We reviewed JP's homework analyzing rhetorical situation questions on the speech delivered by the Prime Minister of New Zealand after a terrorist attack at Christchurch. I continued to suggest that JP employ AP terminology to explain and to supplement his written work. Specifically, we examined how diction and connotation promote the speaker's purpose. Further, I suggested that his responses reference the intended audience and the effectiveness of the rhetorical choice given the audience . We further discussed the speaker's use of metaphor comparing hatred to a virus and specifically addressed how the speaker extends that metaphor throughout the speech by using words such as "immune" and "cure" to emphasize her purpose. Last, we began outlining paragraph by paragraph all of the speaker's rhetorical choices which can serve as an outline for JP's rhetorical analysis essay.
We studied from the textbook organizational strategies for composing the rhetorical analysis essay, including how to earn sophistication points on the exam.. We noted a strategy that simply follows the passage paragraph by paragraph, and a strategy that identifies in each paragraph a rhetorical choice followed by examples and commentary, Based on last night's reading, we discussed and critiqued a sample student essay. After Matthew identified the thesis in the student essay, we examined if each paragraph's topic sentence supported the thesis, if the evidence(quotes) were relevant, and if the conclusion did more than just summarize the thesis. Further, I noted the poor word choice that misnamed a number of the rhetorical devices . Last, we studied examples of a sophisticated thesis statement that focused on the speaker's rhetorical situation.
In preparation for writing an essay analyzing rhetorical choices employed by the Prime Minister of New Zealand in her famous "Christchurch " speech, we reviewed Matthew's homework responses requiring an analysis of the speaker's diction, syntax, and rhetorical choices. We worked on incorporating AP terminology such as primary and secondary audience, ethos , shared values, and metaphor (as an element of diction) . We supplemented Matthew's answers where appropriate and further analyzed why the speaker's choice of metaphor-comparing racial hate to a virus- was an effective use of connotation. We then prepared a list of all of the speaker's rhetorical choices which will serve as an essay outline.
Based on Alexie Sherman's short story, we focused on writing full sentence responses to AP analysis questions that are not in the multiple choice format . These more open ended questions are challenging as they require the student to incorporate AP Language concepts and terms into a sentence rather than just recognizing a correct answer. Consequently, I provided model sentences that incorporated AP terms such as diction, hyperbole, and irony and directed JP to rewrite his homework responses by incorporating specific examples of diction, identifying the use of diction as hyperbole/irony and then explaining how the writer's choice of diction advances the writer's purpose. We then began an analysis of our next passage, a speech delivered by the Prime Minister of New Zealand. JP discussed and identified the speaker's rhetorical situation and some of the rhetorical choices employed such as ethos, and phrase repetition.
We reviewed and edited JP's homework answers addressing stylistic and rhetorical choices made by Sherman Alexie in his story,"Indian Education ." As JP had some difficulty with the assignment ,I provided instruction on the underlying cultural theme of the story-a Native American's alienation from both Indian and White society . From there we discussed and addressed the significance of the writer's segmented story as a line of reasoning mirroring his erratic and disjointed education and home life. I suggested JP employ AP terminology such as line of reasoning , syntax, and diction in his discussion . In this regard ,I assisted JP in crafting sentences explaining the writer's use of comparison and contrast as a line of reasoning or development, and helped JP locate contrasts and the syntax(repetition of phrases) highlighting these comparisons.
We reviewed and edited Matthew's homework assignment answering stylistic questions on Sherman Alexie's short story,"Indian Education." We spent a significant amount to time addressing and revising word choice, and awkward stylistic syntax.I further provided instruction on reorganizing a paragraph comparing syntactical structure within one section of the story.Additionally, we worked on incorporating critical AP descriptive terms such as syntax, diction, line of reasoning, and parallelism. We then commenced analyzing our next passage, a speech delivered by the Prime Minister of New Zealand after a church massacre. We focused on the rhetorical situation and how the opening paragraphs create trust and ethos in the audience.
Unit 8 focuses on a writer's choice of style, diction, and tone. As such, today we reviewed Matthew's homework responses to a fictional piece by Alexie Sherman. The exercise required the student to identify the function of language, to identify the use of contrasts as a means of development, and to identify how language creates tone and irony, In contrast to the AP MCQs this exercise was not multiple choice and therefore was more challenging. We analyzed and discussed the writer's use of structure, the dual function of the final sentence of each section of the passage, and discerning tone. I assisted Matthew in crafting full sentence responses to those questions where he encountered difficulty .
I assisted JP in drafting a revision of his rhetorical analysis essay . We first discussed the distinction between line of reasoning and parallel structure as an element of syntax in order to clarify the point of his second paragraph that seemed to incorporate both concepts. After I provided JP textual examples illustrating the speaker's line of reasoning , JP worked on incorporating specific quotes into his draft and then explaining how the line reasoning demonstrates the speaker's awareness of her audience's values, and biases. Next, I distributed. student essays from the College Board site that analyzed this same passage as it appeared in the 2017 exam. We studied the essay that earned the highest score and discussed the essay's strong points noting how the student continually explains how her quotes demonstrate the speaker's awareness of her audience. We also discussed how the AP exam only provides 40 minutes per essay . Thus, perfection is not required. We noted a number of misspellings and irrelevancies that did not impact the student's score.
We first reviewed Matthew's revision of the first paragraphs of his rhetorical analysis essay. I worked with Matthew to demonstrate how to embed quotes into his discussion addressing how diction creates tone. Likewise, I provided suggestions for material to incorporate in the next paragraph analyzing the speaker's line of reasoning. Matthew then completed our initial exercise in drafting this type of essay. I next distributed our next reading assignment, a short story by Alexie Sherman, and reviewed the stylistic questions at the end of the passage in order to assist Matthew with tonight's homework that requires a close examination of diction, contrast, and tone.
