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English 10

Unit 7

Analyzing Informational Texts and Rhetoric

6 topics · 24 practice questions · Free responseNot yet reviewed

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Notes

Central idea and structure

  • The central idea is the main point. An objective summary restates it without opinion.
  • Structures: chronological, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, description.

Rhetorical situation and appeals

  • Analyze speaker, audience, purpose and context.
  • Ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), logos (logic and evidence) and kairos (timing).
  • Devices: anaphora, parallelism, antithesis, rhetorical question, allusion.

Judging arguments

  • Evidence should be relevant, sufficient and credible. Watch for bias, loaded language and opinion posing as fact.
  • Fallacies: ad hominem, straw man, false dilemma, slippery slope, bandwagon, hasty generalization, red herring.

Topics in this unit

Each topic has its own short notes and practice.

Practice

"We will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail." The repetition of "we will not" at the start of each clause is:
A senator says her opponent "wants to let criminals run wild" when the opponent proposed only reviewing sentencing rules. This is a:
A charity ad shows a photo of a lonely dog in the rain with the words "He's waiting for you." The main appeal is:
An activist gives a speech about flood safety the week after a major flood. The timing strengthens the speech through:
A blog post about a new phone was written by an employee of the phone's company and mentions no drawbacks. The biggest concern is:
An article compares solar and wind power, using "similarly" and "on the other hand." Its structure is:

Free response

Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.

Free-response question

Read this excerpt from Patrick Henry's 1775 speech to the Virginia Convention, urging colonists to prepare for war with Britain: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

(a) Identify the speaker's purpose and audience.

Show the answer and scoring guide

Henry's audience is the delegates of the Virginia Convention. His purpose is to persuade them to resist British rule and prepare to fight rather than seek peace.

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(b) Identify one rhetorical device in the excerpt and explain its effect.

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The opening is a rhetorical question: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" It expects the answer "no," pushing listeners to admit that peace under British control is not worth the cost. (Antithesis in "liberty or ... death" is also acceptable: it frames the choice as all or nothing.)

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(c) Explain how Henry uses pathos, and evaluate whether "liberty or death" is a fair framing.

Show the answer and scoring guide

Henry uses pathos through charged words like "chains and slavery" and the cry "Forbid it, Almighty God!", stirring fear, anger and religious feeling. "Liberty or death" is powerful but presents only two options, which could be seen as a false dilemma, since other paths such as negotiation existed. Its emotional force, though, fit the urgent moment.

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