Name ___________________ Date _____ Class ____ _

History and Cultures of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity

Analyzing Rhetorical Devices

Learning the Skill Have you ever heard a really good speech? What made it good?

An effective speech includes more than just speaking loudly. It often includes rhetorical devices, or ways to increase its persuasiveness. Rhetorical devices include strategies such as these:

Rhetorical Device Example

A rhetorical question is one asked merely How can I study with all that racket for effect with no answer expected. It is downstairs? used to emphasize a point.

In parallelism, several parts of a sentence To show kindness is praiseworthy; to show (or several sentences) are expressed in the hatred is evil. same way, emphasizing the importance of each part.

An expletive is a word or phrase that He did not, in fact, work hard in practice interrupts the rest of the sentence. It helps today. emphasize the words close to the expletive.

Sound patterns call attention to what is big, beautiful baby being said. Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound.

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that buzz, whap, plop imitate the sound the word describes

Contrast connects two or more opposite Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind. ideas.

A metaphor compares two different things All the world is a stage. by speaking of one in terms of the other.

A simile is a comparison, using the word Devon's hair felt like silk. like, between two different things.

Personification represents an animal or an This coffee is strong enough to get up and inanimate object as having human actions. walkaway.

Repetition can help audiences remember Evil minds will use evil means. ideas and help them pay attention.

The "rule of three" is a commonly used I ask you: Is this fair, is it right, is it just? repetitive pattern.

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration for I've told you a thousand times to clean effect. your room.

Understatement deliberately expresses Hurricane Ivan put a slight damper on our an idea as less important than it actually is. vacation plans.

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Name _______________ ____ Date _____ Class ____ _

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity continued

~ Practicing the Skill Directions: Read the speech below about Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. Then answer the questions that follow.

Queen Nefertiti is a well-known fig­ure in ancient Egyptian history. The discov­ery of a painted bust of Nefertiti in Egypt in 1912 revealed her famed beauty. She is most remembered for the power she wielded as chief wife of King Akhenaton, who reigned as pharaoh from about 1353 to 1337 B.C. They co-ruled Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty, initiating many religious, social, and artistic changes in Egypt.

Nefertiti was not born into a royal family. Her father, however, was probably an adviser to three pharaohs and may have become a pha­raoh himself. Like her father, Nefertiti would come to have great influence and power in the royal family. Also like her father, she may have become a pharaoh herself after her husband's death.

When Akhenaton became pharaoh in 1353 B.C., Egyptians practiced a polytheistic religion, worshiping many gods. The priests had acquired great power over time, much like gods themselves. Rather than fighting these priests for power, Akhenaton simply replaced Egypt's polytheistic religion with the reli­gion he embraced. This religion was based on the worship of one god-Aton, the sun god. Almost overnight, the priests' powers plum­meted. Now people, without priests, could worship Aton on their own.

To honor their god, the king and queen built a new city called Amama, which means "the horizon of Aton." They moved the capi­tal of Egypt from Thebes to Amama and filled it with new art and architecture. The priests detested the pharaoh and his queen for mak­ing these changes.

Hieroglyphics show Nefertiti killing ene­mies of Egypt and performing rituals only a pharaoh would do. They show her riding chariots, which only men did. Carved images depict Nefertiti and Akhenaton standing hand­in-hand at religious ceremonies. Hieroglyphics show them embracing and playing with their six daughters. .

Sometime after the twelfth year of Akhena­ton's reign, and at the height of her powers, Nefertiti disappeared from view. How could such an important historical figure simply vanish from record? Some scholars claim her enemies may have killed her. Others specu­late that she may have continued to rule with the pharaoh under a different name, possibly becoming pharaoh herself after Akhenaton's death.

Much of Nefertiti's life remains a mystery. Nevertheless, she deserves to be remembered as a wise and wily woman who took an active role in reshaping Egyptian civilization.

1. Identifying Which type of rhetorical device is used in these sentences?

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"Like her father, Nefertiti would come to have great influence and power in the royal family. Also like her father, she may have become a pharaoh herself after her husband's death."

Name ___________________ Date ____ Class ____ _

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity continued

2. Evaluating Find an example of a rhetorical question in the passage. What effect does it have on your understanding?

3. Identifying Find and identify four other rhetorical devices used in the speech.

(l Applying the Skill Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, write a short speech about another famous pharaoh. Use at least two rhetorical devices. With a part­ner, take turns reading your speeches aloud, paying particular attention to the rhetorical devices used.

1. Specifying Identify two rhetori­cal devices you used, and tell why you used them.

Assessment Checklist Assess your speech using the checklist below:

D Researched an Egyptian pharaoh

D Wrote introduction, main body, and conclusion to speech

D Added rhetorical devices to speech

D Practiced using rhetorical devices when speaking

D Paid attention to the effects of rhetorical devices on the audience

2. Evaluating Identify two rhetorical devices used in your partner's speech. What effect did they have on your understanding?

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