A Reading Strategy for Rhetorical Analysis
The Foundation
The Architecture
The Music
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Goals for this Presentation
Where in the world are you from?
Who is Eric Liu? What gives him
Ethos?
DMA – Intro to the Liu Method
Foundation Model – Feeble
Women and Poor Dumb
Bastards
Architecture Model – Why I
like/dislike Citizens United
Music Model – “Riding into the
Jaws of Death…that the nation
might live.”
Liu Method and the APLaC
Exam
Self-Reflection and Questions
or Comments
Goals
 To comprehend the steps of
the Liu Method to apply as a
reading annotation
technique.
• To be able to instruct students
how to apply the Liu Method
towards the Multiple-Choice
section and the Rhetorical
Analysis essay on the AP
Language and Composition
exam.
• To reflect on how the Liu
Method could be used in your
classroom/work environment.
Where in the World are you from?
What gives you Ethos?
Who is Eric Liu?
 Communications professor
at University of
Washington.
 Former speechwriter in the
Clinton Administration.
 Author of The Accidental
Asian: Notes of a Native
Speaker a New York Times
Notable Book in 2002.
 Founder of the Guiding
Lights Network which
promotes civic
engagement.
DMA
 Read the following





passage to yourself.
Jot down phrases, words,
sentences that stand out
to you.
Consider the following:
What is the author’s
thesis/claim?
How does the author
structure his work?
What strategies does the
writer use to make his
writing sing?

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points
out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer
of deeds could have done them better. The credit
belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose
face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and
again, because there is no effort without error and
shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the
deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who
at the best knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least
fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never
be with those cold and timid souls who know neither
victory nor defeat.
DISTINCTIO
 Distinctio (Rhetorical Device)
 Def: explicit references to various meanings of a
word--usually for the purpose of clarification.
Distinctio of:
 Foundation
 Architecture
 Music
What is the Foundation?
 Foundation Def: The
claim/thesis/main idea of a text.
 How to Annotate The Foundation:
Actively and critically read through the
article underlying key passages and phrases.
 How to Paraphrase The
Foundation:
Then, write a statement paraphrasing the
claim or thesis beginning with a verb.
 Examples:
1. Liu persuades...
2. Liu convinces...
3. Liu refutes....
4. Liu mocks....
5. Liu suggests...
What is the Architecture?
 Architecture Def: The logical
structure of a text OR how the
author arranges her argument.
 How to Annotate the
Architecture: Read through
the passage. Chunk the passage
into categories.
 Examples:
1. Hook
2. Thesis
3. Reasons supporting issue
4. Counterargument
5. Call to Action
6. Etc.
What is the Music?
 Music Def: The techniques an
author uses to demonstrates his
craft as a writer.
 How to Annotate the Music:
Look for words, phrases,
sentences, paragraphs that
stand out to you.
 Examples:
1. Diction
2. Syntax
3. Literary Devices
4. Poetic Devices
5. Rhetorical Devices
6. Etc.
The Foundation
Foundation Model #1- Feeble Women
Queen Elizabeth I – Tilbury speech
Foundation Model #2 – Poor Dumb Bastards
Gen. George Patton – Speech to the 3rd Army
The Architecture
ARCHITECTURE Model #1
Why EJ Dionne dislikes Citizens United
ARCHITECTURE Model #2
Why George Will likes Citizens United
The Music
Music Model #1
Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Music Model #2
Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”
Liu and the AP Exam
Multiple – Choice Exam
 The speaker's attitude is best


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described as one of . . .
The syntax of lines 27-29
serves to . . .
Which of the following best
describes the author's
purpose in the last sentence?
The speaker's mention of
“opportunities" is appropriate
to the development of her
argument by . . .
The pattern of exposition
exemplified in the passage
can best be described as . .
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
On April 10, 1962, as the United States was emerging
from a recession, the nation’s largest steel companies
raised steel prices by 3.5 percent. President John F.
Kennedy, who had repeatedly called for stable prices and
wages as part of a program of national sacrifice during a
period of economic distress, held a news conference on
April 11, 1962, which he opened with the following
commentary regarding the hike in steel prices. Read
Kennedy’s remarks carefully. Then write an essay in
which you analyze the rhetorical strategies President
Kennedy uses to achieve his purpose. Support your
analysis with specific references to the text.
Summary
 Foundation: identifying the author’s claim/thesis with
a verb statement.
 Architecture: Chunking paragraphs in categories to
determine how the author structures a text.
 Music: Identifying diction, syntax, or literary, poetic, or
rhetorical moves the author uses to make his music sing.
 Consider
employing the Liu Method to help students to annotate
passages for the Multiple Choice Exam and Rhetorical
Analysis Essay.
Self-Reflection
Take the next few
minutes to selfreflect how you can
apply the Liu
Method for your
classroom or work
environment.
Questions or Comments