Romeo and Juliet: Presentations
Who is MOST responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death?
The Assignment: As we finish Romeo and Juliet, one central
question remains—who is MOST responsible for the untimely deaths of
Romeo and Juliet? For our final assignment on this play, we will be
having group argumentative-style presentations on this debatable
question.
The Purpose: This assignment is our opportunity to work on listening
and speaking skills in a more formal manner. You will be expected to
not only prepare your argument ahead of time, but also make some
extemporaneous remarks. This format will also allow us to consider
one of the fundamental questions of the play. Lastly, this assignment
seems appropriate for this play because it acknowledges the value of
oratory skills.
The Specifics:
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Each person will be responsible for presenting an organized argument for
at least 3 minutes and will be graded individually for that
presentation.
Each side of the debate will be in groups of 5-6, depending on the group.
These groups are expected to work together in class on March 20 to
decide who is arguing what part—opening, claims, rebuttals, or closing.
The groups will also have some time on March 22 to practice their
presentations and fine-tune the arguments. Group points will be
awarded on these days on the basis of how respectfully the group works
together, stays on task, and completes their work efficiently.
Your group will also need to create a Google doc (that you will also
share with me) so that your group can have clear communication about
who is doing what argument and using which CDs, so that there is no
overlap. Please ONLY COMMENT on your group members’ arguments, but
do not add or change them; each person is responsible for writing his/her
own argument.
On the days of the presentations, groups will have about 5 minutes to get
together to gather any last minute preparations for the debate such as
order of arguments, preparation of counterarguments, etc.
We will have three to four presentations over the course of two class
periods—two on March 26 and one/two on March 28. ALL groups
need to be ready to go on the first day, March 26.
The groups not presenting will be in charge of creating challenging
questions for the presenting group to ask at the end of the presentation.
As an audience member, you will also be part of the evaluation process.
After the presentation you will write a two-page reflection on your
experience. This reflection is due the class period after your
presentation. Details to follow.
The Due Dates:
Due March 20: Preparation form for presentation due—please
print out. Time in class will be allotted for working with group on
strategies, claims, and prep for presentation.
Due March 22: “Dress rehearsal”—Completed, printed copy of
entire presentation ready to practice with group.
Due March 26: Presentation day 1. All students need to be
prepared to go.
Due March 28: Presentation day 2. Reflection due from day 1
presentation students.
Due
March
20 (Green
and Gold Day): Reflection due from day 2
The
Point
Value:
115 points
of presentations.
Preparation form: 5 points
“Dress Rehearsal” speech: 5 points
Group grade: 5 points
Individual presentation grade: 75 points
DuePresentation
4/8 or 4/9:
Reflection
due
from day 25 presentation
students.
Evaluator
and
Questioner:
points
Reflection: 20 points
The Arguments for the Presentations:
The Nurse is most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
The Parents are most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence is most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet themselves are most responsible for their deaths.
The Nurse and Friar Lawrence are most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet. (Period 3 only)
The Format of the Presentation: (3+ minutes each)
1.
Opening Argument
2.
Claim One
3.
Claim Two (if applicable)
4.
Rebuttal One
5.
Rebuttal Two (if applicable)
6.
Closing Argument
Speaker’s Roles in the Debate
Opening Arguments (one presenter): The first person to speak will need
to lay out the overall argument of the presentation, the main points to be
discussed, and what is at stake here in the argument. The first speaker helps
define the issue and sets up the questions of responsibility. You will need to
make specific references to the play through your summary of the
background of the issue, in the form of at least TWO direct quotes, but with
a wider, sweeping scope that captures the attention of the audience and sets
up the position taken by the team.
Claim Arguments (one to two presenters): The team will need to choose
the one to two most important arguments that support the overall position—
then a student is assigned each main claim or argument. Each argument
needs to have at least TWO pieces of evidence, in the form of direct
quotations from the play, to support them. As always, please be sure to
introduce and contextualize your quotations, as well as cite the page
number, along with act, scene and line numbers (the audience will be
following along). Your commentary is analysis that helps to prove your point
and should follow general expectations of commentary, such as avoiding
speculation, personal feelings, generic or repetitive comments, etc.
Rebuttals/Counter-arguments (one to two presenters): A good
argument anticipates the objections to the points, so the team will need to
consider what these arguments might be and be prepared to acknowledge
and then rebut them. You will look at the possible opposing viewpoints to
your team’s claims, anticipate these objections, and be prepared to offer a
clear answer for them using evidence to back it up. Just like a claim, a
rebuttal needs to have at least TWO pieces of evidence, in the form of direct
quotations from the play, to support them. As always, please be sure to
introduce and contextualize your quotations, as well as cite the page
number, along with act, scene and line numbers. Analysis follows the same
expectations as for claims.
Closing Arguments (one presenter): The final points made by team
needs to pull the argument together in a cohesive fashion. Because of the
nature of the presentation, some recapping of the major arguments might
be necessary, but more importantly the closing arguments need to show the
connections and relationships between the points. In other words, don’t just
summarize, but use all the main claims and rebuttals to convince the
audience of your position. Also, this would be an opportunity to rebut any
arguments made that have not been addressed. The closing argument also
needs to have at least TWO direct quotes as support for the overall position
that really capture the heart of the argument.
Please note that as a group you must use DIFFERENT concrete
details for your arguments; no overlap of CDs!
The Classical Argument
Beginning in about the fifth century B.C., Greece rhetoricians established the classical form of
argument. This argument works best when you believe you can argue your position logically and
plausibly to an open-minded audience. In its simplest form, the classical argument has five main
parts, as listed below.
For our presentation, the Opening Argument is similar to . . . .
The introduction, which warms up the audience, establishes goodwill and rapport with
the readers, and announces the general theme or thesis of the argument. Thus, the
introduction has three jobs: to capture your audience’s interest, establish their perception
of you as a writer, and set out your point of view for the argument.
The narration, which summarizes relevant background material, provides any
information the audience needs to know about the environment and circumstances that
produce the argument, and set up the stakes–what’s at risk in this question. By the end of
this section, the audience should understand what’s at stake in this argument–the issues
and alternatives the community faces–so that they can evaluate your claims fairly.
For our presentation, the Claim Argument is similar to . . . .
The confirmation lays out in a logical order (usually strongest to weakest or most
obvious to most subtle) the claims that support the thesis, providing evidence for each
claim. In this section, you explain why you believe in your thesis. It takes up several
supporting claims individually, so that you can develop each one by bringing in facts,
examples, testimony, definitions, and so on. It’s important that you explain why the
evidence for each claim supports it and the larger thesis; this builds a chain of reasoning
in support of your argument.
For our presentation, the Rebuttal Argument is similar to . . . .
The refutation and concession, which looks at opposing viewpoints to the writer’s
claims, anticipating objections from the audience, and allowing as much of the opposing
viewpoints as possible without weakening the thesis. This section can often be the
strongest part of an argument, for when you show an audience that you have anticipated
potential opposition and objections, and have an answer for them, you defuse the
audience’s ability to oppose you while you persuade them to accept your point of view. If
there are places where you agree with your opposition, conceding their points creates
goodwill and respect (and projects an “ethos” of reasonableness) without weakening your
thesis.
For our presentation, the Closing Argument is similar to . . . .
The summation, which provides a strong conclusion, amplifying the force of the
argument, and shows the readers that this solution is the best at meeting the
circumstances. Remind your readers what’s at stake here and try to show why your thesis
provides the best solution to the issue being faced. This gives an impression of the
rightness and importance of your argument, and suggests its larger significance or longrange impact. You may be tempted in the conclusion just to restate the claims and thesis,
but this doesn’t give a sense of momentum or closure to your argument. Instead,
whatever you do, end strongly. Finish with conviction. After all, if you aren't convinced,
why should your audience be? In this way, you can give your audience a psychological
sense of closure–the argument winds up instead of breaking off.
Preparation Form for Presentation
Name:
Due next class period—worth 5 points.
Please complete the following questions carefully and thoroughly .
1. What character are you arguing is most responsible for the deaths of
Romeo and Juliet? Check one.
 Nurse
 Friar Lawrence
 Romeo and Juliet themselves
 The Parents
 Nurse and Friar Lawrence (period 3 only)
2. Begin by writing down all of your initial ideas, points, thoughts,
concerns, etc. on this issue for about five minutes.
3. Now begin to list here some main arguments or points that would
support your position:
4. Which ones seems most convincing to you? Why? Which seem least
convincing? Why?
5. Now start combing through your quotes to find EVIDENCE. Look
through your annotations, your notes, each other’s blogs, etc. to find
quotes that might support your arguments. Get a big list going here with
page numbers and brief summary so you know what is what.
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The rest is to be completed in class!
After working with your group members, sharing your insights, and deciding
who will work on what point, complete the following:
What is the POSITION
you are arguing?
What is your SPEAKER’S
ROLE?
What are YOUR
RESPONSIBILITIES as
this role? If appropriate,
what specific claim or
rebuttal are you arguing?
What is some possible
EVIDENCE? Have direct
quotes.
What is some possible
ANALYSIS? How can you
persuade your audience
with the given evidence?
What are some
POSSIBLE REBUTTALS
the opposing side might
bring up?
What else?
Plan for NEXT CLASS—
The “dress rehearsal”?