unpacking the rhetorical précis: a summary of analysis
TRANSCRIPT
Unpacking the Rhetorical Précis: a
Summary of Analysis
Frank Mata, Eleanor Roosevelt High School,
Eastvale, CA
twitter: @mrfrankmata
https://tinyurl.com/frankmata
Frank Mata
● 15 years at Corona-Norco USD, 12 at Eleanor Roosevelt High
School
● AP English Language Scorer/Reader
● AP Readiness Instructor, UCR and UCLA
● Adjunct faculty at the University of Redlands, Social Justice
in Education
● Coalition for Social Justice & Equity, club Advisor
○ currently developing “b” compliant Social Justice & Equity
Language Arts course (12th grade)
○ currently reading Shoeless Joe by WP Kinsella
What has been your Precis
experience?
● In what manner have you used the strategy?
● What are some of the successes or issues you have come across
when using the Precis?
● In what areas of the Precis are you most curious?
● Essentially, what about the Precis drew you to attend this session?
“The rhetorical precis is so named because it acknowledges the
rhetorical situation in which any discourse occurs, implicitly emphasizing
the human responsibility involved both in writing and in interacting with the text.”
“...students need to go beyond simply summarizing information. They
also need to be able to evaluate the credibility of their sources and to
evaluate the new information in relation to what they already believe.
They need to assess the rhetorical strategy of the author, the form of the
discourse, the author’s purpose or hidden agenda, and the nature of the
audience being addressed.”
“To lift information out of its rhetorical context is potentially dangerous; to
do so perpetuates the myth that whatever is in print is true, and it further isolates student writers from the authors who are speaking to them.”
...from “The Rhetorical Precis” by Margaret Woodworth, The Rhetoric Review, vo. 1, no. 1
The Gist of Precis...
In each of the four sections, students must...
1) demonstrate their understanding of the author’s
messages
2) compose their opinion of what the author’s most
impactful rhetorical decisions and strategies are in
delivering his/her message
3) analyze and infer the author’s intended purposes and
outcome
4) identify specific audiences to describe the author’s
relationship with them and/or the subject
Section #1: to showcase a clear understanding
of the author’s chief and supplemental
inventions/messages
o Provide title, publication, date in parenthesis, author’s
name
o Show your understanding of the author’s main message
◆ Use some form of “says” verb (claims, asserts, suggests, argues) +
1. Paraphrase
AND
2. Direct quote
*** “Section 1” can be more than 1 sentence. ***
Ex) 1st sentence could be the direct quote and the 2nd sentence could be
the paraphrase.
Points: 5/20
Def: say what they meant in your own words
***For the sake of clarity***
Tip
Possible Précis title = student’s
paraphrase of the paraphrase
➢ Direct quote
➢ Paraphrase
⬜ In “The Ugly Truth about Beauty” (1998), Dave Barry
argues that “…women generally do not think of their
looks in the same way that men do” (4). He satirizes the unnecessary ways that women obsess about their
physical appearance.
Example
Points: 5/20
“Says” Verbs versus “Rhetorical”
VerbsSays: use when referring to
author’s message
Rhetorical: use when referring
to author’s rhetorical decisions
• EXPLAINS
• CONVEYS
• EXPRESSES
• PORTRAYS
• DESCRIBES
• COMMUNICATES
• DEMONSTRATES
*these verbs turn to rhetorical
verbs when an appropriate
adverb is placed before it
• Compares
• Contrasts
• Alludes
• Suggests
• Signifies
• Exclaims
• Promotes
• Initiates
• Develops
• Illustrates
• Implies
Section #1 Instructor’s End Game
⬜ To evaluate students’ understanding of the author’s chief and supplemental messages
⬜ To assess their reading comprehension to shape further planning and instruction
Common conclusions:
⬜ Direct correlation between student readers (exposure) and high accuracy paraphrases
⬜ Opportunity to focus instruction between bridging authors’ messages or historical/current events to student writing
Section #2: to showcase your professional opinion
of how the author successfully delivers their
messages
o List (typically chronologically) the most
impacting rhetorical
decisions/strategies (rhetorical modes)
◆ Strategy/Decision vs. Device
(example: Compare & Contrast vs. Repetition)
Points: 7/20
As it occurred in the passage
Strategies that best deliver message to
audience
Verbs Nouns
• Strategy + (rhetorical purpose)• “… in order to…”
• “… to …”
• “ … achieves …”
• “by using (rhetorical verb) the author accomplishes …”
Why the author made this rhetorical decision…What was
achieved w/ audience?• Appeals
• Effects
• Mood
Lead-Ins
(Vallerie Stevenson)
• Suggestion: Devices supplement strategies; they should not be discussed as strategies (thesis)
HOWWHY
Section #2 Tips
o “Sentence #2” can also be more than 1 sentence.
o Most important sentence in your précis (worth 7 points)
o Avoid using “…in order to” three times by implementing it after every single strategy
• The author juxtaposes in order to …; He then contrasts ___in
order to…; he finally embellishes in order to...
Points: 7/20
Section II example from an excerpt from
Memoirs of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez
“Rodriguez mentions ‘private Spanish’ with that of “public language” to establish how the use of the native language could be potentially viewed as socially inappropriate in American society, whereas the use of English allows one to be as a member of a community…”
⬜ identified strategy (verb)
⬜ rhetorical purpose
Teacher comment:
Reconsider your rhetorical verb “mentions.” Do you mean “compares”?
For your essay, elaborate this rhetorical purpose to answer “Why does the author want to establish this? To what change in mentality/behavior (section III) does the author seek to change?
The Precis Quiz
⬜ take 3-4 student scored samples to distribute to the class
⬜ have students “score” each sample according the point
system/rubric
⬜ Precis Quiz scores determined by how accurate/off their
score is compared to the given score
Section #2 Instructor’s End Game
the precis grader will evaluate
⬜ the accuracy of your chosen “rhetorical decision”
⬜ the plausibility of what you’ve concluded to be the author’s rhetorical purpose and what its rhetorical effect or achievement is upon their audiences
⬜ how clear you showcase the decisions’ impact truly are
⬜ How well you tie together the rhetorical impact with the author’s overall purpose(section #3)
Common Conclusions:
⬜ this is the most difficult part for students
⬜ “I don’t know when a decision is being made”
⬜ Difficulty with identification stems from lack of exposure
⬜ Informs instructor of how to focus lessons within reading literature
Status Check
⬜ Regarding the expectations within sections I and
II, what areas might pose potential difficulty for
students?
⬜ What areas might be unclear, difficult to achieve
when composing these sections?
Transitioning Section #2 to Essay Paragraphs
For each of your identified rhetorical decision, think of each one as a body paragraph topic sentence.
Rhetorical decision #1:
The author…
1) [First rhetorical verb/decision/strategy used]
2) “in order to…”
3)[rhetorical purpose: effect/achievement upon the intended audience].
Rhetorical decision #2:
She also… [repeat steps 1-3].
Rhetorical decision #3:
Finally, the author…[repeat steps 1-3].
Transforming your sentence #2 into
body paragraphs
A. Strategy or Rhetorical Verb (1-2 sentences)
B. Device ➔ Quote or Implicit Reference to
passage
C. Explain how the strategy works; its effect upon
audience
D. Tie to overall purpose/message
HOW
WHY
Mode
STOPKNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:
Rhetorical Purpose
VS.
Overall Purpose
Section #3: to showcase your ability to critically
infer what the author intends for each audience
group to think and behave differently
o Show author’s overall purpose(s)
◆ to identify the author’s intention to what a
specific audience ought to do
o Identify the targeted audiences.
Points: 4/20
There can
be different
purposes for
different
audiencesChanged behavior
derived from a
changed mentality
Section #3: The Overall Purpose Chart (handout)
Primary
Audience:
New
Behavioral Change
Tertiary
Audience:
New Mentality:
Psychological
and/or Emotional Change
Secondary
Audience:
What changes in mind
and/or behavior
would need to exist to
make the piece
irrelevant?
Identified rhetorical strategy/verb/decision
Section #3: Instructor’s End Game
Instructors are to judge students’ argument of plausibility between
what they have identified as rhetorical decisions and its relationship
to audience’s new mentality and/or behavior.
Common Conclusions:
⬜ this often reflects students’ level of exposure and sophistication
⬜ it also allows for a conversation starter about their actual analysis
of the audiences’ behavior/influence, society and paradigm
Section #4
o State author’s (1) general tone
o and (2) his/her relationship with audience
sand/or the topic of discussion
Points: 4/20
Verb Bank
⬜ adjures advances advises asks asserts begs beseeches cajoles cheers
chimes commands complains confides conveys counsels crows
declares decrees decries demands describes dictates directs discloses
divulges elucidates employs encourages entreats espouses exclaims
exhorts explains gripes groans grouses grumbles hails hints illustrates
implies implores inquires insinuates instructs intimates invokes justifies
laments mandates mocks muses orders pleads ponders pontificates
proclaims pronounces proposes queries rationalizes recommends
recounts relates reports requests reveals sighs sings snarls sneers states
submits suggests summons wails whimpers whines wields wonders
Thank you!
Frank Mata, Eleanor Roosevelt High School,
Eastvale, CA
https://tinyurl.com/frankmata