Business English Exam Study Guide

noun

A person, place, thing, or idea

What is an allegory?

A story in which each thing in the story represents one thing in real life

conjuctions

A word that connects other words (EX: and, but, or, yet)

adjective

A word that describes a noun

Conjunctive Adverbs

Adverbs that act like conjunctions; therefore they connect the information in two clauses or sentences. (EX: however, accordingly, still, otherwise, so forth, also, besides, consequently, finally)

Fear propaganda

An appeal to fear is a fallacy in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by attempting to increase fear towards an alternative.

How is Animal Farm an allegory?

Animal Farm symbolizes The Russian revolution and all the animals in the book symbolize someone influential in the Russian Revolution

Pathos

Appeal to emotion

Snowball

Based on Leon Trotsky, He is intelligent, passionate, eloquent, and less subtle and devious than his counterpart, Napoleon. He seems to win the loyalty of the other animals and cement his power.

Mr. Jones

Czar Nicholas II

Napoleon

He is Joseph Stalin, the second leader of the Soviet Union.

What is Snowball's role at the Battle of the Cowshed?

He is a hero at the Battle of the Cowshed, bravely leading the animals' defensive operations to decisive victory over Mr. Jones, who tries to retake the farm. Employing what he learned from a book on war campaigns, Snowball launches a series of sham attacks designed to lull the farmers into thinking they've won, which end with the farmers running for their lives. After Snowball flees the farm, however, Napoleon and Squealer slowly distort this history. Squealer questions Snowball's role and motives, suggests Snowball was a traitor, and eventually states that Snowball "had been openly fighting on Jones's side" and "had actually been the leader of the human forces."

How does Napoleon seize power?

He trains a litter of puppies to be loyal to him: when they are fully grown, he uses the dogs to chase Snowball, his main rival, off the farm. He says Snowball was secretly working for the humans. Squealer makes arguments to convince most of the animals that Napoleon is telling the truth, while fear of Napoleon's dogs keeps any doubters from speaking out.

How does Squealer manipulate the animals so the pigs can better control them?

He uses language to make the other animals disbelieve what they have seen with their own eyes and to believe the lies he tells them. Sometimes he encourages the animals to question their own recollections.

helping verb

Helps the main verb express action or a state of being (EX: am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, will)

What is Animialism?

It represents communism. The central beliefs of Animalism are expressed in the Seven Commandments, painted on the wall of the big barn. However, as the pigs seize more and more power, they change the Commandments painted on the barn, until Animalism is reduced to a single principle which is virtually the opposite of Old Major's original idea: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

What does Boxer's death represent?

It represents the exploitation of the working classes as well as the death of the idealism that led to the establishment of Animal Farm

How does Mr. Fredrick fool Napoleon?

Mr. Frederick agrees to pay a high price for Animal Farm's timber, and encourages Napoleon to insult Mr. Pilkington. Knowing that the animals are not familiar with money, Frederick pays for the timber in forged banknotes. When the forgery is discovered, Frederick attacks Animal Farm and destroys the windmill.

Why does Napoleon blame Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm?

Napoleon, aided by Squealer, uses Snowball as a scapegoat, which means that when something goes wrong, he blames Snowball. As Snowball is not present, Snowball can't defend himself and reveal falsehoods in the accusations, essentially creating a situation in which all of Napoleon's statements regarding Snowball are simply accepted as truth. This tactic means that Napoleon does not need to take responsibility for mistakes and misdeeds, and it also allows him to continue to receive the animals' support and respect even when calamity occurs, as when the windmill collapses. Further, by casting Snowball in the role of the enemy, Napoleon ensures that his rival will never be able to return to the farm and challenge his leadership.

Why does Napoleon change the Seven Commandments?

Over time, Napoleon changes all of the Seven Commandments, which were created to keep the animals humble and on equal footing, to allow the pigs to enjoy prohibited privileges and comforts. For instance, when the pigs move into the farmhouse, Napoleon amends the commandment about not sleeping in a bed to read, "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." Napoleon changes other commandments as well so the pigs can wear clothes, drink alcohol, and even kill other animals. By the end of the book, the original commandments have been reduced to one statement that encapsulates the authoritarian nature of the farm: "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."

Why does Mollie leave the farm?

She likes being pampered and she instead prefers the benefits of being owned by humans. She has not risen to the demands of Animalism.

Does Snowball ever return to Animal Farm after Napoleon's dogs chase him away?

Snowball never appears to return to Animal Farm. Squealer, however, claims that Snowball sneaks back onto the farm to commit sabotage. For example, when the first windmill falls down, Squealer claims that Snowball "has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year." Within a short time, "whenever anything went wrong [on the farm] it became usual to attribute it to Snowball." In actuality, no one ever sees Snowball again once he leaves the farm.

Why does Snowball want to build a windmill?

So, it can power a machine to create electricity on the farm. Electricity will improve the animals' comfort by supplying light and heat in their stalls. The electricity also will be used to power numerous machines that can perform the work the animals must do, providing them with more leisure time. With the windmill in operation, all the animals will have more time to relax and to "improve their minds with reading and conversation."

Old Major

The father of 'Animalism'. He represents Karl Marx, but in some ways also symbolizes the original communist leader - Vladimir Lenin.

How is the windmill destroyed?

The first windmill collapses in a storm, and the second windmill is blown up during the Battle of the Windmill. After the first windmill is destroyed, which Napoleon blames on Snowball's sabotage, the animals begin reconstruction and make the walls much thicker. After the second windmill is fully built, Frederick attacks Animal Farm and takes down the structure with blasting powder. Undeterred, the animals begin rebuilding the windmill the next day.

Squeler

This pig represents propaganda/the Russian media, which spread Stalin's version of the truth to the masses.

Mollie

a representation of Russia's upper classes. was never really in favor of the revolution. She went along with it, but she didn't actually engage in the fighting.

prepositions

a word that shows a relationship between nouns or pronouns and some other words in a sentence (EX: above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides)

Logos

an appeal based on logic or reason

Transfer Propaganda

an attempt to make the subject view a certain item in the same way as they view another item, to link the two in the subjects mind

Ethos

appeal to credibility or character

Plain Folks Propaganda

attempt to convince the public that his views reflect those of the common person and are working for the benefit of the common person.

Bandwagon Propaganda

attempts to persuade the reader to do, think or buy something because it is popular or because "everyone" is doing it

linking verb

connects the subject to a word or word group that identifies or describes the subject (EX: am, is, are, was, were"

adverb

describes a verb. EX: when (Water the plant now.), how (The rain fell softly.), or to what extent (I fully support you.).

interjection

expresses emotion and has no grammatical relation to the rest of the sentence (EX: Ahh, Bless you, Alas, Yippee)

formal language

is less personal than informal language. It is used when writing for professional or academic purposes university assignments. Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions, or first person pronouns such as "I" and "We."

informal language

is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with friends or family either in writing or in a conversation. It is used when writing personal emails, text messages, and in some business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more personal than formal language.

Name Calling Propaganda

links a person, or idea, to a negative symbol

Glittering Generalities Propaganda

propaganda technique using short phrases or words to promote positive feelings or emotions

Card Stacking Propaganda

provide information that is one sided. numbers and stats making general claims (EX: Sunchips)

After Mollie leaves animal farm, what did the pigeons see her doing?

pulling a dogcart while a human strokes her nose and feeds her sugar

Mr. Fredrick

represents Adolf Hitler

Dogs

represents the secret police

Pilkington

represents the west

Boxer (horse)

represents the working class. He is portrayed as being a dedicated worker, but as possessing a less-than-average intelligence. His personal motto was, "I will work harder!"

pronouns/ possessive pronouns

take place of a noun(EX: he and she) / show ownership (EX: your, whose, their, and theirs)

thesis

the author's main point

Why do the animals confess to being traitors?

the first to be executed are terrified of the dogs and believe that if they do as Napoleon asks, he will spare their lives—after all, the Commandments stipulate that no animal should harm another. More puzzling might be the hens and the sheep's confessions since they have seen exactly how Napoleon treats so-called traitors. However, the hens are among the least intelligent animals, so they may lack capacity to process the events. Similarly, the sheep have already proved themselves to be followers with little ability to think or question for themselves.

tone

the way the author approaches the subject

Testimonial Propaganda

to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (for instance, the celebrity endorsement).

modals

verbs that express mood or tense (EX: can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must)

action verb

word showing action (use the verb test: check for tense "ed" "ing")