TITLES/AUTHORS OF
ESSAYS
DISCUSSION
LEADER
EXAMPLE
TITLE OF FIRST ESSAY
Include a
subtitle
that
briefly
summarizes
the
main point
of the essay
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Author’s name
 Relevant education or professional
background information
 Other publication credits
 Relevant professional connections
with organizations, govt. bodies, etc.
PHOTO of AUTHOR
RHETORICAL CONTEXT
 Select an image to help your classmates identify with the
subject of the reading
 Give them relevant background about the subject: Who? What?
When? Where? Why? How?
 Give them relevant background about the piece itself: when
was it written? Who published it?
CONTENT
 Summarize the essay
 Identify the main points, themes, and/or arguments of the
essay
 Select specific anecdotes or quotations that you found
particularly intriguing or engaging ; denote pages #s so your
classmates can find them
 Identify major statistics or facts that classmates should note
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
 Identify ideas, quotations, anecdotes , images, or underlying
themes that present rhetorical strategies like :
 Credibility of author/sources/subject matter
 Pathos: appeals to the emotions of a reader
 Logos: logical/factual arguments for the reader
 Ethos: ethical, moral, or “should/should not” arguments
 Identify fallacies or problematic areas of the essay
 Is there any bias in this essay?
 Is the author guilty of using weak language, fear -tactics, or
generalized argument?
 What possible rebuttals, or counterarguments, could be made?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Formulate questions for your classmates that engage with specific points or
anecdotes from the material; make connecti ons with other readings & the
Ever yday Writer/Envision material, etc.
Allow at least 10 seconds for them to answer! Call on friends or
previous groupmates if you’re not getting muc h response
 What questions were you lef t wondering?
 Were there questions included with the reading, either at the end or within
the text? Use those to help you formulate ideas.
 What aspects of the essay(s) were most ef fective for you? Which were not
ef fective, or even of f -putting?
 Did you agree with the author about the subject before reading it? Did you
agree with the author af ter ward? If you changed your mind, why do you
think that happened?
 Were there elements of the readings from Envision or The Ever yday Writer
that you saw in the essay(s)?
CONNECTIONS
 Make connections to other readings for that particular class
period
 Make connections to other class periods’ readings, photo
essays, discussion points – in or out of class!
EXAMPLE:
THE BP COVER-UP
“BP and the government say the spill is fast
disappearing – but dramatic new science
reveals that its worst effects may be yet to
come.”
Impacts
&
Issues
with
Of f-shore
Drilling
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia Whitty
 Writer, documentary filmmaker
 Awards include: PEN USA Literary
Award, the John Burroughs Medal,
finalist for the Dayton Literary
Peace Prize
 Mother Jones environmental
correspondent
THE BP COVER-UP: RHETORICAL CONTEXT
 B r i t i s h Pe t r o l e u m o f f s h o r e o i l r i g D e e p w a t e r
H o r i z o n e x p l o s i o n , d i s a s te r f r o m A p r i l – J u l y
2 010 i n t h e G u l f o f M e x i c o
 35,000-60,000, barrels of oil (40% methane)
we r e b e i n g p u m p e d i n to t h e G u l f o f M e x i c o
daily
 M e t h a n e c r e a te s b l o o m s o f m i c r o b e s t h a t
a b s o r b t h e ox y g e n i n t h e wa te r, t a k i n g away t h e
m a i n l i fe i n g r e d i e n t to a l l o r g a n i s m s l i v i n g i n
the Gulf of Mexico, creating anoxic zones
 “ C o r e x i t ” p u m p e d i n to t h e o i l i n t h e e x t r a c t i o n
p r o c e s s c a u s i n g a l ot o f t h e o i l to s t ay
submerged in the sea floor
 “ T h e B P C ov e r - U p ” p u b l i s h e d S e p t / O c t 2 010
issue of Mother Jones
THE BP COVER-UP: CONTENT
 BP makes “oil-spill plan” – document which features
inaccurate wildlife (i.e. walruses) & a dead “on call expert”
 BP employs environmental/biochemical scientists with
lucrative pay
 Out-of-work Gulf residents (i.e. fishermen, captains); clean-up
crews witnessed “watching movies”
 “From the outset, BP has fought to control…”(8)
 BP “pacifies” Gulf residents with payments –
“They have to pay these guys to work or else they’ll riot”(9)
THE BP COVER UP – CONTENT II
 Destruction of habitats – Barataria Bay (6), the Pinnacles
(13), bathypelagic regions (5)
 Drilling fluids, the “Top Kill” plan & Corexit(10)
 Long-term impacts (7) on photosynthesis, phytoplankton,
water quality, fisheries (11 -12), migrating reptiles & marine
mammals, Gulf residents’ health, economy (8 -9)
THE BP COVER-UP:
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
 Inclusion of experts, locals: Rick Steiner, conservation
specialist from University of Alaska/ Exxon Valdez; Carl Safina,
marine conservationist; David Valentine, biogeochemist at UC
Santa Barbara; Cajun oysterman Flip Tayamen
 Intensive logos appeals: spill statistics, biogeochemical
ef fects, marine ecological explanations; “Death by oil…”(8)
 Pathos in anecdotes and photos of dead/dying wildlife, Gulf
residents; “Barataria Bay has become a hospice wilderness…”
(7)
 Ethos narrative: How should BP held accountable for the
short-term and long-term ef fects? Should the United States
still allow of fshore drilling?
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES:
GRAPHIC EFFECTS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
 British Petroleum is still in business. How do you think they
should be held responsible?
 What other ecological, socio -political, or economics impacts
can you imagine have occurred since 2010?
 Do you think the US should still be allowing of fshore drilling
activities/development in the Gulf of Mexico?
 What aspects of Whitty’s essay were most ef fective for you?
Why?
 What facets of “North Dakota went Boom” do you see in this
essay? How does it present a dif ferent side of domestic oil
production?
CONNECTIONS
 Other Gulf Coast crises: Hurricane Katrina; “34” etc.
 The Ecuadorian Amazon Chevron/Texaco case; “Crude”
 Nydia Velazquez & “brown fields” in New York City
PHOTOS
FROM
“OIL REACHES
LOUISIANA SHORES”
Major
themes,
ideas,
or
arguments
?
PHOTOS FROM
“OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”
If there is a photo essay for your discussion group, select a few images to
discuss with your classmates. Be prepared to talk about why you picked
them, how you can connect them with the readings, etc.
PHOTOS FROM
“OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”
Include discussion questions with the
photos on your slides so your
classmates can respond to the
images with thoughts.
PHOTOS FROM
“OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”
OTHER PHOTOS?
Ask your classmates to identify the photos from the essay that
were most striking for them.
 Which photos were particularly ef fective,
disturbing/upsetting, or intriguing for you?
 How did you connect these photos to other readings for class?