1. Enthymemes

2. He must be a socialist because he favors a graduated income-tax. Claim: He is a socialist. Stated Reason: He favors a graduated income-tax. Unstated Assumption: Anyone who favors a graduated income-tax is a socialist.

3. John will fail his exam because he hasn’t studied. Claim: John will fail his exam. Stated Reason: John hasn’t studied. Unstated Assumption: Anyone who hasn’t studied will fail the exam. (The high probability makes this persuasive.)

4. I worked hard on this essay, therefore I should get an A. Claim: I should get an A. Stated Reason: I worked hard on this essay. Unstated Assumption: That argument relies on the unstated assumption that “this essay is going to be (or should be) graded on effort.”

5. I failed the test because the teacher doesn't like me. Claim: The teacher doesn’t like me. Stated Reason: I failed the test. Unstated Assumption: The teacher is the only reason I would fail the test.

6. If to be foolish is evil, then it is virtuous to be wise. (an example of chiasmus - a stated conclusion is premised upon the truth of its opposite.) Claim: It is virtuous to be wise. Stated Reason: To be foolish is evil. Unstated Assumption: Wise people cannot make foolish choices OR Wise people cannot be evil OR virtuous people cannot be foolish.

7. "If to err is human, then to forgive is divine." (another chiasmus) The conclusion that it is divine to forgive, is premised on the truth of its opposite, "to err is human.“ Unstated premise: Humans can achieve a divine status.

8. Jokes can be based on enthymemes "Tommy just couldn't remember how to throw his boomerang, but shortly, it came back to him." Major premise: All boomerangs come back when thrown. Minor premise: Jack threw his boomerang. Conclusion: The boomerang came back to him.

9. "But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man.“ (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar) Claim: Brutus is an honorable man. Stated Reason: Brutus says he was ambitious. Unstated Assumption: All honorable men are ambitious.

10. We cannot trust this man, for he has perjured himself in the past. Unstated Assumption: Those who perjure themselves cannot be trusted. (Major premise - omitted) Stated Premise: This man has perjured himself in the past. (Minor premise - stated) Claim: This man is not to be trusted. (Conclusion - stated)

11. Advertising Claim: Smucker’s jelly has to be good. Stated Reason: It is named Smucker’s. Unstated Assumption: Anything with the Smucker’s name must be good.

12. Unstated Claim: McCain is un- American. Stated Reason: McCain owns three foreign cars. Unstated Assumption: Anyone who buys a foreign car is un- American.

13. The final kind of enthymeme is the visual enthymeme. Scholars have argued that words are not the only form of expression that can be understood to form enthymematic arguments. Pictures can also function as enthymemes because they require the audience to help construct their meaning. [5] [6] [5] [6] An example of the visual enthymeme is illustrated by the picture on the right which might be translated into an enthymeme (where the audience supplies both a premise and the conclusion) as follows: "These people are performing the Nazi salute, therefore they are evil.“ The image only supplies one of the terms of the enthymeme (the people performing the Nazi salute). The audience supplies the middle, unstated term (all people who perform the Nazi salute are evil) and the conclusion (these specific people are evil). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthymeme#