Fiducia TogetherRhetorical devices
The named techniques of persuasion, and what each does to a listener.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Devices include the rhetorical question, direct address, the rule of three or triad, anaphora (repeated openings), antithesis, hyperbole, emotive language, and the appeal to authority or statistics.
Where it applies
English Language reading and writing, and speeches in Literature and drama.
How it works
Each has a mechanism. A triad is memorable because three is the smallest number that makes a pattern. Direct address implicates the listener. Anaphora builds momentum through repetition.
How to use it in your work
Name the device and say what it does to the READER, not that it 'makes it more interesting'.
In your own persuasive writing, use two or three well rather than all of them. A speech built from every device reads as a list.
Where to get help
Your teacher, your board's mark scheme and its examiners' reports — those say exactly what separates the bands, and they are free.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The English Exam Survival Song How to approach the English papers under time pressure.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.