Teacher Stumpers Do you have difficulty with rhetorical questions? - Teacher Stumpers
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Do you have problems with rhetorical questions? Are you a speaker of English? Do you like to ask questions? Rhetorical questions are a great way to make a statement. If you use them in your writing, it will be more alive. You can also control a conversation a lot better.
So, how do rhetorical questions work? That's not an easy question. Let's look at an easy and commonly used type of rhetorical question sometimes called affirmative rhetorical questions. The answer to these questions is always 'yes.' The writer can use these as a stronger or more dynamic way of asking if. For example,
Do you brush your teeth every day? Does it take really long? Do you want save time? You can use SuperBrush. It'll brush your teeth automatically in 1 minute.
This sounds more alive and active then the following:
If you brush your teeth every day and it takes really long, and you want to save time, you can use SuperBrush. It'll brush your teeth automatically in 1 minute.
Boring! I fell asleep halfway through those sentences.
If you use rhetorical questions, your listener will pay more attention. Why? Because, they are interacting with (responding to) your writing or your speaking. Even though they are interacting or responding without speaking or writing.
Let's look at another example:
Do you want to learn English? Do you want to speak like a native speaker? Are you afraid or embarrassed to use English? Don't worry about it! You can do it. If you speak a lot, you will become a better speaker.
In the above example, I wanted to get the reader's attention with the questions. The listener or reader might think “Hey, he is talking to me.” My audience will then be more interested in my message.
Rhetorical questions are also great for titles. Today, I used “Do you have difficulty with rhetorical questions?” Readers of Teacher Stumpers might answer “Yes, I do. I want to read that article.” They then click on the link and read on about rhetorical questions.
This style of writing is very common in advertising or dramatic speeches. Try it out in the comments below. Can you sell me something? Give it a try.
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 April 2009 15:15 |
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Hi ya Neal, sorry - I just couldn't resist -it's a great posting, very well written and involving - and you said sell. Although, er actually, you probably want your students to do this, right?
So er, hey, Neal's students, get me out of trouble and make a 'pitch' too.