English Appeals Through Syntax High School Lesson About this Lesson This lesson revisits the speech excerpts used in the “Understanding the Appeals” lesson. The focus in that lesson was the use of diction and imagery to create appeals in the speeches. This lesson continues that focus but concentrates on how syntax supports rhetorical appeals. Complete speeches are available at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html. Passages for LTF® lessons are selected to challenge students while lessons and activities make texts accessible. Guided practice with challenging texts allows students to gain the proficiency necessary to read independently at or above grade level. This lesson is included in Module 10: Analyzing Organization and Syntax. Objectives Students will analyze the syntax techniques used by speakers to create rhetorical appeals. TEACHER Level High School Connection to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts LTF Foundation Lessons are designed to be used across grade levels and therefore are aligned to the CCSS Anchor Standards. Teachers should consult their own grade-level-specific Standards. The activities in this lesson allow teachers to address the following Common Core Standards: Explicitly addressed in this lesson Code Standard Level of Depth of Thinking Knowledge R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says Understand III explicitly and to make logical inferences from it. Cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. R.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how Analyze III specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the Analyze III content and style of a text. Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org. i Teacher Overview—Appeals Through Syntax High School L.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how Understand II language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. L.6 Acquire and use accurately a range of general Understand II academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Implicitly addressed in this lesson Code Standard Level of Depth of Thinking Knowledge L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Understand I standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Understand I standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. TEACHER SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of Understand II conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org. ii Teacher Overview—Appeals Through Syntax High School LTF Skill Focus The foundation for LTF English lessons is the Skill Progression Chart that identifies key skills for each domain, beginning with grade 6 and adding more complex skills at each subsequent grade level while reinforcing skills introduced at previous grade levels. The Skill Focus for each individual lesson identifies the skills actually addressed in that lesson. Levels of Thinking Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Close Reading Grammar Composition written, spoken, and visual purposeful use of language written, spoken, and visual texts for effect products Reading Strategies Sentences Determining Audience Structure Determining Author’s antithetical Purpose balanced Literary Elements loose/cumulative Detail periodic Diction Syntax Techniques connotation Antithesis denotation Juxtaposition Imagery Omission TEACHER Literary Techniques asyndeton Argumentation ellipsis emotional appeals Parallelism ethical appeals Polysyndeton logical appeals Repetition Literary Forms anadiplosis Nonfiction anaphora epanalepsis epistrophe Reversal antimetabole inverted order (inversion) Rhetorical Fragment Rhetorical Question Analysis of a Text Meaning and Effect related to parts of speech, phrases, clauses, sentences, and syntax Rhetorical Analysis Focused on Syntax Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org. iii Teacher Overview—Appeals Through Syntax High School Connections to AP* Rhetorical analysis is one of the tasks of the AP Language and Composition exam. Being able to discuss how the syntax of an argument supports the claims is an important skill for students to acquire. *Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board. The College Board was not involved in the production of this material. Materials and Resources copies of Student Activity Assessments The following kinds of formative assessments are embedded in this lesson: guided questions Teaching Suggestions Teachers may want to teach the “Understanding the Appeals” lesson before teaching this one. Answers Activity One TEACHER 1. The speaker uses “We have” or “We’ve” at the beginnings of the sentences. Anaphora 2. The repetition of “we” highlights how America “pulled together” after the attack, and that we have all seen the effects of that effort, not just a few people. It creates a sense of community and connectedness. 3. It is a flaw in the speech, weakening the effect of the repetition because it breaks the rhythm and the reinforcement of “we have” in the other sentences. 4. Each of the details (or images) in the sentence is powerful in itself, but when they accumulate, with no break in between, the effect is even stronger. The ideas build, creating a larger image of many acts of faith and patriotism. 5. cumulative 6. The cumulative sentences have the same effect as the asyndeton in sentence 4—the building of an image, of working together, the immensity of the nation and its efforts. Activity Two Sentence # Structure Where is it Effect on ethos demonstrated in the sentence? 2 Polysyndeton or, or, or The relationship between Angelou and King has grown through repeated and varied endeavors between the two women. The repeated use of conjunctions emphasizes the building of the relationship. Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org. iv Teacher Overview—Appeals Through Syntax High School 2 Parallelism to each other The repetition of this phrase emphasizes the relationship between the two women. 3 Repetition Her family . my family The idea of family (and the fact (epistrophe) . all families that the word is repeated) provides another connection, implying that the relationship between the two women is almost familial. Including “all the other families” emphasizes the acceptance of all those who loved Mrs. King as part of her “family” also. 4 Anaphora Knowing The repetition emphasizes that something…knowing she and many others have something learned important lessons from the way Mrs. King lived her life. The parallel structure emphasizes the order and dignity of her life. TEACHER Activity Three 1. cumulative 2. The focus of the sentence is on the subject/verb “we dumped” and “we will dump,” emphasizing man’s disregard for the environment. The fact that “we dump” is more important than the details of what we dump. 3. The speaker leads up to the final idea of the sentence that the Polar ice cap is “falling off a cliff.” The information throughout the sentence builds to that climax. The words “unprecedented alarm” earlier in the sentence create suspense that is realized at the end of the sentence. 4. It bolsters the logos of the passage, reminding listeners that the speaker is using multiple studies as a source of information rather than relying on emotion. 5. a. “But unlike most other forms of pollution, CO2 is invisible and tasteless and odorless—” The use of and between the words invisible, tasteless, and odorless would make the CO2 seem more pervasive and ominous, even less subject to detection because it is invisible AND tasteless AND odorless, strengthening the argument. b. But unlike most other forms of pollution, CO2 is invisible, tasteless, odorless—which has helped keep the truth about what it is doing to our climate out of sight and out of mind. It creates a feeling of something sneaking up on you without your noticing it. CO2 is all of these things, but, even worse, it is all of these things at once. c. Either one of the revised sentences is more powerful than the original because the syntactical techniques create a stronger sense of danger. 6. The word “unprecedented” moves from being used as an adjective to describe the “catastrophe” in the first clause to being used as a noun in the second, making the “catastrophe” become probable, strengthening his argument that we must do more to protect the environment. Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org. v English Appeals Through Syntax High School Lesson The rhetorical appeals used by writers can be created through a variety of methods. One of the methods used to bolster pathos, ethos, and logos is the