Exam 5: Planning and Forecasting

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "Trivial pursuit" is the name of a game played by the California Supreme Court, which will seek any nit-picking excuse preventing murderers from receiving justice.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: In March 1997, thirty-nine members of the so-called Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The event was connected with the Hale-Bopp comet, which was at that time making its brightest appearance to observers on earth. The cultists believed a spaceship following the comet would "take them away" from earthly matters, provided they had undergone sufficient "spiritual metamorphosis."

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "I was amazed when I read that frog licking has become a major preoccupation in Colorado. How could this possibly get started? It had to be this way. An environmentalist is out in the woods communing with nature. Probably some overgrown Boy Scout in little green shorts, a backpack filled with wheat nut mix. He's wearing his Walkman, skipping along some nature trail... maybe even humming. Ommmmm-Ommmmm-Ommmmm. He looks at a tree and maybe he says, 'Hi Greg.' Maybe he hugs the tree. 'Oh, I am at one with this tree.' Then he spies a frog and suddenly stops. 'Oh, look at that frog. Maybe I should pick it up and lick it.' And gets high as a result. You see, the Colorado spotted toad secretes a hallucinogenic substance that can get you high if you lick it near the back of its head." -Rush Limbaugh

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: Reading novels is a more productive use of one's time than going to movies.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Moore and Parker are both getting a little thin on top.

Construct eight sentences, each illustrating a use of this slanter: horse laugh/ridicule/sarcasm.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "All men are rapists." -Marilyn French

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "To Chico's wholesalers and retailers of pornography: do you honestly believe that pornography has no effect on the behavior of people?" -From an ad in the Chico Enterprise-Record

Construct eight sentences, each illustrating a use of this slanter: rhetorical explanation.

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: Soccer players are more athletic than basketball players.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "If we stop the shuttle program now, there are seven astronauts who will have died for nothing." -An unidentified U.S. congressman, after the space shuttle disaster of January 1986

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: Men are less efficient than women.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: A "provost" is the head academic officer in a university, whose chief function is to dream up work for faculty committees to do.

Construct eight sentences, each illustrating a use of this slanter: euphemism.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "Who is to blame for this lackluster political campaign?" -Television network anchor

Construct eight sentences, each illustrating a use of this slanter: significant mention.

Construct eight sentences, each illustrating a use of this slanter: rhetorical definition.

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: Clinton was a better president than the first Bush.

A) Discuss any instances of nonargumentative persuasion or pseudoreasoning and explain any slanting techniques you find in the following passage. B) Rewrite the passage in language that is as emotively neutral as possible but still retains the same informational content. "The U.S. government (that's you and me, by the way) is about to give away a resource that's worth more than any national park or national monument in the land. If the public were to hear that Yosemite or Yellowstone National Park were to be handed over, at no cost, to a major corporation, what do you think would happen? There'd be howls of protest, of course. But an even bigger giveaway is in the works: the awarding of large segments of the broadcast spectrum to the broadcasting systems. They'll be able to turn huge profits from the new resources. And how much comes back to the public? Not one dime. Handouts like this raise the level of corporate welfare to mind-stretching new heights!" -Letter to a local newspaper

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Yes, of course, we must protect the rights of innocent people-up to a point. The main thing is to make the streets safe again. Something must be done to reduce crime.