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What  will  happen  if  you  cheat  .  .  .  

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English Department, BYU–I Wet Spring 2015 Midterm Exam—English 450 Brother Brugger

You have to take this exam by yourself. Violate this condition and win a session with the Dean of Students. In other words, you’re on your honor to take this exam without the use of notes, handouts, the Internet (except for this test), friends, roommates, classmates, spouses, or potential spouses. In still other words, you’re to hold your own little soirée (French: “an evening party”)—just you, your #2 pencil, the Scan-Tron bubble sheet, and this test. Completely fill in the appropriate bubbles with a #2 pencil only. Also, be sure to fill the bubbles for your name and I-number. No name, no number, no score—no joke. Put my name on it, too. While you don’t have to take this exam in one sitting, once you open this file, you may not return to any course-related materials (“As a dog returneth to his

vomit”—Proverbs 26:11). _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Consolidated  Instructions                                                                                                                                                                                                                      True/False: Mark the true statements T (#1); the false ones F (#2). Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer. Matching: Match stuff. On a separate sheet of paper, outline the history of rhetoric, from ancient Greece through post-modernity. Comment on its political, military, economic, and societal contributions—and detrimental effects. Be concise yet comprehensive, eloquent but succinct, personal yet global. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, don’t include one. (Just kidding! Here’s the real test . . . ) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ DEFINITIONS  OF  RHETORIC 1. According to Aristotle, the definition of rhetoric is a. a statement of the writer’s position; a response to the question at issue b. the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion c. a method of argument that systemically weighs contradictory ideas d. an explanation as to why a position is false, weak, or otherwise invalid e. sufficient unto itself, and therefore requires no definition f. itself rhetorical 2. In defining rhetoric, Plato was quoted as calling it: a. “The art of winning the soul by discourse.” b. “The ability to convince someone of something.” c. “all Greek to me.” d. “The deepest desires of one’s heart portrayed poetically and lauded loquaciously.” 3. Locke was famous for labeling rhetoric a. “that powerful instrument of error and deceit.” b. “thinking outside the hoax.” c. “chocolate for the ears.” d. “rhetor done!” e. “that oration sensation.”

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4. Richards defined rhetoric as the study of __________ and their __________. a. words, meanings b. messages, purposes c. misunderstandings, remedies d. texts, limitations e. men, malevolent mindlessness _____________________________________________________________________________________________AUDIENCE  &  VALUES Study the following image carefully (but not so much that you get dizzy or anything . . .)

OK, it’s just a triangle, but a pretty neat one. Here’s some more:

5. Most people would see a dumb Dorito, a mere million-dollar diamond, and a plain ol’ pyramid, but because you’ve taken this class (well, half of it anyway), and have studied the “rhetorical triangle,” you’d see these images

as encapsulations—yea, embodiments—of the entire field of rhetoric! a. True b. False c. “Can Bro. Brugger say S-A-B-B-A-T-I-C-A-L?” (Not the right answer.) 6. If compelled to label its three angles in harmony with the “rhetorical triangle,” you’d write a. logos, ethos, pathos b. message, audience, communicator c. laugh, learn, love d. mind, body, spirit e. 60°, 60°, 60° f. reading, ‘riting, rhetoric 7. What term generally describes how a document emotionally appeals to its audience? a. Mood b. Tone c. Style d. Aesthetics 8. What term generally describes how an audience emotionally “receives”—or responds to—a rhetorical piece? a. Mood b. Tone c. Style d. Aesthetics 9. Which of the following is not considered in audience analysis?

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a. Audience characteristics. e. Appropriate use of details. b. Audience background. f. Appropriate use of format. c. Audience knowledge of subject. g. All of the above are considered. d. Purpose of document. 10. Which of the following is not considered in audience analysis? a. Level of knowledge. e. Role, personal stake, or interest. b. Gender. f. Attitudes and preconceptions. c. Organizational distance. g. All of the above are considered. d. Reading style. 11. To rhetorically-savvy writers and speakers, what is the most important step in planning a target document or speech? a. Painstaking research c. Astute audience analysis b. Careful editing d. As they say in real estate, “Locution, locution, locution.” 12. The beliefs of a social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something) is also known as a. audience characteristics b. audience demographics c. audience values Watch the following clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2qRDMHbXaM then answer #13. 13. Which of the following is best illustrated therein? a. Ethos vs. pathos b. Domestic discord, bordering on dysfunction c. Chronos vs. kairos d. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” . . . wait—wrong movie (dismiss this option) e. A value conflict—in the form of greater good vs. lesser good OR public need vs. personal need 14. To identify the values underlying an argument is to a. better understand the writer/speaker’s beliefs/opinions b. better understand the writer/speaker’s position/stance c. better understand the writer/speaker’s objective(s)/agenda d. better understand that some values conflict with your own e. All of the above 15. What are clues for identifying value conflicts? a. Investigate the author’s background b. Consider why/how the consequences of the author’s

position seem so important to him/her c. Start a war and see what happens d. Use hand puppets to effectively recreate the dispute e. a & b f. None of the above _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ASSUMPTIONS   16. True/False. Beliefs and values determine assumptions, which in turn affect the quality of our thinking. 17. True/False. An assumption is an unstated belief that supports explicit reasoning. 18. True/False. A value assumption is an implicit preference for one value over another in a particular context.

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19. True/False. When one identifies assumptions, one automatically identifies values. 20. True/False. One’s task in finding assumptions is to reconstruct the reasoning by filling in the missing links.

(You)                           Yep,  He’s  watching  .  .  .  _____________________________________________________________________________________________ APPEALS For questions 22 – 30 a list of appeals follows. Identify the most dominant appeal which appears in each of the statements or images below. a. Emotion b. Logic/intellect/reason c. Tradition d. Novelty e. Ethics/morals/values f. Snobbery g. Pity 22. “Look at the nuclear issue by putting yourself in Iran’s position. An Iranian official once said to me about five years ago, ‘We are not pursuing a nuclear weapons program; we are pursuing a nuclear program.’ I wouldn’t trust that characterization, but here’s what he then said: ‘But if we were to pursue a nuclear weapons program, would it be so irrational? Look at our neighborhood. Russia has nukes. India has nukes. Pakistan has nukes. China has nukes. And Israel has nukes. Then on one side of our border the United States has 100,000 troops in Iraq. On the other side of our border, the United States has 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. The president of the United States says he’s committed to ousting our regime. Now, if you were in our position, wouldn’t that make you nervous and wouldn’t you want to buy some kind of insurance?’ That doesn’t sound like the talk of a mad, messianic regime official, but rather of one that’s looking at costs and benefits and calculating them.” 23. “An entire city was irradiated to death. Much of its population was reduced to a mash of burned and bleeding bodies, crawling, writhing on the ground in their death agonies. The rest was staggering, half-mad, naked, and blackened, with charcoal faces and blind eyes.” 24. “To possess such weapons is bad enough, but to sell them to wealthy, third-world nations is unconscionable.” 25. See image below . . .

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26. “Polygamy isn’t such a bad idea; after all, it’s been around for thousands of years.” 27. “The Chevy Decelerate: the car choice of truly discriminating motorists.” 28. “Chocolate Coke: never before has a cola been this refreshing.” 29. “If you buy Dr. Scholl’s shoe inserts, you’ll be helping another needy child receive a decent education.” 30. Professor: “Why should I accept your late work?”

Student: “Because I need good grades to get a job to support my family.”

Banan  Appeal—a  common  appeal  not  discussed  in  class.   31. See image below . . .

This ad relies primarily on a. logos b. ethos c. pathos d. kairos

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32. How does emotion play a part in argumentation/rhetoric? a. It’s the first thing you should use in an argument, as it makes your opponent feel awkward b. Never use it; it indicates a weak argument c. Emotion’s role should be secondary, a backdrop to logical reasoning d. If you choose to use it, be careful how you use it; it could backfire on you (i.e., sentimentalism) For questions 33 – 36, match the image to its dominant appeal. a. Tradition b. Novelty c. Snobbery d. Pity e. Simplicity

33. 34.

35. 36.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Still  watching  .  .  .  

37. Notice the similarity between the two images below. (Then conclude that Disney doesn’t take a formulaic approach to its movie-making.) Anyway, what Greek term best defines the moment captured in these images?

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a. ethos b. logos c. pathos d. kairos e. carpe diem f. carpe puella (Latin: girl) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ LOGICAL  FALLACIES For questions 38 – 58, a list of the fallacies we have studied follows. Identify the most dominant fallacy which appears in each of the statements below. a. Causation b. Hasty Generalization c. Ad Hominem d. Red Herring e. Begging the Question f. False Analogy g. Oversimplification h. Either/Or i. Association j. Genetic 38. Mary: “Oh, John, have you started smoking again? You know that before your surgery the doctor said that your system just couldn’t stand any more nicotine.” John: “You’re a fine one to talk! Why, I’ll bet you’re 40 pounds overweight. What does the doctor think of that?” 39. “I bought a Venus fly-trap last fall; by December all the flies in my house were gone.” 40. “We cannot eliminate the Pell Grant program; it is an essential program.” 41. “Saddam Hussein was another Hitler; his occupation of Kuwait like Hitler’s occupation of Czechoslovakia—and a first step toward regional domination.” 42. “We should make academic requirements stricter for students because they’ve all been raised on video games.” 43. “America’s unrivaled military strength ultimately thwarted Communism, as evidenced by the breakup of the former Soviet Union.” 44. “There’s only one reason why RCA Records went out of business: music piracy.” 45. “Chuck Norris manhandled illegals at the border between Texas and Mexico; he is the perfect Taco Bell spokesman.” 46. New Hampshire’s license plate: “Live Free or Die.” (This is true, by the way—not the answer necessarily, but the state’s motto.) 47. “So, do you want to do the dishes or should I just go ahead and spend your allowance?” 48. Person 1: “Well, I think that your reasons for supporting legalized gambling ignore the facts.” Person 2: “You’re just an ultra-liberal, body-piercing, tattoo-wielding, neo-Nazi feminist.” 49. “President Obama should quit vacationing at Camp David. Every time he does, some country gets invaded.” 50. “We should think of male-female relationships as an on-going battle for control of the Pacific.”

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51. “I’m sure that at least 75% of the people on this campus are here just to get married.” 52. “Florence Henderson prefers Easy-Off oven cleaner, and she should know because she played the mother of six kids on TV’s The Brady Bunch.” 53. “I just got bitten by a kitten. Disney should remake 101 Dalmations using cats instead. Too bad there’s not a world-wide market demand for cat-fur coats.” 54. “I’d hate being a waiter at Costa Vida in Rexburg. A lot of Mormon people eat there. Good luck getting tips.” 55. “Let’s hope Mom doesn’t ever go to the hospital again. Every time she does, she comes home with a baby.” 56. “The school board should not vote to spend money for education in art and music when so many of our children fail to read at their grade levels.” 57. “If you don’t believe in conventional war, and you don’t believe in nuclear war, what kind of war do you believe in?” 58. “Logical fallacy identification ruins relationships.” _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 59. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the comic strip below?

a. Ad Hominem b. Loaded Question c. Either/Or d. Causation 60. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the comic below?

a. Ad Hominem b. Loaded Question c. Either/Or d. Causation 61. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the comic below?

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a. Ad Hominem b. Genetic c. Red Herring d. Oversimplification For questions 62 – 71, another list of the fallacies we have studied follows. Identify the most dominant fallacy which appears in each of the statements below. a. Nominal (Naming) b. Loaded Question c. Equivocation d. Bandwagon e. Circular Reasoning f. Non Sequitur g. Card Stacking h. Straw Man i. Poisoning the Well j. Slippery Slope 62. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the comic strip below?

63. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the image below?

64. “People who accept natural selection believe in a master race.” 65. 17-year-old high school student: “I just want to graduate.” 47-year-old parent-turned-psychologist: “You just have a bad case of senioritis; I’ve seen this before.”

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66. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the ad below?

67. Watch the following clip, then name the fallacy therein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlyHKVA4mPc (This was a freebie, by the way.) 68. “Everybody knows that cold fusion is a proven impossibility. Now, we’d like to hear from our next speaker, Tim, who apparently has something to say about this idiotic topic. Also, I should tell you that he fell off his scooter last week and hit his head, so . . . you know.” 69. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the ad below?

70. Which logical fallacy is illustrated in the ad below?

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71. Which logical fallacy is illustrated below?

72. Watch the following clip, then name the fallacy therein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BaUWOyW8Lw (Hint: focus on the clergyman’s response to Kramer’s concern.) a. causation b. slippery slope c. begging the question d. nominalization 73. Watch the following clip, then name the fallacy therein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2WM0W1PPU0 a. causation b. slippery slope c. begging the question d. nominalization 74. Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of Britain from 1979-1990. In 1982, Argentina invaded the British-controlled Falkland Islands. In response, Thatcher sent the Royal Navy to retake the islands. A British nuclear submarine torpedoed and sunk an Argentinian cruiser, the Belgrano. Lives lost: 323. The Begrano—formerly a WWII U.S. Navy ship before being sold to Argentina—is the only ship ever to have been sunk by a nuclear submarine. Watch the following clip, then identify the string of fallacies—or perceived fallacies—Thatcher commits in her response to Diana Gould’s questioning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JZlP5qQVtE (Note: to be fair, Gould’s comments are not fallacy-free either, but for this question focus solely on Maggie.) a. part nominal, part non sequitur, part slippery slope b. part red herring, part authority appeal, part circular reasoning

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c. part causation, part generalization, part oversimplification d. part ad hominem, part false analogy, part loaded question 75. Watch the following clip, then name the appeal therein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLQmY7ybj0A This Home Depot ad relies primarily on ____________ to deliver its message. a. logos b. ethos c. pathos d. kairos _____________________________________________________________________________________________  STATISTICS 76. True/False. With charts, three-dimensionality is generally a helpful feature. 77. True/False. With bar charts, baselines should start with zero; if not, the difference should be highlighted

accordingly. 78. True/False. With averages within a data set, “mean” = arithmetical average, “median” = middle distribution,

and “mode” = most frequent.

Edna  Median 79. True/False. For credibility, published/publicized stats require documentation.

80. True/False. Look at the chart below, which compares iPad battery life. The representation is accurate.

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For questions 81 – 86, match the labels with their representative statements. Each will be used only once. In his article, “How Numbers Are Tricking Y’All,” Arnold Barnett proposes “six deadly sins” of statistical (mis)interpretation. Below are their labels, followed by statements exemplifying each “sin.” Match the labels with their representative statements. Each label/term and statement/definition will be used only once. a. Unjust Law of “Averages” d. Verbal Imprecision b. Hidden Defect e. Generalizing from Non-Random Samples c. Unsound Comparison f. Inaccurate Trends 81. Researchers at the Harvard Medical School found, in interviews with 1,500 people who had suffered heart attacks in the previous few days, that a disproportionate number reported episodes of extreme anger in the 2 hours preceding the attack. They were led to an estimate that anger was associated with 2.3 times the usual heart attack risk. The Boston Globe consequently reported that anger “can double the chance for heart attack.” 82. In 1993 the International Airline Passenger Association began rating airlines in terms of safety. An airline having the fewest deaths over a 5-year period might be considered a particularly safe airline. However, the data shows that the “safest” airline in one period is apt to be the least safe in another period, suggesting that this snapshot depicted normal chance fluctuations having nothing to do with the difference between airlines. 83. In 1987, the Department of Transportation required U.S. airlines to report each month the percentage of their flights that arrived on time at the nation’s 30 busiest airports. This information has been used in advertisements, such as Northwest’s boast that it is “the #1 on-time airline.” If an airline has a large percentage of its flights into a city like Seattle—with consistently lousy weather—it is at a disadvantage in such a contest with an airline that has the highest percentage of its flights into Phoenix. 84. A statistical study reported that, in Georgia, the odds of a death sentence in a white-victim case were 4.3 times the odds in a black-victim case. The New York Times reported this as 4.3 times as likely, and the Supreme Court used this interpretation. If we’re talking likelihood, the probability of a death sentence is 23% when the victim is black and 99% when the victim is white. If we’re talking odds, the 23% becomes 96%. 85. In early 1992, The New York Times reported a record number of killings occurred in 1991 in 4 of the nation’s 10 largest cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, and Phoenix. They failed to point out that all 4 of these cities also reached new highs in population in 1991. 86. An article in the journal Risk Analysis in 1991 reported that a U.S. driver—age 40, sober, wearing a seat belt and driving a heavier-than-average car—has a “slightly reduced” mortality risk on a 600-mile trip than a person who takes the same trip by air. The analysis began with the overall death rate per mile driven on rural interstate

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highways, which was then multiplied by the risk factors for age, wearing a seat belt, and driving a heavier car. Multiplying these risk factors led to a much smaller final risk than was justified, since the factors are not independent.

 “  .  .  .  and  please  soften  Brother  Brugger’s    cold,  hard  professorial  heart  .  .  .  amen.”    

“Rock  on,  rhetors!”