Adhortatio (Exhortation)
Pattern
Let us... / We must... — urgent call to action
Definition
An urgent appeal or call to action, exhorting the audience to do something.
Examples
Example 1
Let us go forth to lead the land we love.
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 1961
The "let us" construction transforms a statement into a collective call to action
Example 2
Rise up! You have nothing to lose but your chains!
Adapted from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
The imperative voice and exclamation marks signal urgent exhortation
Example 3
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
The repeated imperative "rage" transforms a villanelle into a passionate exhortation to resist death
AI Detection Note
Common in AI text, especially in conclusions. AI exhortation tends to be formulaic ('We must...', 'It is imperative that...', 'Let us work together to...') and lacks the genuine urgency that makes human calls to action compelling.
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