Question

Read the excerpt from a speech.

There is no doubt that our town needs a higher budget for the transportation department. Have you ever seen the roads here? It feels like you’re driving on a dirt road, not a road that’s supposed to be smooth and paved—right? Residents can’t drive more than twenty feet without hitting massive potholes, risking thousands of dollars in damage to their vehicles. Why, just a week ago, a voter was telling me about the giant hole on Wheeler Road, and then, what do you know? Yesterday, he texted me a picture of his car with a flat tire and a broken rim, and then a bill with an estimate of $3,200 to fix it. Can you believe it?

How does the speaker use rhetorical questions to develop tone?

By appealing to the senses of the reader, the speaker creates a dangerous tone.
By encouraging the listener to take action, the speaker creates a powerful tone.
By asking the listener to agree with the claims, the speaker creates a brash tone.
By relating to the experiences of the listener, the speaker creates an impassioned tone.

Answer 1

By relating to the experiences of the listener, the speaker creates an impassioned tone.

The rhetorical questions and anecdote invite listeners to recall similar frustrations and feel the speaker’s outrage, producing an emotional, persuasive tone.