Rhetorical Techniques — SAT Reading & Writing Explained
Rhetorical techniques are specific strategies authors use to persuade, engage, or affect their audience — including appeals to logic (logos), emotion (pathos), and credibility (ethos), as well as devices like repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions.
The Core Idea
Skilled writers don't just present information — they shape how readers receive and respond to it. Identifying rhetorical techniques means recognizing the 'move' an author is making and understanding its intended effect.
Appeals
Appeals to the author's authority, expertise, or trustworthiness
Appeals to the reader's feelings — fear, hope, empathy, outrage
Appeals to reason through evidence, statistics, and logical argument
Rhetorical Devices
A question asked for effect, not expecting a literal answer
Repeating a word or phrase at the start of consecutive clauses for emphasis
Comparing something unfamiliar to something familiar to aid understanding
Acknowledging an opposing view and then refuting it
Describing something as less significant than it is for ironic effect
Exaggeration for emphasis
How To Identify
Ask: Is the author trying to establish trust? Appeal to emotion? Use logic?
Look for comparisons, repetitions, questions, and concessions
Consider the effect on the reader: does it create urgency? Invoke empathy? Build credibility?
Common Errors to Avoid
Naming a device without explaining what it does
Confusing pathos (emotional appeal) with ethos (credibility appeal)
Ignoring subtle rhetorical moves — strong rhetoric often works below the surface
How This Connects to Other Topics
Synthesizes Author's Purpose, Tone and Style, Function of Sentences, and Passage Organization
Practice: Rhetorical Techniques
5 SAT-style questions. Select your answer and get an instant explanation.
'Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.' — President John F. Kennedy, 1961 Inaugural Address
Which rhetorical device is used in this quotation?
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