Homework and Class Work for ENG 100/AP
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012
2nd Pd: Annie Baker, Courtney Dillon, Allison Fletcher, Grant Markwell, Zach Ramey, Matt Thomas, Andrew Williams
INDEPENDENT WORK:
Take a look at comedian Rita Rudner's fairly complicated enthymematic argument:
I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits of Picasso.
Analyze this enthymeme and answer the following questions:
1. What information is left implicit?
2. What inference or conclusion does Rudner ask us to draw from this enthymeme?
3. What causes the humor in this statement?
Turn in for credit.
CLASSWORK:
 Review and use the reading /discussion schedule for Now You See It . . .
Intro
pg. 1-20
Discuss 09/06
Part 1
pg. 23-58, Ch. 1-2
Discuss 09/11
Part 2
pg. 61-161, Ch. 3-5
Discuss 09/21
Part 3
pg. 165-244, Ch. 6-7
Discuss 10/01
Part 4
pg. 247 – 276, Ch. 8
Discuss 10/03
Conclusion
pg. 277-292
Discuss 10/05
 Notes:
Syllogisms:
 logical argument involving three propositions or three prongs: a formal deductive argument made up of a major
premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
"All birds have feathers,
penguins are birds,
therefore penguins have feathers."
 deductive reasoning: reasoning from the general to the specific
 example of deduction: an example of deductive reasoning
Enthymemes:
 A figure of reasoning in which one or more statements of a syllogism (a three-pronged deductive argument)
is/are left out of the configuration; an abbreviated syllogism or truncated deductive argument in which one or
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more premises, or, the conclusion is/are omitted. There are various kinds of syllogisms and the formal treatment
of them is rather technical. However, all syllogisms are similar in that they contain at least three statements -two premises followed by a conclusion.
Ex1:
- All humans are mortal. (major premise)
- Michael is human. (minor premise)
-Michael is mortal. (conclusion)
The syllogism above would be rendered an enthymeme simply by maintaining that "Michael is mortal because
he's human" (leaving out the major premise). Or put differently, "Since all humans are mortal, Michael is
therefore mortal" (leaving out the minor premise).
Statements may be strategically excluded in an enthymeme because they are too obvious or because revealing
them might damage the force of the argument. Yet another reason to exclude a premise or conclusion is to let
the audience infer it. The idea here is that audiences who have to draw out premises or conclusions for
themselves are more likely to be persuaded by the overall argument.
Ex2:
- Those who study rhetoric speak eloquently. (major premise)
- Susan studies rhetoric. (minor premise)
-Susan speaks eloquently. (conclusion)
The enthymeme here might do well to exclude the conclusion and let the audience infer it if the goal of the
argument were to convince the audience that Susan speaks eloquently.
 Review and use the revised course schedule. If you feel overwhelmed and wish to switch to a regular ENG 100
course, which will be completing only the ENG 100 material over the course of two trimesters, please see a
guidance counselor THIS WEEK to change your schedule.
 Are these hard evidence or rational appeals? Remember, not all cases are clear-cut. Defend your answer.
1. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
2. Drunk drivers are involved in more than 50 percent of traffic deaths.
3. DNA tests of skin found under the victim’s fingernails suggest that the defendant was responsible for the
assault.
4. Polls suggest that a slim majority of Americans favor a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
5. A psychologist testified that teenage violence could not be blamed on video games?
6. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
7. History proves that cutting tax rates increases government revenues because people work harder when they
can deep more of what they earn.
8. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
9. Air bags ought to be removed from vehicles because they can kill young children and small-frame adults.