The three types of rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuading an audience of your point of view, in both writing and speaking. This is successfully done by manipulating devices to enhance meaning, in addition to making conscious decisions about your writing. After all, academic writing takes careful planning and research, and so should the writing. This blog will look briefly at the uses of antithesis, branching, and listing in relation to academic writing. If used correctly, these can add style and flair to your academic writing.
The technique of antithesis places two words or ideas in opposition to one another in order to emphasise a contrast. For example, if you were writing a story about a working-class city, you might contrast this context with the opulence of a wealthy Paris bourgeois suburb. You are juxtaposing these two things, yet the language used (working class vs. bourgeois) are practically antithetical words.
In terms of ‘branching’, one can use left branching or right branching. This refers to where the main clause is placed in a sentence. Moving the main clause can force your reader to wait for the meaning of your sentence, or force them to confront it straight away.
Listing is done quite often in academic work, and is used to convey logic and reason in academic writing. Listing with conjunctions is called ‘syndetic listing’, and listing with commas is called ‘asyndentic listing’.
The technique of antithesis places two words or ideas in opposition to one another in order to emphasise a contrast. For example, if you were writing a story about a working-class city, you might contrast this context with the opulence of a wealthy Paris bourgeois suburb. You are juxtaposing these two things, yet the language used (working class vs. bourgeois) are practically antithetical words.
In terms of ‘branching’, one can use left branching or right branching. This refers to where the main clause is placed in a sentence. Moving the main clause can force your reader to wait for the meaning of your sentence, or force them to confront it straight away.
Listing is done quite often in academic work, and is used to convey logic and reason in academic writing. Listing with conjunctions is called ‘syndetic listing’, and listing with commas is called ‘asyndentic listing’.