Rhetoric and Persuasion Quiz

Grade 12 · English · Quiz

10 questions testing your mastery of rhetorical appeals, devices, and persuasive strategies.

Questions

1. Which appeal does a speaker use when citing peer-reviewed research and expert testimony?

   1. Pathos
   2. Ethos
   3. Logos
   4. Kairos
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   Answer: Logos

   Citing research and expert testimony is an appeal to evidence and reasoned authority — the hallmarks of logos.

2. An ad hominem fallacy attacks the argument rather than the person making it.

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   Answer: False

   Ad hominem attacks the PERSON making the argument rather than the argument itself — 'you can't trust her opinion because she's biased.'

3. Martin Luther King Jr.'s repeated use of 'I have a dream' at the start of successive sentences is an example of ___.

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   Answer: anaphora

   King's 'I have a dream' repeated at the start of eight consecutive paragraphs is one of the most famous uses of anaphora in American oratory.

4. Which of the following best describes a 'straw man' fallacy?

   1. Misrepresenting an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack
   2. Appealing to the majority as proof of truth
   3. Using emotional language instead of evidence
   4. Claiming authority you do not have
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   Answer: Misrepresenting an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack

   The straw man sets up a weaker, distorted version of the opposing argument, defeats it, and pretends to have won the real debate.

5. Ethos can be damaged during a speech if the speaker contradicts themselves or is revealed to be dishonest.

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   Answer: True

   Ethos is fragile — once a speaker is caught in a contradiction, exaggeration, or lie, their credibility collapses and the entire argument loses force.

6. A political speech delivered immediately after a national tragedy, calling for unity, is using which rhetorical concept most strategically?

   1. Logos
   2. Ethos
   3. Anaphora
   4. Kairos
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   Answer: Kairos

   Speaking at the precise moment of national vulnerability — when an audience most needs unity — is a strategic use of kairos, the right argument at the right time.

7. The rhetorical device of ___ places two contrasting ideas in parallel structure to sharpen the distinction between them (e.g., 'Ask not what your country can do for you…').

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   Answer: antithesis

   Kennedy's inaugural line places 'what your country can do for you' against 'what you can do for your country' in perfect parallel structure — the contrast makes both ideas sharper.

8. Which of the following is an example of pathos?

   1. Citing the CDC's mortality statistics
   2. Recounting a child's death from a preventable disease
   3. Holding a PhD in public health
   4. Quoting the Hippocratic Oath
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   Answer: Recounting a child's death from a preventable disease

   A specific, emotionally charged personal story is the purest form of pathetic appeal — it transforms statistics into lived human experience.

9. A false dichotomy presents only two options when more exist, forcing a choice between extremes.

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   Answer: True

   False dichotomy (or false dilemma) illegitimately narrows the field of options: 'You're either with us or against us' ignores the vast middle ground.

10. Epistrophe is the rhetorical term for:

    1. Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses
    2. Repetition at the end of successive clauses
    3. An unanswered question posed for effect
    4. The appeal to the speaker's moral character
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    Answer: Repetition at the end of successive clauses

    Epistrophe is anaphora's mirror: 'of the people, by the people, for the people' — Lincoln's famous use of epistrophe in the Gettysburg Address.

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