Exam 3: Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Pricing Decisions

Invent three examples of syntactically ambiguous claims.

Identify any unnecessary and potentially offensive references to gender, race, or other features in the following passage and, as necessary, rewrite the passage in neutral language. The Speaker of the House gave a pretty good speech, but he did not answer any questions afterward.

If you want to make a word's meaning more precise, a definition by synonym will work better than an analytical definition.

Classify the following: "A miracle: an event described by those to whom it was told by men who did not see it."-Elbert Hubbard

Evaluate the following claim, paying particular attention to problems of clarity. Note that claims may also present problems of knowability, though we don't address knowability per se in this chapter. "It is prudent to assume that all nations attempt to spy on other nations to the extent that their capacities and interests dictate."-Baltimore Sun

Indicate whether this informal definition is by example, by synonym, or analytical: "Congenial" means "companionable."

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: Renaissance music simply lulls me to sleep.

Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered, would you say the following claim is ambiguous, too vague, or neither? "Your satisfaction is guaranteed with our two-year limited guarantee."

For the following, indicate whether the definition given is by example, by synonym, or analytical: "Widow" refers to a woman whose husband has died.

Connotation is usually

For "liberal (noun)," provide an analytical definition that is flattering.

Classify the following definition according to its use: to reduce vagueness, to introduce or explain a new or unusual word, to evoke an attitude about something, or to accomplish some other purpose. Energy-efficient house: a house that, at a minimum, has no teenagers.

Arrange the lettered items below in order of increasingly favorable emotive meaning. Instructor and/or students may want to fuss about some of our rankings in these problems. We've said (a) = (b) when (a) and (b) seem equally favorable to us. The house the new architect designed for the Washingtons is a. unique. b. like nothing I've ever seen. c. innovative. d. different.

Discuss whether the vagueness of the following passage is appropriate to the context that is stated or implied. Pay particular attention to the underlined expressions. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." -United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment

Which item in the following set of claims has the most negative emotive meaning? Professor Henderson's class a. doesn't require much studying. b. is a gut. c. is easy. d. doesn't require a prefrontal cortex to pass.

Determine whether the following claim is best classified as semantically ambiguous (and whether this contains grouping ambiguities), syntactically ambiguous, or free from ambiguity: Sign in a hotel: NO SMOKING ROOMS AVAILABL E.

Classify the following definition according to its use: to reduce vagueness, to introduce or explain a new or unusual word, to evoke an attitude about something, or to accomplish some other purpose. "The cliché is prefabricated language; it is packaged and ready for immediate delivery."-William F.Irmscher and Harryette Stover, The Holt Guide to English

Indicate whether this informal definition is by example, by synonym, or analytical: "Dacha" is another word for "Russian country house."

Determine whether the following claim is too vague in the context that is stated or implied: My aunt lost most of her possessions when her house burned down last month.

Which item in the following set of claims has the most negative emotive meaning, and why do some choices seem meaner than others? a. I've never been fond of bowling. b. Bowling bores me to death. c. I'd rather read the phone book than bowl. d. On the pleasure scale, bowling ranks alongside pulling ticks off a dog.