Work Cited
Related Terms
- Exemplum - an example that highlights a point
- Fable - a short story with human-like animals and other objects that teaches a moral lesson
- "Anecdote." Literary Devices. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.
- Burton, Gideon O. "The Forest of the Rhetoric." Silva Rhetoricae. Bringham Young University, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.
- Ericsson, Stephanie. "The Ways We Lie." Ericsson, Stephanie, "The Ways We Lie." N.p., 2005. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.
- "Fable." Literary Devices. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
- "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599)." Open Source Shakespeare. George Mason University, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
- Wheeler. "Literary Terms and Defintions." Literary Terms and Defintions. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Examples
What is an anecdote?
Anecdotes are short narrative accounts of an amusing, unusual, revealing, or interesting event. Basically they are stories.
The Story of the Anecdote
- Mr. Brunner hates chapstick. One time, someone applied it during class and Mr. Brunner saw. The marker that Mr. Brunner was using suddenly fell out of his hands and Mr.Brunner's face began turning red in anger. He began yelling and threatening to kick the person out of the room for putting on chapstick.
- Stephanie Ericsson begins her article "The Ways We Lie" with a story about a typical day for her and the lies involved in that day
- In William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, in Act I Scene II, Cassius tells Brutus the story of how Caesar almost drowned and begged Cassius to save him and how Caesar got sick on a trip and begged like a girl for water.
by: Grace Huynh
Purpose
Effects
- Because the anecdote acts as evidence for a claim, they help the audience agree with and see the author's point.
- Anecdotes describing a person will influence the audience's perspective of the person being described.
- Anecdotes describing a humorous event evoke laughter.
- Usually a person tells an anecdote to provide the audience with a clear example that proves a certain point.
- An anecdote could be used to describe a person's personality.
- Anecdotes with an amusing plot are used to create humor. For example, many people at events, such as family reunions, tell embarrassing, yet funny stories.