1. A Reading Strategy for Rhetorical Analysis
The Liu Method
A Reading Strategy for Rhetorical Analysis
Good morning and Welcome. My name is Nathan Sun-Kleinberger and I teach APLaC at Kentridge HS in Kent, WA. Today I will be discussing the Liu Method, a reading strategy that is both a great read annotation strategy and is a useful note taking devices for student to be successful on the APLaC exam. While most of this presentation will focus on AP Lang, I strongly feel if you teach another humanities class such as APUSH, AP Psych, AP GoPo, AP Global Studies, AP Human Geo, OR if you a consultant, the Liu Method is reading annotation technique that can be applied to any subject matter.
Let’s begin with a question: When you read how do you take notes?
The Foundation
The Architecture
The Music

2. Agenda Goals for this Presentation Where in the world are you from?
Who is Eric Liu? What gives him Ethos?
DMA – Intro to the Liu Method
Foundation Model – Feeble Women and Poor Dumb Bastards
Architecture Model – Why I like/dislike Citizens United
Music Model – “Riding into the Jaws of Death…that the nation might live.”
Liu Method and the APLaC Exam
Self-Reflection and Questions or Comments

3. Goals
To comprehend the steps of the Liu Method to apply as a reading annotation technique.
To be able to instruct students how to apply the Liu Method towards the Multiple-Choice section and the Rhetorical Analysis essay on the AP Language and Composition exam.
To reflect on how the Liu Method could be used in your classroom/work environment.

4. Where in the World are you from? What gives you Ethos?
Carmen/Waldo: Geographic icons of my childhood.
Florida?
SE?
Eastern time zone?
Central time zone?
Mt. time zone?
Pacific time zone?
Teach APLaC?
Other AP course?
Presenter
Reader
Work for college board? Consultant? Publisher? Author? Work for an ed organization? Other?

5. Who is Eric Liu? Communications professor at University of Washington.
Former speechwriter in the Clinton Administration.
Author of The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker a New York Times Notable Book in 2002.
Founder of the Guiding Lights Network which promotes civic engagement.
This strategy was taught to me by Eric Liu.
He instructs to undergraduates majoring in communications/poli-sci and law students.

6. DMA Read the following passage to yourself.
Jot down phrases, words, sentences that stand out to you.
Consider the following:
What is the author’s thesis/claim?
How does the author structure his work?
What strategies does the writer use to make his writing sing?
DMA Def – Daily Mini Assignment, something all teachers at my school day as an anticipatory set (or if you don’t speak teacher-ese) a warm-up activity to help hook students into the lesson of the day.
Instructions: Take the next 5 minutes to read the following passage quietly (in “box” on page 1 of handout) . Feel free to underline, highlight, circle any words or phrases in the text provided.

7. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
What is the thesis (use a verb statement)?
How does the author structure the text?
What words or phrases stand out? Why?
Teddy Roosevelt’s “Citizen in a Republic” speech delivered in 1910 at the Sorbonne in Paris. This except is the most famous part that has been dubbed “the man in the arena.” Knowing the title, when it was delivered, and its author, does it change your understanding of the text?

8. DISTINCTIO Foundation Architecture Music
Distinctio (Rhetorical Device)
Def: explicit references to various meanings of a word--usually for the purpose of clarification.
Distinctio of:
Foundation
Architecture
Music
Feel free to jot down notes on the definition and examples of the Foundation/Architecture/Music in your handout on pp. 1 – 2.
We just went through all these steps in the DMA.

9. What is the Foundation?
Foundation Def: The claim/thesis/main idea of a text.
How to Annotate The Foundation:
Actively and critically read through the article underlying key passages and phrases.
How to Paraphrase The Foundation:
Then, write a statement paraphrasing the claim or thesis beginning with a verb.
Examples:
1. Liu persuades...
2. Liu convinces...
3. Liu refutes....
4. Liu mocks....
5. Liu suggests...
Note foundation group created during DMA.

10. What is the Architecture?
Architecture Def: The logical structure of a text OR how the author arranges her argument.
How to Annotate the Architecture: Read through the passage. Chunk the passage into categories.
Examples:
Hook
Thesis
Reasons supporting issue
Counterargument
Call to Action
Etc.
Note for the examples: These are just examples of a common structure of a piece. Great writers find interesting and unusual to structure a piece. For example: Virginia Woolf likes to weaves a theme throughout her writing OR bell hooks may stick her thesis at the end of her essay.
Note architecture created by group from DMA.

11. What is the Music?
Music Def: The techniques an author uses to demonstrates his craft as a writer.
How to Annotate the Music: Look for words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs that stand out to you.
Examples:
Diction
Syntax
Literary Devices
Poetic Devices
Rhetorical Devices
Etc.
Note on Author Craft: These are just examples, but note anything that you feel makes the author’s writing sing.
Note architecture created by group from DMA.

12. The Foundation
Ask for a participant to paraphrase the def of Foundation.

13. Foundation Model #1- Feeble Women
Queen Elizabeth I – Tilbury speech
Look on pg. 2. You will see a list of verbs commonly used on the 2010 MC Exam. As you watch this video, consider what the author’s foundation is. Then, write a foundation statement using one of the verbs provided that you feel captures the tone, or attitude of the speaker, when she delivers her speech.

14. Foundation Model #2 – Poor Dumb Bastards
Gen. George Patton – Speech to the 3rd Army
Do the same for the second piece. Watch the video. Create a foundation statement that includes one of the verbs on the list provided. Then, after you have composed your foundation statement, compare/contrast the two pieces’ foundations with an elbow partner/table group.

15. The Architecture
Ask for a participant to paraphrase the def of Architecture.

16. ARCHITECTURE Model #1 Why EJ Dionne dislikes Citizens United
Read the Dionne editorial on page 4. Take 5 minutes to read the piece. Read the piece 3x. 1. Read the first time for understanding. 2. Read again and establish the foundation with a verb statement. 3. Read it again and group together like paragraphs in chunks – Thesis, Hook, Counterargument, etc. Feel free to chunk paragraphs with brackets and label the chunks outside the margins.

17. ARCHITECTURE Model #2 Why George Will likes Citizens United
Read the Will editorial on page _____. Apply the same procedure toward Will you used for Dionne. Read the piece 3x. 1. Read the first time for understanding. 2. Read again and establish the foundation with a verb statement. 3. Read it again and group together like paragraphs in chunks – Thesis, Hook, Counterargument, etc. Feel free to chunk paragraphs with brackets and label the chunks outside the margins.
Now, talk to an elbow partner/table mates – compare contrast the foundation/architecture in Will and Dionne. Which piece is more persuasive and why?

18. The Music
Ask for a participant to give def of Music.

19. Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Music Model #1
Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Spend 5 minutes to read the Tennyson poem on pp Read for comprehension and then jot down the foundation using a verb statement. 2. Read it again and establish architecture. Feel free to chunk in brackets outside the margins. 3. Finally, read it and identify the music – What makes the piece sing? (Talk to table mates/elbow partner).
-Battle of Balaclava – Crimean War.

20. Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”
Music Model #2
Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”
Spend 5 minutes to read Lincoln’s speech on page _____. 1. Read for comprehension and then jot down the foundation using a verb statement. 2. Read it again and establish architecture. Feel free to chunk in brackets outside the margins. 3. Finally, read it and identify the music – What makes the piece sing? (Talk to table mates/elbow partner).
Compare/Contrast Tennyson vs. Lincoln. Which piece is more persusaive? Why? (Consider the foundation/music/architecture).

21. Liu and the AP Exam

22. Multiple – Choice Exam
The speaker's attitude is best described as one of . . .
The syntax of lines serves to . . .
Which of the following best describes the author's purpose in the last sentence?
The speaker's mention of “opportunities" is appropriate to the development of her argument by . . .
The pattern of exposition exemplified in the passage can best be described as . .
These are actual question stems from the 2010 MC Exam. Based upon these types of questions talk to your elbow partner/table group how the Liu Method would help you answer each question.

23. Rhetorical Analysis Essay
On April 10, 1962, as the United States was emerging from a recession, the nation’s largest steel companies raised steel prices by 3.5 percent. President John F. Kennedy, who had repeatedly called for stable prices and wages as part of a program of national sacrifice during a period of economic distress, held a news conference on April 11, 1962, which he opened with the following commentary regarding the hike in steel prices. Read Kennedy’s remarks carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze the rhetorical strategies President Kennedy uses to achieve his purpose. Support your analysis with specific references to the text.
This is the prompt for the RA Essay on the 2012 APLaC exam. Read the prompt to yourself and discuss how the Liu Method would help you compose on essay analyzing this text.

24. Summary
Foundation: identifying the author’s claim/thesis with a verb statement.
Architecture: Chunking paragraphs in categories to determine how the author structures a text.
Music: Identifying diction, syntax, or literary, poetic, or rhetorical moves the author uses to make his music sing.
Consider
employing the Liu Method to help students to annotate passages for the Multiple Choice Exam and Rhetorical Analysis Essay.

25. Self-Reflection
Take the next few minutes to self-reflect how you can apply the Liu Method for your classroom or work environment.

26. Questions or Comments
Thank for your being an attentive audience. Feel free to keep the worksheets. If you are interested in my contact information grab a business card on the way out. It is my hope that the Liu Method will be one of the sessions from the AP Conference you can actually take with you a month, a year, or 10 years from now. Enjoy the rest of your time in Orlando and at the AP Conference.