Deck 8: Communicating Persuasively

Question 1

It is most effective to present emotional appeals in isolation rather than in combination with other types of evidence.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

It is acceptable to manipulate photographs and videos in order to strengthen your argument.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A post hoc argument claims that because A preceded B, A must have caused B.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What type of argument restates the main point without presenting any evidence to support it?

Question 5

What type of argument states that a claim is valid because many people think it is or act as if it is?

Question 6

What type of argument draws conclusions based on an insufficient number of cases?

Question 7

Give an example of an informational constraint that you might confront in completing a project.

Question 8

Statistics are more persuasive when they are based on a sample of an adequate size.

Question 9

Chapter 8 discusses the three elements of an argument. One is the claim. What are the other two?

Question 10

People who write proposals are the only technical writers who need to be concerned with persuasion.

Question 11

What type of argument poses only two alternatives when in fact there might be more?

Question 12

What type of argument is made against the writer, rather than against the writer's argument?

Question 13

Ethical constraints arise from applicable laws on labor practices, environmental issues, fair trade, consumer rights, and so forth.

Question 14

If you are facing constraints in trying to persuade your audience, you are not an effective writer.

Question 15

Chapter 8 discusses the four broad goals of an audience. One is security. Name one of the other three goals.

Question 16

According to Chapter 8, in most cases the best place to state your claim is at the end of the argument because you may alienate your audience if you state it at the beginning.

Question 17

Chapter 8 discusses eight kinds of constraints that can affect your work on a persuasive document. One type is information constraints. What are three other constraints listed in the chapter?

Question 18

Graphics and design elements are relatively unimportant in communicating persuasively.

Question 19

According to Chapter 8, crafting a persuasive argument involves seven tasks. One is using the right kinds of evidence. What is another of the tasks listed in the chapter?

Question 20

A testimonial can be an effective persuasive element.

Question 21

Which statement best exemplifies a modest persona?

A) "I think the Hughes Security system will give us most of the features we are looking for."
B) "I know the Hughes Security system will give us the features we are looking for."
C) "I researched all the options, and I am positive that the Hughes Security system is the only reasonable option."
D) "The president of Hughes Security is a personal friend, and I know they can't possibly let us down."

Question 22

How does culture affect the process of persuasion?

A) It determines the content of effective arguments but does not affect how they are structured.
B) It determines the structure of effective arguments but does not affect the content.
C) It determines what makes an argument persuasive and how to structure an argument.
D) Culture is unrelated to the process of persuasion.

Question 23

The following statement appears in a proposal to install a large pond near an amphitheater: "Jones Company is an expert in pond preparation. We installed our first pond at Jameson Park earlier this year." What type of reasoning does the passage display?

A) post hoc reasoning
B) inadequate sampling
C) arguing from ignorance
D) arguing from authority

Question 24

In the following excerpt from a proposal seeking funding to upgrade a police department's crime lab, which of the techniques listed below for making a persuasive case does the writer use? In the past four years, the department's crime lab has experienced an increase in fingerprint evidence for comparisons. The increase in volume is a result of submissions from other rural agencies in the state. However, because our agency cannot access data maintained within the state's Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), submissions are limited to manual searches of the files maintained by our department. You can imagine the likelihood of missing a fingerprint match while looking through thousands of fingerprints by hand. In fact, Harlan Andrews, a Senior Investigator at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's laboratory, reports that manual searches often fail to find matches when in fact fingerprint matches exist. To prevent such errors, our department needs to upgrade its computer system to allow access to AFIS.

A) visual evidence
B) examples
C) expert testimony
D) numerical data

Question 25

An argument using an appeal to pity is focused on what element?

A) logic
B) emotion
C) memory
D) the speaker or writer

Question 26

Chapter 8 discusses four broad goals of an audience. One is security. Which is NOT one of the other three goals?

A) fair-mindedness
B) recognition
C) growth
D) connectedness

Question 27

Which characteristic of an attractive professional persona does the writer of the following excerpt NOT exhibit? As you probably already know, we have a problem with our current documentation. Users cannot easily locate the serial numbers necessary to complete the online registration step. The solution below will help us address this problem and eliminate the customer-support calls we get. It will also solve a few other problems. Last week, others suggested different solutions. However, I know they will not work. The best course of action is to prominently display the serial numbers at the start of the chapter labeled "Registering Your Product." Our users expect to find the numbers in this chapter.

A) cooperativeness
B) moderation
C) fair-mindedness
D) modesty

Question 28

Which are the four categories of evidence to which people usually respond favorably?

A) numerical data, examples, visual evidence, and celebrity testimony
B) expert testimony, ideologies, numerical data, and commonsense arguments
C) examples, numerical data, visual evidence, and expert testimony
D) verbal data, numerical data, expert testimony, and implications

Question 29

Chapter 8 lists four characteristics that can help you establish an effective professional persona. One is cooperativeness. Which of the following is NOT one of the other characteristics listed in the chapter?

A) fair-mindedness
B) moderation
C) self-control
D) modesty

Question 30

Your company has just adopted a policy of tracking employee emails to determine which employee is leaking confidential information. Because you know that this policy will be unpopular with company employees, which is the best strategy for announcing the policy to employees in a memorandum?

A) Present the reasoning behind the new policy and then state the policy.
B) State the policy and then provide the reasoning.
C) State only the new policy.
D) State the reasoning behind the new policy and then state the policy in a follow-up memorandum.

Question 31

Which of these statements is true?

A) Writers who appeal to an audience's sense of reason never use graphics.
B) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually do so dramatically.
C) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually do not appeal to their sense of reason.
D) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually appeal to their sense of reason, too.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a category of constraints on your ability to be persuasive in a workplace document?

A) partitional
B) personnel
C) financial
D) political

Question 33

When used as evidence, what does an effective example do?

A) It makes concrete ideas more abstract.
B) It makes abstract ideas more concrete.
C) It makes concrete ideas more figurative.
D) It makes abstractions less didactic.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT one of the elements of an argument?

A) claim
B) persona
C) evidence
D) reasoning

Question 35

Which method of addressing opposing viewpoints is likely to be LEAST effective?

A) Point out any problems in the logic of the opposing viewpoint or the facts used to support it.
B) Try to reconcile the opposing viewpoint with your own.
C) Avoid discussing the opposing viewpoint.
D) Show that the opposing viewpoint is less strong and attractive than your own.

Question 36

In the following excerpt, a writer tries to persuade his supervisor to respond to a government request for proposals (RFP) to build an unmanned surveillance plane for the military. Which aspect of the paragraph undercuts the effectiveness of the passage? I think we are making a serious mistake by not responding. If we don't respond to this proposal, we will lose our competitive edge. At a conference last month, for example, I spoke to a couple of people who said the market for unmanned surveillance aircraft will grow exponentially during the next 10 years. Can we talk about this more at next week's planning meeting?

A) It argues that the claim is valid because the person making the claim is an authority.
B) It assumes what the writer is attempting to prove.
C) It draws conclusions on the basis of an inadequate sample and poses only two alternatives when in fact there might be more.
D) It makes a circular argument.

Question 37

Which of the following is an example of an informational constraint that you might confront when completing a project?

A) You know that your proposal would help the company, but you also know that the company can't afford to act on your proposal.
B) Your document would be most effective if it were printed in color, but your budget will allow for only black-and-white printing.
C) You have located advertising brochures and testimonials associated with the subject you're writing about, but you can't find reports on the kinds of controlled tests that would convince a skeptical reader.
D) You believe that your proposal would benefit the company, but you know that your manager strongly disagrees.

Question 38

The following statement appears in a brochure supporting a law to allow ducks on a lake on a college campus: "In the other states that have allowed ducks on campus, we know of no adverse encounters between ducks and people to date." What type of reasoning does the passage display?

A) arguing from ignorance
B) arguing from authority
C) post hoc reasoning
D) circular argument

Question 39

The following statement appears in a university's report to its board of regents: "Several other notable universities, including Stanford and Harvard, are offering massive, open online classes, or MOOCs. It is imperative for Old State University to keep pace in the educational marketplace." What type of reasoning does the passage display?

A) arguing from ignorance
B) circular argument
C) ad hominem argument
D) ad populum argument

Question 40

What are readers likely to conclude if they notice that a report you have written contains several logical fallacies?

A) The reasoning used in your report is supported by several effective examples.
B) The reasoning used in your report is logical and trustworthy.
C) The reasoning used in your report is illogical and untrustworthy.
D) The reasoning used in your report follows an effective pattern used in other good arguments.