The Magic of Three: Techniques for the Writer's Craft
There’s something about our English language that lends itself to threes. Putting words and ideas in a group of three can add rhythm and cadence to the sound of the language and add inspiration and passion to the message. Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Not only was this a worthy sentiment, it was also a powerful rhetorical technique. A series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses is known as a tricolon in literary parlance. In intermediate classrooms, we call it the Magic of Three. Tricolons are easy to read, easy to say, and easy to remember. See what I mean? In this lesson, students will learn how to apply this useful writing technique to make their writing more engaging, fluent, and rhythmical. This site encourages students to use parallel structure.
