Five questions of rhetorical analysis:
1. What is the central point, the major idea, that the author wants readers to understand about the
subject? (The text’s central claim or thesis – the “take-home” idea).
2. What is the author’s primary purpose? What does the author want to do for the readers: Inform them
about something they need to know? Convince them to accept a proposition? Persuade them to think
or act differently? Clarify an unclear concept? Amuse?
3. What attitude toward the subject matter does the author want to convey to her or his readers?
Serious about the subject? Whimsical? Reverential? Ironic? Angry? This is the tone of the piece.
4. How does the author convince the readers that the author is credible, trustworthy, worth
listening to? (His ethos)
5. What emotional effect does the author want to have on his readers? Does the author want to
make readers happy? Angry? Satisfied or dissatisfied? Comfortable or uncomfortable? (Pathos)
For use with Notation Directions
Some strategies and devices for narrative writing:
Point of view
Figurative Language
Flash forward and flashback
Imagery
Events/actions/thoughts
Voice (of narrator)
Pacing
Verb tense
Conflicts / Tension / Suspense Sentence length (rhythm, pacing)
Some rhetorical devices:
alliteration or assonance
antithesis
oxymoron
allusion
metaphor or simile
parallelism
analogy
juxtaposition
personification
For an exhaustive list of devices visit: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/
Irony
Language (colloquial, informal, jargon,
etc.)
Humor
Repetitions
Focus (of a chapter, of a paragraph,
etc.)
rhetorical question
paradox
extended metaphor
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE YEAR:
• Students MUST purchase a 5 subject spiral notebook and bring it to school on the first day of class.
• Join the DC English III Edmodo group.
o Join the following group: DC English III, 2015-2016
o Use the following code: 2np8gy
• Join my DC English III Remind group.
o Text the following number: 81010
o Include the following message: @8eb72b
• Be prepared to purchase a second nonfiction text for the second semester, that reading selection will
be announced well before Christmas.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• Email me with any questions this summer. My email address is: [email protected]
• I will like hold a prep and workshop session towards the end of this summer, which will help you to
prepare for the rigors of the next school year. If you would like to attend, please be sure to join Edmodo
and Remind because I will send information about this session via those platforms.
Assignment:
You will read Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself which is
Douglass’s account of his life as a slave and his escape to freedom. The autobiography is eleven chapters
long and has an appendix, and for this assignment you must divide the work into three sections (1-4; 5-8; 9appendix), and for each section you will locate an essential (meaningful and memorable) passage to analyze.
The following will help you determine what constitutes a strong close reading passage:
The passage must:
• Be 2 -3 pages in length
• Have powerful language and style
• Have enough “going-on” so that it actually warrants multiple readings
• Be significant to the work as a whole
• Provide insight into Douglass’s experiences and his philosophy
• Provide the reader with insight to the human experience
Once you have located your three passages, please, complete the following with each:
1. Photo-copy the pages from your print book or copy and paste from the following link to create a clean,
attractive copy. (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23/23-h/23-h.htm)
2. Label each section with the chapter and page numbers.
3. Annotate all three excerpts using the following notation directions:
• In the space at the top of your passage (or on the back), clearly answer the following: What is
happening at this point in the text? (By answering this question, you are proving to me that you
understand the context of the passage. Make sure to include the 5 Ws [who, what, where, when,
why].) Write this response as a paragraph/summary – not as bullet points.
• Mark a minimum of the required number of devices on your excerpts:
o 5 Meaningful words (Diction is word choice. Find 5 words – nouns, verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs in the passage. Comment marginally on these words, considering the
following questions as you formulate your marginal responses: (1) What
connotations/emotions/tones do the word choices create? (2) Are the word choices similar
throughout the passage or is there a shift? What do the words suggest about the people,
setting, conflict, etc.? What is the author’s purpose in selecting these particular words? [Hint:
In general, marginal comments will take the form of a phrase such as: conveys ________,
shows _________, suggests _________, fitting because _________ , or significant because
_________.]
 Example: Douglass describes the separation of the slave-mothers and the
slave-children as a way to “hinder” a child’s love for his/her parents and as a
way to “blunt and destroy” the mother’s love for her child in order to
___________________________.
o 5 Meaningful punctuation choices (dashes, parentheses, ellipses, etc.). Comment
marginally on one aspect of the syntax that seems meaningful to you.
 Example: Douglass repeated uses commas in this sentence to create a long
list of injustices he experienced while enslaved in order to overwhelm the
reader with the horror of his life as a slave.
o 5 Meaningful narrative strategies and/or rhetorical devices. (I have listed ideas in the boxes
on the reverse side; the list is not comprehensive.) Label the strategy or device marginally
and briefly comment on its effect on the reader.
 Example: Douglass employs imagery in this sentence in order to make it
possible for his reader to visualize the horrors he experienced as a child.
o Bracket around two 5-10 line blocks of text within the passage; for each, identify the main
tone of that chunk of text. Explain how tone (author’s attitude towards the subject) is
conveyed by the text. Again, make sure that you write in complete sentences.
• Answer the five questions of rhetorical analysis, in complete sentences. (See the next page.)
DUE TO MS. Conway in G207 by June 1!!!
WEST MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL
DUAL CREDIT III CONTRACT
The purpose of the summer reading program is to provide a foundation of literary experience that will
enable a student to be successful in all of his/her classes at the high school level and beyond. The student is
to do the assignment which has been given to him/her at his present school, or, if it occurs early enough in the
summer, he/she should contact someone at the other school to get the new assignment by the first day of
class.
Dual Credit English is a college course, and as a result, my expectations of you are extremely high.
Students are expected to have excellent attendance, to complete all assigned work, and to participate fully in
class. A heavy reading/writing load outside of class can be expected throughout the year. In addition to
student-selected works, other major pieces of literature and nonfiction will be required reading during the
school year.
Each student and one parent or guardian must sign a statement confirming that they fully understand
the requirements and expectations for participation in this program. An additional acknowledgement has been
signed by the student for the summer reading packet.
STUDENT STATEMENT
I,
, on this date
,
agree to read the works listed on the summer reading sheet and complete the related assignments required for
students enrolled in the Dual Credit English III at West Mesquite High School. I understand that failure to
complete these assignments will gravely impact my grade for the first six weeks of the school year but will not
release me from my enrollment commitment. I understand that the assignment and related tests will count with
first six weeks grades and will serve as the basis for other assignments throughout the school year. I also
understand that the materials and pace of the course are designed to prepare students for college, and that the
standards set are those required by the college to earn college credit.
I know that the required readings and the assignments are due on the very first day I go to English
class and will only be accepted with the heavy penalty of a 30 point deduction at the second class
meeting and a fifty point deduction at the third class meeting. I also understand that after the third
class my summer reading assignment will NOT be accepted. I understand that all work submitted must be
my work alone and represent my independent effort. I also understand that watching movie versions of any
works or using any printed or online study guides in place of reading the text itself is not acceptable and is
considered intellectual dishonesty.
Sign and return to Ms. Conway by Monday, June 1. Don’t forget—you must take care of registration with
Eastfield College! See Ms. Hokett if you have any questions.
I have read the above and discussed the contents of these materials with my parents.
______________________________________
Printed name of student
______________________________________
Signature of student and date
______________________________________
Printed name of parent
______________________________________
Signature of parent and date
______________________________________
Student’s e-mail
______________________________________
Parent’s e-mail
____________________________________________________________________________________
Student’s complete address