(down to earth version of the simile)

makes use of something already well known to explain something that is less well known.

"As the endless waves wash eternally upon the shore, so does true love overwhelm the soul."

a reference to some fairly well-knkown event, place, or person

This new war was Vietnam all over again.

similar to an allusion, referring to a specific famous person to link his or her attributes with someone else.

A modern day Moses, he led his nation to a new beginning.

a fancy term for a quotation, maxim, or wise saying.  Usually makes use of general maxims that aren't attributed to a single source.

As is often said, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

providing your reader with an examle to illustrate your point.

The U.S. government gives its citizens freedom; one illustration of this is that we have the right to criticize our leaders.

consists of using the same general structure for multiple parts of a sentence, or for multiple sentences, in order to link them all

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessing; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

The manor-designed for beauty and grace, built for durability and strength, and located for privacy and safety-was the ideal home for those three children.

takes the last word of a sentence or phrase and repeats it near the beginning of the next sentence or phrase.

In education we find the measure of our own ignorance; in ignorance we find the beginning of wisdom.

used to sum up a body of work that has come before, so that you can move on to a new point.

I have discussed cars and factories, and how these relate to global warming, but we have still to look at long-term atmospheric trends.

used to insert an aside or additional information into the main flow of your writing.

(one way to do this is by using the actual parenthesis symbols)

This continued for many years - some would say far longer than it should have- before a new brand of politician put an end to it.

a forceful, emotional device, in which the writer breaks out of the flow of the writing to directly address a person or personified object.

O Death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?

So we near our conclusion, and I must ask you, my wise reader, to bear with me for one more small digression.