Rhetoric Middle School

Which quote uses parallelism?

• "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow."

  
  

  —Barack Obama, inaugural address

• "Her cat was more like a screeching demon from the underworld than a furry companion."

  
  

  —Student essay

• "Nine out of 10 dentists recommend this toothpaste to their patients."

  
  

  —Television commercial

• "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

  
  

  —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Imagine you have a teacher you want to thank for helping you out with a difficult situation. Which example will get your message across most clearly?

• I often struggle a lot with situations like that.

• When people help each other, the world is a better place.

• I appreciate your helping me with my tough situation the other day.

• When I have tough situations, it's hard for me to ask for help.

Which of the following is an example of inductive reasoning?

• I heard on the radio that the first day of summer will be cool, so it will be cool that day.

• It has been cool every day this summer so far, so tomorrow will likely be cool too.

• It was cool on the first day of summer, so the entire summer will be cool.

• June is the coolest summer month where I live, so it will probably be cool this June.

Which of the following is an example of deductive reasoning?

• All the English teachers at my school are women, so my next English teacher will be a man.

• All the gym teachers at my school are women, so my gym teacher this year will be a woman.

• My math teacher in middle school was a man, so my math teacher in high school will probably be a man.

• My music teacher in middle school was a man, so my music teacher in high school will likely be a woman.

Inductive reasoning is weaker than deductive reasoning because it:

• comes to a general conclusion based on a specific observation.

• includes support from unreliable experts to make a point.

• counts on the emotions of the audience to come to a decision.

• begins with a big idea that is supported with specifics.

Read this excerpt from a student election speech:

My two years of experience as your vice president, my tireless commitment to the students of this school, and my willingness to be your voice and represent you when meeting with the school authorities make me the ideal candidate for senior class president.

Which of these rhetorical devices is most clearly used here?

• Pathos

• Inductive reasoning

• Ethos

• Author's purpose

What is one way to appeal to pathos?

• By choosing language that has powerful rhythms

• By drawing a conclusion that is based on specific circumstances

• By including examples that are supported by solid sources

• By using a structure that is easy for the audience to follow

What argument do the authors of the Declaration of Independence make?

• Britain should create a new government for the colonists because the current government is not sufficient.

• The king should apologize to the colonists because he has not protected their freedom.

• The colonists should separate from Britain because Britain does not protect the colonists' rights.

• The writers of the declaration should rule the colonies because they can do a better job than Britain.

Read this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

Which of these rhetorical devices is most clearly used in the underlined portion of the text?

• Pathos

• Inductive logic

• Deductive logic

• Ethos

Read this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.

Which of these rhetorical devices is most clearly used here?

• Inductive logic

• Deductive logic

• Logos

• Ethos