Some of you may be working as I am today (procrastinators? overachievers? playing catch up? some combination of all 3?) or you may be enjoying some quality relaxation, fun in the sun, and family bonding experiences.
Our first three weeks has been a preview and general overview of rhetorical analysis, which means a slow and steady practice of the what and the why. Starting this week, it is all about applying your knowledge of the what and the why in quick samples (The Outliers), a passage (The Overachievers), and a text for a team close read and verbal rhetorical analysis (more to come in the upcoming days).
For those of you with a strong background in the what or those of you who quickly pick up the terminology to identify the what, you are ready to go for this week's work. For those of you new to the procedure regarding the what or those of you who need more study and review to retain the what, it is up to you to spend quality time learning the strategies' names and definitions, especially those of common purpose in the texts we have had thus far like anaphora, polysyndeton, the persuasive appeals, enumeration, juxtaposition, diction, tone, syntax (and its may forms). As we go along, we do have mini units on some of the aforementioned strategies. However, some of these (I'm thinking in the family of enumeration and common rhetorical strategies of comparison) are self-explanatory and just need memorization to maintain. All of this is leading to our second diagnostic prompt, most likely next week, so you can improve upon your first one in structure, content, and original analysis.
As you may have noticed we have not had a great deal of homework outside of class in order to give you time to work on your toolboxes and start retaining strategy knowledge. I know that when I'm learning something - be it AP Lang 8 years ago or a new topic for Scholar Quiz - I spend a little time each day until I have the information down to memory.
To start off our classes tomorrow, we are going to have a little friendly competition to see who can name the most modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies with victors claiming tally marks for the vocab champion crown. Hence, if you have not acquainted yourself with the modes of discourse, these are necessary styles of writing that you will need to be able to identify; if you cannot automatically list off a string of rhetorical strategies, you will want to remind yourself of the vast range of strategies.
In final observations, I have heard a few people say that they were concerned because they didn't learn rhetorical analysis last year or that they ended the previous year with a certain writing level. While your past experiences construct who you are as a writer and thinker when you enter this class, those experiences are in the past and not in your present. Your present is becoming a college-level writer, be it immediately, weeks away, or months away. Work on what you have now, improve on what you have now, and stay focused on the present and what you need to do for this course.
And one more item of note...
After all has been graded and updated in the grade book, there are many zeroes recorded due to the fact that several of your neglected to put your name on the quiz. If that is your situation, I highly suggest finding your quiz (they will be hanging up via a clip on the board starting tomorrow morning) and turning it in so you may received the credit you deserve.
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