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Subject:Re: Does a rhetorical question need a '?' From:Lori Olcott <lori_olcott -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:51:27 -0700 (PDT)
I would say otherwise. True, you don't want to overuse them, but a
rhetorical question can add greatly to an explanation. It gives the
reader a chance to consider what he's just read. Plus, it makes the text
more interactive by giving the illusion of two-way communication (even if
the reader fully understands that the question is rhetorical).
Mind you, much of my background is in training, so interaction and "are we
communicating here?" check-points are very important to my work. I also
recognize that there are times and places where rhetorical questions are
simply not appropriate. However, I found that Johan's original phrasing
had much more impact than the non-question suggestions that have come
along. It encouraged the reader to actively agree with him rather than
just take in information.
Just a few more thoughts for the kitty.
Tah!
Lori
> I'm late in reading this thread, but I wanted to suggest that it's a
> mistake to use rhetorical questions when you're trying to explain
> something.
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