Waiting for Superman Assignment

1. TASK: Your assignment is to do a rhetorical analysis of a documentary film. This can be done as an essay, power point or podcast. Project must analyze the purpose of the film, the audience to whom it is geared, and discuss at least 4 rhetorical strategies that are used to reach that audience.

OUTLINE DUE: November 14
FINAL PAPER/PODCAST/POWERPOINT DUE: Monday Nov 19

* if you are choosing to do powerpoint or podcast, each paragraph should represent a slide


2. SAMPLE OUTLINE

Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth

Introduction/Thesis: In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore wishes to reach a large audience, particularly

nonscientists, to stress the urgency of responding to global warming. (AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE)

I. He establishes the ethos of a public servant whose concern stems from ethical and moral rather than

political motivation. (RHETORICAL DEVICE )

II. He provides an enormous amount of technical information, appealing to logos by taking advantage of a multimedia format.

(RHETORICAL DEVICE )

III. He relies on emotional appeals by juxtaposing what was or is with what might be—and, in fact, is likely to occur.

(RHETORICAL DEVICE )

IV. Gore acknowledges several counterarguments, but he refutes them with humor or alternative

explanation. (RHETORICAL DEVICE )

V. He uses his personal experiences, in particular anecdotes as a father and a brother to stress the deep commitment he has to this issue ( RHETORICAL DEVICE)
Conclusion: An Inconvenient Truth effectively sounds the alarm for global warming by providing an

explanation that blends scientific information and human interest.

3. RUBRIC

Thesis 20 %, audience and purpose are addressed as well as your central argument (Thesis)	Poor Student has not identifed the audience and has not constructed a clear thesis or central argument	Fair Student has identified the audience and suggested the central argument, but has not convinced the reader of the  purpose	Good Student has identified the audience and stated the central argument by giving a thesis with support	Excellent Student has clearly identified the audience and clearly stated the central argument. Writer's purpose is clear to the reader.
Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies 40 % Student has chosen a selection of rhetorical strategies to analyze and has given examples from the film	Poor Student has not succesfully identified the rhetorical strategies employed by the writer.	Fair Student has identified some of the rhetorical strategies employed by the writer and alluded to examples of same	Good Student has identified several of the rhetorical strategies employed by the writer and has given some examples.	Excellent Student has clearly identified at least 4 strategies employed by the writer and has given clear examples for each.
Organization 20 % Student has effectively organized his or her ideas in a logical, persuasive manner.	Poor Student has not mastered the art of organization in the essay. Ideas are not logically presented and fluency is an issue. Topic sentences are not clear - no transitions.	Fair Student has a planned structure to the essay, however, lacks fluency. Needs better transition and topic sentence.	Good Student has a good structure - Topic sentences introduce main ideas and transistions serve purpose of movement from one idea to the next.	Excellent Student has an ecellent structure - Excellent fluency with creative topic sentences and meaningful transitions
Grammar, Usage and Mechanics 20 % Student has written with style and maturity, varied sentence structure, vocabulary, and effective compositional choices. Free of spelling, punctuation, and  grammar errors. G.U.M  stands for  grammar usage and mechanics	Poor Student lacks style and mature prose for junior AP level. Proofread and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar errors.	Fair Student demonstrates adequate style and mature prose. Some variation in sentence structure. Mostly free of G.U.M.* errors	Good Student demonstrates good style and mature prose. Good variation in sentence structure. Free of G.U.M. errors.	Excellent Student demonstrates excellent style and mature prose. Excellent variation in sentence structure and a firm grasp of appropriate  G.U. M.

Documentary as a Mentor Text

VISUAL	Moving images vs. Still Images Composition: • use of blank space • arrangement of elements in the picture (what is placed where; the connection between items or objects)  • what is excluded or cropped Camera Angles and Types of Shots: • use of various camera angles to convey meaning (low camera angle suggests the subject is powerful)  • use of various shots to convey meaning (close up suggests intimacy) Lighting and Color: • the use of lighting and color to create a certain kind of mood or atmosphere
TEXT	Font, size, placement, color Single words or phrases Type of information given: charts, graphs, tables, quotes Identification of sources
AUDIO	Music- tempo and pace Background sound vs. recognizeable Actual sounds/sound effects Harmony vs. cacophony
AUDIENCE	Target audience – the audience the creator is trying to reach, based on age, gender, race, class etc…

visual rhetoric- where is it? what does it look like?

Visual rhetoric	If rhetoric is the art of communicating effectively and persuasively, it stands to reason that communicating visually can be as much an exercise in rhetoric as communicating in writing
Photographs	•   use composition lines, contrast, and colour to establish relationships between people and objects.
Political cartoons	•   use exaggeration to emphasize traits of characters and symbolism to communicate concepts and situations in a compact way.
Paintings	•   use colour and symbolism, and may often use allusion to tell a story about their subjects
Posters and advertisements	•   use color and composition to attract attention, and symbolism and imagery to persuade
Graphs and charts	•                select sets of data and present them in a manner that makes them easy to interpret, sometimes showing trends or contrasts.

Satire: Humor for the Intelligent

So before we embark into our visual rhetoric unit, we definitely need to get quick overview of satirical devices. Satire plays a big role in visual rhetoric, since as humans we often respond to pressing issues when there is a bit of humor involved.

Satirical Devices:

1.  Irony—the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning.  It is lighter, less harsh in wording than sarcasm, though more cutting because of its indirectness.  The ability to recognize irony is one of the surest tests of intelligence and sophistication.  Irony speaks words of praise to imply blame and words of blame to imply praise.  Writer is using a tongue-in-cheek style.  Irony is achieved through such techniques as hyperbole and understatement.

A.  Verbal Irony—simply an inversion of meaning

B.  Dramatic Irony—when the words or acts of a character carry a meaning unperceived by himself but understood by the audience. The irony resides in the contrast between the meaning intended by the speaker and the added significance seen by others.

C.  Socratic Irony—Socrates pretended ignorance of a subject in order to draw knowledge out of his students by a question and answer device. Socratic irony is feigning ignorance to achieve some advantage over an opponent.

D.  Situational Irony—depends on a discrepancy between purpose and results (e.g., a practical joke that backfires).

2.  Travesty—presents a serious (often religious) subject frivolously, reducing everything to its lowest level.  “Trans”=over, across “vestire”=to clothe or dress; presenting a subject in a dress intended for another type of subject.

3.  Burlesque—ridiculous exaggeration achieved through a variety of ways.  For example, the sublime may be absurd, honest emotions may be turned to sentimentality.  STYLE is the essential quality in burlesque. A style ordinarily dignified may be used for nonsensical matters , etc.

4.  Parody—a composition imitating another, usually serious, piece of work designed to ridicule in nonsensical fashion an original piece of work.  Parody is in literature what the caricature and cartoon are in art.

**NOTE—TRAVESTY, BURLESQUE & PARODY are similar, but travesty always makes a mockery of a serious subject, whereas burlesque and parody may do the reverse.

5.  Farce—exciting laughter through exaggerated, improbable situations; usually contains low comedy:  quarreling, fighting, coarse with, horseplay, noisy singing, boisterous conduct, trickery, clownishness, drunkenness, slap-stick.

6.  Invective—harsh, abusive language directed against a person or cause.  Invective is a vehicle, a tool of anger.  Invective is the bitterest of all satire.

7.  Sarcasm—a sharply mocking or contemptuous remark.  The term came from the Greek word “sarkazein” which means “to tear flesh.”

8.  Knaves & Fools—in comedy there are no villains and no innocent victims.  Instead, there are rogues (knaves) and suckers (fools).  The knave exploits someone “asking for it”.  When these two interact, comic satire results.  When knaves & fools meet, they expose each other.

9.  Malapropism—a deliberate mispronunciation of a name or term with the intent of poking fun.

You have to see this!!!!!

presidential debate satire


jimmy fallon debate satire

Visual Rhetoric of Presidential Debates

TASK: answer the following questions regarding the political cartoons posted regarding the presidential debates:

A. What are the event(s) or issue(s) that inspired the cartoon? 

B. Are there any real people in the cartoon? Who are these people?

C. Are there symbols in the cartoon?What are they and what do they represent? 

D. What is the cartoonist's opinion about the topic portrayed in the cartoon? 

E. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist's opinion? Why?

JFK rhetorical device cheat sheets

Here are the links!!!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8aLLlcDq6T3Sy1wVE15TzdEQmM

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8aLLlcDq6T3eUdzMFZDUGJUcmM

Diction Powerpoint

Here is the link!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8aLLlcDq6T3SG1pdzJIQTBGWHc

Did Either of the Candidates "Miss the Mark"??

Choose one section from last night’s speech and read the responses of both candidates. Analyze both responses by considering the following questions:

·  What appeal did each candidate rely on? (logos, ethos , pathos)

·  What was their purpose?

·  What was their tones ? (notice choice of words-diction)

·   In terms of the rhetorical triangle, did their choices help them achieve their purpose?

·  Did either candidate “miss the mark”?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/04/us/politics/20120804-denver-presidential-debate-obama-romney.html?ref=politics#/?annotation=d91950519

When Rhetoric Misses the Mark

Darcy Just doesnt get it right the first time. Unfortunately he doesnt consider his AUDIENCE. The CONTEXT was not a romantic evening, but an ordinary afternoon which takes Elizabeth totally by surprise. Our SPEAKER, does not prove reliable to his audience, and therefore his PURPOSE is not met.
His rhetoric definitely improves by the end of the book. Hes not so bad after all. He just needed an AP language course in his 19th century life.

Presidential Debates- Domestic Policy

Be prepared to share your reactions to this first debate, both during it and afterward in class tomorrow:

• What were your favorite moments during the debate? Why did they stand out for you?
• What did the candidates’ body language reveal?
• Did anything the candidates said or did on stage sway your opinion one way or the other?
• Do you think there was a clear winner? Do you think this debate might affect the direction of this election?

In the first presidential debate of the 2012 election season, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will go head-to-head at the University of Denver in Colorado on Wednesday night.

The focus of the event will be on domestic policy and it will be moderated by PBS NewsHour Executive Editor Jim Lehrer.

The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.

The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.