Name: __________________________Date: ___________________________Per: ____________________________

Persuasive Vocabulary Test

What are the pros and cons of mp3 music files? Mark P for pro and C for con. (2 pts. each)

1. ____ Music is more portable (i.e., easier to carry around).

2. ____ Illegal downloading rips off the artists.

3. ____ You don’t get extras like liner notes (i.e., lyrics and other information in CD booklets).

4. ____ Unsigned bands or artists can get known through online sites like MySpace.

Read the following excerpt from a persuasive essay:

The final bell rings. It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come! Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months. That is the way it should always be. Schools should continue using the traditional calendar and not a year-round schedule. There are numerous downsides to year-round schooling. It has no positive effects on education, it adds to costs, and it disrupts the long-awaited summer vacation.

1. What is the author’s position on the subject of traditional versus year-round school calendars? (2 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the three reasons that support the author’s position? (2 pts. each)

a. ________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________

3. Which of the following would be a counterargument against the author’s position? (2 pts.)

a. Children get to relax and explore interests outside of school at summer camps, which are made possible by the long summer vacations of traditional school calendars.

b. During summer vacation, students forget what they learned the previous school year.

c. It costs less to run traditional schools than year-round schools.

d. There is little difference in academic performance between traditional schools and year-round schools.

Read the following advertisement:

Tired of the noise and pollution of the big city? Come and relax in the wide open space of Mars!1 The Martian surface features many spectacular sights, including a canyon deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon and mountains higher than Mount Everest!2 The Red Planet also offers the best recreational facilities in the solar system at its six 5-star hotels and casinos.3 Escape your mundane existence on Earth as merely one of its 6.6 billion people and be a star on Mars!4

Mark the following as either an appeal to emotion (E) or an appeal to reason (R). (2 pts. each)

4. Sentence 1 ______

5. Sentence 2 ______

6. Sentence 3 ______

7. Sentence 4 ______

Choose the best answer for each question.

8. Which of the following is a statistic? (2 pts.)

a. 'Bimbo' is a brand of soft drink manufactured and marketed by Coca-Cola, Inc.

b. Malaysians protect their babies from disease by bathing them in beer.

c. The United States is comprised of 50 states.

d. You share your birthday with at least 9 other million people in the world.

9. Which of the following is a fact? (2 pts.)

a. Dodson is better than Dana Middle School.

b. If you shake a can of mixed nuts, the larger ones will rise to the top.

c. The key to success is hard work and honesty.

d. The world is a better place now than it was 100 years ago.

Your Score: _______

Total Possible: 30