Chapter 8 Activities

1. There are different types of examples mentioned in the textbook. Please give a description and an example of each. (Examples can be taken from students’ upcoming speeches.)
   • Brief example: A single illustration of a speaker’s point
   • Extended example: A multifaceted illustration of an idea, item, or event being described
   • Hypothetical example: An illustration of a point made by describing something that could happen in the future
2. What is testimony? Identify the two types of testimony, and give an example of each.
   • Testimony: Firsthand findings, eyewitness accounts, and opinions that directly support a fact or an assertion.
   • Expert testimony: Findings, eyewitness accounts, and opinions by experts that directly support a fact or an assertion.
   • Lay testimony: Testimony by nonexperts who have witnessed or experienced events related to the subject under consideration.
3. What are statistics? What does it mean to cherry-pick statistics?

   Statistics are quantified evidence that summarizes, compares, and predicts things. Statistics can clarify complex information and help make abstract concepts more concrete. To “cherry-pick” is to selectively present only those statistics that support your point of view while ignoring competing data.