I may be going a bit nerdy, but this is my first entry in my sentence journal focused on classical rhetorical devices.

I decided to research rhetorical terms that relate to sentence structures and collect them in my sentence journal for this year. I’m starting with a Glossary of Rhetorical Terms on Wikipedia. I’m only selecting the terms that relate to sentence structure to include in this journal. I’m color coding the term (black), definition (purple), example (red), and source/origin (green).

Having taken a graduate course in composition and rhetoric, a couple of years of Greek, and a short course in Latin, I have just enough knowledge to make this approach work for me. As an English teacher, I already know my basic grammar fairly well.

I enjoy thinking about sentences as patterns.

I’ve ordered an English translation of Rhetorica Ad Herennium which has been traditionally attributed to Cicero, but whose author is now considered unknown. I’m hoping it will help with this project.

My example came from a humorous moment in high school when I stopped mid grace over an ice cream cone.