Wheaton North High School: English Department
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READING/WRITING RESOURCE PAGE
SPEAKER:
What is revealed in the piece about the author? What else can be inferred? In what ways
does the writer establish or suggest his or her credibility?
O
OCCASION:
Literally, in what context is this piece being delivered? More broadly, what larger occasion
or circumstance compelled the author to create this piece?
AUDIENCE:
A
For whom is the piece intended? (Consider specific demographic groups when
possible).
PURPOSE:
P
Always assume an author’s purpose is complex, two-fold, and subtle. This will keep you
vigilant throughout your analysis. Most passages worth analyzing will have multiple
purposes—some immediate, some long-term, most geared specifically to particular
audience. Purposes are described using the infinitive form of verbs: i.e. to call for reform
or action.
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SUBJECT:
T
O
N
E
What is this piece about? Answer this in both generalities (i.e., baseball) and specifics (i.e., the
effect of the designated hitter on the style of baseball played in the American League). As with
purpose, there may be more than one subject being discussed. Furthermore, you ought to note
the relationship between subject, speaker, and audience.
TONE: What is the speaker’s attitude toward his or her subject? It’s best to think of tone
first in terms of a general category: positive, negative, objective, or ironic. Then search for
the precise adjective (or combination of adjectives) that pinpoints the speaker’s attitude. I
also recommend looking for a moment in the piece when an author’s attitude shifts.
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF WRITING AN ARGUMENT:
ARGUMENT: making a case in support of a stance. (Synonym: Persuasion)
CLAIM: debatable idea or case in support of a particular stance.
EVIDENCE: data used to support an argument.
INTERPRETATION: unpacking the evidence and explaining how the evidence supports the claim.
EXIT: Exit out of the argument to answer the “so what” question about the prompt. What is the greater
human truth of your argument?
COUNTERARGUMENT/COUNTERCLAIM: perspective that differs or counters the claim.
REBUTTAL/REFUTATION: the response in order to disprove or cast doubt on the
counterargument/counterclaim.
Wheaton North High School: English Department
RHETORICAL WEB
Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available
means of persuasion.
—Aristotle
SOAPSTone
LOGOS: appeal to
audience’s reasoning
or logic
ETHOS: appeal to
audience’s “ethical”
desire to believe in
the author’s
credibility
PATHOS: appeal to
audience’s emotions
ARISTOLTE’S
APPEALS FOR
ARGUMENTATIVE
WRTING
ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT/
WHOLE STRUCTURE ASPECTS
THAT THE AUTHOR USES TO
CONVEY THE APPEALS
DICTION: word choice &
TROPES: artful diction
-
Connotative Diction: euphonious vs.
cacophonous
Irony
Simile (Ex: Your pencil wields power like
Zeus’s thunderbolt)
Metaphor (Your pencil is an energized
thunderbolt)
Oxymoron (Ex: A fine mess)
Hyperbole (Syn: exaggeration)
Euphemism (making something sound
better)
Epithet (Ex: swift-footed Achilles)
SYNTAX: order of words &
SCHEMES: artful use of syntax
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Sentence Types (simple sentence vs.
compound sentences, periodic,
cumulative, inverted, etc.)
Punctuation (colon, semi-colon,
dashes, hyphens)
Parallel construction
(Ex: “I came, I saw, I conquered” –
Julius Caesar)
Antithesis (Ex: “That's one small step
for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
– Neil Armstrong)
Juxtaposition
***Refer to Working Glossary for specific definitions and examples of specific
tropes, schemes, and other rhetorical devices***