1. The Liu Method The Key to unlocking… The AP Reading Exam
SBA Reading Assessment
Reading for College/Future Career

2. Agenda What’s the Liu Method? How can it help me ?
Who’s Eric Liu? What gives him Ethos?
What are the 3 Steps of the Liu Method?
How can I apply the Liu Method to a Text?

3. Stay on Target - By the End of the Week you will be able to…
Comprehend the steps of the Liu Method.
Summarize a thesis using a verb statement.
Paraphrase the a structure of a text using the 2/3, 1/3 rule.
Identify Rhetorical Devices used in an informational text supported with evidence.
Justify why an author uses Rhetorical Devices to persuade an audience.
Apply the Liu Method to a pre-20th century Informational Text.

4. What’s the Liu Method? It will Help me By… A Reading Strategy that…
Offering another reading strategy I can use to be successful on the AP Lang Exam Reading section.
Modeling how author’s use structure to help you prepare for the AP Lang Exam Writing section.
Giving me a reading strategy that I can use to be successful on the SBA Reading assessment.
Prepping me for success in college and/or my future career.
Identifies the thesis and purpose of an informational text.
Demonstrates how an author’s use of structure is a Rhetorical Move.
Justifies why an author uses Rhetorical Devices to persuade an audience.

5. Who is Eric Liu? Communications professor at UW.
Former speech writer for President Clinton.
Founder of Citizen University, an organization promoting public citizenship and personal empowerment.
Author of 12 books.
Frequent contributor to the New York Times, Time Magazine, and CNN.

6. What are The Three Steps of the Liu Method?
Foundation Architecture Music

7. The Key Stone Metaphor A Key Stone is the central stone in an arch.
The placement of a Key Stone is essential for supporting the entire structure.
Consider how the Liu Method is like a Key Stone, it unveils how author’s use structure to support their entire argument, in order to persuade their audience.

8. Step 1: The Foundation
A: Actively and critically read through the article underlying key passages and phrases.
B: Then, write a statement paraphrasing the claim or thesis beginning with a verb, that encompasses the Author’s Tone.
Liu convinces...
Liu refutes....
Liu mocks...
Liu suggests… 
C: Include SOAPS in your Foundation Statement.
Eric Liu encourages women voters, at the Washington State Democratic Convention, to vote in the mid-term elections.

9. Step 2: The Architecture
After you composed your foundation statement, examine the overall structure of the piece.
A: Read the passage again and annotate each paragraph with a phrase that paraphrases each paragraph.
B: Use the 2/3, 1/3 rule for Paraphrasing (2/3 your words, 1/3 the author’s)
“Liu states his thesis that women should vote in the mid-terms.”
“Liu offers evidence why every vote counts.”
C: Then, chunk like paragraphs together in groups.
"Claim,“
"Counter-argument,"
"Hook," etc.

10. Step 3: The Music
Once you have established the foundation (claim) and architecture (structure) of the piece, you need to analyze what Liu calls the author's "music."
The music is an analysis of the author's craft as a writer. This could be his use of diction, syntax, rhetorical moves, etc.
A: Identify the "music" the author uses.
B: Cite Evidence.
C: Justify the affect it has on the intended audience.
“Obama’s use of ‘Yes We Can’ is like a refrain in a church. His use of pathos is intended to invoke an emotional appeal of hope with his audience. He wants his audience believe by voting for him for president, we, as Americans, can create and return to a prosperous America.

11. Questions for Inspection
How is the Foundation a key stone for the Architecture?
How does the Architecture support the Foundation?
How does the Music enhance the Architecture and the Foundation?