Country Greatness On Trial

1) What is the main speaker's central position?

2) What assumption does the speaker challenge at the beginning?

3) What distinction does the speaker make between having something and using it effectively?

4) What does the speaker suggest about political ideas and public support?

5) What broader point does the speaker make by referring to other countries?

1) The speaker asks several questions that are not really requests for information. What is the main purpose of these questions?

2) Why does the speaker suddenly address individual people in the audience? What effect does this create?

3) How does the speaker use repetition to strengthen his argument?

4) How does the speaker use examples from other countries?

5) What is the effect of the speaker's deliberately provocative language?

1) When the speaker rejects the expected answer:

2) When the speaker lists other countries:

3) When the speaker addresses individual members of the audience:

4) Overall, the speaker's tone is best described as:

1) The speaker contrasts what something costs financially with what it costs in terms of ________.

2) The speaker uses a series of countries to challenge the idea that ________ is unique to one country.

3) The expression “with a straight face” suggests that the speaker considers the statement being discussed ________.

4) The speaker uses informal and strong language partly to create a sense of ________ and immediacy.

5) The phrase “there is absolutely no evidence” introduces a claim that is presented as requiring ________ rather than assumption.

1) What does the speaker imply about people who repeat popular claims without questioning them?

2) Why does the speaker move from a broad national issue to a more direct interaction with members of the audience?

3) What can you infer about the speaker's opinion of political communication?

4) Does the speaker appear to be trying mainly to inform, persuade, provoke, entertain, or a combination of these?

5) What reaction does the speaker seem to want from the audience?

1) Is the speaker's argument based mainly on facts, logic, emotion, or rhetoric?

2) Identify one moment where the speaker simplifies an issue for rhetorical effect. What is gained by doing this?

3) Identify one moment where the speaker uses contrast. How does the contrast strengthen the message?

4) Which part of the argument depends most heavily on the audience accepting an unstated assumption?

5) What makes the speech memorable from a language and delivery perspective?

1) Which of the following best explains what the speaker is trying to achieve through the speech?