Exam 5: Rhetoric,the Art of Persuasion

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Robert may be a pretty good gardener,all right,but you'll notice he lost nearly everything to the bugs this year.

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: In 1985,more people were killed by handguns in the United States than in Great Britain.

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. "Britain has done all it can to sabotage the development of the European Community.For a while it was Margaret Thatcher,and after that her equally right-wing successor,John Major,who served as mouthpiece for the isolationist camp in Britain.It's clear to any intelligent listener that the people they're really speaking for are not the average people in the street,who would benefit from joining the rest of Europe,but a small number of the English super-rich who don't want to rock the boat.As long as Britain remains independent,they get to pull the strings-and make the profits.These money types are joined by a few nineteenth-century throwbacks who are arrogant enough to think that England has an empire to protect and exploit." -Editorial,Athens Courier

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "A feminazi is a woman to whom the most important thing in life is seeing to it that as many abortions as possible are performed." -Rush Limbaugh

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: I'm not among those who wonder why the senator hasn't made a full disclosure of his financial dealings prior to taking office.

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: Once,after the owner and the head coach of the Houston Oilers football team had met for more than two hours,the owner announced that the two had "mutually decided" that the coach "would not return as head coach."

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

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

A)Discuss any instances of nonargumentative persuasion or pseudoreasoning and explain any slanting techniques you find in the following passage.(We'll comment on features we find obscure,unusual,or tricky. )B)Rewrite the passage in language that is as emotively neutral as possible but still retains the same informational content. "It's past time that you and I and every other American asked some cold,hard questions." "Who lost Iran?" "Who lost Afghanistan?" "Who lost Vietnam,Laos and Cambodia?" "Who crippled the FBI and the CIA?" "Who sold the Russians computers and other sophisticated equipment which have been used to stamp out freedom?" "Who is keeping our kids from praying in school?" "Who lets hardened criminals out on the street to kill,rape and rob again before their victims are buried or out of the hospital?" "Who says that America should do little if anything to help human beings who are daily being killed and beaten up by Marxist dictators?" "The answer in every case is LIBERALS." "But America is waking up to what the liberals have been doing to it." "To quote Michigan professor Stephen Tonsor,'New Deal liberals are as dead as a dodo.The only problem is they don't know it.'" -Richard Viguerie,The New Right

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

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Not everyone thinks that [former] Senator Jesse Helms is the least admired American public figure (as some opinion polls show).Even now,one or two southern Republicans lust after a Helms endorsement.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Chewing tobacco is not only messy,but also unhealthy (just check the latest statistics).

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

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: I'd much rather stay home and read a novel than go to a movie.

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

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

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "To those who say that the analogy of Hitler is extremist and inflammatory in reference to abortion,I would contend that the comparison is legitimate....The Supreme Court,by refusing to acknowledge their personhood,has relegated the entire class of unborn children to a subhuman legal status without protection under the law-the same accorded Jews under the Third Reich." -Jerry Nims,writing in the Moral Majority's Liberty Report

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: All that effort spent giving Kuwait back to the Kuwaitis was like taking a crime syndicate away from one Mafia boss and handing it to another.The Kuwaitis already own half the civilized world,and we've put them back in the driver's seat.Their so-called "justice" system is handing out cruel punishments to alleged collaborators,many of whom were simply trying to stay alive during the Iraqi occupation.

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. "I see that Mr.[Clint] Eastwood is up to his expansionist tricks again.Last time,when he couldn't get his way with the Carmel [California] Planning Commission,he got himself elected mayor and fired the members of the commission.That'll teach 'em to cross Dirty Harry! And now he wants to build a development of huge estates for his rich and fancy friends up in the hills,complete with a private and oh-so-exclusive golf course and all the other luxury amenities that we non-movie stars can hardly imagine.Since Mr.Eastwood already owns about half of Northern California,I hope somebody stops him before he turns the bulk of his property into encampments for the rich." -Paraphrase of the remarks heard on a talk radio station