We know: this word sounds odd.It sounds like a skin condition—wait, that's eczema. It sounds like being thrown out of the Church—oh, that's excommunicate. It sounds like that movie starring the...

They say that numbers don't lie. One of Clinton's favorite rhetorical strategies, enumeration, involves appealing to the audience by numbering off his points.That's what he is doing when he brings...

Parallelism means repeating syntax, or sentence structure. Anaphora means repeating words. They're sort of the Gemini twins of rhetorical devices, since they both have to do with repetition, repeti...

Let's face it: if you're a politician, bragging is in your job description. But not all bragging is bad. Sometimes bringing up some hard evidence to show the good things you've accomplished can be...

Ever heard of the Rule of Three? Whether you're singing the choruses for a pop song or reciting a State of the Union Address, you want to always keep the number three in mind. Just check out Clinto...

Sorry to sound like a broken record, Shmoopers, but it's time to talk "big government" once again.The phrase "big government" (7.5) is probably one of the most impactful metaphors ever devised. The...