thousands of years old–circulate and create meaning in contemporary popular texts.

Each student chose a rhetorical concept/device, provided an overview or definition, and illustrated how the concept works in several different examples (1500-2000 words total for each student). For each concept, the overview and each illustration/example are self-contained blog entries. Overviews are categorized or tagged with the name of the concept and the word overview. Illustration entries are each categorized with the name of the concept, the medium or genre of the example, and the rhetorical effect achieved by the concept’s usage in the example. 

To navigate the site, begin by selecting a Category (or Tag)–overview, one of the concepts, a medium/genre, or an effect.  

We invite you to respond with additional examples of devices and concepts from our limited, selective list. Enjoy and learn!