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Lec 11 - Amplification

Amplification is a rhetorical device where writers add further details and information to repeat or emphasize an idea. The purpose is to focus the reader's attention on an important point they may otherwise miss. Writers use amplification to highlight persuasive aspects of an argument or draw attention to compelling parts of a narrative by elaborating on definitions, descriptions, and arguments.

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267 views4 pages

Lec 11 - Amplification

Amplification is a rhetorical device where writers add further details and information to repeat or emphasize an idea. The purpose is to focus the reader's attention on an important point they may otherwise miss. Writers use amplification to highlight persuasive aspects of an argument or draw attention to compelling parts of a narrative by elaborating on definitions, descriptions, and arguments.

Uploaded by

Wahshi Zaman
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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AMPLIFAICATION

Definition of Amplification

Amplification is a rhetorical device writers use to embellish


a sentence or statement by adding further information. The
objective is to increase readability and worth of the statement or
sentence. They usually use it when a simple sentence is abrupt,
and cannot convey the desired implications. Writers then use
amplification to make structural additions, and give further
meanings by describing and repeating a certain statement or
idea. The purpose of this rhetorical device is to bring the readers’
attention to an idea, which they may miss otherwise.

Amplification (pronounced am-pluh-fi-key-shuh-n) involves


extending a sentence or phrase in order to further explain,
emphasize, or exaggerate certain points of a definition,
description, or argument.
Amplification can involve embellishment or technical elaboration.
Either way, more information is being added. It is the action of
enlarging upon or adding detail to a story or statement.

"In amplification, writers repeat something they've just said while


adding more details and information to the original description. . .
"The main purpose of amplification is to focus the reader's
attention on an idea he or she might otherwise miss."

Function of Amplification
By using amplification, writers repeat something they already
have said with the purpose to add more information and details to
the original description. In writing and speech, amplification tends
to highlight the importance of an idea, to stimulate an emotional
response among the audience. In fact, it adds an exaggeration,
increases the rhetorical effect, and emphasizes to further
elaborate definitions, descriptions, and arguments in a piece.
Amplification also highlights the persuasive aspects of an idea by
elaborating the reason why it needs to be considered. Besides, in
creative writing, it draws readers’ attention to the most vivid,
thought provoking, and compelling parts of a narrative.

Example 1
Imagine you are struggling with a math assignment. You go into a
tutoring center to talk to a math tutor.
Normal Sentence:
The assignment was complicated.
In this sentence, necessary information is conveyed: the
assignment was complicated. But the tutor will need to know
what, specifically, made the assignment complicated in order to
help.
Sentence using Amplification:
The assignment was complicated because it involved numerous
steps. I believe I became lost on step three, but I’m not sure. I
may have miscalculated here on step four as well. Can you help
me?
Through the use of amplification, you have made clear what you
are struggling with, and the tutor can now help you.

One of the Biggest Trees in Pittsburgh


 "A massive tree centuries old holds out against the odds
here across from my mother's house, one of the biggest
trees in Pittsburgh, anchored in a green tangle of weeds and
bushes, trunk thick as a Buick, black as night after rain
soaks its striated hide. Huge spread of its branches canopies
the foot of the hill where the streets come together. Certain
times of day in summer it shades my mother's front porch. If
it ever tore loose from its moorings, it would crush her house
like a sledgehammer. . . ." (John Edgar Wideman, "All
Stories Are True." The Stories of John Edgar Wideman.
Random House, 1996)

Dickens on Newness

 "Mr. and Mrs. Veneering were bran-new people in a bran-


new house in a bran-new quarter of London. Everything
about the Veneerings was spick and span new. All their
furniture was new, all their friends were new, all their
servants were new, their place was new, . . . their harness
was new, their horses were new, their pictures were new,
they themselves were new, they were as newly-married as
was lawfully compatible with their having a bran-new baby,
and if they had set up a great-grandfather, he would have
come home in matting from Pantechnicon, without a scratch
upon him, French-polished to the crown of his head."
(Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, 1864-65)

The Importance of Using Amplification


Amplification provides more information in order to strengthen an
important point in a speech. It serves to exaggerate certain
statements which can underline comedic or serious intentions. It
emphasizes the persuasive aspects of an argument by
elaborating why exactly they should be considered. In creative
writing, amplification draws attention to the most compelling, vivid,
or thought-provoking sections of a narrative. In general,
amplification highlights what is most important.

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