Instructions

This exam consists of five essay questions. Your answer for each question should be a well 

written, developed, and organized essay that fully addresses each component of the exam 

questions. Follow the rules of formal writing: write in complete sentences, and do not use 

any inappropriate language, textspeak, or emojis.

There is no minimum or maximum length for exam answers. Your answers will be graded 

on how accurately and completely they answer the exam questions. A good general rule of 

thumb is to write about 1-2 pages for each exam question.

Type your exam in a MS Word document. Use standard formatting (12-point Times New 

Roman font, double spaced, 1-inch margins) and be sure to number your answers. When 

you have completed your exam, submit it as an uploaded MS Word document .

Important Exam Rules:

• You may consult your notes, textbook, and any other course materials as you 

prepare your answers. 

• Your answers must be written in your own words—no quoting from or copying full 

phrases and sentences from the textbook, course materials, or any other source

unless otherwise noted in the exam question.

o Reminder: SafeAssign will automatically check your submitted file for any 

evidence of plagiarism. Answers copied in whole or in part from other 

sources will result in an exam grade of zero and will be submitted to the 

university as an honor code violation.

You have until 11:59 PM (Central) on the due date to submit your exam. Late submissions 

are accepted, but the standard late penalty (25% per day after the deadline) will apply.

Answer all 5 Questions:

1. Identify the 5 objectives for persuaders in the media age; explain each. Then, 

imagine that you have been tasked with creating a multimedia campaign to promote 

MSU to high school seniors. Identify and explain the specific strategies you would 

use to meet each of the 5 objectives for persuaders.

2. What are the 5 canons of classical rhetoric? Explain each. Then, rank the canons 

from least important to most important for persuaders in a media age. Be sure to 

fully explain your reasoning for the ranking and support your argument with 

original examples (not those already discussed in class or in the textbook).

3. Explain the 5 TARES standards for ethical persuasion. Using original examples (not 

those already discussed in class or in the textbook) to support your claims, create an 

argument for which standard you believe to be the most important in the media age 

and which you believe to be the least important in the media age.

4. Explain the 4 biases of news coverage that may prevent accurate information from 

reaching the public. Then, read the news article included at the end of this document 

(Jack Healy’s “Underwater in the Las Vegas Desert, Years after the Housing Crash”). 

To what extent does this article exhibit the 4 biases? Be sure to support your 

analysis with specific examples from the article. As you are supporting your analysis 

with specific examples, you may quote from the news article if you would like to 

point to specific language used by the author.

5. Explain the 3 components of attitude formation. Then, select one of the issues listed 

below and analyze how each of the 3 components contributes to your attitude about 

that issue.

o Issues (select one):

§ Censorship

§ Texting while driving

§ Cloning

§ Outsourcing

§ Environmentalism

§ Community service

article asked for towards the end is found on this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/las-vegas-2008-housing-crash.html?_r=0