Cover of the textbook Speakout Advanced Plus - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 7

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 4.4 - Persuasion for the textbook Speakout Advanced Plus - Students' Book with authors Frances Eales and Steve Oakes from Pearson Education

Question

Read the short opinion piece from a magazine. How does the author argue his / her position? What arguments can you make for the opposite perspective being true?

Answer

The author argues his / her position by:

  • giving a well-argued counter-argument early on in the piece, i.e. making his / her disagreement with the quotation unequivocal
  • giving a sound basis for the counter-argument, i.e. emotion instead of truth
  • giving an example illustrating the absurdity of the quotation, ie. applying the idea to the advertisement of soft drinks
  • implying that the quotation reflects wishful thinking not reality