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Lesson 6

We will review rhetorical strategies and determine how those strategies are used in “The End of Solitude” and “Bowling Alone.” We will determine the effectiveness of these techniques and how the authors use them to their advantage.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning presented in texts?

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in texts?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion,” Purdue Online Writing Lab, Purdue University
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Robert D. Putnam, National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995
    • “The End of Solitude,” William Deresiewicz, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Used with permission from the author., 2009

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read the article “Rhetorical Strategies For Persuasion” and take notes.

Step 1

Read and annotate the article "Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion."

Step 2

Write down definitions in your own words for the following terms:

  • logos

  • inductive reasoning

  • deductive reasoning

  • ethos

  • pathos

Work with a partner to use each term in an original sentence.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will study important concepts and challenging words from the text, paying attention to their use and meaning in the context in which the author presents them. We will use the Vocabulary in Context Tool as needed and write down important words in our Vocabulary Journals so that we can refer back to them later in the unit and incorporate them into our own work.

For this activity, you will use a Vocabulary Journal. If directed, you might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Working as a whole group, review the Vocabulary List for the words for this text. Locate the words as they are used in the text, using the provided page number, and consider these questions for each:

  1. What does the context suggest the author means when using the word? What is its connotation, and how does that compare with a dictionary definition, or denotation?

  2. Why is this word and its meaning important in the author’s ideas in this part of the text?

  3. How might I use this word in my own thinking, speaking, and writing?

Write down the words and definitions with your notes about their meaning and importance in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Share your responses with the whole group during discussion.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will continue our understanding of rhetorical techniques by discussing the purpose of each and determining the appropriate context.

The idea of rhetorical technique centers on ethos, pathos, and logos.

Refer to your reading and notes to respond to the following questions:

  1. Of the three (ethos, pathos, and logos), which seems the most important to creating an effective or balanced argument?

  2. Are there situations in which one is more appropriate than the other? Explain.

  3. What is an ideal balance of ethos, pathos, and logos? Does this exist? Explain.

Share your responses with the whole class during discussion.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will work with our classmates to analyze the rhetorical strategies used by Deresiewicz and Putnam.

Step 1

Working with a partner, reread the notes you took for your assigned article ("Bowling Alone" or "The End of Solitude").

Working together, highlight examples of ethos in one color, examples of pathos in another color, and examples of logos in a different color.

Respond to the following questions:

  1. Using your highlighting as a visual guide, which rhetorical technique was utilized the most? The least?

  2. Was this an effective strategy on the part of the author? Why or why not?

Step 2

Discuss your determinations with other partner groups and talk through any discrepancies (e.g., a sentence you labeled as ethos but that was labeled as logos by a different group.)

Activity 5: Write

We will reflect on what we have read and determine what specific rhetorical elements from each text will help us express the features of our own community of choosing.

Consider your upcoming writing task:

  1. How might you use rhetoric to convince your readers of the value and legitimacy of your community?

Reflect on rhetorical possibilities, using the texts from this section as a guide. Write down your responses in your writer’s toolbox.