Persuasion and Representation

Objective: Understand advocate and choose it accurately in context.

advocate (verb): To publicly support or argue for a policy, idea, or course of action. Context sentences 1. Several student groups advocate longer library hours during exam week. 2. In her editorial, Elena will advocate replacing disposable trays with washable ones. 3. The committee invited residents to advocate changes to the proposed bus routes.

Objective: Understand endorse and choose it accurately in context.

endorse (verb): To publicly express approval or support for someone or something. Context sentences 1. The newspaper's editorial board will endorse a candidate after interviewing all three finalists. 2. Several respected engineers agreed to endorse the bridge design. 3. The student council declined to endorse the proposal until its costs were clear.

Objective: Understand champion and choose it accurately in context.

champion (verb): To actively defend or promote a cause, group, or idea. Context sentences 1. The young attorney hopes to champion the rights of tenants facing unsafe housing. 2. For years, the professor has used public lectures to champion the preservation of local archives. 3. A determined group of students will champion equal access to advanced science courses.

Objective: Understand espouse and choose it accurately in context.

espouse (verb): To adopt and express support for a belief, principle, or cause. Context sentences 1. The philosopher would espouse the view that freedom requires responsibility. 2. Members of the organization espouse a commitment to nonviolent protest. 3. Although their methods differ, both educators espouse the principle that students learn through inquiry.

Objective: Understand persuade and choose it accurately in context.

persuade (verb): To lead someone to accept a belief or take an action through reasons or appeals. Context sentences 1. A careful comparison of costs may persuade the committee to repair the old building. 2. Nina used examples from the novel to persuade her classmates that the narrator was unreliable. 3. The organizer hopes to persuade more residents to attend the planning meeting.

Objective: Understand exhort and choose it accurately in context.

exhort (verb): To strongly urge someone to act, often through an earnest or inspiring appeal. Context sentences 1. The coach will exhort the runners to maintain their effort through the final lap. 2. In her speech, the mayor will exhort residents to volunteer at neighborhood shelters. 3. The essay uses urgent language to exhort readers to defend freedom of expression.

Objective: Understand implore and choose it accurately in context.

implore (verb): To ask someone earnestly or desperately to do something. Context sentences 1. The stranded travelers implore the driver to stop before the last bus leaves. 2. In the final scene, the prisoner will implore the queen to spare his brother. 3. The families implore officials to continue searching through the night.

Objective: Understand invoke and choose it accurately in context.

invoke (verb): To appeal to a rule, authority, principle, or example as support for a position or action. Context sentences 1. The lawyer will invoke an earlier ruling to support her argument. 2. Critics of the restriction invoke the principle of equal treatment. 3. To justify the exception, the committee may invoke a provision in its charter.

Objective: Understand convey and choose it accurately in context.

convey (verb): To communicate an idea, feeling, or meaning. Context sentences 1. The poet uses short, abrupt lines to convey the speaker's anxiety. 2. A well-designed graph can convey a complicated pattern quickly. 3. Her carefully chosen examples convey the importance of checking assumptions.

Objective: Understand portray and choose it accurately in context.

portray (verb): To represent or depict someone or something in a particular way. Context sentences 1. The novel uses conflicting accounts to portray its central character as both generous and ambitious. 2. The mural will portray daily life in the fishing village. 3. The documentary attempts to portray the dispute from several residents' perspectives.