110 pages 3 hours read

Jay Heinrichs

Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Exam Answer Key

Multiple Choice

1. C (Chapter 2)

2. B (Chapter 5)

3. B (Chapter 8)

4. C (Chapter 10)

5. A (Chapter 12)

6. D (Chapter 15)

7. A (Chapter 14)

8. D (Chapter 14)

9. A (Chapter 16)

10. D (Chapter 20)

11. D (Chapter 22)

12. C (Chapter 24)

13. D (Chapter 22)

14. B (Chapter 27)

15. B (Chapter 29)

Long Answer

1. Effective persuaders craft personas to meet audience expectations. Sometimes, this means persuaders need to be the opposite of their true selves. Heinrichs admits this is manipulation, but “in argument, you don’t rest on your personality and reputation, you perform them.” (Chapters 5-8)

2. Bullies are everywhere and often assume they can use rhetoric to “blow away” opponents. In fact, students frequently ask Heinrichs how they can use rhetoric to do just that. Heinrichs asserts that rhetoric cannot be used for this purpose. Rhetoric is about persuasion. Those who try to misuse rhetoric to bully are not technically committing a fallacy, but they are increasing tribalism on both sides.