Ms. Kray
AP Language and Composition
Everyday Use Chapter 4: “Rhetoric and the Writer”
SWBAT:
- Understand writing as a rhetorical process
- Deliver a presentation on professional writers examining one aspect of the writing process
- Read various op-ed pieces and write their own argumentative essay on a topic of their choice
- Practice close-reading strategies for AP style multiple choice questions
- Write journal entries based on Didion, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman
Prepare ahead:
1. Read, annotate, and study Chapter 4: “Rhetoric and the Writer”
2. One way to think of the writing process in more concrete terms is to read some of the excellent essays in the
series “Writers on Writing” published by the New York Times (available online at:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/specials/writers.html). There are more than 60 essays to choose from on
aspects of the writing process – from Russell Banks and Saul Bellow to essays by Alice Walker and Edmund
White. Read a few and pick one essay from which to develop a three minute presentation to the class on
Tuesday.
3. Read several essays on the opinion page of a major newspaper and bring them to class on Wednesday.
4. Writing assignment, due on the following Monday:
a. One of the biggest, most popular areas of nonfiction writing is the personal opinion piece.
Read a few essays on Newsweek’s “My Turn” essay section: http://www.newsweek.com/id/39258. Also
look at various editorial pieces in major magazines and newspapers (for example, look at
http://search.newsweek.com/search?q=editorial). Think of writers in the past decades or centuries who
wrote commentary that expressed personal opinion on some matter of the day; writers from Jonathan
Swift to Mary Wollstonecraft to Oscar Wilde all wrote opinion essays, or what you might call argument.
b. Make your argument. State your claim. Your task is to discover your own argument and have your say.
You can comment on an event, a cultural phenomenon, a societal problem, or a coming change in local
or national life. Once you have your idea, you’ll begin to discover form and tone. Some writers use
humor; others use anger, irony, or compassion to get across their views and to persuade others to agree
with their point. Think about how you will best convey your idea and make an appeal to your reader.
Notice that most personal opinion pieces are relatively short; you should consider length as you write.
Your paper should be no less than two pages and no more than five.
c. Have fun. Have a point. Have a title.
Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 3
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Day 4
Day 5
Ch 4 discussion – bring your questions.
Let’s examine writers talk about writing when they are speaking formally: William Faulkner and
Toni Morrison Nobel prize acceptance speeches. Discuss study guide/questions (handout).
Test prep: Close reading exercises of Morrison and Faulkner (handout).
HW: work on essay and finalize editorial choices for tomorrow. Bring any questions about
essay to class.
Presentation: Writers on Writing
Exercises in voice: p. 120
HW: Develop essay. Read and create a reader’s journal entry for Joan Didion’s “On Keeping a
Notebook” (Norton 100)
Bring editorial pieces to class. In small groups, discuss some of these pieces. Then, with your
group, write just the beginning of two essays analyzing the editorials. Assume one essay is for
English class and the other for a political science or U.S. government class. What do you need
to investigate to write each of these pieces? (96)
Test prep: Close reading exercises (handout) - Cisneros (101) and articles on 117.
HW: Develop essay. Read and create a reader’s journal entry for Emerson’s “from Journals”
(Norton 106)
Extension: Imagine that you were asked to write a piece for the op-ed page of your local newspaper
describing the best thing that happens at your school to improve student’s educational opportunities.
With a partner or small group, plan this piece, considering all ideas about what is best. Think about
your audience (your local community), and consider why you’re writing to this audience (and why the
newspaper might have asked you to write). Your plan might be reflective notes, a list, or an outline
(97).
- Writing activity on p. 118. Write a short draft of a beginning discussion on race using support
from one or more of the texts we’ve read in class (20 minutes). Read work aloud to group,
discuss, and revise.
- HW: Develop essay. Read and create a reader’s journal entry for Thoreau’s “from Journals”
(Norton 109)
- AP-style Argumentative prompt – “Free” Response – 40 minutes
- HW: Develop essay. Read and create a reader’s journal entry for Walt Whitman’s “from
Journals” (Norton 112)
Personal opinion essay due on ________________
Application: You may be able to focus on your writing techniques more readily if you assume a persona you can remain
true to. Ideas (created by a persona) and words (created by the real student) are different. As the famous French poet
Stephen Mallarmé said, “poems are made out of words, not ideas.”
When possible, look at individuals whom you see on television as a persona. You may think about, for example,
“What persona did the president assume last night when he delivered his address?”
“No matter how piercing and appalling his insights, the desolation creeping over his outer world,
the lurid lights and shadows of his inner world, the writer must live with hope, work in faith."
J.B. Priestley
"I decline to accept the end of man."
William Faulkner: Nobel Prize Speech
Stockholm, Sweden
December 10, 1950
"All his life William Faulkner had avoided speeches, and insisted that he not be
taken as a man of letters. 'I'm just a farmer who likes to tell stories.' he once said.
Because of his known aversion to making formal pronouncements, there was much
interest, when he traveled to Stockholm to receive the prize on December 10, 1950,
in what he would say in the speech that custom obliged him to deliver. Faulkner
evidently wanted to set right the misinterpretation of his own work as pessimistic.
But beyond that, he recognized that, as the first American novelist to receive the
prize since the end of World War II, he had a special obligation to take the
changed situation of the writer, and of man, into account." Richard Ellmann
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work--a life's work in the agony and sweat of
the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit
something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a
dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would
like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to
by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that
one who will someday stand where I am standing.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it.
There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only one question: When will I be blown up? Because of
this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with
itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the
sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and,
teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and
truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed--love and honor and
pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but
of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without
pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of
the glands.
Until he learns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline
to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the
last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and
dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still
talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not
because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of
compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his
privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride
and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely
be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
Ms. Kray
AP Language and Composition
William Faulkner: Nobel Prize Speech Study Guide
1. How does Faulkner define good writing?
2. What is the writer’s duty?
3. What are the prevalent themes in Faulkner’s speech?
4. What values can you infer from Faulkner’s speech?
5. What is Faulkner’s message concerning the human spirit?
6. How do you characterize Faulkner’s assessment of mankind’s future?
7. Locate at least 5 rhetorical devices used in the speech and explain their effect.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison's speech at the Nobel Banquet, December 10, 1993
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I entered this hall pleasantly haunted by those who have entered it before me. That company of Laureates is
both daunting and welcoming, for among its lists are names of persons whose work has made whole worlds
available to me. The sweep and specificity of their art have sometimes broken my heart with the courage and
clarity of its vision. The astonishing brilliance with which they practiced their craft has challenged and nurtured
my own. My debt to them rivals the profound one I owe to the Swedish Academy for having selected me to join
that distinguished alumnae.
Early in October an artist friend left a message which I kept on the answering service for weeks and played back
every once in a while just to hear the trembling pleasure in her voice and the faith in her words. "My dear
sister," she said, "the prize that is yours is also ours and could not have been placed in better hands." The spirit
of her message with its earned optimism and sublime trust marks this day for me.
I will leave this hall, however, with a new and much more delightful haunting than the one I felt upon entering:
that is the company of Laureates yet to come. Those who, even as I speak, are mining, sifting and polishing
languages for illuminations none of us has dreamed of. But whether or not any one of them secures a place in
this pantheon, the gathering of these writers is unmistakable and mounting. Their voices bespeak civilizations
gone and yet to be; the precipice from which their imaginations gaze will rivet us; they do not blink nor turn
away.
It is, therefore, mindful of the gifts of my predecessors, the blessing of my sisters, in joyful anticipation of
writers to come that I accept the honor the Swedish Academy has done me, and ask you to share what is for me
a moment of grace.
Ms. Kray
Name: _______________________________
Period:______________
AP Language and Composition
Date:________________
Test Prep: Close-Reading Questions
The following questions are based on William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
1. Faulkner’s advice to young writers could best be described as:
a. An atavistic return to the past.
b. An undaunted belief in science and progress.
c. The return to timeless themes.
d. The endurance of western civilization.
e. A revision of contemporary problems.
2. The overall tone of Faulkner’s speech is:
a. Hopeful and courageous.
b. Cautionary and tragic.
c. Censuring didacticism.
d. self-effacing
e. Enduring and fearful.
3. In paragraph 3, the “curse” could be characterized as:
a. A fall from grace from God.
b. A misunderstanding of the writing process.
c. Cowardice stemming from visceral concerns.
d. “Fear” of learning.
e. The timeless doom of past writers.
The following questions are based on Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
1. The author’s overall style is best described as:
a. A juxtaposition of specific details with their facts.
b. Anecdotal.
c. Descriptive.
d. An hyperbolic recognition.
e. Aphoristic revising.
2. In the opening paragraph, the author uses all of the following rhetorical strategies, except,
a. Oxymoron.
b. Flattery.
c. Alliteration and assonance.
d. Parallelism
e. Zeugma.
3. The passage offers evidence to support which of the following claims?
i. Morrison is fearful of the idea of writing.
ii. Morrison refuses to forget her lineage.
iii. Writing, as a process, is continual, as an art form.
a. i only.
b. Both I and iii.
c. Both ii and iii.
d. Iii only.
e. All of the claims.
The following questions deal with both Faulkner’s and Morrison’s Nobel speeches.
1. All of the following are parallels between the two author’s speeches, except
a. A recognition of future writers.
b. A sense of humility.
c. An explanation of the problems of their contemporary age.
d. A debt to the occasion of the award.
e. A steadfast belief in the potentials of the human race.
2. The “artist friend” whom Morrison quotes in her second paragraph most closely corresponds in Faulkner’s
speech to
a. His feeling that we are “doomed.”
b. His recognition of future writers.
c. His enumeration of the essential qualities of a writer.
d. The overall tone of hopefulness in his final paragraph.
e. His refusal of fatalistic doctrines.
3. Both writers begin their speeches doing all of these things except
a. Recognizing the occasion.
b. Explaining their positions as artists in a greater community.
c. Recognizing other artists.
d. Enumerating specific influences
e. Alluding, generally, to their ambivalence.
Ms. Kray
Name: _______________________________
Period:______________
AP Language and Composition
Date:________________
Test Prep: Close-Reading Questions
The following questions are based on the first chapter of Sandra Cisnero’s “My name is Esperanza” in the first chapter of
House on Mango Street (101-102).
1. The author’s overall style, in the first paragraph, includes:
a. Short, telegraphic sentences.
b. Alliteration.
c. Intimate diction.
d. Figurative language.
e. All of the above.
2. The overall effect of the passage could be best described as
a. Highlighting the differences between Mexicans and Americans.
b. Rationalizing generational divides.
c. Invoking common sentiments of compassion that are inherent in humanity in general.
d. Aesthetically, yet not intellectually, edifying.
e. A harangue on the effects of naming.
The following questions are based on the articles “Why White people need a Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro” and
“Is Racism Still Alive? Or Have We Overcome?” (117).
1. The author of “Why White people need a Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro” begins the piece by
a. Attempting to dispel a notion.
b. Recognizing a trend.
c. Qualifying familial posterity.
d. Presenting an hyperbole.
e. Edifying nonwhites.
2. In the final paragraph of “Is Racism Still Alive? Or Have We Overcome?” (117) the author uses which rhetorical
technique to achieve emphasis?
a. Alliteration
b. Anaphora
c. Paean
d. Hyperbole
e. Exclamation
3. The overall persona of the first excerpt can most readily be compared with what element of the second excerpt?
a. Racism as a defining characteristic of African Americans.
b. The high purpose of “white men and women.”
c. The memory of Doctor King and his life.
d. The struggle that King’s life epitomized.
e. An unfulfilled ideal.
Here is an editorial written by a student from a previous year. My comments are shaded, and underneath the
rubric at the end.
Take the deal
Last week, Channel Two offered Millis High School free technology in exchange for broadcasting a 15 minute
news program to the student body. The broadcast would consist of ten minutes of news and five minutes of
advertising, both of which would be chosen at Channel Two’s discretion. In exchange, Millis HS would receive
televisions and DVD players for every room, fully equipped computer labs and other beneficial tools that, until
now, there has been no money for. We’d be crazy not to take it. In the intro, the writer lays out some basic
background information, establishes a (somewhat conversational) tone, and makes his position clear.
Of course, there are issues that must be addressed, but none are worth of major concern. “Worth of” is
incorrect. The sentence as a whole feels a bit dismissive of other points of view, rather than a transition into
them. The instinct to make concessions to other views, or to at least discuss them, though, is right on.
For one, it’s troubling that for ten minutes each day students will be shown only the news Channel Two
chooses. It’s naïve to expect a balanced presentation. Luckily, the technology itself allows the school to correct
this. The wide range of resources offered by the internet allows teachers to instruct students on finding all
sides of an issue. Students can use the new computers to do just that. The tone is still conversational and thus
engaging. The sentence structure in this paragraph is all very similar; could use more variety.
Unfortunately, the news broadcast is the least of the proposition’s problems. Presenting teenagers with
more20advertisements more than what? seems shaky at best. Why is it shaky? Needs more evidence here. But
there’s a silver lining. Today’s teenagers are currently bombarded with thousands of advertisements per day.
Why not cite the specific statistic? If we add to that number in school, it will be necessary to teach smart
consumerism to the students.Luckily, the technology will allow for a smoother curriculum. The extra time can
be used for this new lesson plan. In this age, it’s probably the most important lesson we’ll teach them. This
argument is unclear and needs to be fleshed out more.
Could use a transition word here – “thus,” for example The negatives are easily combated, passive voice used
here by the writer and even if they weren’t, the positives would still heavily outweigh them.
With this new technology, lessons can be taught passive voice; a particular problem here because the writer is
losing his conversational tone in a variety of ways. Videos, Power Points spelling, and internet research
projects are just a few examples. This helps to accommodate all types of learners as well as help the students
understand the topics in multiple ways. This would be more convincing with more detailed evidence; does
technology lead to more learning?
Also, this technology allows the school to speak in the student’s language. Their generation grew up with
technology as a backbone of their social development. Integrating school with this aspect of their lives will
help keep students interested in what they’re learning. Lessons will become more interactive and enjoyable for
the students. Again, some evidentiary support would be helpful. Tone is starting to become more
conversational again.
Another benefit is the new range of course grammar – should be plural the school could potentially offer. The
technology provides the possibility for classes such as computer programming and animation. Even if the
school cannot afford the teaching staff for these, it’s nice to have that as a realistic option some day.
We cannot pass on this opportunity. It’s time for Millis to move forward. Ends on a succinct, somewhat
memorable note.
Editorial Rubric
Trait
A
B
C
D
Ideas
Editorial has a
persuasive
argument
supported by
thorough evidence
and logical
argument. Displays
a nuanced and indepth knowledge of
the topic.
Editorial has a
clear argument
supported by
evidence and
logical argument.
Displays a solid
knowledge of the
topic.
Main argument is
somewhat vague;
may have some
logical holes, not
consider opposing
views, or display an
incomplete
knowledge of the
topic. Needs more
evidentiary support
Argument difficult to
ascertain; may have
serious logical holes,
completely ignore
compelling opposing
views, or have several
misstatements of fact.
Organization
Intro grabs reader’s
attention and
frames argument in
a compelling way;
points build
logically on each
other; conclusion
sums up argument
and ends in a
memorable way.
Intro frames
argument; points
are clearly
organized;
conclusion sums
up argument
Organization gets in
the way of content in
some places
Organizational problems
make editorial hard to
read
Word choices are
precise, vivid, and
clear
Word choices
generally clear,
could be more
precise or vivid
Some vague word
choices; writing needs
to be more precise,
vivid
Word choices often make
meaning difficult to discern
Editorial establishes
a compelling voice
and sticks to it.
Editorial is clearly
written without a
strong voice
could stick with it
more
Voice is somewhat
inappropriate for an
editorial
Voice is completely
inappropriate for an
editorial
Sentence choices
are clear, varied,
and complex
Sentences are
clear, with room
for either more
variety – in one
place or
complexity
Sentences are in need
of more complexity or
variety
Sentences need both
much more variety and
much more complexity
Few if any basic
usage errors
A few errors in
basic usage
Errors in usage get in
reader’s way
Errors in usage make
meaning hard to discern
 Clear
argument
 Evidence
 Intro
 Body
 Conclusion
Word Choice
 Clarity
 Precision
Voice
 Personality
Sentence
Structure

Variety
 Complexity
Mechanics
 Usage
Overall – The editorial displays a comfort with the genre. It establishes a clear position, supports it with arguments, and
writes (mostly) with the conversational tone that is appropriate for an editorial. The editorial represents opposing views
fairly; concessions to other views make the argument seem even-handed and reasonable.
Next steps:
 The writer can support his assertions with concrete evidence instead of general arguments.
 The tone can be more consistent throughout the piece.
Approximate grade: B+
RUBRIC FOR SCORING THE EDITORIAL OR OP-ED
Introduction, Conclusion (Position and
Persuasion), Topic Sentences, Title (20%)
Body, Development, Organization (40%)
2 X 20 = ______________
Vocabulary, Mechanics (20%)
(Punctuation, Spelling, Caps,
Grammar, Typos)
Effort, Improvement, Presentation (20%)
1 X 20 = ______________
1 X 20 = ______________
1 X 20 = ______________
Distinguished (or
"WOW!")
Creative and catchy introduction and conclusion;
problem is strongly introduced; goal is fulfilled;
the problem/situation is clearly introduced;
possible solution is revealed; high level of insight
is achieved. Conclusion proposes a viable and
intelligent solution; the reader is moved to rethink
or act. Compelling Title.
Gives reader dynamic impression and profound
understanding of the problem/situation; aptly uses
many examples (more than three) to persuade;
creative transitions; uses similes and metaphors to
enhance writing; explores deep qualities of the
issue; weaves essential facts and elements into
argument artfully. No repetition. Breaks the mold.
Professional. Sophisticated. High
level, active words are selected
deliberately. There is no more than
one mechanical error in the entire
argument. Sentence structure is
varied. Reads like a professional
editorial from the NY Times or
Rolling Stone.
Evidence of substantial time; student is
working at highest potential; details are
thorough and factual. There are no errors in
content. Student chose a challenging
topic. Revisions are obvious.
Proficient (or
"Pretty Decent")
(16-18)
Solid introduction that uses "catchy" intro device;
purpose/position is clearly delineated; solution is
indicated; solid conclusion –point is clearly made.
Clear topic sentences. Opinion provides insight
about issue. Reader is convinced by a feasible
solution at the end. Catchy title.
Gives reader vivid picture and deep understanding
of the argument; strong and detailed examples (at
least three) are provided to persuade;
sophisticated transitions; uses similes and
metaphors; explores the issue thoroughly; creative
presentation of argument. Very little or no
redundancies. Good job.
Most vocabulary is sophisticated
and used properly. Vocabulary is
varied and correct. There are no
more than 3 mechanical errors in
the entire paper. Paper is vivid –
with some revisions it could be
found in Newsday or Daily News
or solid magazine.
Evidence of time. Student is working near
highest potential; some improvement;
polished presentation. Revisions made.
Satisfactory (or
"Fair")
Basic needs of introduction and conclusion are
met though argument may not be totally clear;
topic sentences generally clear; intro and
conclusion meet minimum length requirement.
Reader may not be totally convinced by the
argument the writer has made as the solution may
not be possible or logical or very strongly
presented. Basic Title.
Argument is made but in a predictable and/or
awkward way; little or no examples (less than
three supporting points), details and/or
similes/metaphors; may contain awkward or
lacking transitions; argument not very
compelling. Redundant points.
Language is basic – solid in some
areas, weak in others. Author may
use simple words and take few
risks. Vocabulary is somewhat dull
and/or repetitive and/or used
incorrectly. Essay is legible but
may contain multiple errors. Needs
more life!
Adequate amount of time is evident though
more attention should probably have been
given; similar errors in previous stories;
little or no improvement; neat presentation.
Some revisions made.
Intro and/or conclusion either too short, missing,
or confusing. The situation and/or solution are not
clear or are missing; topic sentences are missing
or confusing. The reader has not been persuaded
of anything from the argument. Conclusion does
not offer any possible viable solutions.
Inappropriate or missing title.
Doesn’t fulfill word requirement. Uses sweeping
generalizations with no supporting examples;
little or no detail or description; missing or
confusing transitions; little or no attempt to use
similes/metaphors; information is unfocused or
confusing; paragraphs too long, too short, or
indented. Redundant. We learn not much or
nothing.
Misuses basic vocabulary. Ignores
basic rules of mechanics
(capitalization, sentence structure,
spelling, etc.). Essay reads at a
low-level. Difficult to read
because of a number of distracting
errors.
Repeated errors; class-time was not used
productively; little or no time or care; no
attention paid to basics; gross errors;
sloppy; little or no revision evident. This
paper is not up to par with AP writing.
(19-20)
(13-15)
Unsatisfactory
(or "Needs A Lot
of Work")
(0-12)