Download Questions on Rhetoric and Style “The Declaration of Independence

AP Language
Questions on Rhetoric and Style
“The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson
1.) Identify each of the truths indicated.
2.) Identify each of the rights indicated.
3.) Identify the subject and predicate of the first sentence of the “Declaration.”
4.) Identify a major assumption underlying the first sentence. What is the rhetorical principle at
work?
5.) What effect does the phrase “self-evident” have in sentence 2? How does that phrase help
support the author’s position?
6.) Why does the speaker begin with an appeal to “respect” as a value before stating the claim?
7.) Consider the speaker’s appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos. Identify and explain two for
each.
8.) Explain the effect of the rhetorical parallelism with which Jefferson concludes the
Declaration.