Rhetorical Triangle
What are the three points of the rhetorical triangle?
Speaker, Purpose, and Audience
What does SOAPSTone stand for?
Speaker, occasion, audience, subject, tone
How many points are on the AP scale?
6
What's a cookie cutter thesis statement (give example)?
(Author) proves (purpose) through (three rhetorical choices)
What is it called when an author uses a certain word or phrase multiple times to emphasize a point?
Repetition
How does identifying the intended audience help us in analyzing a text?
It helps us understand why the author made the rhetorical choices they did to convey their message.
When should you do SOAPSTone?
While reading/annotating the text
What point is linked to every other?
Thesis point
How is a thesis helpful?
A thesis works as a road map for both the writer (allowing them to keep their essay organized and on topic) and the audience (who can know what to expect from the essay and stay on track with it).
What is rhetoric?
The study/use of effective persuasive language.
What is the bubble that surrounds the rhetorical triangle?
Context
Why is SOAPSTone helpful?
It helps you understand the rhetorical choices the author made and why
How would you get a 0 for the thesis point?
Thesis isn't defensible, only restates the prompt, isn't a coherent claim, or doesn't respond to the prompt.
What can you do in your thesis to work towards earning the sophistication point?
Avoid using a cookie-cutter thesis, instead, have a clear and more complex thesis.
Avoid writing a wordy thesis, instead, use specific adjectives and verbs to describe actions.
What's the difference between defining and describing?
Defining is a textbook definition while describing paints a picture and is more detailed.
How do all three points of the rhetorical triangle connect to each other?
How the speaker uses their rhetorical choices to convey their purpose to the audience
What is a better, more accurate word for occasion?
Exigence
How do you score 4 points in evidence and commentary?
Make textual references that and effectively explain how this evidence relates back to the claim, as well as into the argument as a whole (thesis).
How do you earn the sophistication point?
Explains the significance of the text in a broader context
Contains engaging concessions, rebuttals and refutation
Recognizes contradictions or complexities in the text
Utilize effective rhetorical choices to strengthen their argument
What are ethos, pathos, and logos?
Ethos - appeals to ethics/beliefs/morals
Pathos - appeals to emotions
Logos - appeals to logic
“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.” The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9
Identify context, speaker, audience, and purpose of this passage.
Context: The beginning of the 1920s, post-WW1. A culture of partying and materialism has taken over most of the country, especially in the lives of the wealthy.
Speaker: F. Scott Fitzgerald, an author during the 1920s (the Jazz Age), writing "The Great Gatsby" from Nick Carraway's point of view.
Audience: The American people of the 1920s, who have become carried away with the glamour of the Jazz Age.
Purpose: Fitzgerald was trying to express his views on the American Dream, and how it has failed many people who had a lot of hope, just like Gatsby.
What is the difference between exigence, occasion, and context?
Context is the background or environment surrounding the text.
Occasion is the setting or situation that describe the circumstances of the text.
Exigence is the specific event that prompted the author to write the text.
What are some "Don'ts" of commentary?
Don't oversimplify, repeat, or misinterpret
How can you not earn the sophistication point? (what should you not do when trying to write a sophisticated essay)
Trying to contextualize a text with only broad generalizations
Only hinting at other arguments instead of delving into them to strengthen your argument
Identifying rhetorical choices that a speaker uses but not explaining how the choices relate to each other, the audience, and the speaker throughout the passsage.
Oversimplifying your analysis of the passage
Overcomplicating your analysis of the passage (whether by using overly complex sentences or language or by having an ineffective complex interpretation).
“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.” The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9
Briefly analyse Fitzgerald’s rhetorical choices in the context of Chapter 9 of The Great Gatsby.
EX: Reflection, morose/poetic diction.
Nick reflects back on what he knows about Gatsby, and how the man was so hopeful yet could not reach his 'American Dream'.
Fitzgerald utilizes melancholic language to emphasize how sad Gatsby's story was, and how it was never really possible for Gatsby to achieve what he wanted.