The purpose of this figure of speech is not to secure a response but to assert or deny a point implicitly. A rhetorical question may serve as a subtle way of insinuating an idea that might be challenged by an audience if asserted directly.

The following classification essay, "Shopping at the Pig," is a revised version of the draft "Types of Shoppers." See if you can identify the numerous changes that have been in this revision, and consider the extent to which the essay has been improv

Whether we're composing a blog or a business letter, an email or an essay, our goal should be to respond clearly and directly to the needs and interests of our readers. These ten tips should help us to improve our writing whenever we set out to infor

To encourage further speculation (rather than reduce this complex trope to simplistic explanations), we've gathered a variety of definitions and interpretations of irony, both ancient and modern. We begin on this page with some broad observations abo

To encourage further speculation (rather than reduce this complex trope to simplistic explanations), we've gathered a variety of definitions and interpretations of irony, both ancient and modern. On this page, we offer a brief survey of the ways that

If you have tried out the strategies on this site for developing paragraphs, you are well on your way to creating effective essays as well. Here we will organize paragraphs into various kinds of essays--those that explain, compare, analyze, classify,

To encourage further speculation (rather than reduce this complex trope to simplistic explanations), we've gathered a variety of definitions and interpretations of irony, both ancient and modern. On these pages, we listen to a number of contemporary