Rhetoric in Reagan's Address at Moscow State University

Read the excerpt from Ronald Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. Freedom, it has been said, makes people selfish and materialistic, but Americans are one of the most religious peoples on Earth. Because they know that liberty, just as life itself, is not earned but a gift from God, they seek to share that gift with the world. "Reason and experience," said George Washington in his farewell address, "both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. And it is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government." Check all that apply. The underlined words in this excerpt are

A., C., and E.

Which are important to consider when identifying the purpose of a speech? Check all that apply.

IT IS NOT A., C., and E. OR B., C., and E.

Which lines from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University contain an opinion? Check all that apply.

IT IS NOT B., C., and E.

One purpose of President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University was to

IT IS NOT persuade listeners to vote President Reagan into office.

Which line from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University best substantiates his opinion that small businesses are moving the technological revolution?

One of the largest personal computer firms in the United States was started by two college students, no older than you, in the garage behind their home.

Which line from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University shows that one purpose of the speech was to build connections between the Soviet Union and the US?

Our ties to you are more than ones of good feeling; they're ties of kinship.

Both Americans and Soviet citizens listened to President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. Which best describes the different purposes of the speech for American and Soviet audiences?

Reagan's purpose was to remind Americans of their freedoms and to encourage Soviets to allow more individual freedom.

Read the excerpt from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. But progress is not foreordained. The key is freedom—freedom of thought, freedom of information, freedom of communication. Which is true of these lines?

Repetition is used to emphasize the importance of freedom.

Read the excerpt from President Ronald Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. The explorers of the modern era are the entrepreneurs, men with vision, with the courage to take risks and faith enough to brave the unknown. These entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. They are the prime movers of the technological revolution. In fact, one of the largest personal computer firms in the United States was started by two college students, no older than you, in the garage behind their home. Some people, even in my own country, look at the riot of experiment that is the free market and see only waste. What of all the entrepreneurs that fail? Well, many do, particularly the successful ones; often several times. And if you ask them the secret of their success, they'll tell you it's all that they learned in their struggles along the way; yes, it's what they learned from failing. Like an athlete in competition or a scholar in pursuit of the truth, experience is the greatest teacher. Which is a substantiated opinion?

Small businesses are the reason America has a strong economy.

Read the excerpt from President Ronald Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. But progress is not foreordained. The key is freedom—freedom of thought, freedom of information, freedom of communication. The renowned scientist, scholar, and founding father of this university, Mikhail Lomonosov, knew that. "It is common knowledge," he said, "that the achievements of science are considerable and rapid, particularly once the yoke of slavery is cast off and replaced by the freedom of philosophy." You know, one of the first contacts between your country and mine took place between Russian and American explorers. The Americans were members of Cook's last voyage on an expedition searching for an Arctic passage; on the island of Unalaska, they came upon the Russians, who took them in, and together with the native inhabitants, held a prayer service on the ice. In this excerpt, President Reagan expresses his opinion that the key to progress is freedom. This is

a substantiated opinion because Reagan quotes an expert.

Making a bandwagon appeal in a persuasive speech is an example of using

unsubstantiated opinion.

The audience for President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University included young college students. This is important because one of the purposes of the speech was to

encourage new ideas, and young people are more likely to accept new ideas.

A substantiated opinion is best supported by

expert opinions.

A rhetorical device uses language to __________.

persuade

Read the excerpt from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. Some people, even in my own country, look at the riot of experiment that is the free market and see only waste. What of all the entrepreneurs that fail? Well, many do, particularly the successful ones; often several times. And if you ask them the secret of their success, they'll tell you it's all that they learned in their struggles along the way; yes, it's what they learned from failing. President Reagan includes the underlined question to

raise an objection to his own opinion and counter that argument.

The recurrence of words or phrases in a rhetorical device is known as

repetition.

Read the line from President Reagan's Address at Moscow State University. Go into any schoolroom, and there you will see children being taught . . . certain unalienable rights—among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What is the purpose of this line?

to persuade listeners of the importance of freedom