What is a rhetorical device? Tier-2 Set 14 launch and the 5-device toolkit preview

Word-meaning quick-write: 'What does the word RHETORIC mean to you? Have you heard it used in a negative way (mere rhetoric) or a positive way (powerful rhetoric)? Why might the same word carry both meanings?'

• Listen for the connotation tension (rhetoric = empty talk vs. rhetoric = persuasive art)
• Affirm that rhetoric has both connotations historically — Aristotle treated it as a noble art; modern English sometimes uses 'mere rhetoric' as dismissal
• Preview that the term reclaims rhetoric as a craft

A RHETORICAL DEVICE is a NAMED PATTERN OF LANGUAGE used deliberately for argumentative effect. It is not just a figure of speech (which describes how meaning works — metaphor, simile, personification) and not just a grammar rule (which describes what is correct). A device is a CHOICE — how you ARRANGE language for impact. This term we learn 5 named devices: PARALLELISM (matching grammatical structure), ANAPHORA (repetition at the start of successive clauses), ASYNDETON (omission of conjunctions), RHETORICAL QUESTION (a question for effect), and ANTITHESIS (contrast in parallel structure — introduced). Plus we APPLY ethos/pathos/logos from fall. These 6 tools — 5 devices + 3 modes — are the rhetorician's toolkit at G6. Look at MG-2. Each device has a color, an example, and a rule. We'll meet them one at a time in lessons 4-6 and 11-12. Today we launch the vocabulary that lets us TALK about them — Tier-2 Set 14, 15 words including rhetoric, device, parallelism, anaphora, asyndeton, antithesis, tricolon, juxtaposition, register, audience, persona, tone, voice, rhythm, cadence.

• Rhetoric is about WHY you arrange language a certain way. Figures of speech are some of the TOOLS.

  model Figure of speech (metaphor, simile, personification) describes how meaning shifts. Rhetoric describes the ARRANGEMENT and PURPOSE of language for argument. A metaphor can be a figure of speech AND used as a rhetorical device — but rhetoric is the bigger umbrella.

  prompt What's the difference between 'rhetoric' and 'figure of speech'?
• Devices often co-occur. Parallelism is the foundation; anaphora, antithesis, and asyndeton often use it as scaffolding.

  model 'I came, I saw, I conquered' (Caesar) — asyndeton + parallelism. 'I have a dream that...' (King) — anaphora + parallelism. 'Not by the color of skin but by the content of character' (King) — antithesis + parallelism.

  prompt Look at MG-2. Match each example to its device.
• Voice persists. Tone shifts. Both must be consistent within a piece, but their scopes are different.

  model Voice is the writer's distinctive sound (consistent across pieces); tone is the writer's attitude in THIS piece (formal/informal/urgent/calm — varies with audience).

  prompt Tier-2 Set 14 spotlight: TONE vs. VOICE — what's the difference?

• Pair-share: name 2 devices you remember from MG-2 and an example
• Cold Call (Lemov): use one Tier-2 Set 14 word in a sentence
• Thumbs: I can distinguish device from figure of speech (up) / I need more examples (down)

M-6-S-RH-03-B Chart

MG-30 decision tree poster displayed (already specified in MG-30). Used as preview for the term's craft choices.

MG-30 Diagram

Rhetorical-device decision tree: a flowchart helping students choose WHICH device to apply for WHICH effect. Start: 'What is the purpose of this passage?' Branch 1 'List of similar ideas → use PARALLELISM.' Branch 2 'Emphasis through repetition → use ANAPHORA.' Branch 3 'Speed/urgency in a list → use ASYNDETON.' Branch 4 'Engage audience to feel they answered → use RHETORICAL QUESTION.' Branch 5 'Highlight a sharp contrast → use ANTITHESIS.' Each terminal node references the relevant MG anchor (MG-3 to MG-7). Print-ready 11x17.

• Sort 10 mentor-text passages by which device they primarily illustrate. Use MG-2 master anchor.

  scaffold Print-ready sort card deck with passages on one side, devices listed at top. Self-check key on reverse.
• Tier-2 Set 14 Word-Pair Quick-Sort: pair 8 word-cards with their definitions. Most-difficult pairs: voice/tone, rhythm/cadence, register/audience.

  scaffold Card kit with 8 word-definition pairs; self-check after attempt

• Write one sentence defining 'rhetorical device' in your own words.
• Name one device from MG-2 and give one example.

• Restate: 5 devices + 3 modes = rhetorician's toolkit
• Preview tomorrow's parallelism deep-dive

• Find 1 example of a rhetorical device in independent reading (op-ed, speech, novel). Bring tomorrow with the passage + your tentative device-naming.