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WorksheetsPoor vs Strong Responses (Argument Analysis - Audio Visual)
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 45mins
Which paragraph correctly identifies the author’s contention?
The speaker highlights sitting as a common behaviour in workplaces and offers reflections on possible health implications. She blends anecdote and research to propose new habits, urging listeners to reconsider everyday routines.
Merchant describes a cultural habit of sitting and provides statistics to show its prevalence. She links this habit to negative outcomes and suggests people ought to consider alternatives to conventional meetings. The argument points toward adopting walking meetings as a solution.
The talk describes how modern life involves many hours seated and outlines several consequences of this habit. Merchant explains the relationship between inactivity and disease and argues that simple changes can protect wellbeing. Her point underscores that movement and productivity can coexist.
Merchant discusses contemporary sedentary lifestyles and offers several reasons why prolonged sitting is harmful. She lists health risks and suggests that small behavioural changes are necessary to address the problem. Her examples frame the issue as urgent and widespread.
Which paragraph uses the correct academic voice and third person point of view?
We can see that walking will help us be healthier, and I agree with the speaker because this sounds sensible and fun for everyone. I think the recommendations are realistic and we should try them in our next meeting.
Merchant explains that walking meetings changed her life and describes how combining movement with work can improve creativity and wellbeing. She presents personal experience and research to support her claim and she invites US to experiment with the idea.
Merchant suggests “walk and talk” as a practical strategy to reduce sitting and improve thinking. Her clear examples and measured tone encourage listeners to consider integrating walking into their routines. This paragraph maintains formal academic voice.
The talk is interesting and makes the audience want to try walking meetings. The speaker is persuasive and we will see benefits if we try her idea.
Which paragraph uses the author’s name correctly?
Nilofer uses humour early in her talk to create rapport, then she turns serious when discussing health consequences linked to inactivity. Her mixture of tone helps transition the audience from comfort to concern and it prepares them for a practical solution.
Merchant opens with a humorous image, then moves to a sobering discussion of statistics about disease. Her use of anecdote and evidence balances emotion and logic, helping the audience accept both the urgency and the feasibility of walking meetings.
Miss Nilofer Merchant explains in a friendly manner how she started walking meetings and why other people might try them too. Her storytelling humanises the issue and makes the suggestion seem manageable for most professionals.
The author, Nilofer, alternates between joke and fact to show that the topic matters; this blend of style helps listeners to both smile and think seriously about their habits.
Which paragraph demonstrates a clear topic sentence and cohesive structure?
Merchant argues that organisations should rethink meeting culture by experimenting with walking meetings. She supports this claim with a personal anecdote about a walking meeting that improved her own thinking. The example is connected to wider research about activity and cognitive benefits which strengthens her argument.
The talk includes anecdotes and statistics about sitting and movement, followed by some suggestions the speaker has for healthier work practices. The speech seems fragmented. The audience is invited to do so. Merchant speech is persuasively inviting the audience.
Merchant speaks about walking meetings and mentions how she feels after exercising. She then lists illnesses linked to inactivity and finally suggests people should change. The speech doesn't jumps from one idea to another without clear links.
The speech shows Merchant's movement. She also gives some facts, and ends with advice, while each line contains useful details, their order makes the main idea easy to identify immediately.
Which paragraph best identifies the primary and secondary audiences?
Merchant addresses teenagers in schools first and then older adults who are retired. She further uses stories of family and exercise to reach both groups on the professional context.
Merchant primarily addresses professionals and office workers who spend long hours seated in meetings and at desks. She also appeals to anyone concerned about health who may implement walking into daily life.
Merchant speaks to fitness enthusiasts who already walk often, her suggestions assume an audience that regularly exercises and therefore may not apply to busy office workers.
Merchant’s talk is primalrily intended for public in general. Her audience can also broadly reach people who focus on health such as helath enthusiast enthusiasts.
Which paragraph correctly explains tone shifts throughout the talk?
Merchant stays neutral all the way through the talk and does not change her emotional tone. The talk remains informative but emotionally flat. This makes the audience feel that the speech is serious and dangerous, thus plays as a good reminder to audience that sitting is dangerous.
Merchant begins with a startling, serious tone to shock the audience, then she softens to a conversational and humorous tone as she shares a walking-meeting anecdote, and finally she adopts an uplifting, motivational tone to prompt action. These shifts guide the audience from alarm to empowerment.
Merchant’s tone is light and joking in the beginning and remains playful until the end, so the audience leaves feeling entertained only.
Merchant starts angrily, gets angrier, and finishes with aggressive demands that alienate the audience.
Which paragraph fully states WHAT the author did, HOW she did it, and WHY it matters?
Merchant mentions numbers about sitting and talks about an example where she walked with a colleague, the facts are surprising so they make the audience feel concerned.
Merchant provides evidence and examples, this combination is persuasive and may increase the likelihood of behaviour change among her audience.
Merchant presents statistics showing how many hours people sit, she pairs these data with a personal anecdote about walking meetings to humanise the numbers, and she uses both to argue that movement can improve health and creativity, ultimately making the solution seem achievable for audience.
The author uses data and story to make her point, she hopes people will change their habits soon.
Which paragraph best analyses the speaker’s use of visuals and explains their effect?
Clark displays a simple slide comparing average working hours to sleeping hours. This alarms listeners by making the extent of working concrete and tangible, reinforcing the urgency to rest more.
Clark uses a chart on the screen showing hours, it gives numbers for people to read and the audience can follow the data. Therefore, the audience can understand the material better.
The speaker’s visuals are clean and professional, they support the speech and look tidy while she speaks.
Merchant’s slides include figures and the audience sees information on the screen that backs up her claim. This creates the message sounds more urgent.
Which paragraph demonstrates correct subject–verb agreement and clear grammar?
Merchant explain that walking meetings can increase creativity and reduce health risks, her evidence are both personal and scientific, making the argument persuasive and coherent.
Merchant explains that walking meetings can increase creativity and reduce health risks. Her evidence is both personal and scientific, which makes the argument persuasive and coherent.
Merchant explains that walking meetings can increases creativity and reduce health risks; her evidence is personal and scientific, but the sentence structure are uneven and confusing.
Merchant explains that walking meetings can increase creativity and reduces health risks, her evidence are personal and is scientific, and therefore the argument is convincing.
Which paragraph correctly analyses persuasive devices and explains their impact?
Clark uses a story and then lists numbers. This combination is interesting and the connection between story and statistics is made clear enough to fully persuade his audience.
Clark only describes events and then provides facts. The devices are there and they work together to strengthen his argument for his audience.
Clark's devices are present. However they do not always support his contention because they are unrelated in the speech.
Clark uses an anecdote about a walking meeting and follows it with statistics about disease. This mix of pathos and logos convinces the audience emotionally and logically which strengthens his call to action.
Which paragraph best identifies a persuasive device used to build rapport and explains its effect?
Merchant uses colloquial humour early in the talk and pairs it with personal confession, which humanises her speech, therefore encouraging listeners to accept a challenging message about health.
Merchant tells jokes and also shares personal details. This makes the audience enjoy the talk.
Merchant talks informally and sometimes uses anecdotes. Her approach is friendly so people feel comfortable.
Merchant uses humour and stories that are relatable. The audience smiles and listens, and that is the end result.
At the beginning of the TED Talk, the presenter’s tone is thoughtful and calm, saying, “We all start somewhere small.” This makes the audience feel reflective and ready to listen. As the talk continues, the tone shifts to passionate and determined, shown in “If not now, then when?”, which creates a mood of inspiration in the audience. By the end, the presenter’s tone becomes optimistic and confident, leaving the audience feeling hopeful about the possibility of change. These tone shifts help the presenter to emphasise their message and motivate the audience to take action.
Why is this a very good response?
It shows tone shifts supported by evidence and links them to audience emotion and purpose.
It lists tones without connecting them to quotes or audience effect.
It explains feelings but not the shift in tone.
It recognises tone change but doesn’t show its effect on persuasion.
One important visual the presenter used is a chart showing rising sea levels over the past 50 years, accompanied by the statement, “This isn’t projection. It’s proof.” This visual is used to help the audience understand scientific data easily. It makes the audience feel or think that the problem is real and urgent. The visual strengthens the speech by making the message clearer and increasing the credibility of the presenter.
Why is this a very good response?
It only describes the visual without explaining why it matters.
It connects the visual, purpose, and audience impact, with evidence for credibility.
It focuses on data but doesn’t include audience reaction.
It links message and evidence but skips emotional response.
The presenter used statistics, such as “One in three teens experience anxiety due to social media”, to create urgency and show the seriousness of the issue. Another technique was anecdote, where she shared, “When I was 15, I couldn’t go a day without checking my phone,” which helped to make the topic personal and relatable. The presenter also used rhetorical questions, asking “When did we last spend a whole day offline?” so that the audience would reflect on their own social media habits. Finally, they used inclusive language with phrases like “we all share responsibility” to unite the audience in common concern. These techniques made the speech more powerful and memorable because they appealed to both emotion and logic that convince the audience to consider making change.
Why is this a very good response?
It gives clear effects but doesn’t explain why they matter.
It includes examples but doesn’t explain how they persuade.
It lists devices but doesn’t connect them to audience reaction.
It correctly identifies and analyses multiple techniques with clear evidence and audience impact.
At the end of the TED Talk, the presenter encourages the audience to reduce their plastic use in daily life by saying, “We can’t wait for someone else to fix this. It starts with us.” The speaker invites people to start with small changes, like carrying reusable bottles, because simple habits can lead to a cleaner planet for future generations. The call to action is effective because it makes the audience feel motivated and responsible and helps them understand that individual actions contribute to a collective impact.
Why is this a very good response?
It is a long response. It identifies the action but doesn’t show its impact on the audience.
It uses a quote and repeats ideas without analysis.
It fully explains the action, reason, emotional effect, and audience understanding with direct evidence.
It explains motivation but doesn’t clearly link to the reason for action.
