Rhetorical Appeals
This rhetorical appeal uses facts, statistics, and "if-then" logic to convince an audience.
Answer: What is Logos?
This is the central point or position that an author is trying to prove in an argumentative text.
Answer: What is a claim?
Words around a term that help define it.
Answer: What are Context Clues
An author uses a graph showing the steady increase in global temperatures over the last century to support their argument. Which appeal is this?
Answer: Logos
Identify the logical fallacy: 'If we allow students to use their phones during lunch, eventually they will be using them during every class, and soon no one will ever learn to read or write again!'
Answer: Slippery Slope
An advertisement showing a shivering kitten in the rain to make you feel sad and donate money is using this appeal.
Answer: What is Pathos?
This is the "other side" of the argument.
Answer: What is the counterclaim?
A word that means the same as the unknown word.
Answer: What is a Synonym?
What is the purpose of a 'rebuttal' in an argument?
Answer: To provide a reason why the opposing view is incorrect or weak.
What is the 'connotation' of a word?
Answer: The emotional or cultural association attached to it.
When a speaker mentions they have a PhD in Science or 20 years of experience, they are building this appeal to their own credibility.
Answer: What is Ethos?
What is an argument that might sound convincing on the surface, but once you pull back the curtain, the logic falls apart
Answer: What is a logical fallacy
The emotional "vibe" or feeling of a word.
Answer: What is a connotation?
What makes evidence 'relevant' to an argument?
Answer: It directly supports or relates to the specific claim being made.
The Greek root 'path' means 'feeling' or 'suffering.' Which word most likely relates to this root?
A. Patriarch
B. Pathology
C. Paternal
D. Pathfinder
Answer: B. Pathology
An author uses loaded words like 'vicious,' 'cruel,' and 'heartless' to describe a new law. Which rhetorical appeal are they using?
Answer: Pathos
Which logical fallacy occurs when someone attacks the character of their opponent rather than addressing the actual argument being made?
Answer: Ad Hominem
A "root" is the base of a word; this is the part added to the front.
Answer: What is a Prefix?
A scientist presenting a report on renewable energy uses several charts showing the cost-efficiency of wind power over the last decade. Which rhetorical appeal is the focus of this presentation?
Answer: Logos
An author argues that a new park should be built because 'everyone in the neighborhood thinks it's a great idea.' Which logical fallacy is this?
Answer: Bandwagon
In a speech, a politician quotes the Constitution and a famous historical figure to create these two types of appeals.
Answer: What are Ethos and Logos? (Ethos for the authority of the figures; Logos for the logic of the document).
What is the most effective way to evaluate the 'validity' of an author's reasoning in an argument?
Answers may vary:
Best answer: Examine whether the evidence directly supports the claim without logical gaps.
Read the sentence: 'The politician’s speech was filled with platitudes, offering empty, overused slogans instead of actual solutions.' Based on the context clues, what does 'platitudes' mean?
Answer: Dull or trite remarks
An author argues that a city should invest in a new arts center. They state: 'Our city has always been a hub for creativity, and failing to build this center would be a betrayal of our very identity.' Which combination of rhetorical strategies is being used here?
Answer: Ethos and Pathos
Which device is used when an author says, 'He was a brave coward, leading his men into battle while his heart begged for retreat'?
Answer: Oxymoron