COM 114 Test Out-Purdue University Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update
2025/2026
Clincher - Answers The final remark that you will make to your audience
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
Asked Question I Don't Know the Answer to - Answers Be honest-you may ask if someone in the
audience knows the answer or you can get back to them once you've located the information
(make sure you contact them or else this could effect your credibility)
How Should I Answer the Questions Asked - Answers Keep the answers concise and direct,
listen to the entire question, repeat each question
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
Cannot Enhance Credibility - Answers Offending your audience while making your credibility
statement
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
Why are Visual Aids Important - Answers Increases clarity and retention, increases
effectiveness in both the speaker and the presentation
Why are Visual Aids Used by a Speaker - Answers The audience's ability to process the
information and understand the presented material is greatly enhanced
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
2025/2026
Clincher - Answers The final remark that you will make to your audience
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
Asked Question I Don't Know the Answer to - Answers Be honest-you may ask if someone in the
audience knows the answer or you can get back to them once you've located the information
(make sure you contact them or else this could effect your credibility)
How Should I Answer the Questions Asked - Answers Keep the answers concise and direct,
listen to the entire question, repeat each question
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
Cannot Enhance Credibility - Answers Offending your audience while making your credibility
statement
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
Why are Visual Aids Important - Answers Increases clarity and retention, increases
effectiveness in both the speaker and the presentation
Why are Visual Aids Used by a Speaker - Answers The audience's ability to process the
information and understand the presented material is greatly enhanced
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
