Midterm Study Cards

Question 1

MODULE 1: What is Rhetoric?

Answer 1

Rhetoric is the systematic study of how speakers and writers employ words and techniques to influence and persuade
their audience.

Jankiewicz defines “rhetoric” in general terms as “the art of using symbols to produce effects” (p. 128).

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given use the available means of persuasion.”

Question 2

MODULE 1: What are the 5 key categories for Rhetorical Analysis?

Answer 2

1. Purpose
2. Audience
3. Occasion
4. Context
5. Discourse Communities

Question 3

MODULE 1: What is “Purpose” and what are 3 general catagories of it?

Answer 3

Purpose: The reasons for which an author writes or speaks.

There are 3 general categories of purposes into which many other purposes can be grouped:

1. To inform
2. To persuade
3. To express and/or entertain

Question 4

MODULE 1: Define Occasion.

Answer 4

Occasion: the “situation that calls for a text to come into being” (Jankiewicz, p. 129)

• Usually, there is a situation that calls for an utterance

Question 5

MODULE 1: Define Context.

Answer 5

Context: “the concrete situation in which utterances are made” (Jankiewicz, p. 135).
* Every utterance happens in a particular historical time-frame, in a certain physical setting, and in a specific cultural context.

Question 6

MODULE 1: Define Audience.

Answer 6

Audience: a specific person or group to whom a message or text is directed, is “a key factor that shapes
texts” (Jankiewicz, p. 131).

Question 7

MODULE 1: What is a Discourse Community?

Answer 7

Discourse Community: is a group that shares some assumptions, and “has a shared sense about what is worth talking about and what is not, who should be qualified to speak, and … how discourse should be conducted”
(Jankiewicz, p. 138).

Question 8

MODULE 1: Define Tone.

Answer 8

Tone: conveys the attitude of the author towards the topic and reader through word choice, style, and sentence rhythm.
* We describe tone using adjectives.

Examples: confident, ironic, lightly humorous, solemn, formal, mocking, bitter, sarcastic, optimistic, somber, flippant or serious, dramatic or comedic, calm or
excited, and so forth.

Question 9

MODULE 2: What is Arrangement?

Answer 9

• Also called “organization” or “order of ideas”
• Ways to order a text to deliver intended information appropriately and smoothly
• Sargent and Paraskevas, in “Organization and Genre” define arrangement as “what holds longer pieces of text together in our minds,” (p. 253) giving it a sense of coherence and cohesion
• One of the most important canons of rhetoric: comes second after invention

Question 10

MODULE 2: What are the 5 “canons” with Arangment being 1 of the 5?

Answer 10

1. Invention Finding and developing a topic
2. Arrangement Assembling a message
3. Style How the ideas are presented
4. Memory Memorization and knowledge
5. Delivery Using voice and gestures

Question 11

MODULE 2: What are the 4 simplistic parts of a Discourse?

Answer 11

1. Beginning (introduction)
2. Middle
3. Clear transitions
4. End (conclusion).

Question 12

MODULE 2: What are Cicero’s 7 Parts of an Oration (Speech)?

Answer 12

1. Entrance – introduction of topic
2. Narration – background to the topic
3. Proposition – central idea or thesis
4. Division – brief outline of concepts the speaker will demonstrate
5. Confirmation – body of evidence supporting the speaker’s concepts
6. Rebuttal – discussion of opposition to evidence
7. Conclusion – summation of evidence and last appeal to audience’s emotions

Question 13

MODULE 2: What are 5 elements of Alternative Patterns for creative writing?

Answer 13

1. Capture the audience’s attention
2. Provide necessary background information
3. State and prove the text’s thesis or central idea
4. Anticipate and address possible counter-theses
5. Conclude with an appeal to the audience’s emotions

Question 14

MODULE 2: What is the purpose of an Introduction?

Answer 14

• Announces topic
• May state purpose
• Sets tone
• May familiarize reader (give background)
• Arouses audience interest
• May list or suggest sub-topics to be discussed
• May state thesis

Question 15

MODULE 2: What are 6 Introductory Tactics?

Answer 15

1. A directly stated thesis
2. A definition
3. A quotation (either in the body of the paper or set before it, as an epigraph)
4. An anecdote (a story recounting real or imagined events) or personal testimony
5. An intriguing statement, claim, or detail
6. A question or problem statement

Question 16

MODULE 2: Describe elements of the “Middle” portion of a writing.

Answer 16

• Longest section of a paper or article
• Develops ideas
• Sustains audience interest
• Uses common arrangement (sequencing) patterns
• May use 1 or more than 1 method of development:
  -> Illustration (example)
  -> Description
  -> Narration
  -> Process analysis / causal analysis
  -> Definition
  -> Classification
  -> Comparison

Question 17

MODULE 2: What are some common sequencing patterns for Arranging the Middle of a text?

Answer 17

Time sequence : Presents information as it occurs in time/sequence
* Chronological (years; minutes; decades; centuries; millennia)
* First step to final step (e.g., instructions; recipes)

Spatial sequence : Presents information as one’s body or eyes move through space
* Top to bottom OR vice-versa
* Left to right OR vice-versa
* Nearby to far away OR vice-versa
* Clockwise OR counter clockwise

Order of climax: Presents information in order of importance
* Least important to most important OR most important to least important

Easy to most difficult
* Describing a progressively complex series of skills (eg: how to serve a tennis ball)

Least to the most important (or most to least)
* Building in importance and accumulating evidence (eg: a persuasive argument)

Least to the most interesting
* Building interesting towards a climax or revelation

General to the specific
* From “big picture” to example (eg: from a theory of combustion to details of the process)

Specific to the general
* From examples of an effect (a plate falling off a table) to a general principle (theory of gravity, or definition)

Argument
* Highly variable patterns; used to convince, and to anticipate and answer audience questions and/or objections

Question 18

MODULE 2: What is an “Illustration” or “Example”?

Answer 18

• A simple, elegant, useful development method
• Enlivens writing and clarifies ideas
• Supports claims; the simplest kind of proof
• Examples, when used effectively:
  –> Actually do support claims made
  –> Are presented in appropriate numbers
  –> Are organized effectively
  –> Are true (not falsified)
  –> Are presented in a fair, balanced, way

Question 19

MODULE 2: What is a Transition?

Answer 19

• Bridge the audience from one sentence, paragraph, or section to the next
• Can be a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph in length
• Professional / technical writing – may use headings and numbers to order a text:
  –> But logical, convincing sequence is still needed
  –> A mere heading does not equal a transition if it doesn’t establish how sections relate
• Essay writing / formal speeches – must imbed transitions, using
  words within sentences.

Question 20

MODULE 2: What are 8 types of transitions?

Answer 20

1. Qualification:However, nevertheless, nonetheless
2. Illustration / Explanation:For example, so, thus, for instance, specifically
3. Comparison:Similarly, in the same way, by comparison, likewise
4. Contrast:By contrast, on the one hand, on the other hand, but, even though, on the contrary.
5. Consequence:Thus, as a result, consequently, therefore
6. Concession:Admittedly, nevertheless, however, granted, of course
7. Amplification: Moreover, furthermore, also, in addition, indeed
8. Summation:To sum up, all in all, finally, therefore

Question 21

MODULE 2: True or False. Words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs can be used as transitions.

Answer 21

True

• Transitional words, phrases, and sentences connect ideas, establish their relationship, and signal changes of subject
• Transitional paragraphs in longer essays:
  –> Mark a “shift” from one group of ideas to another
  –> Build coherence by looking behind and ahead
  – can:
  –> summarize ideas
  –> repeat thesis
  –> forecast ideas to follow

Question 22

MODULE 2 (BONUS): True or False. “In conclusion” simply repeats what came before and “In summary” comes to a final decision or judgement?

Answer 22

False

Use “In conclusion” correctly; different meaning than “In summary” (summary repeats what came before, conclusion comes to a final decision
or judgement)

Question 23

MODULE 2: What is the purpose of a Conclusion?

Answer 23

• Shorter texts: a paragraph
• Longer texts: can be multiple paragraphs
• Signals discussion is complete
• Drives the main idea home a final time
• May:
  –> Add an interesting (but related) final thought
  –>Include a final emotional appeal

Question 24

MODULE 2: What are 6 examples of Conclusion Tactics?

Answer 24

1. Restatement of thesis
2. Summary of key points
3. Question
4. Quotation
5. Surprising observation or twist, including with humor (use sparingly)
6. Recommendation, hope, or call to action

Question 25

MODULE 3: Define Description.

Answer 25

• Offers precise “word pictures” of objects, persons, scenes, events, situations
• Not just for fiction or creative nonfiction; is common in workplaces, used to describe:
  –> a patient’s condition on a chart
  –> a product in an advertisement
  –> site conditions in a report
• Can
  –> create a mood
  –> stimulate understanding
  –> lead to action

Question 26

MODULE 3: What are the 2 types of Description?

Answer 26

• Denotative Description (a.k.a. objective description):
  –> used in lab reports and other formal reports
  –> “just the facts,” aiming to explain
  –> seeks to approach objectivity
  –> uses a logical order of ideas (often chronological)
• Connotative Description (a.k.a. subjective description):
  –> aims to convey ideas, moods, impressions
  –> common in everyday life and personal writing
  –> Impressionistic and subjective
  –> uses a highly variable order of ideas
  –> different perspectives possible

Question 27

MODULE 3: What are the 4 elements of Description?

Answer 27

1. Sensory Impression
2. Dominant Impression
3. Selection of Details
4. Arrangement of Details

Question 28

MODULE 3: Define the element of Sensory Impression.

Answer 28

• Based on close physical or mental observation
• Uses precise, specific words or comparisons
• Evokes sense impressions of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch

• Can blend several sense impressions:
  –> Note in this paragraph evoking of sound, sight, touch, taste; smell isn’t included but is suggested:

“The . . . hot dogs sizzling on a grease-spattered grill gave way to the whirling buzz of a cotton-candy machine [producing] a pink, fluffy cloud. . . . the sticky puffs dissolved on my tongue into a sugar-like sweetness. Soon our faces and hands were gummed
with the sticky mess”

Question 29

MODULE 3: Define the element of Dominant Impression.

Answer 29

• Overall mood, atmosphere, or feeling of a description; e.g., joy, anger, terror
• May be identified or left unnamed
• Can change throughout the description
  –> Example: When Thien describes the father and daughter’s actions together, the dominant impression is calm and loving, in contrast to the description used for the father and son’s interactions.
• May be achieved through several descriptive techniques:
  –> Vivid adjectives, lively verbs, and specific and concrete
  details.

Question 30

MODULE 3: Define the element of Selection of Details.

Answer 30

• Select details to create a suitable mood or feeling and support your purpose.
  –> Exclusion as important as inclusion.
  –> When describing pipeline infrastructure, which details would one focus on …
  —> to create a dominant impression of safety ?
  —> to convey a dominant impression of danger?
• May raise some issues of ethics and fairness:
  –> What are the implications of leaving out certain details?
  –> What’s a writer’s ethical responsibility when using description and
  narration?

Question 31

MODULE 3: Define the element of Arrangment of Details.

Answer 31

• In description, most writers seek to use a clear arrangement pattern, such as …

–> Spatial
Examples:
1)Thien, “Simple Recipes,” p. 542 (combined with chronological sequence)
2) Site condition reports

–> Chronological
Examples:
1)Thien, “Simple Recipes,” p. 540
2) Describing Covid-19 symptoms in the order in which they typically appear

–> Contrast
Examples:
1) Forché, contrasting dinner items to dismembered ears, p. 329
2) A police report describing a location before and after a break-and-enter

Question 32

MODULE 3: Define Narration.

Answer 32

• Relates series of real or imagined events; can
  –> tell what happened (that is, unfolds in time)
  –> delve into motives
  –> offer lessons and insights - but doesn’t have to
  –> do all of the above.
• Used at work, at home, at school
  Examples:
  1) details in a lab or inspection report
  2) development of a research project
  3) recounting the events of your afternoon
  4) history of an employee’s work problems

Question 33

MODULE 3: What are the 6 elements of Narration?

Answer 33

1. Purpose
2. Action
3. Conflict
4. Point of view
5. Key events
6. Dialogue

Question 34

MODULE 3: Define Purpose in the context of narration.

Answer 34

• Stated or unstated, purpose always shapes writing
• A narration may have different purposes:
  –> Provide a “hook” to engage a reader, in an article or other text
  –> Tell what happened
  –> Express feelings about what happened
  –> Establish useful facts
  –> Establish author credibility (by recounting relevant experience)
  –> Delve into motives
  –> Offer lessons or insights: Not all narratives have a moral or teach a lesson.

Question 35

MODULE 3: Define Action in the context of narration.

Answer 35

• Central role in narrative is played by action (the occurrence of one or more events)
• Action is stronger when shown (represented directly) rather than told or summarized (reported):
  Summarized (a.k.a. reported): “A hundred thousand people were killed by the atomic bomb” (SSW, p. 129)
  Shown (a.k.a. dramatized): “When he shot the arrow. . . he heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd.” (George Orwell; adapted from SSW, p. 129)
• A reader’s challenge: distinguishing the event reported from the emotion or bias of the witness who is reporting.
• Visual (cinematic) presentation of events can be compelling in a narrative, using precise description.
  –> Is there any action narrated that you can visualize in the Bush speech (pp. 280-283) or in the Flusty essay (pp. 322-329)?
• Many non-physical experiences are also important actions: thinking, feeling, deciding

Question 36

MODULE 3: Define Conflict in the context of narration.

Answer 36

• Conflict is an opposition – a clash between two opposing forces or interests
• Real, imagined, anticipated conflicts shape much of our lives
• In narrative (storytelling), conflict is an impediment or obstacle one or more characters must overcome to achieve what they desire
• There may be multiple conflicts in a single narrative (as characters may struggle against more than one opposing
  force)
• Some varieties of conflict:
  –> between an individual and outside circumstances
  Example: Between Tan’s mother and stereotypes about non-standard/native language users (“Mother Tongue”)
  –> between 2 members of the same group
  Example: Between Malaysian-Canadian family members over food traditions (“Simple Recipes”)
  –> between groups
  Example: Between first- and second-generation immigrants over assimilation (“Simple Recipes”)
  –> internal
  Example: Between two competing impulses/feelings (love and shame for an abusive father in “Simple Recipes”)

Question 37

MODULE 3: Define Point of View in the context of narration.

Answer 37

Point of View: is the way a narrative is told and the storyteller’s position in relation to the narrative

Question 38

MODULE 3: What are the 3 types of Point of View?

Answer 38

1. First-person: one of the participants tells what happened.
* uses I, me, mine, we, ours
Example: most personal essays use “I”
* limited to what that person knows: narrator can be unreliable because of incomplete knowledge or self-deception

2. Second-person: less often used
* you is used or implied
* imperative (commanding) and directive; can be more conversational
* second-person is often used in instructions, including recipes

3. Third-person: distanced “narrator” (storyteller) relays the story, but is not a player/character in the story.
* uses he, she, it, one, they
* Narrator can be limited or omniscient in knowledge; can be objective (a fly on the wall perspective)

Question 39

MODULE 3: Define Key Events in the context of narration.

Answer 39

• Strong narratives are built around key events (the most important action) that directly support the purpose.

Question: In Tan’s “Mother Tongue,” which key event(s) best illustrate Tan’s message that sometimes non-standard English is confused with limited knowledge, understanding, or respectability?

Question 40

MODULE 3: Define Dialogue in the context of narration.

Answer 40

Dialogue :is a conversation between two or more people

2 Types:
* Indirect/Reported Dialogue
–> The conversation or specific statements are summarized or paragraphed
–> The narrator strongly controls presentation and mood; the reader is distanced from the scene:
Examples:
1) G.W. Bush’s Address: “Americans are asking: Who attacked our country?” (280).
2) Carolyn Forché’s “The Colonel”: “There was some talk then of how difficult it had
become to govern” (p. 329)

Direct dialogue
* generally more vivid
* leaves more scope for the reader’s interpretation
* direct dialogue enlivens action and engages the reader in the story

Questions to consider: Where do Thien, Tan, and Forché use dialogue? Where in their texts does dialogue illustrate (provide an example)? How does the use of dialogue help enforce (or not) the author’s message?

Question 41

MODULE 4: Define Classification.

Answer 41

• Is a common feature of daily life
• Helps people …
  1) make choices
  2) deal with large and complex topics
• Breaks down broad topics into categories…
  1) according to a specific principle of classification
  2) keeping in mind audience and purpose
• Presents distinctive features of each category
• Shows how features vary among categories
• Divides one or more categories into subcategories – but shouldn’t include too many
• Avoids overlapping categories
• Develops each category with useful detail
• Uses a principle of classification suited to purpose and audience

Question 42

MODULE 4: What are 4 examples of principles of classification?

Answer 42

1. Model / Item Name (A-Z or Z-A)
2. Price (ascending or descending)
3. Brand Name (A-Z or Z-A)
4. Relevance (e.g., “Canon” supplies for printers are less relevant in a search on “Canon” than Canon cameras and accessories)

Question 43

MODULE 4: What are some of the limitations with Classification?

Answer 43

• Certain classifications can tend towards the argumentative fallacy of stereotyping, a form of overgeneralization
  For example (e.g.): stereotyping people who play video games by age, gender, income level
• A principle of classification might be unfairly applied in a specific circumstance: For example, if a person interviewing candidates for a job where physical appearance plays no role, classifies candidates by weight or physical attractiveness
• As with definition, some classifications can be arbitrary, or categories can be wrongly applied.

Question 44

MODULE 4: Define Definition.

Answer 44

• A basic philosophical technique, not simple consultation of a dictionary.
• Considers connotation and denotation
• Considers context and “discourse community” (see K. Lewis, “Definition”), including …
  1) what a definition is designed to achieve
  2) who gains by a specific definition
  3) what authority is evoked (Lewis, pp. 161-162

Question 45

MODULE 4: Define Denotation.

Answer 45

Denotation: the strict dictionary definition of a word
Example: “Home” denotes a structure in which people dwell
and/or one’s native land

Question 46

MODULE 4: Define Connotation.

Answer 46

Connotation: all ideas, associations, and value suggested by a term
Example: “Home” connotes comfort, intimacy, security

Question 47

MODULE 4: True or False. Words can denote the same or similar things, but have different connotations.

Answer 47

True

Example: “cheap” versus “inexpensive”
Exercise: Rank the following based on positive to negative connotations, with (1) being positive:
–> Aggressive, assertive, domineering, forceful

Question 48

MODULE 4: What is a Synonym?

Answer 48

• Synonyms are words with very nearly the same meanings
  Examples: to object, to complain, to protest
• Synonyms are not identical – shades of meaning differ
  Examples: refugee, immigrant, person in exile
• Convenient and helpful, but limited - just as a thesaurus cannot replace a dictionary

Question 49

MODULE 4: What is an Essential Definition?

Answer 49

• Form goes back to ancient Greeks, who structured much of Western thinking
• Do three things, in sequence:

1) names the item being defined
Example: a vacuum cleaner …

2) places it in a broad category
Example:…is a household appliance …

3) distinguishes it from other items in that category
Example: …that uses suction to clean floors, carpets, and upholstery.

Question 50

MODULE 4: What are the limits of Essential Definitions?

Answer 50

• Cannot adequately give meaning of
  –> Abstract terms
  Examples: “hatred,” “democracy,” “success”
  –> Words with several meanings
  Example: “jam”
  –> Words with contested meanings
  Example: “essential service”
• Are prone to 4 errors in thinking:
  1. circular
  –> but distinguish this error from dictionary definitions, which assume cross-referencing;
  Example: “swing (n) = process of swinging”
  2. overly broad
  3. overly narrow
  4. omitting main category

Question 51

MODULE 4: What are Extended Definitions?

Answer 51

• Can be a paragraph in a longer paper or report, or can be an entire text.
• Are useful when defining
  –> abstract terms (e.g., “multiculturalism”)
  –> unfamiliar concrete terms (e.g., “macular degeneration”)
  –> new social, technical, or economic terms (e.g., “data integrity”)
• Always relate to the “context” / “rhetorical situation”
• Can use many different methods of development, such as comparison, illustration, cause and effect, in order to define.

Question 52

MODULE 4: What are Acronyms?

Answer 52

• Word formed from first letters of multiword terms
• Can include slang, technical or professional terms
  Examples: SWOT, TBH, EI, LOL
• Identify members of discourse communities
• Flaunt insider knowledge and authority
• Exclude, disconcert, or “one-up” the audience

TIP: When incorporating acronyms into your writing, spell the words in full first followed by the acronym in parentheses. Use just the acronym for later uses.

Example: The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) … . The CCS guidelines …

Exercise (handout): Using 2 or more acronyms, craft a sentence aimed at other members of a “discourse community” to which you belong, making the sentence understandable ONLY to those within that
discourse community

Question 53

MODULE 4: What are Neologisms?

Answer 53

• “[A] new word or expression or a new meaning of a word” not yet part of everyday language (Merriam Webster)
• Often arise from specific discourse communities that have used the term for years
  Examples: “textative” , “truthiness”, “freemium”

Question 54

MODULE 4: What are Problematic Definitions?

Answer 54

• Definitions exist within a system of social and power relations
• Definitions often serve the values of a specific community, even while appearing “objective”
• Can be arbitrary, subjective, excluding, and/or evolving
  Examples (Lewis):
  “SUV” - neologism created to avoid anti-pollution laws
  “homosexual” – the APA definition
  “native” – the govt. of Canada’s definition
  “terrorist” - various definitions; pre-post 9/11

Question 55

MODULE 4: What is the difference between descriptive vs prescriptive definitions?

Answer 55

• Ask K. Lewis’s questions (pp. 161-162), especially …

Whose interests are served by this definition?

Is the definition:
Descriptive (capturing essence and features of an action or quantity) or
Prescriptive (seeking to influence action)?

What authority is evoked? Who “backs up” this definition?

• Analyze the definition using criteria of content, intent, and effect (pp. 162-163)

Definition exercises (Lewis p. 164-165)
Define “child abuse.” Would it include spankings? Emotional neglect? Circumcision?

Define “essential service,” remembering that such professions can’t strike.Does your definition cover sanitation workers? Ferry workers? Teachers?

Define “family.” Then discuss the authority, interests,
and bias that may lie behind the definition

Question 56

MODULE 5: Define Visual Rhetoric.

Answer 56

“powerful images” that can …

1) “encapsulate arguments of fact, value, and policy” (p. 227)
–> arguments of fact: state whether something is true or untrue
–> arguments of value: involve judgments, appraisals, and evaluations; may attempt to prove that some action, belief, or condition is right or wrong
–> arguments of policy: argue that a particular solution, action, and/or procedure should be followed; may ask for a new course of action

2) “function everywhere as instruments of persuasion” (p. 232)

3) may, as in advertising, “promise to fulfill our dreams of pleasure” (p. 232)

Question 57

MODULE 5: What are some examples of visual symbols?

Answer 57

Photographs
Illustrations
Signs and symbols
Examples: flag, shamrock, cross, swastika, golden arches

Question 58

MODULE 5: What are the function of visual symbols?

Answer 58

• “may be defined as abbreviated claims of value”
• can “summarize the moral, religious, and political principles by which groups of people live and often die”

Question 59

MODULE 5: What are Ads?

Answer 59

Ads are
1) “short arguments,
2) often lacking fully developed support,
3) whose claims of policy urge us to take action” (p. 233)

“action” includes buying, thinking or voting or physically behaving in a particular way

Examples of visual argument:
in political ads: image of candidate surrounded by smiling family suggests love, security, importance of home (p. 233), as well as stability and conventionality

in commercial ads: image of a celebrity or famous person moves emphasis from the product to a person associated with it (can be a fallacy)

Question 60

MODULE 5: What are some of the elements in a Visual Argument (Rhetoric)?

Answer 60

• colours
• light
• shadow
• foreground
• background
• relatives sizes of pictures and text
• placement of objects on the page or screen

Exercise: identify some of these elements in the Newman’s Own banner ad and the photos of the former and current Prime Minister of Canada.

Question 61

MODULE 5: What interpretive challenges arrise from Visual Arguments (Rhetoric)?

Answer 61

• Visual images are less subject to analysis and interpretation than linear (verbal / written) ones
• Pictures appear to need less translation; audience expects easy understanding
• Graphs and charts, if included, can be misleading or oversimplified
• Therefore, visual images need to be read with the same attention and critical analysis we give to verbal messages.
  –> Consider asking the questions posed on pp. 235-236
  –> Evaluate visual arguments by testing their claims, weighing the evidence offered in support of those claims, and by exploring the assumptions they make about who audiences are and what they believe.

Question 62

MODULE 6: What is the difference between Comparison and Contrast.

Answer 62

Comparison shows similarities between and among people, things, ideas.

The term “comparison” includes both kinds of analysis. Can be simple comparisons (2 things compared) or complex comparison (many things or qualities of things) compared.

Contrast shows the differences.

Question 63

MODULE 6: Why are Comparisons used?

Answer 63

They help us:

• understand better the things, people, ideas being compared or contrasted, by seeing fine distinctions between/among them
• facilitate a choice between/among alternatives
• evaluate why one thing, person, or course of action is better than another
• help explain unfamiliar things by comparing them to something known by the audience

Question 64

MODULE 6: What is the Basis of Comparison?

Answer 64

• The general, common element in terms of which you will compare entities
• A focusing, narrowing tool, like “principle of classification”
• Often articulated as “in terms of”
  Example: Compare Asia and America in terms of how much it costs to make a hooded sweatshirt

Question 65

MODULE 6: What are Points of Comparison?

Answer 65

• Sub-topics under the “basis of comparison.”
• Each point of comparison should be developed in detail
• Keep comparisons balanced: each entity should be assessed using the same points of comparison

Question 66

MODULE 6: What are some examples of Patterns of Comparison?

Answer 66

• Block Pattern :
  Says everything about one subject before discussing the other. Useful when developing only a few main points (of comparison) about a few subjects (in short texts), without extensive quotes or evidence.
  —>organized by items compared, “vertically”
• Alternating Pattern:
  Compares subjects one aspect (point of comparison) at a time, point by point. Better for essays over 500 words and for detailed comparisons
  –>organized by points of comparison, “horizontally”
• Combination of Block and Alternating Patterns:
  May use a block pattern to introduce and provide an overview of two items, one at a time, then an alternating pattern to establish points of comparison (or vice versa)

Always be guided by the qualifying elements of the basis of comparison
Example: “compare BCIT and Kwantlen in terms of computer science degree programs”

Points of Comparison for Example:
1. Program cost
2. Program length
3. Industry experience (practicums)
4. Class size
5. Entrance requirements

Question 67

MODULE 6: What are 2 types of Extended Comparison?

Answer 67

1. Logical / Objective / Denotative Comparison

• Often used for explaining, including to acquaint the audience with something new

Example: The Internet is an information highway….

2. Rhetorical / Subjective / Connotative Comparison

• Often used for persuading (fairly or unfairly). May show why one person, thing, or course of action is better than another.

Example: “You can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It’s still going to stink after eight years. We’ve had enough.” (B. Obama, 9/08; campaigning against Republicans, who held the U.S. presidency for 8 yrs.)

Other types of extended comparison are parody, analogy, and
parable.

Question 68

MODULE 6: What is a Parody?

Answer 68

• From the Greek: “a song alongside of”
• Imitates or mimics the style or content of an author or text, often for comic effect or ridicule
• Always requires understanding of the original
• Can have a serious, critical purpose, transcending comparison to create new insights

EXAMPLES:
* Movie parodies, such as Hungover Games (2014), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), or Deadpool (2016)
–> In the first example, humorous imitation and appreciation of Hangover and The Hunger Games
* The Daily Show; The Colbert Report
–> began as parodies of TV news shows and became a source of news for many
* The Onion
–> satirical news articles, sometimes humorously mistaken for news
–> See http://www.theonion.com/
* Weird Al Yankovic and various YouTube parodies
* Visual parodies of ads / artworks
–> See www.adbusters.org

Question 69

MODULE 6: True or False. Self-parody is expressed in Paul Newman’s Tomato Sauce.

Answer 69

True

Self-parody as defence and marketing: www.newmansown.ca / .com

Question 70

MODULE 6: What is an Analogy?

Answer 70

Analogy (from Gr. analogos, a due ratio): an (often) extended comparison emphasizing “similarities underlying two different kinds of things” (SSW, 2010, p. 260).

• Often used to explain a new, complex idea, unfamiliar concept, or abstract idea using a situation or idea familiar to the audience.
• Common in science, technology, business and political discourse, to explain difficult concepts to non-technical and/or non-specialized audiences.
• When effective, the items have similarities, and the analogy illuminates the unfamiliar through the familiar or creates new insights on the familiar by comparing it to the unfamiliar

EXAMPLES:
“The atmosphere of Earth acts like any window in serving two very important functions. It lets light in, and it permits us to look out. It also serves as a shield to keep out dangerous or uncomfortable things. A normal glazed window lets us keep our houses warm by keeping out cold air, and it prevents rain, dirt, and unwelcome insects and animals from coming in. … Earth’s atmospheric window also helps to keep our planet at a comfortable temperature by holding back radiated heart and protecting us from dangerous levels of ultraviolet light” (Lester Del Ray, The Mysterious Sky, qtd. in Strategies for Successful Writing, 2010, p. 223)

Ray’s complex analogy sheds light upon the unfamiliar (how earth’s atmosphere functions) by comparing it to what is understood (how a window functions)

Question 71

MODULE 6: What is a Parable?

Answer 71

Parable (from Gr. parabole, a comparing, or throwing alongside): a short, didactic, and fictitious narrative from which a lesson or principle can be drawn.

EXAMPLES:
“What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all the plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade” (New Testament, Mark, 4, 30-34).

“A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!” (P. Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones)

Question 72

MODULE 6: What are examples of Causal Verbs?

Answer 72

• Make happen
• Bring about
• Produce
• Set off
• Instigate
• Trigger
• Begin
• Initiate
• Create
• Prompt
• Result of
• Result from
• Encourage
• Provoke

Question 73

MODULE 6: What are some examples of Transitions using Causation?

Answer 73

• As a result
• For this reason
• As a consequence
• Consequently
• Hence
• So
• Thus
• Therefore
• Accordingly
• In that case

Question 74

MODULE 6: What are the 2 main principles used to classify Causes?

Answer 74

• According to the cause’s
  1. power to produce an effect or event
  2. temporal (time) relationship to the effect or event.
• Causal analysis can use both classifications simultaneously:
  Example: Smoking is both a contributory and a remote cause of death for the smoker with lung cancer.
  –> the “contributory” cause relates to power
  –> the “remote” cause shows a temporal relationship

Question 75

MODULE 6: What are 3 types of causes according to the power to produce an effect?

Answer 75

1. Necessary Cause: pre-condition essential for effect to occur; but the presence of this cause alone doesn’t assure the effect.
–> One must be exposed to the flu virus to get the flu, but not everyone who’s exposed to the virus comes down with the flu.

2. Sufficient Cause: cause or condition could on its own produce the effect, but so could another cause or condition
–> Being human is a sufficient condition for being a mammal. So is being a whale.

3. Contributory Cause: helps produce but can’t by itself produce an effect or event: a particular combination of causes might be needed.
 Icy roads contribute to car accidents.

Most occurrences have several sufficient causes, and might have many contributory causes, not just a single necessary cause.

Question 76

MODULE 6: What are 3 types of causes according to the temporal relationship to an effect?

Answer 76

1. Immediate Cause: cause that directly or immediately produced the outcome or effect.
–> An accident she had while driving a car caused her death.

2. Remote Cause(s): more distant factor or combination of factors that eventually produce an effect.
–> Decades of alcohol abuse caused her death in a car accident.

3. Causal Chain:each event is the effect of the preceding one and the cause of the following one; is also a pattern used in explanations
–> Drinking too much impaired her judgment, prompting her to drive while very drunk, resulting in loss of control of the car, which led to a fatal automobile accident.

Question 77

MODULE 6: What are 3 Cause & Effect Reasoning Errors?

Answer 77

(1) Ignoring multiple causes

• Covid-19 cases are overwhelming northern BC’s healthcare system because of lax public health measures

Analysis: other causes exist – namely lower vaccination rates – but also the transmissibility of the Delta variant

(2) Confusing causes with effects

• Depression caused someone to eat too much.
• Overeating caused depression.

Analysis: more details on this specific case are needed, to unravel causes from
effects

(3) Mistaking chronology (sequence) and/or correlation (things happening close together or at the same time) for causation

• It rained because I washed my car.

Analysis: this is illogical; correlation does not equal causation

• Smoking is correlated with alcoholism

Analysis: this is accurate, and is not a claim about cause and effect

• Smoking causes lung cancer

Analysis: smoking might be one sufficient cause of lung cancer, but others exist, like exposure to certain chemicals

Remedy: Smoking can cause lung cancer

Examine all evidence carefully to avoid fallacies of causation.

EXAMPLE:
A reductive causal chain example (ignoring multiple causes): the traditional proverb, “For Want of a Nail””

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Question 78

MODULE 6: What are 5 Patterns of showing Causation?

A.k.a. “rhetorical cause and effect”s

Which patterns are used will depend on an author’s /speaker’s purpose, audience, and context

A document, argument or text, can organize (arrange) and present ideas:
1. emphasizing causes, including multiple causes
2. emphasizing effects, including multiple effects
3. stressing an event itself as a cause or an effect of another event or idea (e.g., a long causal chain, or one part of a chain)

Answer 78

1. starts with emphasizing a known cause; moves to known or probable effect

• Untreated stress can eventually lead to elevated blood pressure.
• Foreign investing helped create the Metro Vancouver
  housing crisis

2. starts with emphasizing known effect; moves to its cause(s)

• The crisis of high debt load among post-secondary students results from …
• (Medical diagnosis) - from symptoms shown by the patient, to a suggested cause

3. Variation (a) stresses early on a single cause producing multiple effects:

• If you have a sore throat caused by a virus, you may also develop a fever, coughing, and …
• In the 2012 NHL lockout, disagreement over how to divide revenues caused cancellation of the pre-season and cost many people other than hockey players to lose income

4. Variation (b) emphasizes multiple causes for a single effect

• A 1998 provincial commission of inquiry establishes multiple causes that led to the leaky condo crisis in BC:
  –> “numerous factors, including design features inappropriate for our climate; a reliance on facesealed wall systems; … meaningful inspection at critical stages of construction; and a regulatory system which was unable to understand that failures were occurring and to redress them” caused the leaky condo crisis in the early 2000s.
• Focusing on just 1-2 of many causes may be useful or fair, depending on audience and purpose.
  –>If multiple causes exist, it’s often best to acknowledge this early on, to avoid overt bias

5. Uses a causal chain

• After studying until late, a student gets a poor night’s rest, which leads her to sleep through her alarm, so she arrives late to an exam, on which she does badly.

Always be aware of the potentially reductive nature of causal chains (they require
ignoring multiple causes).