Identify any rhetorical devices you nd in the following passages and explain you
ID: 3485894 • Letter: I
Question
Identify any rhetorical devices you nd in the following passages and explain your reasoning.
1. I trust you have seen Janet’s le and have noticed the “university” she graduated from.
2. The original goal of the Milosevic government in Belgrade was ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
3. Obamacare: The compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the post office, all at Pentagon prices.
4. Although it has always had a bad name in the United States, socialism is nothing more or less than democracy in the realm of economics.
5. We’ll have to work harder to get Representative Burger reelected because of his little run-in with the law.
6. It’s fair to say that, compared with most people his age, Mr. Beechler is pretty much bald.
7. During World War II, the U.S. government resettled many people of Japanese ancestry in internment camps.
8. “Overall, I think the gaming industry would be a good thing for our state." —From a letter to the editor, Plains Weekly Record
9. Capitalism, after all, is nothing more or less than freedom in the realm of economics.
10. I'll tell you what capitalism is: Capitalism is Charlie Manson sitting in Folsom Prison for all those murders and still making a bunch of bucks off T-shirts.
11. Clearly, Antonin Scalia is the most corrupt Supreme Court justice in the history of the country.
12. It may well be that many faculty members deserve some sort of pay increase. Nevertheless, it is clearly true that others are already amply compensated.
13. I love some of the bulleting and indenting features of Microsoft Word. I think it would have been a nice feature, however, if they had made it easy to turn some of them off when you don't need them.
Explanation / Answer
The items given beow are the rhetorical devices I nd in the following passages; reasoning is also given along with them.
1. slanter
a linguistic device designed to give a positive or negative slant regarding a claim
2. euphemism
a neutral or positive term used instead of one that carries a more negative association.
ex: I'm sorry but your mother has gone to that shore from which no traveler returns.
3. dysphemism
a neutral or negative term used instead of one that carries a more positive association
ex: I'm sorry that your mother died.
4. persuasive definition
definitions, explanations, and comparisons are used to sway one's attitude. define what it is in a biased way.
ex: Multinationals are simply economic tourists
5. stereotype
when one, either rightly or wrongly, attributes a quality to a group, and then attributes that quality to an individual or individuals within that group
ex: Mr. Nolan is irish so I guess he must have a real temper.
6. innuendo
when one suggests something without coming out and saying it. sarcastic almost, implying something without saying it.
ex: I trust you have seen Janet's test file and have noticed the "university" she graduated from.
7. loaded question
occurs when there is an unwarranted assumption inherent in a question
8. weasler
a word or phrase that qualifies a claim in such a way as to mislead or facilitate deception. leaving the back door open.
ex: Don't worry. These spots almost always go away.
9. downplayer
a word or short phrase that downplays the significance or one idea in relation to another
ex: Although I'd like to go home, I'm going to study instead
10. horse laugh
occurs when, instead of addressing an individual's claim or argument, one simply ridicules it
ex: Those wacky conservatives! They think military is the key to peace!
11. hyperbole
an exaggeration for effect
ex: He felt like he had been reborn.
12. proof surrogate
something that is offered in place of a proof, but does not constitute a proof. no specific authority named. ex: Tests show that procrastinating produces the best papers. What tests?