1. Mastering the Rhetorical Device Essay
Kelly Davis
AP Language and Composition
*With examples from the 2007 Sanders prompt in red

2. Needed Before You Write:
An understanding that the last sentence in the prompt is really just two disguised questions that you MUST answer
- What is Sanders’ position on moving? What strategies does he use to develop that position?
Brief, yet thorough annotations throughout the passage that highlight important phrases/strategies you can use in your essay

3. Introduction Must Haves:
An introductory sentence that introduces the key player(s) and ties them to the prompt’s implied questions
Scott Russell Sanders
Salman Rushdie
Sanders is writing to argue with Rushdie’s claims about the benefits of moving

4. Introduction Must Haves:
A thesis statement that directly answers BOTH of the prompt’s implied questions
Sanders uses a complex tone, pointed diction, and juxtaposed arguments
to develop his position that moving, although it can be a “seductive” concept, is overrated and even harmful to society.

5. Body Paragraph Organization:
Organize body paragraphs by important sections of the passage, NOT by rhetorical devices.
- Look for shifts in the argument, tone, style, etc. to help “chunk” the passage into meaningful segments

6. Sanders’ Organization Example:
1st Essay Body Paragraph = 1st Paragraph of Passage
Explains and Questions American ideals/beliefs
Tone is understanding, yet slightly condescending
2nd Essay Body Paragraph = 2nd and 3rd Body Paragraphs of Passage
Poses counterarguments to Rushdie’s claims
Tone is logical
3rd Essay Body/Conclusion = 4th Body Paragraph of Passage
Conclusive statements
Tone is reflective and personal

7. Body Paragraph Necessities:
Include smooth and professional transitions – not “Firstly,” “Next,” or “In Conclusion”
Travel in order of the passage from beginning to end – do not skip around
Divide your analysis accordingly: 60% on WHAT the author’s argument is and 40% on HOW the author develops his/her argument
- 60% on WHAT Sanders’ argues in regards to moving
- 40% on How he develops his argument

8. Body Paragraph Necessities:
Only include analysis statements (2-4 sentences for each one) that directly answer the two implied prompt questions. Each statement must tie the HOW with the WHAT!
Throughout the first paragraph, Sanders uses words with similar connotations like “seductive,” “romance,” and “infatuation.” These words imply that Sanders thinks Americans are being deceived by the sheer “romance of unlimited space” and are not considering the realistic consequences their infatuation brings to the world.

9. Body Paragraph Don’t’s:
Do not simply paraphrase or summarize without analyzing WHY.
- At the end of paragraph one, Sanders claims that he read a newspaper about a politician who wants to increase the interstate system even though it is crumbling.
Do not provide definitions of rhetorical devices/strategies!
- Sanders uses a metaphor – by comparing two things without using like or as – to describe Americans as being “drunk on driving.”

10. Body Paragraph Don’t’s:
3. Do not use Second Person! 4. Do not use ethos, logos, or pathos! These are simply argument types, not specific strategies. - Sanders uses logos by including historical information in his argument. 5. Do not simply talk about how the device makes the reader feel or how it makes the author look. - Sanders uses the “cookie cutter” metaphor to really paint a picture in his audience’s mind, which helps make his argument more valid.

11. Body Paragraph Don’t’s:
Do not quote entire sentences from the passage! “Chunk” your evidence into important words and phrases that you place into your own sentences.
- Nevertheless, Sanders understands, somewhat cynically, that Americans are obsessed with the “romance of unlimited space” because it has been so engrained in us through our nation’s “mythology.”

12. Body Paragraph Don’t’s:
Avoid vague/general terms like “good,” “bad,” “a lot,” “lots of,” “okay,” etc.
Sanders uses lots of rhetorical devices throughout his argument.
Sanders’ overall perspective on moving is that it’s bad.

13. Conclusion Tips:
Do NOT include a separate conclusion that merely summarizes or “wraps up” your paper.
In conclusion, Sanders uses many rhetorical devices such as tone, diction, and metaphors, to effectively present his argument about moving to his audience.

14. Conclusion Tips:
2. Instead, create a last body paragraph/conclusion that ties everything together, while still managing to say something new. - While Sanders uses Rushdie and the American culture as his main targets, he is ultimately arguing against mankind’s infatuation with moving and migration on a fundamental level. To Sanders, the more logical option is to focus on “staying put,” and “settling in” to our homelands. Maybe then, we can finally start to repair and improve the ground “under our feet” instead of searching emptily for the “Promised Land” that we will never find at the end of the elusive rainbow.