Ask Jay: What literary techniques should I be using in my persuasive writing?

Hey,

This is a great question and there are so many literary techniques out there to pick from that it is almost impossible to pick the best from the rest. That being said, typically a high school will only teach 10-15 different literary devices. My belief is the more you know, the more you can practice, better equipped you will be to use the right device at the right time.

To answer your question, there are a few that are more important than others not only because of their recognisability but also because of their impact on the reader. The first few I’m sure you’ve heard of before but in case you haven’t I will list them anyway.

1. Metaphor

2. Simile

3. Alliteration

The others are lesser known but arguably just as important if not more so:

1. Anaphora: the repetition of the beginning word or words in successive sentences, clauses or phrases.
   Example: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right (Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address)

2. Parallelism: the repetition of order and use of grammatical elements in successive sentences, clauses, or phrases.
   Example: Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof / Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth (Happy by Pharrell Williams)
   Both of these sentences are different however, they have very similar structures.

3. Antithesis: This is the same as parallelism, but certain words throughout the sentence will contrast with one another.
   Example: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven. (Paradise Lost by John Milton)
   These two sentence parts have similar grammatical structure and with the contrasting words “reign” and “serve”, “Hell” and Heaven”

This is just a start on all the literary techniques you may want to look into and start employing in your writing. My suggestion is that you purchase the book Writing with Clarity and Style by Robert A. Harris. This book covers wide range of literary techniques including exercises and plenty of examples. It is not a book for the faint hearted and is probably best for middle to high schoolers, but it is the most comprehensive I’ve been able to find.

Happy writing!

Jadon