Tuesday's class: One more go at rhetorical analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: William Hazlitt "On the Want of Money" 

and Ellen Goodman "The Company Man"

Today we will attempt to carefully analyze two passages for rhetorical effectiveness.  Both are in your study packet.

Instructions:  Read/annotate the essay.  Then write your thesis and record your organizing strategy.

Here is a link to the shared document for Hazlitt:     2nd period  6th period           

 and Goodman: 2nd period   6th period

Here is a link to the Hazlitt 8/9 paper: http://goo.gl/yv4PGi

Monday's class: a brief return to Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis

Today I will pass back your Great Gatsby essays and you will have time to review my feedback and ask me questions about it.

Next, we will practice reading a RA prompt from 1996, Lady Montagu's letter to her daughter, a notoriously difficult prompt.

The main point here is that "the magic" needs to happen early on in that 40 minutes that you have to write this essay.  You need to be able to use your critical reading skills to clearly understand the writer's position and purpose and 2-3 devices used most effectively to accomplish that purpose.  If you misread or miss something vital at this point, it will be very difficult to do well on this task.

ANNOTATIONS are ESSENTIAL.  Read with your pen/pencil in hand and mark critically!

TODAY you have ten minutes to:

Read the introduction to the letter.  What information does it give us about the speaker and occasion/exigence that might be important?

In one sentence, try to rewrite the writer's position in your own words at the bottom of the page and make a list of 3 devices you marked in the piece that you might use to talk about this passage.

Thursday: "She blossomed for him like a flower..."

Timed writing practice

Today I am asking you to write an analysis of the last 4-5 paragraphs of chapter 6 in The Great Gatsby so that I can give you feedback and so you can have practice gathering and organizing your thoughts during and after a close reading of text.  If you were absent today, I have a copy of the passage, but you can do this without it; simply start with the paragraph: 

"He talked a lot about the past...." to the end.

Prompt:  Read the passage and in a well-organized essay discuss how Fitzgerald uses literary (symbolism, irony, characterization, point of view) and rhetorical techniques (imagery, diction, syntax, tone) to convey meaning (this is the "purpose" in non-fiction texts)....

Try using the close reading scaffolding to get your thoughts in order.

MONDAY: Rhetorical Analysis workshop

Sample AP papers 2009 Rhetorical Analysis for this piece: Lippman piece

The goal today is for you to REVISE one of your model paragraphs, using a "move" from a student sample.

MOVES you noticed:  (generated by 2nd and 6th period)

1. The 8 writer uses PRECISE LANGUAGE.
2. Thesis shows control and deep understanding of the argument.
3. SHOW what you mean--tell sparingly.
4. Keep organization open to textual demands---you can vary between strategy and chronology as your focal point in your paragraphs.
5. Take on the big picture in your conclusion.  Consider addressing the rhetorical appeals and organization. 

Tips about RHETORICAL ANALYSIS from FRIDAY

Learning Target:  To develop a rhetorical analysis that links strategies to effect and writer's purpose.

Some things we discussed today:

• Be specific/precise in your intro/thesis--no EMPTY BROAD GENERALIZATIONS!
• Instead of an empty generalization, introduce your topic/subject with concrete language
• Remember the FUNNEL shape--moving from outside the book to your specific argument about the devices in your chosen chapter
• In the body of your paper: wed the strategies to the effect and purpose/theme.  State it explicitly in your thesis and keep working towards it in your body paragraphs!
• After each textual detail, ask "so what?" multiple times to be sure you are deepening your discussion those details. 
• Narrow your focus:  Don't take on ALL of his diction, just the words that build a particular effect.  Don't try to describe EVERY sentence, just characterize the ones you see connected to a particular purpose.

Here is a link to the student sample intro and some successful body paragraphs from the Momaday/Brown practice: RHETORICAL A. SAMPLE SENTENCES/PARAGRAPHS

Rhetorical Analysis workshop

Here is the Pre-writing list of questions to prepare  you to write your final essay: Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

Here is a useful how to for RA: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis

Here's another one: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/03/

An example of rhetorical analysis of a U2 song! http://grammar.about.com/od/essayassignments/a/Rhetorical-Analysis-Of-U2s-Sunday-Bloody-Sunday.htm