Persuasive Essay Test

Which persuasive technique means "logic, reason, rational thinking."

• logos
• ethos
• pathos

When do emotional arguments tend to work best?

• To add more evidence to a strong argument
• In honest, open intellectual debate
• With uneducated audiences who are too lazy to think things through

What is one benefit of using pathos?

• to provide another type of evidence
• to add spirit to your essay
• to avoid a logical fallacy

Powerful statistics do not need interpretation.

• True
• False

What can make or break your argument?

• too much evidence
• not enough evidence
• the strength of the evidence
• outdated research

To have the strongest essay, it is best to have multiple and counterarguments so there is no doubt you analyzed your argument from all viewpoints.

• true
• false

What is a red herring?

• Where someone attacks an opponent’s character, or his motives for believing something, instead of dis-proving his opponent’s argument.
• Where someone condemns an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it.
• Where someone introduces an irrelevant point into an argument. He may think (or he may want us to think) it proves his side, but it really doesn’t.
• Where someone appeals to the authority of someone who has no special knowledge in the area they are discussing.

What is an ad hominem?

• Where someone introduces an irrelevant point into an argument. He may think (or he may want us to think) it proves his side, but it really doesn’t.
• Where someone attacks an opponent’s character, or his motives for believing something, instead of dis-proving his opponent’s argument.
• Where someone condemns an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it.
• Where someone dismisses your viewpoint on an issue because you are yourself inconsistent in that very thing.

What is circular reasoning?

• A. Where someone asks one question which assumes the answer to a second question.
• B. Where the meaning of a word is changed in the middle of an argument.
• C. Where someone attempts to prove his conclusion by simply restating it. He says “P is true because Q is true, and Q is true because P is true.”
• D. Where someone asserts that what is true of something as a whole must also be true of each of its parts. This is the reverse of the part-to-whole fallacy. E. Where someone asserts that we must chose between two things, when in fact we have more alterna-tives.

What is a form of evidence that provides strong support?

• bandwagon
• statistics
• pathos