Unit 2 · Argument, Rhetoric & Persuasion at Scale · Lesson 08
Figures of Force
Anaphora, antithesis and tricolon
By the end of this lesson
You'll be able to:
- deploy anaphora, antithesis and tricolon for genuine effect
- place a figure where the argument needs it, not where it sounds nice
- use rhythm and parallel structure to make a claim memorable
- spot when a figure is doing real work and when it's decoration
Stage 1
Warm-up
Here's what you'll do
Three famous lines. Strip the figure out. What's lost?
You produce
You re-state each line in flat prose and rate the loss.
- 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields…'
- 'Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.'
- 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people.'
Group extension (optional)
Pairs compare flattened versions; group picks the line that loses most.
Stage 2
Language Discovery
Here's what you'll do
Three figures, three jobs.
You produce
You name the job each figure does.
Anaphora, antithesis, tricolon — for force, not decoration
Look at the three patterns. What does each do that flat prose can't?
Anaphora: 'We can build it. We can fund it. We can choose to want it.'
Antithesis: 'Not slogans, but commitments. Not promises, but timetables.'
Tricolon: 'Clearer, faster, fairer.'
Mixed: 'We can defend the principle. We can debate the means. We cannot afford to do neither.' (anaphora + antithesis)
The rule you'll arrive at
Anaphora (repeated opening) builds momentum and signals shared ground. Antithesis (X / not-X) clarifies a choice and forces a position. Tricolon (three parallel items) gives a claim the feel of completeness. Use one figure per argument peak — more than that is karaoke.
Try three
1. Turn into anaphora: 'We need clarity, courage and honesty about the costs.'
Reveal
'We need clarity. We need courage. We need honesty about the costs.'
2. Turn into antithesis: 'This isn't really about money; it's about who decides.'
Reveal
'Not about money — about who decides.'
3. Turn into tricolon: 'It's late, it's expensive and quite poorly designed.'
Reveal
'Late, expensive, poorly designed.'
Stage 3
Vocabulary in Use
Here's what you'll do
Six items for talking ABOUT rhetorical effect (and using it).
You produce
You match each item to a real speech you've heard.
to land (a line / point)
to deliver something so it has the intended effect
"She landed the closing line — the room actually paused."
rhetorical heft
the felt weight of a well-built sentence
"The phrase has rhetorical heft because the rhythm is right."
to ring hollow
to sound impressive but mean little
"Without a costed plan, the slogan rings hollow."
applause line
a sentence engineered to get clapping
"He hit four applause lines and said almost nothing."
to overplay (a figure)
to over-use a rhetorical device until it tires
"Three tricolons in two paragraphs is overplaying it."
the punch line of the argument
the sentence the whole structure was building toward
"Don't bury the punch line of the argument under qualifications."
Guided practice
1. Fill: 'Without evidence, the slogan ____ ____.' (2 words)
Reveal
rings hollow
2. Fill: 'She finally ____ the closing line.' (1 word)
Reveal
landed
3. Fill: 'Three tricolons is ____ ____.' (2 words)
Reveal
overplaying it
Stage 4
Speaking Task
Here's what you'll do
60-second peaks. Build to one figure, land it, stop.
You produce
Three short turns, each ending on a designed figure.
Pick a claim. You have 60 seconds to argue it, but the LAST sentence must be a deliberate anaphora, antithesis or tricolon. Teacher signals which figure you must use. Three turns, three different figures.
Use these
Prompts
- · Claim: 'Cities should ban most short car trips.'
- · Claim: 'Universities should publish all admission criteria openly.'
- · Claim: 'Public libraries are infrastructure, not amenities.'
Group extension (optional)
In pairs, peer rates which figure landed; group runs a 'best landing' round.
Stage 5
Reading / Listening Input
Here's what you'll do
An 8-line excerpt of a speech. Three peaks, three figures.
You produce
Mark each figure and its job.
Listening (script) — Speech excerpt — community college commencement (audio script)
(Audio plays a calm, measured speaker. ~75 seconds.) You came here on the promise that effort would be met by opportunity. You honoured that promise. You worked through nights, through doubts, through the years when nobody outside this room could see what you were building. Tonight we say what we owe you. Not congratulations alone — recognition. Not pride alone — gratitude. Not memory alone — invitation. The work you did here was real work. The doors it opens are real doors. The world you walk into has been waiting longer than it knows.
Comprehension
1. Find ONE anaphora.
Reveal
'You worked through nights, through doubts, through the years…' or 'The work you did… The doors it opens… The world you walk into…'
2. Find ONE antithesis.
Reveal
'Not congratulations alone — recognition.' (and the two parallels that follow)
3. Find ONE tricolon.
Reveal
'Not congratulations alone — recognition. Not pride alone — gratitude. Not memory alone — invitation.' is a triple-antithesis tricolon.
4. Why does this not feel overplayed?
Reveal
Each figure does a different job, and the final sentences slow down — no two peaks land in the same breath.
Stage 6
Analysis Task
Here's what you'll do
Find the peaks. Find the silences between them.
You produce
A marked-up transcript + one rewrite that ruins the speech.
Underline each figure and label its job. Then re-write the final two sentences in flat prose. Read both versions aloud. What did you lose, and what (if anything) did you gain?
- · Where would a less skilled speaker have added a fourth figure — and why would that have hurt?
- · Which figure is doing argumentative work, not just emotional work?
- · Could the speech end on an antithesis instead of the current sentence? Try it.
Group extension (optional)
Pairs deliver the flattened version aloud; group rates the loss.
Stage 7
Communication Challenge
Here's what you'll do
Two-minute persuasive set-piece. One claim. Three peaks. Live audience of one.
You produce
A live 2-minute speech with deliberate figure placement.
Pick a serious claim you actually hold. Write a 2-minute speech (~280 words) with EXACTLY three peaks: one anaphora, one antithesis, one tricolon — placed where the argument needs them. Deliver it standing if possible. Teacher times silences after each peak.
Eight minutes of writing prep. Teacher provides a one-line counter-claim for you to refute somewhere in the speech.
Use these
Deliverable
Recording or transcript + teacher note on which peak landed hardest.
Group extension (optional)
In groups of 4, each delivers; group votes (silently, on paper) for cleanest peak placement.
Stage 8
Exam Connection
Here's what you'll do
C2 Proficiency Speaking Part 2 — long turn with built-in structure.
You produce
One opening + one closing figure for a long turn.
C2 Proficiency — Speaking Part 2 (long turn, ~2 minutes)
Task: Examiners notice structured long turns. Two well-placed figures make a long turn feel deliberate, not rambling.
Strategy: Open with antithesis ('Not X, but Y…'); close with tricolon ('faster, fairer, simpler'). Nothing in between.
Mini-task
Prompt: 'Should universities teach students how to argue with AI?' Draft your opening antithesis and your closing tricolon. Say both aloud.
Stage 9
Writing / Production
Here's what you'll do
120 words. One figure per peak. No karaoke.
You produce
A 120–140-word op-ed close handed in.
Write the closing 120–140 words of an op-ed. You MUST: (a) include exactly one anaphora OR one tricolon, (b) finish on a deliberate antithesis, (c) use at least three target items, (d) cut anything that sounds 'speech-y' but isn't doing work.
Word count: 120–140 words
Must use
Stage 10
Reflection & Homework
Here's what you'll do
End of L8. Two questions, one prep.
You produce
Spoken 30-second reflection.
Reflection
- · Which figure did you overplay today — and how would you cut it?
- · Whose speech-making style do you most distrust, and why?
Homework
Find a 2-minute clip of a contemporary speech. Mark every figure and decide which one earns its place. Bring notes to Lesson 9.