COM 114 Test Out-Purdue University Questions and Answers Already Passed Latest Update
2025/2026
Introduction - Answers Capture the attention of your audience, establish your credibility, relate
the material to your audience, announce the topic of the speech, preview the main points of the
speech; makes up 10% of the entire speech
Body - Answers Supporting evidence and research; makes up 85% of the entire speech
Conclusion - Answers Restate the thesis, restate the main points, end with a clincher; makes up
5% of the entire speech
Transitions - Answers Words, phrases, or sentences that show the relationship between ideas in
your presentation and allow listeners to follow you easily
Main points - Answers Important topics to the purpose of the speech (usually two to three)
Subpoints - Answers Build up, support, and explain the main points of the speech
Sub-subpoints - Answers Build up, support, and explain the subpoints within the speech
Equal Support - Answers The ideas that support your main points should be held at equal value
Coordination - Answers The ideas at the same level of importance should use the same series
of symbols and have the same indentation
Enhance Credibility - Answers Experiences, qualifications, or educational background
Ethos - Answers Appeal that is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of
the persuader; the extent to which the audience trusts you; for example: I am a doctor and
therefore you should trust me when I say this is the best treatment for you
Logos - Answers Appeal that is a way of persuading an audience by reason; inductive and
deductive reasoning; for example: It's nonsense to try drugs if you know they are damaging to
your health
Pathos - Answers Appeal that is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an
emotional response; for example: You should consider another route home, I heard many gangs
come out at night on that street
Informatory Presentation - Answers Seeks to create awareness of the part of an audience
regarding a specific issue
Explanatory Presentation - Answers Seeks to deepen the audience's understanding; goes
beyond making the audience aware of a particular phenomenon and actually create
understanding
, Pie Chart - Answers Used when comparing parts of a whole or percentages of the total
Bar Chart - Answers Used when making comparisons among different types of items to allow
for easy visual ranking across items in a category
Line Chart - Answers Used for comparing charges over time in a set of data to examine trends
Straw Person - Answers Fallacy when someone ignores or misrepresents a person's actual
position and substitutes a weaker, distorted or misrepresented version of that position, thereby
making it easier to refute the opponent's position; for example: A biology teachers says all
things evolve, a student says humans could not have come from bugs
Red Herring - Answers Fallacy where an irrelevant topic is inserted into the discussion to divert
attention away from the real issue; for example: Mom gets phone bill and you've gone over your
limit so you tell her about your math test
Slippery Slope - Answers Fallacy that asserts that some action will inevitably lead to a chain of
events that will end in a certain result; for example: If you allow a student to redo a test, they will
want to redo every assignment
Ad Hominem - Answers Fallacy where irrelevant personal attacks are made against a person or
a group to which the person belongs instead of against the argument the person supports; for
example: A lawyer attacks the defendant's character instead of what is in question
False Analogy - Answers Fallacy where one incorrectly assumes that since two things are alike
in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other; for example: Children are like
dogs so they should eat off the floor and visit the vet
Directional - Answers Transitional phrases that let your audience know that you are moving
away from one idea and on to another; for example: Now that we've established the need for
fundraising, let's see which course of action will be most effective
Signpost - Answers Transitions that mark the exact location in the speech; for example: First,
second, lastly
Internal Preview - Answers Transitions that preview material within the body of the presentation
or even within a main point; for example: There are a couple points I would like to make here
Internal Summary - Answers Transitions that remind the audience of what was just covered; for
example: To briefly summarize what I just discussed
Inoculation Theory - Answers A theory that in refuting an argument, those receiving the
supporting argument are better able to resist later arguments challenging the truism
Vocal Variety - Answers Modifying the volume, rate, pitch, and use of pauses in a presentation
Eye Contact - Answers Ensures that our presentation remains conversational and that members
2025/2026
Introduction - Answers Capture the attention of your audience, establish your credibility, relate
the material to your audience, announce the topic of the speech, preview the main points of the
speech; makes up 10% of the entire speech
Body - Answers Supporting evidence and research; makes up 85% of the entire speech
Conclusion - Answers Restate the thesis, restate the main points, end with a clincher; makes up
5% of the entire speech
Transitions - Answers Words, phrases, or sentences that show the relationship between ideas in
your presentation and allow listeners to follow you easily
Main points - Answers Important topics to the purpose of the speech (usually two to three)
Subpoints - Answers Build up, support, and explain the main points of the speech
Sub-subpoints - Answers Build up, support, and explain the subpoints within the speech
Equal Support - Answers The ideas that support your main points should be held at equal value
Coordination - Answers The ideas at the same level of importance should use the same series
of symbols and have the same indentation
Enhance Credibility - Answers Experiences, qualifications, or educational background
Ethos - Answers Appeal that is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of
the persuader; the extent to which the audience trusts you; for example: I am a doctor and
therefore you should trust me when I say this is the best treatment for you
Logos - Answers Appeal that is a way of persuading an audience by reason; inductive and
deductive reasoning; for example: It's nonsense to try drugs if you know they are damaging to
your health
Pathos - Answers Appeal that is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an
emotional response; for example: You should consider another route home, I heard many gangs
come out at night on that street
Informatory Presentation - Answers Seeks to create awareness of the part of an audience
regarding a specific issue
Explanatory Presentation - Answers Seeks to deepen the audience's understanding; goes
beyond making the audience aware of a particular phenomenon and actually create
understanding
, Pie Chart - Answers Used when comparing parts of a whole or percentages of the total
Bar Chart - Answers Used when making comparisons among different types of items to allow
for easy visual ranking across items in a category
Line Chart - Answers Used for comparing charges over time in a set of data to examine trends
Straw Person - Answers Fallacy when someone ignores or misrepresents a person's actual
position and substitutes a weaker, distorted or misrepresented version of that position, thereby
making it easier to refute the opponent's position; for example: A biology teachers says all
things evolve, a student says humans could not have come from bugs
Red Herring - Answers Fallacy where an irrelevant topic is inserted into the discussion to divert
attention away from the real issue; for example: Mom gets phone bill and you've gone over your
limit so you tell her about your math test
Slippery Slope - Answers Fallacy that asserts that some action will inevitably lead to a chain of
events that will end in a certain result; for example: If you allow a student to redo a test, they will
want to redo every assignment
Ad Hominem - Answers Fallacy where irrelevant personal attacks are made against a person or
a group to which the person belongs instead of against the argument the person supports; for
example: A lawyer attacks the defendant's character instead of what is in question
False Analogy - Answers Fallacy where one incorrectly assumes that since two things are alike
in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other; for example: Children are like
dogs so they should eat off the floor and visit the vet
Directional - Answers Transitional phrases that let your audience know that you are moving
away from one idea and on to another; for example: Now that we've established the need for
fundraising, let's see which course of action will be most effective
Signpost - Answers Transitions that mark the exact location in the speech; for example: First,
second, lastly
Internal Preview - Answers Transitions that preview material within the body of the presentation
or even within a main point; for example: There are a couple points I would like to make here
Internal Summary - Answers Transitions that remind the audience of what was just covered; for
example: To briefly summarize what I just discussed
Inoculation Theory - Answers A theory that in refuting an argument, those receiving the
supporting argument are better able to resist later arguments challenging the truism
Vocal Variety - Answers Modifying the volume, rate, pitch, and use of pauses in a presentation
Eye Contact - Answers Ensures that our presentation remains conversational and that members
