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GCSE

Writing for an Audience

Question

What are rhetorical questions?

3 years ago

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104 Replies

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6561 views

J

Juwan Fritsch


104 Answers

O
Olivia Young

Hi Juwan, a rhetorical question is a question asked but never answered, used to create suspense, and to exaggerate the reading, also used for the reader to create their own answer making the reading more personal. For example. “What part of that don’t you understand”? Can be a rhetorical question as there is no need for an answer, but the statement already implies that the sentence is coming across in an angry way therefore the reader can sense the emotion of tension and anger without there being an actual answer to the question.


Hope this helps :)

R
Rik

A rhetorical question is essentially a question that doesn't require an answer. In other words, it's a statement. For example - "do you think I was born yesterday?". This is more like a statement saying "I'm not an idiot or naive like a kid". You would never actually respond to that rhetorical question with "yes I think you were" or "no you weren't".

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A rhetorical question is a question where an answer is not expected. Instead, it is to make the reciever of the question curious and make them think. For instance, if a father asks his son the question "Do you think I don't understand?" it does not mean he wants his son to answer yes or no, instead it means that he wants his son to know that he does understand to a great extent and that his son should trust that his father is more knowledgeable than him in that particular matter.

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A question that needs no answer.


Josh walks into the kitchen. He see's his sister standing at the fridge, eating from a container, with the name JOSH written in bold. She freezes. Josh asks, folding his arms, "What are you eating?"


In this, he (Josh) didn't need an answer, he can clearly see that she (his sister) was eating his food. It's more of a backhanded way to point something out and make the other person think.

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Holly Machenry

A rhetorical question is when someone asks a question that isn't meant to be answered. For example if you arrive home late your mum might say, "what time do you call this?" she doesn't actually want you to tell her the time, she's making a point about you getting home late. Usually rhetorical questions are used to make someone think or to emphasise a point.

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Rhetorical questions do not require an answer. They are used to engage the audience and to make the audience think about the answer. It helps to connect the speaker/writer to their audience. For example in a persuasive speech about banning school uniform a speaker/writer might begin by saying, ‘Have you ever thought about all of the money your parents waste on buying you that hideous school uniform? ‘. This would make the audience consider their own view whilst it clearly shows that the speaker/writer disagrees with school uniform.

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Michelle Andrews

A rhetorical question is some that doesn't warrant an answer. You're asking it to make or emphasize a point or be dramatic rather than to get a specific answer. Example: I am looking for my house keys before I leave home and can't find them. I might say "keys, really, you're hiding from me?" - of course they're not going to answer me and of course, they're not hidden. I'm just emphasizing that I can't find them.

K
Kraig Brown

Rhetorical questions are statements posed as questions that answer themselves. They are often used to create dramatic effect by highlighting the issue they are concerned with in a certain light.

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A rhetorical question is one that requires no response. More often than not, it involves sarcasm. Common examples would be 'Are you serious?' or 'Do you really think I am that stupid'?

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Rubi Jansen

Hey Juawn,


Rhetorical questions are, questions either written or spoken, that are not expected to be given an answer in response. Often it is used to draw attention to a particular phrase or to be dramatic or sarcastic.


An example of a rhetorical question is:


Is the pope catholic? - we know, if at all familiar with christianity that this is the case, so we are not expected to take the question seriously or literally and is intended as simply a thought, pointing out the obvious as it were.


I hope this helps,

Rubi Jansen

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Rhetorical questions are questioins that are asked in order to create a dramatic or special effect. They are also asked by the Author/Narrator, through characters; these characters can be in plays, stories or dramas, in which they speak in rhetorical questions, in order to make a point.


The other notable thing about rhetorical questions, is that they do not necessarily require an answer. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks a rhetorical question, which she does not expect to be answered. She exclaims " What's in a name?" Then she follows this with "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

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A rhetorical question is one that does not require an answer. It's used to make a point, rather than to gain an answer.

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These are questions that do not require an answer or are used when the answer is already known and the speaker is trying to make a certain point

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Basically, a question that does not need an answer. This could be because the answer is so obvious that it doesn't need to be said, or it could be used ironically, sarcastically or even insultingly. Example: A character asking "are you really that lazy?", not as a real question, but as a way to express their opinion that the person is, indeed, that lazy.

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George Tsiotsis

Rhetorical questions are not real questions, but they are used to emphasize what we want to say. We do not wait for an answer. Your friend arrives for a wedding ceremony in casual clothes and you tell him: "Do you call this an outfit for a wedding?"

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