As you know, on Monday you'll write a rhetorical analysis (question 2) essay in class.
But here's what I forgot to say in class today: the in-class essay will
mark the end of the "Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis Unit". We'll
then begin "Unit 2: Memoir & personal essay as argument". To get
ready for this unit you should know what memoirs and personal essays are (click here) and you should read these quotations bout memoirs. (For each quotation take notes: Do you agree with the quotation? Explain. Do you disagree with the quotation? Explain. Would you revise or modify the quotation? How?)
If you do the above this weekend you'll have less to do Monday night.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
In response to the disruption caused by picture day I decided to swap
the lesson planned for Wednesday with the lesson planned for Thursday.
So today we looked at the AP rhetorical analysis essay and tomorrow we
will fine tune our rhetorical analysis skills.
On Friday to culminate the introduction to rhetorical analysis unit, you will write your first in-class rhetorical analysis essay. To become more comfortable with this task you might want to take a look at a variety of rhetorical analysis prompts that have appeared recently on the AP English Language Exam.
Go here to find essay questions from 2003-2011. As you scroll down click on "all questions" and find "Question 2". That's the rhetorical analysis question. (Note: Before 2007, when the synthesis question was introduced, there were two rhetorical analysis questions.) You might also look at "Sample Responses Q2" where you will find student essays accompanied by scoring commentary. If you review this material tonight I can answer your questions and we can discuss your observations tomorrow.
If your serious about your performance on Friday's task I highly recommend you use the resources available at the College Board site. (If the link in the previous paragraph doesn't work use this url: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/2001.html)
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
On Friday to culminate the introduction to rhetorical analysis unit, you will write your first in-class rhetorical analysis essay. To become more comfortable with this task you might want to take a look at a variety of rhetorical analysis prompts that have appeared recently on the AP English Language Exam.
Go here to find essay questions from 2003-2011. As you scroll down click on "all questions" and find "Question 2". That's the rhetorical analysis question. (Note: Before 2007, when the synthesis question was introduced, there were two rhetorical analysis questions.) You might also look at "Sample Responses Q2" where you will find student essays accompanied by scoring commentary. If you review this material tonight I can answer your questions and we can discuss your observations tomorrow.
If your serious about your performance on Friday's task I highly recommend you use the resources available at the College Board site. (If the link in the previous paragraph doesn't work use this url: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/2001.html)
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
Monday, September 19, 2011
More context for analyzing President Obama's rhetoric
While we were analyzing President Obama's job's speech today, the President was presenting his deficit reduction plan.
Click here to read (or listen to) a five point overview of the plan. (This will provide useful context for tomorrow's discussion.)
Click here to read (or listen to) a five point overview of the plan. (This will provide useful context for tomorrow's discussion.)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Read this.
You're going to use this week's notes on rhetorical style and technique to write a SOAPSTone analysis of it for Monday.
***
Follow up to today's lecture and discussion about word origins.
Click for more about doppelganger, schadenfreude, and zeitgeist.
Click for more about nemesis.
What's the word for a word based on a name? Eponym
***
Here's the email I sent after class on Friday.
This weekend you're going to analyze the role of speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, topic, and tone in President Obama's jobs speech. This means going beyond identifying these elements to develop ideas about each element and to support this development with quotations from the speech itself.
To help I've attached a lengthy document on rhetorical analysis that contains--on pages 21 and 22--a student's response to a similar assignment. [I couldn't post this document to the blog.] (The document contains a lot of other useful information about rhetorical analysis too.) Excellent SOAPSTone analyses will show an understanding of rhetorical analysis concepts and the texts itself. (Try incorporating ideas about words choices, sentences/syntax, and discourse as well as ideas about logos, pathos, and ethos. Notice what you notice even if you don't have a name for the technique the rhetor seems to use.) Excellent SOAPStone analyses will also be able to develop and support convincing insights about the speech. They will be thorough and thoughtful. If anything else seems important even though it doesn't fit into the SOAPSTone analysis (structure for example) go ahead and write about it. On Monday we will evaluate how we're doing with the concepts and then prepare to apply them in an end-of-unit assignment.
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
You're going to use this week's notes on rhetorical style and technique to write a SOAPSTone analysis of it for Monday.
***
Follow up to today's lecture and discussion about word origins.
Click for more about doppelganger, schadenfreude, and zeitgeist.
Click for more about nemesis.
What's the word for a word based on a name? Eponym
***
Here's the email I sent after class on Friday.
This weekend you're going to analyze the role of speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, topic, and tone in President Obama's jobs speech. This means going beyond identifying these elements to develop ideas about each element and to support this development with quotations from the speech itself.
To help I've attached a lengthy document on rhetorical analysis that contains--on pages 21 and 22--a student's response to a similar assignment. [I couldn't post this document to the blog.] (The document contains a lot of other useful information about rhetorical analysis too.) Excellent SOAPSTone analyses will show an understanding of rhetorical analysis concepts and the texts itself. (Try incorporating ideas about words choices, sentences/syntax, and discourse as well as ideas about logos, pathos, and ethos. Notice what you notice even if you don't have a name for the technique the rhetor seems to use.) Excellent SOAPStone analyses will also be able to develop and support convincing insights about the speech. They will be thorough and thoughtful. If anything else seems important even though it doesn't fit into the SOAPSTone analysis (structure for example) go ahead and write about it. On Monday we will evaluate how we're doing with the concepts and then prepare to apply them in an end-of-unit assignment.
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Extending the Rhetorical Web Discussions
Write responses (each 300+ words in length) to the discussion of the two works that we studied this summer that you did not create a web for. (For example, if you wrote about All Souls write one response that extends the discussion of The Omnivore's Dilemma and write another response that extends the discussion of Century of the Wind.)
Respond! Explore! Extend! Debate! Be resourceful. Try to move back and forth between general, overarching insights and specific textual analysis. Be resourceful! (What resources do you have? Your notes from class discussions about the webs. Your passage responses. The notes I posted after each summer session. Comments your peers posted about the summer sessions. The books themselves.)
Respond! Explore! Extend! Debate! Be resourceful. Try to move back and forth between general, overarching insights and specific textual analysis. Be resourceful! (What resources do you have? Your notes from class discussions about the webs. Your passage responses. The notes I posted after each summer session. Comments your peers posted about the summer sessions. The books themselves.)
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