Rhetorical Appeals
Enlist in the army to fight for the interests of the family you’ll be protecting back home. Don’t let your son or daughter become a victim to the oppression we, as Americans, fight to destroy.
Pathos
He approached the task with sheer determination. He had studied his plans carefully, spent hours preparing and was sure of his approach. The hours he spent practicing were grueling and exhausting but he was ready. This was the year he would win the pie eating contest at school.
What is the tone:
a. angry
b. serious
c. loving
d. authoritative
b. serious
Her smile was a million miles wide.
Hyperbole
“The only adverse side effect of this prescription is that it will drain your bank account.”
What does adverse mean?
a. known
b. pleasant
c. harmful
c. harmful
Washington, Roosevelt, Lee, Powell. Protect the interests of your country like these men have. Fulfill your obligation to the ideals of freedom that others have preserved for you. Enlist.
Ethos
Pakhom went on running, his soaking shirt and trousers stuck to him and his mouth parched. His breast was working like a blacksmith's bellows, his heart was beating like a hammer, and his legs were giving way as if they did not belong to him. Pakhom was seized with terror lest he should die of the strain.
What is the tone of this passage?
a. joyful
b. panicked
c. exuberated
b. panicked
The ball is in your court now.
idiom
Cell phones have become ubiquitous; you can see — and hear — them everywhere.
What does ubiquitous mean?
a. affordable
b. complicated
c. widespread
c. widespread
Tobacco companies have been in litigation, facing charges that their marketing practices in the past have targeted teenagers. Also, evidence indicates that companies adjusted levels of nicotine in their cigarettes to increase the probability that smokers would become addicted to the product to ensure higher sales in the future.
What appeal is being used?
Logos
And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing.
What is the tone:
a. optimistic
b. somber
c. threatening
d. nostalgic
b. somber
Lea's friendship wrapped my sadness in a warm blanket.
What term is being used?
Personification
As they moved westward, early pioneers faced many tribulations, such as scarce food, extreme weather, and loneliness.
Tribulations means:
a. criminals
b. hard decisions
c. great difficulties
c. great difficulties
The pilots of the Hawkeye aircraft are the unsung heroes of naval operations. The first in and the last out, these men receive none of the glory bestowed on the Top Guns of F-18 fame. Thanks to Hollywood, fighter pilots have been glorified, but the pilots of the AWACS planes work quietly and diligently, and they deserve praise for their contributions.
What appeal is being used?
Pathos
But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success. Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, and the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this lovely world, these precious days…”
What is the tone?
a. proud
b. concerned
c. reminiscent
d. hopeful
d. hopeful
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus kills his own father without realizing that the man is actually his father. This act brings on a plague and Oedipus swears that he will murder the man responsible, not knowing that he himself is responsible.
Irony
Each of my coworkers has a strange idiosyncrasy. For instance, our receptionist wears only pink. The mail clerk always speaks in a whisper. And my office mate lives on peanuts and apples.
Idiosyncrasy means:
a. hidden thought
b. unusual goal
c. unusual personal trait
c. unusual personal trait
In naval aviation, the AWACS (Airborne Early Warning Command and Control System) plane, or Hawkeye, serves as an air traffic controller, monitoring the airspace around a carrier fleet. It is responsible for surveillance of enemy aircraft and ships as well as directing helicopters to survivors and guarding against air collisions. In addition to servicing the Navy, Hawkeye planes have been used in rescue operations of civilians during hurricane evacuations.
What appeal is being used?
Logos
This was the last fish we were ever to see Paul catch. My father and I talked about this moment several times later, and whatever our other feelings, we always felt it fitting that, when we saw him catch his last fish, we never saw the fish but only the artistry of the fisherman.
What is the tone:
a. baffled
b. mournful
c. reminiscent
d. detached
c. reminiscent
She’s got a heart of gold.
Metaphor
A memo that is brief and to the point is more likely to be read than one that is verbose and rambling.
Verbose means
a. argumentative
b. wordy
c. short
b. wordy