AP English LanguageThe Analysis

Question-The Function of

Language in ActionDr. Don Stoll

Rowan Universitystoll@rowan.edu

What the Analysis Question Assesses….

Student’s ability to:Demonstrate close reading skills Construct the rhetorical context in which language

performs is function Identify rhetorical strategies clearly and effectively Analyze how rhetorical strategies are used

individually and in concert to achieve the writer’s desired outcome

Select and use appropriate textual evidence to illustrate and support the assertions they make

The Successful Response to the Analysis Prompt

Contextualizes the argument

Articulates a conceptual understanding of rhetorical strategies used by the writer in an effort to bring abouta particular effecton a particular audience in a particular rhetorical situation.

Successful Responses Avoid

a literary analysis of the passage, focusing on its repetitions, metaphors and allusions without recognizing the rhetorical purposes behind those structures

A listing or description of rhetorical strategies without connecting them to the author’s purpose

2014 – The Abigail Adams Letter

Successful essays understood the passage…. by demonstrating a more holistic understanding of the

letter in its entirety Use her parental authority and superior experience to

reconcile JQA to his journey andUrge him to embrace it as a means of moral and

intellectual growth catching on to the double edge of Adams’ overall

strategy Gently admonished JQA regarding his reluctance to go

on the journey Encouraged him to see his own potential leadership role

in the revolution and its aftermath

2014 – The Abigail Adams Letter

Weaker essaysFocused on only one side of Abigail Adams

rhetorical strategyIf they focused on Adam’s use of parental authority

they made her in to the mother from hellIf they focused on her encouragement to make the

most of his journey and opportunities, they dismissed Adams as an overly doting mother

Resulted in distorting Adams’s purpose, tone and strategies and fell into the lower half essays.

Advice to AP TeachersClearly distinguish between rhetorical and

literary analysisTraditional literary analysis focuses on aesthetic

forms of language; rhetorical analysis, focuses on the functions of language in action Clarify the confusion that comes from using many of

the same techniques of analysis in both areasCarefully define terminology

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Model Rhetorical ReadingIdentify 550-700 word passages in which the writer is

clearly trying to do something to the readerRead the passage aloud straight throughIdentify in clear, concise terms what the writer is

trying to do to the readerIdentify the specific rhetorical devices the writer

employs Identify how the writer’s use of these devices is part

of individual strategies to do something to the readerIdentify how the individual strategies come together

to achieve the writer’s purpose and characterize the overall strategies

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Model Rhetorical Reading 2Work with another 550-700 word passage in which the

writer is clearly trying to do something to the readerHave a student read the passage aloud straight throughUsing Socratic dialogue

Identify in clear, concise terms what the writer is trying to do to the reader

Identify the specific rhetorical devices the writer employs Identify how the writer’s use of these devices is part of

individual strategies to do something to the reader Identify how the individual strategies come together to

achieve the writer’s purpose and characterize the overall strategies

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Classroom Rhetorical Reading Activity 1Work with another 550-700 word passage in which the

writer is clearly trying to do something to the readerHave a student read the passage aloud straight throughMove the class into 5-6-member groups, tasking them to

Identify in clear, concise terms what the writer is trying to do to the reader

Identify the specific rhetorical devices the writer employs Identify how the writer’s use of these devices is part of

individual strategies to do something to the reader Identify how the individual strategies come together to

achieve the writer’s purpose and characterize the overall strategies

Report to the class

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Classroom Rhetorical Reading Activity 2Task groups to find 550-700 word passage in which the

writer is clearly trying to do something to the readerMove the class into 5-6-member groups, tasking them

to Identify in clear, concise terms what the writer is trying to

do to the reader Identify the specific rhetorical devices the writer employs Identify how the writer’s use of these devices is part of

individual strategies to do something to the reader Identify how the individual strategies come together to

achieve the writer’s purpose and characterize the overall strategies

Report to the class

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Model Writing a Rhetorical AnalysisUsing the first passage, compose an

argumentative essay defending the claim “The writer’s purpose in Passage #1 is to urge the reader to do ‘X’.”Model an introductory paragraph which

contextualizes the task in an holistic fashion and outlines the approach the essay will take

Model using the most effective evidence to support the claim seeking to use at least three supporting elements

Model a concluding paragraph which draws together the evidence into a unified whole

Analysis Class activities and Assignments

Task groups to compose a Rhetorical Analysis of the second passage you selected following the process outlined in the modeling work

Have groups present their efforts using a document camera

Lead a class discussion of what the groups did

Analysis Student Assignment

Using either one of the passages selected by the group or another passage selected by the student…Assign an at-home essay as a written analysisPeer edit the essay and ask for revisionsGrade the essay offering one more opportunity for

revision and include this written essay in the class portfolio

Analysis Student Assignment

Follow-up AssignmentSelect a passage from a past AP English Language

and Composition exam and have students read and write an analysis essay on the passage limiting the time to 50 minutes

Have class score the essays and make suggestions about how they could be improved

Repeat this assignment as necessary….