Lesson Materials:
Powerpoint: 1. Rhetorical Strategies and Appeals; 2. Rhetorical Precis; 3. Academic Summaries
Worksheets: 1. Rhetorical situation; 2. Charting a Text; 3. Rhetorical Precis; 4. Rhetorical Analysis; 5. Rhetorical Analysis Guide
Handouts: 1. Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Situation; 2. Rhetorical Strategies and Appeals; 3. How to Read Rhetorically; 4. Reading Strategies; 5. Charting a Text
Readings/Videos: 1. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”; 2. Safwat Saleem’s “Why I Keep Speaking Up…”; 3. Sherman Alexie’s “The Joys of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me“; 4. June Jordan’s “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan“; 5. Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue“; 6. Jamila Lyiscott’s “3 Ways to Speak English”
Helpful templates: MLA Style Template
Lesson Objectives: 1. Practice identifying rhetorical features in advertising and essays; 2. Learn to summarize the rhetorical features of a given text; 3. Practice introducing authors and their rhetorical situation; 4. Introduce and practice MLA citations in-text and in Works Cited pages
Connection to Major Paper/Project: Activities focus on clearly identifying rhetorical features of a work. This raises student awareness of audience, message, and purpose. Students will practice identifying ethos, pathos, and logos in our course texts. Using the rhetorical analysis, rhetorical precis, and charting worksheets, students will be able to pull together the basic structure of the analysis essay with ease.
Connection to Course Goals: In this unit, students will Recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users, and be open to communicating across different languages and cultures; Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations; and Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.
Activities, Day 1:
Review homework assignments:
—Quick free write to reflect on the narrative phase. Consider: What is going well for you? What do you think could be improved, and how?
—Ensure everyone has had a chance to add an advertisement to the shared Google doc.
1. Review: Review rhetorical features and strategies: audience, purpose, ethos, pathos, logos.
2. Introduce the Assignment: Read parts of the assignment sheet and pause after each part to take note of any questions or observations. Make sure you understand assignment expectations and what you must do to complete the project. Essential elements unique to this written discourse of rhetorical analysis include the importance of identifying a clear message, purpose, and audience. Who is the audience and how is the author attempting to reach that audience?
3. Rhetoric in the ‘Real World’: Using advertisements selected by the students, the instructor will show the students ethos, pathos, and logos in the ads. Class will discuss the various features of the advertisements and point out the perceived audience, the perceived message, and how the advertiser delivers that message.
Homework, to be completed before next class:
—Read June Jordan’s “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You…” & complete a rhetorical situation worksheet.
Activities, Day 2:
1. Identify and practice the rhetorical precis using Amy Tan and “Mother Tongue.”
2. Charting a Text ( worksheet | handout ). Review definition of “charting” a text; practice completing the charting worksheet using “Mother Tongue.”
Homework, to be completed before next class:
—Complete a rhetorical precis for the work you will write your essay on.
—Complete the charting worksheet with 5 examples for the work you will write your essay on.
—Turn in charting, rhetorical precis, and Jordan’s rhetorical situation ws to Blackboard’s Week 5 Assignment dropbox.
Activities, Day 3:
Review homework assignments:
—Discuss June Jordan’s rhetorical situation, review rhetorical precis & practice charting using her essay.
1. Introduce and practice completing the Rhetorical Analysis worksheet. We will complete it in groups using Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue.”
Homework, to be completed before next class:
—Complete a rhetorical analysis worksheet for the work you will write your essay on.
Activities, Day 4:
Review homework assignments:
—Review the rhetorical analysis worksheets.
- Students will find and review the comments on their language narrative essays. Students will have 20 minutes to edit their essays in class. If they complete this task, they can post the language narratives to their course sites. This is, ultimately, where these edited essays will “live.” During this time, students will be able to conference with the instructor if they have any questions.
- Introduce and discuss academic summaries (PPT). Student work for Week 6 will build toward the students making their own summaries, which will then become their rhetorical analysis essays.
- If there is time in class, students and instructor will collaborate on the rhetorical precis for Gloria Anzaldua.
Homework, to be completed before next class:
—Read Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” & complete a rhetorical precis and 3 charting items for her text.
—Turn this and the rhetorical analysis worksheet (for the piece you will use to write your rhetorical analysis essay) to the Week 6 Blackboard assignment dropbox.
Activities, Day 5:
Review homework assignments:
—Review the students’ rhetorical precis and charting items.
- Introduce summary using sample summary and powerpoint. Students will identify the rhetorical precis and the charting elements in the summary.
- Have the students complete an in-class writing workshop where they merge their own rhetorical precis, charting worksheets, and rhetorical analysis worksheets into their own one-page summary.
Homework, to be completed before next class:
- Complete the compilation of the rhetorical precis, charting and rhetorical situation & analysis worksheets into your own summary. Work this into your own summary. Consider it Draft 1 of your rhetorical analysis essay. We will peer review in the next class.
