Monday - December 2, 2013
As you enter…
During class…
- Take out paper for notes!
It is time to learn more
about rhetoric and
persuasion!
- Rhetoric Prezi
- Persuasion Invasion
Watch “I Wanna Iguana”
- Homework: Read “The
Cat Bill Veto” in your
PofL – annotate for
rhetorical devices
-
Discuss: How are children’s
books effective in
persuading?
How can this be
dangerous?
PeRsUaSiOn
InVaSioN
Rhetorical Analysis
Norman High School
English II
So what is RHETORIC?
• According to
Aristotle,
rhetoric is "the
ability, in each
particular case,
to see the
available
means of
persuasion.”
To help develop ETHOS in writing…
Ethos
(Credibility or Trust)
• It is extremely important and
difficult to appear trustworthy
to your readers.
• Choose words carefully and
sentence structure carefully.
• “We are more likely to believe
people who have good
character.”
• We also trust those who are
similar to us in some way. (age,
social status, personality, etc.)
• Authority can also be an
effective measure of
trustworthiness. (an elder,
manager, pastor, teacher)
• Reputation (experience or skill)
REVIEW: ETHOS is trustworthiness, reputation,
authority and/or similarity.
Would you trust me as your teacher if I told you
I didn’t earn a degree?
Logos
(Consistency/Logic)
• An argument must be logical and
make sense to readers
• Logical arguments make claims, offer
data, and then warrant an argument.
• Example: Texting and driving is dangerous to teens.
Data from the University of Utah shows that “Distraction
from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands
free) extends a driver's reaction as much as having a
blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08
percent.” For this reason alone, texting while driving
should be deemed illegal.
• Errors in logic are common and often
debunk an argument. We call these,
logical fallacies. (More on those
another day)
To help develop LOGOS in writing…
Is the thesis clear and
specific? (for help with
thesis statements, see the
Revising Thesis
Statements handout)
Is the thesis supported by
strong reasons and
credible evidence?
Is the argument logical
and arranged in a wellreasoned order?
Pathos
(emotions/imagination)
• Sometimes you can
trump logic by
appealing to emotion,
but you have to know
your audience.
• Pathos involves making
your reader feel a
stirring emotion that
makes them want to be
involved in some way.
• Adding sensory details
is another way to
appeal to emotion.
To help develop PATHOS in writing…
Are vivid examples,
details and images used
to engage the reader’s
emotions and
imagination?
Does the writer appeal to
the values and beliefs of
the reader by using
examples readers can
relate to or care about?
Let’s Review
THE
APPEALS
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Ethos = ethics/trustworthiness
Logos = logic/must make sense
Pathos = emotion/make them feel
Rhetorical Strategy
1. Use the appeals
2. Have a sense of
style when writing
3. Be organized
Special thanks to www.layingthefoundation.org
Tuesday - December 3, 2013
As you enter…
Check out this retro Colgate
advertisement. Which
appeal is being used?
Explain in at least one
sentence.
You need your spiral & your
quick write folder today.
- How does this speech
from We Are Marshall use
rhetorical devices to
inspire the players?
During class…
- Discuss “The Cat Bill
Veto”
- Small group: find three
ways this argument is
effective and SOAPStone
- Let’s Share
- Watch this clip! Identify
ELPS!
• HW: Read and annotate
“The Truman Doctrine”
[focus on R-devices]
SOAPSTone
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Subject
Tone
SOAPSTone
Speaker
The voice that tells the story.
Before authors begin to write, they must decide whose voice is going to be heard.
Whether this voice belongs to a fictional character or to the writers themselves, effective writers
determine how to insert and develop those attributes of the speaker that will influence the
perceived meaning of the piece.
SOAPSTone
Occasion
The time and the place of the piece; the
context that prompted the writing.
Writing does not occur in a vacuum.
All writers are influenced by the larger occasion: an environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions
that swirl around a broad issue. Then there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that
catches the writer's attention and triggers a response.
SOAPSTone
Audience
The group of readers to whom this piece is directed.
Before authors begin to write, they must determine who the audience is that they intend to address.
It may be one person or a specific group.
This choice of audience will affect how and why authors write a particular text.
SOAPSTone
Purpose
The reason behind the text.
Writers need to consider the purpose of the text in order to develop the thesis or the argument and its logic.
They ask themselves, "What do I want my audience to think or do as a result of reading my text?"
SOAPSTone
Subject
The central topic.
Before authors begin to write, they must decide whose voice is going to be heard.
Whether this voice belongs to a fictional character or to the writers themselves, effective writers
determine how to insert and develop those attributes of the speaker that will influence the
perceived meaning of the piece.
SOAPSTone
Tone
The attitude of the author.
The spoken word can convey the speaker's attitude and thus help to impart meaning through tone of voice.
With the written word, it is tone that extends meaning beyond the literal, and authors must convey this tone in their
diction (choice of words)
syntax (sentence construction)
imagery (metaphors, similes, and other types of figurative language).
The ability to manage tone is one of the best indicators of a sophisticated writer.
SOAPSTone
More about
Tone
Tone is the author’s/narrator’s attitude toward the subject.
Tone is different from mood, which is the emotional feeling produced by the passage.
The tone and the mood of a passage may indeed be the same, but on the AP Language exam, you will
have to explain how an author develops a certain tone using the devices of language, such as FIDDS—
figurative language, imagery, diction, details, and syntax.
Wednesday- December 4, 2013
As you enter…
• Watch this iPhone 5
commercial
• How does it appeal to
buyers?
• Use academic
terminology
During class…
• Any teacher volunteers?
• SOAPStone “The Truman
Doctrine” on your own
first
• Full class SOAPStone
• Exit Ticket: Explain the
effectiveness of argument
in “The Truman Doctrine”
Thursday- December 5, 2013
As you enter…
• Watch This
- What rhetorical and
syntactical devices does
the author/artist employ
to persuade you?
- HW: Prepare for JLC
discussion 2 –
tomorrow.
- Consider: what are
some ways the author is
reinforcing themes?
During class…
• What is satire? How is it
persuasive?
• Watch COLBERT clip and
analyze.
• Watch Sarah and Hillary
clip and analyze.
• Watch this and analyze!
Satire
Noun. A literary manner which
blends humor with criticism for
the purpose of instruction or
the improvement of humanity
The necessary ingredients
 Humor
 Criticism, either general criticism of
humanity or human nature or specific
criticism of an individual or group.
 Some kind of moral voice: simply
mocking or criticism is not “satire.”
The Satiric Manner
 Ironic/Sarcastic
 Either good natured criticism (Horatian
after Horace) or bitterly cynical
denunciation (Juvenalian after Juvenal)
 Always opposed to pretense, affectation,
and hypocrisy
 More than a little bit prone to references
to things society finds taboo or disgusting
(bodily functions, sexuality, etc.)
Comedian Dennis
Miller’s popular
series of books,
Rants, are an
excellent modern
example of direct
satire.
The Death of Common Sense
“You can't get in your car and not run into another
idiot who pulls into the gas station with his fuel
tank on the wrong side and then has to get
instructions from a NASA team at Houston
Control to figure out how to maneuver his car so
that the tank is on the correct side. And you can't
open a paper without reading about a mondo idiot
who gets hurt or killed at a railroad crossing
because they had to try and beat the train to get
home in time to watch Charlene Tilton's salute to
porcelain clowns on QVC.”
Parody = a work of literature that
mimics another work of literature,
usually as a way of criticizing it.






Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Austin Powers
Scary Movie/Epic Movie
Gulliver’s Travels
Don Quixote
Wicked
Check out this classic modern example
of parody in action
Reversal…
 When the satirist uses/describes the opposite of
what he actually wants to happen in order to make
a point…
When Colbert discusses the Mexican “invasion”
of Hollywood, he truly means that he does not
mind the “immigration” but comments on the
irrational fear conservatives have of Hollywood
and immigrants.
Caricature = An exaggerated
portrayal of the weaknesses,
frailties, or humorous aspects of
an individual or group.
Caricatures of
the presidential
candidates by
Saturday Night
Live cast
members in ‘03
year actually
changed the way
that the
candidates
performed in
public.
Exaggeration = The portrayal of something
trivial or unimportant as very important, usually
to emphasize its triviality.
Diminutization = the portrayal of something
perceived as important as something
trivial/unimportant to show its unimportance.
** Zoolander and the “fashion world”
** Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise”
** The Rape of the Lock (A. Pope)
An Excerpt..
The Peer now spreads the glittering Forfex wide,
T' inclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide.
Ev'n then, before the fatal Engine clos'd,
A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd;
Fate urged the Sheers, and cut the Sylph in twain,
(But Airy Substance soon unites again)
The meeting Points the sacred Hair dissever
From the fair Head, for ever and for ever!
Utopianism = A criticism of the
status quo through comparison with
a superior kind of society that
highlights the weaknesses of one’s
own.
 Utopia, by Sir Thomas Moore
 Gargantua and Pantegruel
 Gulliver’s Travels, Book II
Dystopianism = A criticism of
certain aspects of society
through comparison to an inferior
society that adopts some of
these aspects.
George Orwell’s 1984
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano
Gulliver’s Travels, Book IV
* Both Dystopianism and Utopianism use contrast to
make point.





Friday- December 6, 2013
As you enter…
• Prepare for your JLC
discussion: You may take
a few minutes to make
sure your questions are
up to par. I expect each
group to discuss the
entire time.
- HW: Read Sojourner
Truth and Anna
Cooper’s articles in your
PofL – be ready to
discuss!
During class…
• JLC # 3
• You will be discussing in
small groups today.
• A member will keep
minutes.
• I will visit each group to
determine your grade.
Impress me.