Simile

Example

“Using wind power to solve global warming is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm and expecting it to heal.”

Definition and effect on reader

A simile is a technique that uses a comparison to create meaning. The words “like” or “as…as” often signify similes. This comparison is effective in giving the reader a sense of what something is like, even if it is foreign to them. In the above example, the reader’s knowledge that putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm would be an ineffective cure enables them to understand the reader’s suggestion that wind power is an ineffective solution to the crisis of global warming. In this example, the simile can also be described as hyperbolic.

Analogy

Example

For example: “illegally downloading movies is like walking into a video store and stealing the disks from their DVD cases.”

Definition and effect on reader

Like a simile, an analogy often offers a comparison which creates meaning for the reader. They are often used to explain an idea in a simpler way or to demonstrate the writer’s use of logic. In the above example, the writer is using the analogy to draw a comparison between an action that the reader may engage in, and an action that they would recognise as stealing. In turn, this allows the writer to demonstrate the logic in their argument that people should not illegally download as their analogy has made the reader acknowledge the similarities between physical stealing and electronic stealing.

Juxtaposition

Example

“Self-indulgent, cocky commentators pick on the most innocent players”

Definition

Juxtaposition is the positioning of two opposite ideas directly against one another to highlight the differences between them and make the comparison seem more extreme. In the example given, by talking about the “innocent players” in the same sentence as the “self-indulgent, cocky commentators”, the writer shows that the commentators are all the worse for picking on well-behaved players, rather than just on any player. This technique is often used to place blame on one group while highlighting the innocence of another.