One of the rhetorical techniques that Jefferson uses in the Declaration of Independence is repetition. This is used to great effect in the body of the document, as he is listing the grievances that the colonists hold against the King. After starting the declaration with a logical account of the colonists’ need to establish independence, Jefferson then delineates all of the reasons that King George has given them to revolt. He gives 27different transgressions that King George has committed, all beginning with the words “He has” or “For.” The first one, for example, is
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
The effect of repetition in this section of the document is to emphasize how unfairly the British have treated the colonies. Putting all the grievances together in this fashion, with the repeated introductory word(s) gives the impression that the list just goes “on and on.”
Expository essays primarily inform readers about topics.
Expository essays are written to either describe or explain a certain idea or point that the writer is trying to get the reader to understand.
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1. I used context clues and connotations to make inferences about the text. Words such as "'energetic," "dare," and "dream," give off positive connotations which help the reader identify the meaning of the passage. This is accomplished by the words that surround the above words in the passage, which allow the reader to guess what the above listed words mean. It is also accomplished by the connotations of the above words, which are positive and hopeful. Therefore, by using the above methods, I used context clues and the connotations of various words to decipher the meaning of the text.
