Culminating Activity: Synthesizing
Universal Ideas and Connecting to
Argument
Learning Targets:
1. Recognize elements of transcendental writing.
2. Synthesize multiple texts in order to establish
universal truth statements
3. Apply universal truth statements to real-world
situations.
4. Craft an argument stance.
“Self-Reliance”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (237)
Pair-Share – 5 minutes
• How does Emerson define self-reliance?
• How does your definition of self-reliance mirror
or challenge Emerson’s claim?
• Are most people self-reliant? Why or why not?
Essential Questions
Should be able to answer at the end of class

How does an author convey a universal truth in
a text?

What universal ideas found in transcendental
writing are still prevalent today? How is
transcendentalism relevant in modern times?
Texts
 “Nature” – Emerson
◦ pp. 229-230
 “Walden”
– Thoreau
 “Self-Reliance”
◦ pp. 237-238
 Nature
 Individuality
◦ pp. 241-243
Emerson
Universal Ideas
 Tradition
 Optimism
 Spirituality
–
 Simplicity
 Conformity
Notice how all three
examples relate to
UT
Think about how you
can turn your UT into a
question that can have
multiple answers/
perspectives.
I need to
check your UT
before you
move on to
Question
Make reference to all
three texts. If not
possible, use at least
two.
Choose examples that
best reflect the UI.
Choose examples that
relate to each other.
The message that
can be applied
outside the text(s).
Think of this as
a “discussion”
question.
What position
does your
group take?
What do these
examples have in
common?
The question
should be
arguable;
there could be
multiple sides that
one could take.
Provide concise
reasons and
examples for
your answer.
Do all your textual
references
contribute to the UT?
Universal Truth Poster

Create a poster to
share your ideas with
your classmates.

Include:
◦ Your universal truth
◦ Your real-world
question
◦ A visual that represents
your UT
Gallery Walk
Wednesday

Each group needs sticky notes

For each poster, use a sticky note to identify:
◦ suggestions for improvement or clarification
◦ what you liked or found interesting
◦ an “answer” to their question
Essential Questions
Answer on an index card and turn in

How does an author convey a universal truth in a
text?

What universal ideas found in transcendental
writing are still prevalent today? How is
transcendentalism relevant in modern times?
Last Child in the Woods
Richard Louv
Goals for Today:


Unpack the prompt for “hints”.
Read and annotate the rhetorical analysis prompt, Last Child
in the Woods.
◦ Annotate for what?

Craft a rhetorical analysis thesis statement.
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦


Topic
Claim
Directions
Qualifier
UT
Craft three topic sentences.
Complete a rhetorical analysis graphic organizer for devices.
Unpack the prompt
The passage below is from Last Child in the
Woods (2008) by Richard Louv. Read the
passage carefully. Then, in a welldeveloped essay, analyze the rhetorical
strategies Louv uses to develop his
argument about the separation between
people and nature. Support your analysis
with specific references to the text.
Annotations
Rhetorical reading entails comprehending both the meaning and
purpose of an author’s argument and its intended audience(s)
Rhetorical Devices = PURPOSE
and EFFECT

How do the devices impact
the audience?
◦ Who is the intended audience?
How do you know?

How do the devices
contribute to the meaning or
purpose of the passage?
◦ His argument: what is he saying
about the separation between
people and nature?
◦ Diction
◦ Syntax
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
 Rhetorical Questions
 Anaphora
 Coordination
Anecdote
Point of view – shifts?
Examples
Details
Imagery
◦ Shift/contrast
Rhetorical Triangle
After reading, be able to answer the following
questions:
◦ Who is the intended audience?
◦ What is Louv’s message?
◦ How would you describe him as a speaker?
 What is his tone toward your generation?
 What is his tone toward his generation?
 What is his tone toward the separation of people with the
natural world?
◦ What two ideas are being contrasted?
◦ Where is the shift?
Who is the intended audience?
What is Louv’s message?
How would you describe him as
a speaker?
What is his tone toward your
generation?
What is his tone toward his
generation?
What is his tone toward the
separation of people with
the natural world?
What two ideas are being
contrasted?
Where is the shift?
Thesis Statement
Write on a clean piece of paper
Topic
 Claim (shift/contrast + purpose)
 Directions
 Qualifier
 Universal Truth


Rearrange parts
Topic Sentences
Write below your thesis
 Topic
 Claim
 Direction
 UT

Write one for each direction
Rhetorical Analysis Graphic
Organizer
Will turn in along with:
Thesis
Topic sentences
Conclusion
One per partnership
Identify elements of rhetorical triangle first.
Why? It will help you with discussion of effect!
WRITING CONCLUSIONS
THE PURPOSE OF A CONCLUSION
IS
 to bring closure
 to highlight the
universal idea in a
“mini essay”
 to offer a “human
connection” to the
essay
IS NOT
 to repeat, paraphrase,
or summarize the thesis
 to present a new essay
or new direction
THE PARTS OF A CONCLUSION

Topic sentence
◦ Links the topic (think message – R.T.) to the
universal idea

Connecting commentary
◦ Discusses the significance of the universal
idea in relation to literature, life, and/or the
human condition

Clincher sentence
◦ Recapitulates the overall significance of the
universal idea in a thought-provoking
statement, perhaps a witticism or aphorism
Ideas/Guiding Subjects for Commentary
 Literary
Movement text is from
◦ How text is reminiscent of
movement
 Compare/Contrast
to other
literary movements, texts,
authors’ style
 Personal connection/experience
with Universal Truth
 Explication of Universal Truth
◦ Manifestation in today’s society?
BUILDING A CONCLUSION . . .
Keep the thesis in mind . . .
Converting the Mississippi River from a common
river into a unique, “turbulent” entity, John M.
Barry uses an admiring point of view, dynamic
diction, and picturesque figurative language to
communicate that the Mississippi River’s
“complexity” and inability to “lie at rest” feed his
fascination.
Topic Sentence
Barry’s essay affirms that the Mississippi River, with
its tireless churning, “roiling,” coursing through
America, is an intriguing, complex entity.
fascination =
UI
Connecting Commentary
Add the connecting commentary . . . connection
Through his characterization of the river,#1
Barry
offers an almost romantic perspective of the
Mississippi River, reminiscent of Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s ideas in Nature, by suggesting that
a common natural form, such as a river, can so
inspire wonder in the human soul. How does
one experience this wonder? By becoming
that “transparent eyeball” that melts into
nature. This fascination, is not focused on the
individual, however; like Charles Darwin, Barry
finds the complexities of nature themselves
admirable: Humans are not the only complex
entities on earth, so are the natural forms in
which they live.
connection #2
Clincher Sentence
Add the clincher sentence . . .
As a result, Barry, like Emerson and Darwin,
discovers complexity in the deceptively simple,
and suddenly, the ordinary Mississippi River
becomes extraordinary.
juxtapositio
n
Conclusion for Last Child in the Woods
With your partner, write a conclusion for the
prompt you have been analyzing.
 You should:

◦ Rephrase your UT in the topic sentence
◦ Elaborate on your UT by connecting it to an
“outside” idea:
 Connect to transcendental characteristics
 Connect to another “world”

You should not summarize your points in the
conclusion.