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QLDEnglishQuick questions
Unit 1: Perspectives in English
Quick questions on Persuasive techniques and rhetoric (QCE English Unit 1)
15short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is ethos?Show answer
Speaker's authority, expertise, character. "As a doctor of $30$ years..."
What is pathos?Show answer
Audience's feelings. Vivid imagery, anecdote, emotive vocabulary, urgency.
What is logos?Show answer
Reasoned argument. Evidence, statistics, deductive reasoning, examples.
What is repetition?Show answer
Same word or phrase repeated for emphasis.
What is anaphora?Show answer
Repetition at the start of consecutive clauses. "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields..."
What is epistrophe?Show answer
Repetition at the end. "...of the people, by the people, for the people" (Lincoln).
What is parallelism?Show answer
Parallel grammatical structures across multiple clauses.
What is tricolon?Show answer
Three-part lists. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
What is antithesis?Show answer
Paired opposites. "Not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" (JFK).
What is rhetorical question?Show answer
Question that expects no answer; positions the audience to supply the implied answer.
What is anecdote?Show answer
Short illustrative story. Personalises the abstract argument.
What is statistics?Show answer
Numerical evidence. Effective when paired with anecdote and ethos.
What is allusion?Show answer
Reference to shared cultural texts (Bible, Shakespeare, national history).
What is hyperbole and understatement?Show answer
Exaggeration and its opposite.
What is direct address?Show answer
Speaking directly to the audience using "you".