Name That Appeal
“Every morning, thousands of students walk into school carrying more than just a backpack. Some carry the fear of failing, the pressure of disappointing their families, and the exhaustion of pretending everything is okay.”
Question:
Which rhetorical appeal is being used, and what emotion is the writer trying to create?
Answer: Pathos — the writer appeals to feelings of empathy, stress, and concern.
“We deserve better schools.
We deserve safer classrooms.
We deserve teachers who are supported.”
Question: What device?
Answer: Anaphora
“Do we really want our children growing up believing that their voices don't matter?”
Question: What rhetorical strategy is being used?
Answer: Rhetorical question
“The school promised to create a culture where students could learn, grow, and lead.”
Question: Is this primarily parallelism, anaphora, or anadiplosis?
Answer: Parallelism
Why? The verbs “learn, grow, and lead” have the same grammatical structure.
A school is considering starting later. The principal argues, “After analyzing attendance records from the past three years, we found that students are 18% less likely to be tardy when the school day begins after 8:30 a.m.”
Question:
Which appeal is being used? What makes this more than simply an opinion?
Answer: Logos — the argument relies on numerical evidence/data.
“They demanded justice in the courtroom.
They demanded justice in the streets.
They demanded justice from their leaders.”
Question: What device?
Answer: Epistrophe — repetition at the end of clauses.
“The company announced that it was ‘downsizing’ rather than admitting that hundreds of employees would lose their jobs.”
Question: What device is being used, and why might the company choose this language?
Answer: Euphemism — “downsizing” softens the harsher idea of employees losing their jobs.
“The students wanted change. Change required courage. Courage required action.”
Question: Identify the device. Then explain why anaphora would be incorrect.
Answer: Anadiplosis
The ending word becomes the beginning word of the next sentence.
It is not anaphora because the repeated word/phrase is not at the beginning of each clause.
“As a high school counselor who has worked with teenagers for more than fifteen years, I have seen firsthand how excessive academic pressure affects students’ motivation and mental well-being.”
Question:
Which appeal is being used? What makes the speaker credible?
Ethos — the speaker establishes credibility through professional experience.
“Students should be able to learn without fear, speak without judgment, and participate without hesitation.”
Question: What device is being used?
Answer: Parallelism
After the scandal, the company announced that its CEO would be taking a “leave of absence.”
The absence left the company without its longtime leader. That leader had been responsible for major decisions during the controversy.
Question:
Identify TWO rhetorical devices used in the passage.
Answer:
“Some people call it ‘discipline.’ Others call it ‘punishment.’ But what happens when discipline stops teaching and starts humiliating? What happens when consequences stop correcting behavior and start destroying confidence?”
Question:
Identify TWO rhetorical devices.
Answer:
“According to a national study, students who regularly get fewer than seven hours of sleep perform worse academically. As a teacher who has worked with teenagers for two decades, I have watched exhausted students struggle to concentrate. Imagine being expected to perform your best when you can barely keep your eyes open.”
Question:
Identify all three rhetorical appeals and explain what sentence creates each one.
“Fear creates silence.
Silence creates isolation.
Isolation creates hopelessness.”
Question: Identify the device.
Answer: Anadiplosis — the last word of one clause becomes the first word of the next.
“We will study harder, work harder, and push harder—not because success is easy, but because success is earned.”
Question: Identify TWO rhetorical devices.
“We have ignored the problem for too long. We have ignored the students for too long. We have ignored the warning signs for too long.”
Question:
Answer: Anaphora
Effect: emphasizes the repeated accusation and creates urgency/frustration
“You may believe students simply need to manage their time better. However, research shows that teenagers require approximately 8–10 hours of sleep each night. As someone who has taught high school for 22 years, I have seen the difference adequate sleep makes. Think about a teenager sitting in a classroom after sleeping only four hours because of homework, sports, and work.”
Question:
Which appeal is most dominant? Defend your answer with evidence from the passage.
Answer: Logos is most dominant because the central argument relies on research/evidence, although ethos and pathos are also present.
“We can build walls that separate us, or bridges that connect us.”
Question: Identify the device. What two contrasting ideas are being placed against each other?
Answer: Antithesis
Contrast: walls/separation vs. bridges/connection
“We don't need excuses. We need action.
We don't need blame. We need solutions.
We don't need division. We need unity.”
Question: Identify TWO rhetorical devices being used.
Answer:
“For years, we have told students to work harder. We have told them to try harder. We have told them to care more. But when students ask for help, where are we? When they struggle, where are we? When they fail, where are we?
Research shows that students who receive consistent academic support are more likely to remain engaged in school. As an educator who has worked with struggling students for years, I have witnessed this firsthand. We can continue blaming students, or we can begin changing the systems that surround them.”
Question:
Identify at least FOUR rhetorical strategies/appeals in the passage.