Student Handout
Student Activity: Analyzing the prompt
A. Read the rhetorical analysis prompt from the 2014 AP English Language Exam and then answer the
questions below.
In the following letter, Abigail Adams (1744-1818) writes to her son John Quincy Adams, who is
traveling abroad with his father, John Adams, a United States diplomat and later the country’s
second president. Read the letter carefully. Then, in a well-developed essay, analyze the
rhetorical strategies Adams uses to advise her son. Support your analysis with specific
references to the text.
1. Identify the three people mentioned in the prompt and explain the relationships among them.
2. Give two important pieces of information the prompt provides concerning John Adams.
3. If you were traveling with your father and your mother wanted to communicate with you, what
method(s) might she use? Why did Abigail Adams choose to write a letter to her son?
4. List three or four pieces of advice your mother might give you if she wanted you to make a good
impression on the people you met as you traveled.
5. The letter was actually written in 1780. Use your knowledge of American history to list four facts
about the society and/or government of the United States at that time.
B. Important parts of the rhetorical analysis prompt have been marked with bold-faced type and a
letter. Complete the activities below in order to understand how to read and use the important
elements of the prompt.
Prompt
A.
B.
C.
In the following letter, Abigail Adams (1744 – 1818) writes to her son John Quincy
D.
E.
F.
Adams, who is traveling abroad with his father, John Adams, a United States diplomat
G.
and later the country’s second president. Read the letter carefully. Then, in a well-
H.
I.
J.
developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Adams uses to advise her son. Support
K.
your analysis with specific references to the text.
Follow Up Questions
A. What do you know about letters? What is the first thing you think of when you think of a letter?
Is a letter personal or impersonal? Why would someone write a letter?
B. Why would this information be included in the prompt? What is the historical significance of
these dates?
C. What is the relationship between the writer and the audience of the letter? What are the
implications of the word son?
D. What does it mean “to travel abroad”? Why might a mother feel compelled to write a letter to
her son in this situation? Why might this travel be significant to him?
E.
How might the relationship between a father and his son differ from the relationship between a
mother and her son?
F. What is a diplomat? Given that the father is a diplomat who will become the second president
of the United States, what would be expected of the son?
G. Why is the word letter used twice in this prompt?
H. What does analyze mean? How is analyze different from summarize?
I.
What is a strategy? What is the purpose of a strategy? So, what is purpose of using a rhetorical
strategy?
J.
What does it mean to advise? What are some other words that could be used in place of advise?
What is the difference in the tones of these words? If you were going to offer advice to
someone traveling abroad, what rhetorical strategies might you use to get him/her to take your
advice seriously?
K. What is meant by specific references? How does this affect your task? What are the two tasks
you, as the writer of the essay, must address?
Student Activity: Close Reading for Rhetorical Analysis
Prompt: In the following letter, Abigail Adams (1744-1818) writes to her son John Quincy Adams, who
is traveling abroad with his father, John Adams, a United States diplomat and later the country’s
second president. Read the letter carefully. Then, in a well-developed essay, analyze the rhetorical
strategies Adams uses to advise her son. Support your analysis with specific references to the text.
Questions
Text
Highlight textual support for your responses
12 January, 1780
MY DEAR SON,
What does she imply
about her son’s decisionmaking skills?
Why would she begin the
letter this way?
What is the purpose of
this paragraph?
I hope you have had no occasion,
either from enemies or the dangers of
the sea, to repent your second voyage
to France. If I had thought your
reluctance arose from proper
deliberation, or that you were capable
of judging what was most for your own
benefit, I should not have urged you to
accompany your father and brother
when you appeared so averse to the
voyage.
You, however, readily submitted to
my advice, and, I hope, will never have
occasion yourself, nor give me reason,
to lament it. Your knowledge of the
language must give you greater
advantages now than you could
possibly have reap whilst ignorant of it;
and as you increase in years, you will
Answers, notes, and
commentary
find your understanding opening and
daily improving.
Identify the metaphors in
this paragraph.
What comparisons are
being made?
What advice does she
offer through the
metaphor?
Explain the meaning of
“wanting with you.”
What is the meaning of
this final sentence?
Highlight the historical
allusions used in this
paragraph. What is their
purpose?
What advice is she
offering through the
allusions?
Some author, that I have met with,
compares a judicious traveler to a river,
that increases its stream the further it
flows from its source; or to certain
springs, which, running through rich
veins of minerals, improve their
qualities as they pass along. It will be
expected of you, my son, that, as you
are favored with superior advantages
under the instructive eye of a tender
parent, your improvement should bear
some proportion to your advantages.
Nothing is wanting with you but
attention, diligence, and steady
application. Nature has not been
deficient.
These are times in which a genius
would wish to live. It is not in the still
calm of life, or the repose of a pacific
station, that great characters are
formed. Would Cicero have shown so
distinguished an orator if he had not
been roused, kindled, and inflamed by
the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and
Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous
mind are formed in contending with
difficulties. All history will convince you
of this, and that wisdom and
penetration are the fruit of experience,
Look for a pattern of
diction in the lines
beginning with “When a
mind” and ending with
“and the statesman.”
What adjective(s) would
you use to describe this
pattern?
Do the elements of this
paragraph create an
appeal? If so, which one?
What is this paragraph’s
focus?
What is this paragraph’s
focus? How does it differ
from the previous
paragraph?
Do the elements of this
paragraph create an
appeal? If so, which one?
not the lessons of retirement and
leisure. Great necessities call out great
virtues. When a mind is raised and
animated by scenes that engage the
heart, then those qualities, which
would otherwise lie dormant, wake into
life and form the character of the hero
and the statesman. War, tyranny, and
desolation are the scourges of the
Almighty, and ought no doubt to be
deprecated. Yet it is your lot, my son, to
be an eyewitness of these calamities in
your own native land, and, at the same
time, to owe your existence among a
people who have made a glorious
defence of their invaded liberties, and
who, aided by a generous and powerful
ally, with the blessing of Heaven, will
transmit this inheritance to ages yet
unborn.
Nor ought it to be one of the least of
your incitements towards exerting
every power and faculty of your mind,
that you have a parent who has taken
so large and active a share in this
contest, and discharged the trust
reposed in him with so much
satisfaction as to be honored with the
important embassy which at present
calls him abroad.
What is this paragraph’s
focus? How does it differ
from the previous two
paragraphs?
Do the elements of this
paragraph create an
appeal? If so, which one?
The strict and inviolable regard you
have ever paid to truth, gives me
pleasing hopes that you will not swerve
from her dictates, but add justice,
fortitude, and every manly virtue which
can adorn a good citizen, do honor to
your country, and render your parents
supremely happy, particularly your ever
affectionate mother,
A. A.
Student Activity: Introductions and Thesis Statement
Read the following introductory paragraphs taken from examination student samples. Keeping in
mind the tasks you must address in your essay, choose the introduction and thesis statement that is
most effective. Discuss your choice with your classmates. Then, in your small groups, explain what
makes each of the two remaining paragraphs less effective.
SAMPLE A
Many people regard parenting as the most demanding profession in the world because parents
need to strike a delicate balance between the demonstration of love and the reiteration of principles
when instructing their children. In her letter to her son John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams skillfully
maintains this delicate balance, advising her son to accompany his father and brother to France. By
considering her son’s perspective and then offering her own opinions, employing exemplification and
contrast to substantiate her arguments, and showing a loving and trusting attitude toward her son,
Abigail Adams reveals why a journey to France can benefit John Quincy Adams in the long run.
SAMPLE B
In Abigail Adams’ letter to her young son John Quincy, she gives him advice on how to make the
most of his natural talents and succeed in this world. In her attempt to underscore the importance of
her message, Adams relies on several rhetorical strategies. In order to persuade her son to do as she
advises, Adams utilizes rhetorical strategies such as expectations and a responsibility to the world and
invocation of authorities and role models.
SAMPLE C
John Quincy Adams was a privileged American who had one of America’s greatest statesmen as
his father. However, his mother was also a powerful influence upon John Adams at a time when women
were advised to stay out of the political sphere. Abigail Adams was adept at using language to
powerfully convince others of her intuition. In this letter, she advises John Quincy to capitalize on his
time in France for his own advantage through syntax, examples and symbolism.
Student Activity: Using Student Samples
Read the excerpts from student samples below and follow the instruction to complete the activity.
SAMPLE A - Highlight the textual evidence in one color and the analysis (commentary) in another color.
Identify the characteristics that earned the writer of this paragraph an upper-half score.
Throughout her letter, Adams offers ample examples and sets up appropriate comparison and
contrast to illustrate her arguments. Paralleling “a judicious traveler to a river” (16-17), Adams advises
her son to take advantage of what he has and turns his advantages into larger rewards both for himself
and for society. Just as the stream becomes wider “the further it flows from its source” (18), Adams
longs to see her son become wiser and more beneficial to the society as he grows up.
SAMPLE B - Do you think this sample represents an upper-half or a lower-half scoring essay? Justify your
answer by identifying strengths and/or weaknesses in the paragraph.
Considering that her son is traveling abroad, Abigail provides a relatable example of a
comparison of “a judicious traveler to a river.” The river increasing its stream as it flows further from its
source is reflective of her son flourishing as he travels farther away from home. This analogy allows John
Quincy to recognize with the water and have confidence in himself as he continues his journey.
SAMPLE C - Identify the characteristics that earned the writer of these paragraphs a lower-half score.
Abigail Adams stays very firm with her tones and makes Quincy Adams realize that he is only the
child in the family and that he must listen to his father throughout the trip because he is the adult. She
uses a tactic to scare Quincy Adams into behaving while he is on his journey.
The use of personification is very prevalent throughout the essay and she explains to him how
rich the minerals are throughout the different parts of the world he will be exploring. “Running through
the rich veins of minerals.”
Revision Activity
Reread the Question 2 (Rhetorical Analysis) essay you wrote for the mock exam several weeks ago.
Identify the single body paragraph you believe to contain your strongest writing. Write that paragraph in
the space below. Then work in your small editing group to revise weak sentences and add evidence and
analysis that would help you improve your overall score on this important part of the free-response
exam.