Read this passage from a rhetorical text.(1) Among many serious problems currently afflicting the US healthcare system, the direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs may seem like a harmless practice. (2) Yet there are good reasons to be wary of allowing drug manufacturers to pitch their products directly to consumers. (3) In fact, the American Medical Association was so concerned about misinformation that it called for a ban on these ads. (4) Yet the ads continue today. (5) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does require drug ads to meet certain criteria including disclosing a brief summary of the risks associated with taking a drug, but the government must go further and ban such advertisements altogether. (6) The safety of American consumers is at stake.
Read this passage from a rhetorical text.(1) More high schools should offer classes in American Sign Language (ASL). (2) ASL is the primary language for roughly one million Americans. (3) Learning sign language offers benefits both for the individual student and for the larger community. (4) For the individual student, learning sign language provides not only the cognitive boosts associated with bilingualism, but also improves the student’s spatial awareness, mental rotation abilities, and visualization skills. (5) Schools should be eager to help students improve such valuable spatial reasoning skills.
Read this paragraph from a rhetorical text that argues that hate speech should be regulated.[S]oldiers’ families, shoppers and workers are protected from troubling speech. People of color, women walking down public streets or just living in their dorm on a college campus are not. The only way to justify this disparity is to argue that commuters asked for money on the way to work experience a tangible harm, while women catcalled and worse on the way to work do not—as if being the target of a request for change is worse than being racially disparaged by a stranger.
Read this passage from a rhetorical text.Among many serious problems currently afflicting the US healthcare system, the direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs may seem like a harmless practice. Yet there are good reasons to be wary of allowing drug manufacturers to pitch their products directly to consumers. In fact, the American Medical Association was so concerned about misinformation that it called for a ban on these ads. Yet the ads continue today. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does require drug ads to meet certain criteria including disclosing a brief summary of the risks associated with taking a drug, but the government must go further and ban such advertisements altogether. The safety of American consumers is at stake.The drug industry insists that drug ads keep patients informed about their treatment options. One industry group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, says that direct marketing "encourages patients to visit their doctors’ offices for important doctor-patient conversations about health care that might not otherwise take place.” It is true that it is important for patients to discuss their treatment options with their doctors. However, doctors do not agree that drug ads facilitate these conversations. In fact, many are upset by ill-informed patients who demand new or expensive drugs, even when those drugs may not be the best or safest choice.
Read this passage from a rhetorical text in a local newspaper. While out driving yesterday, I counted seven vacant storefronts in the four-block area of our town center. There are additional vacancies in the smaller business district on the north end of town. Not even ten years ago, we had two vibrant, bustling business districts, but now it’s as if we’re living in a ghost town. Sky-high rents have contributed to the dearth of businesses in town, and it’s time the town council does something about it. We should provide tax breaks for property owners who will lower their rents. Some will say our budget cannot afford to fund this kind of tax relief, especially after last year’s damaging storms that required many expensive repairs to city infrastructure. But how can we afford to allow our community to wither away? Our property value is surely going to decline if our business districts continue to fail. In the end, funding tax relief will save us all money.
What is the purpose of addressing a counterargument in a rhetorical text?
Read this passage from a rhetorical text in a local newspaper.(1) While out driving yesterday, I counted seven vacant storefronts in the four-block area of our town center. (2) There are additional vacancies in the smaller business district on the north end of town. (3) Not even ten years ago, we had two vibrant, bustling business districts, but now it’s as if we’re living in a ghost town. (4) Sky-high rents have contributed to the dearth of businesses in town, and it’s time the town council does something about it. (5) We should provide tax breaks for property owners who will lower their rents. (6) Some will say our budget cannot afford to fund this kind of tax relief, especially after last year’s damaging storms that required many expensive repairs to city infrastructure. (7) But how can we afford to allow our community to wither away? (8) Our property value is surely going to decline if our business districts continue to fail. (9) In the end, funding tax relief will save us all money.
Read the introductory paragraph from a rhetorical text.(1) The backyard of a city apartment building is not the first place one might expect to find a chicken coop, but so-called "urban farming” has caught on in recent years as people embrace the benefits of eating local. (2) However, raising backyard chickens can be a significant health risk for the surrounding community. (3) Cities need to relearn the lessons of the early 20th century and ban the raising of chickens in urban settings.
What is the main purpose of using rhetorical appeals?
A reader who makes the claim "We should stop the practice of tipping in the United States and instead pay workers a higher hourly wage” could state the counterargument that
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