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Lesson 9

We will write multiparagraph responses in which we examine the rhetorical strategies and techniques used by the authors in the core texts of this unit: William Deresiewicz and Robert Putnam.

Lesson Goals

Reading and Knowledge

  • Analyze Relationships: How well do I recognize and interpret important relationships among key details and ideas within texts?
  • Delineate Argumentation: How well do I identify the claims, reasoning, and evidence used to develop arguments and explanations?
  • Evaluate Information: How well do I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning presented in texts?
  • Determine Meaning and Purpose: How well do I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in texts?
  • Compare and Contrast: How well do I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

Writing

  • Form Claims: How well do I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim that represents valid, evidence-based analysis?
  • Compare and Contrast: How well do I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?
  • Organize Ideas: How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed narratives, explanations, and arguments?

Texts

Core

  • 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

We will gather ideas for our Section Diagnostic by conducting a rhetorical analysis of “Bowling Alone” and “The End Of Solitude.”

Review your notes and tools for "Bowling Alone" and "The End of Solitude." Skim each article to refamiliarize yourself with it. Annotate each article for the questions below:

  1. What are the central claims of the essay?

  2. How does the author support his claims (e.g., data, anecdotes, quotes from experts)?

  3. How valid is the author’s argument? Why?

  4. How does the author use ethos, pathos, and logos in his essay? Does the author strike a balance between the three rhetorical techniques? Is it effective for you, the audience?

  5. How does the author structure his essay? How effective is the structure in helping to create the central claims? Why?

  6. How does the author use word choice to create his argument? How effective is the author at using vocabulary to create and defend his central claims?

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will determine which author makes a more convincing argument for how to live one’s life.

Review your notes from previous sections, taking into account all discussions and analyses of each article. With this information in mind, take some notes about the following questions:

  1. Which author makes the most convincing argument for how to live?

  2. Why is that author the most convincing?

  3. What does the author do to make his text the most convincing?

Activity 3: Write

We will begin to write our rhetorical analyses by identifying the controlling idea.

Now that you have determined which author presents a more compelling argument, determine which rhetorical strategies or techniques are central to the development of that argument.

Looking back at your annotations and notes, which rhetorical strategies or techniques stand out? Consider the following questions when crafting your response:

  1. Is there a significant amount of emotional support used to convince the reader (pathos)?

  2. Does the author establish credibility to discuss this topic? How so (ethos)?

  3. Does the author use a variety of other credible sources to support the argument (logos, ethos)?

  4. Does the author refer to statistics, graphs, or other tangible methods to support the argument (logos)?

  5. Does the author use personal stories or anecdotes to support the claim (ethos, anecdotal evidence)?

From your notes, draft the controlling idea for the Section Diagnostic. You will write a thesis from your controlling idea in a later activity.

Activity 4: Write

We will continue writing our rhetorical analysis by drafting a body paragraph explaining the connection between rhetorical techniques and the author’s main argument.

Review your controlling idea and write a body paragraph explaining the connection between a rhetorical technique and the author’s argument.

Begin by selecting at least two pieces of textual evidence that do the following:

  • represent the rhetorical technique employed

  • support your claim that the author is advocating for a better way to live than his counterpart

Be sure to incorporate relevant words from your Vocabulary Journal in your draft.

Activity 5: Write

We will continue writing our rhetorical analysis by drafting a body paragraph for our second point, explaining the connection between rhetorical techniques and the author’s main argument.

Review your controlling idea and write a body paragraph explaining the connection between a rhetorical technique and the author’s argument.

Begin by selecting at least two pieces of textual evidence that do the following:

  • represent the rhetorical technique employed

  • support your claim that the author is advocating for a better way to live than his counterpart

Activity 6: Read – Write

We will elicit peer feedback on our body paragraphs and revise as necessary.

Using the listed required elements for each body paragraph as a guide, read your partner’s paragraphs and make sure they do the following:

  • have one controlling idea

  • support the controlling idea with an analysis of the text

Review your peer’s feedback and revise as necessary.

Activity 7: Read – Write

We will review our draft paragraphs and write a compelling and precise thesis statement for our introduction.

Review your responses to the questions you answered earlier:

  1. Which author makes the most convincing argument for how to live?

  2. Why is that author the most convincing?

  3. What does the author do to make his text the most convincing?

Write a thesis statement that forms the basis of your introduction by completing the following sentence:

_____ makes a more compelling argument for how to live by _____.

This statement will be the last sentence in your introduction. For the remaining sentences, remember that an introduction is meant to do just that—introduce your readers to your topic and prepare them for the general argument you will be making in your writing. This can be accomplished by briefly discussing the topic and providing an overview of both texts.

Activity 8: Listen – Write

We will write a conclusion for our rhetorical analysis.

Your conclusion provides an opportunity for you to have a parting word with your reader. While many conclusions simply repeat the thesis statement and its main points, given the length of this analysis, that would be unnecessary. Your conclusion for this analysis does not need to be lengthy, but you should address the following:

  1. How did the author employ these rhetorical techniques in a way that better illustrated his points?

  2. Why is this author’s view on how to live more compelling or convincing?

Activity 9: Write – Discuss

We will reflect on our work on the Section Diagnostic and assess how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.

Step 1

Choose at least three of the questions below and respond to them in your Learning Log:

  1. How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?

  2. What went well for you during the completion of this task?

  3. What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?

  4. How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?

  5. How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?

  6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned and done during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge to determine how prepared you are for the Culminating Task.

  • Add or refine any skills and content knowledge required for the Culminating Task.

  • Evaluate how well you are mastering skills and knowledge required for the Culminating Task.

Step 2

Review the Central Question of the unit:

What does it mean to belong to a community?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

  1. What new knowledge do you have in relation to the Central Question?

  2. What are you still curious about in relation to the Central Question?

  3. What is the relationship between the question and the texts you have read so far? How do the texts shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the texts?

  4. How has your response to the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

In your Learning Log, write your response to Question 3. You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.