1. “The Inheritance of Tools” and Rhetorical Strategies
Mr. Josefino Rivera, Jr.
AOSR: AP Language and Composition
October 4, 2010

2. Homework Read Scott Russell Sanders’s “The Inheritance of Tools”
Study for Card Quiz
Rhetorical Analysis (syntax) Paragraph

3. Today’s Objectives
To celebrate our written work through a Quaker Reading
To finish creating and presenting Rhetorical Strategy Posters
To analyze “Syntax” as a rhetorical strategy
To begin reading “The Inheritance of Tools”
To apply knowledge of syntax into a rhetorical analysis paragraph

4. Quaker Reading Purpose To celebrate our written work.
To hear from everyone.
Directions
Stand in a circle.
Read your sentence/passage and listen carefully to others.

5. “Analyzing Language” Rhetorical Strategies Diction and connotation
Syntax
Figurative language
Imagery
Tone

6. Rhetorical Strategies
You will have 15 minutes to complete your posters.
Be prepared to present:
Name
Definition
Example from “No Name Woman”
Slogan
Image

7. Roles
Facilitator: Read the directions and make sure everyone in the group is participating
Resource Manager: Procures the necessary materials for the assignment and the poster; manages the group’s time.
Recorder: Designs a mock-up poster that must be cleared by Mr. Rivera first.
Reporter: Presents the poster to the class.

8. Syntax length of sentences (long or short) number of sentences
parallel structure
different sentence types
Simple: subject + predicate
Compound: independent clause, conjunction independent clause
Balanced: independent clause; independent clause
Complex: independent clause, dependent clause
Loose: independent clause,/–dependent clause
Periodic: dependent clause, independent clause
Interrupted: independent–dependent clause–clause
specific kinds of punctuation
repetition
rhetorical questions

9. Classify
These students—selfish, deceitful, and sadistic—were evidence of their parents’ muddled values.
Hard work is only one side of the equation; talent is the other.
The South Pacific island is and isolated community, isolated from the values of the West, isolated from the spiritual heritage of the East.
The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest.

10. Create
With your partner, create a sentence using the syntactical structure denoted on the card.
Write it on a piece of paper
Topic: AOSR

11. Model Paragraph
     The author's syntax moves from a sense of syntactic control to a series of fragmented thoughts and finally to renewed control over the grammar.  In the beginning, the sentences are grammatically correct without error until they begin to disintegrate into a series of dashes.  Just as Douglass' plans are clear, so is his control of composition; both are determined and smoothly laid out--until the end of this section.  The author does this to show his mastery over his own life but to suggest at the same time that all is not well.  In the middle, the syntax begins its decline into a series of fragments, exclamation points, and dashes. Just as his sentences are torn asunder, so is Douglass at the mercy of the elements, his broken sentences mirroring his disorientation. The author does this to reflect Douglass' loss of control over his life despite his initial elation.  In the end, the sentence returns to grammatical clarity and structure in a well-ordered, logical way.  The ending acknowledges Douglass' acceptance of his new life for better and for worse.  He does this to emphasize his rediscovered calm; he no longer ricochets from idea to idea, assaulted by shards of his memories.  Douglass has been taken from unmoored to anchored as he starts life over in his new home.

12. Another Model
The syntax moves from long and blunt to choppy and descriptive and finally to unceasing and rhythmic.  In the beginning, there is one long sentence with inflections at the end of each clause.  The length mirrors the preparation of the nation and the proceedings of war itself, while the cadence gives a sense of continual perseverance and progression.  The author does this to emphasize the increasing magnitude of what is to follow. In the middle, the piece is characterized by a long-short-long series connected by complex parallels.  Resembling the march-fight-march movement of war, Lincoln's writing is strategic and yet ironically softened by the music of the parallel structure.  He  uses the see-saw style to illustrate the frequent and close connection between death and duty.  In the end, however, the sentences are again connected by many dashes. Lincoln's consistent elaboration reassures the people that continuing the war is indeed a noble cause.  He does this to remind the audience over and over again of the present needs of the country. Thus, the syntax follows a circular path; grammatical structures tie the beginning and ending together just as the speech ties together the past and future of a nation.

13. Rhetorical Analysis Paragraph
Explanation of quote:
Claim
Context
Evidence
Commentary E A C

14. Claim …is an opinion …is the central argument of the paragraph
…attempts to unpack one part of the thesis statement

15. Context
…offers a brief explanation of where the evidence that is about to be presented comes from.
…summarizes the major events that precede the quote about to be explicated.

16. Evidence
…can be personal examples from your own life or the lives of people you know.
…can come from movies, television, news, songs, history.
…can come from the text itself in the form of direct quotes.
“quote” (pg #).

17. Commentary
E: explains what is happening on the surface (who, what, where, when)
A: articulates what is happening below the surface (how, why)
C: connects back to the claim

18. Rhetorical Analysis Paragraph
Explanation of quote:
Claim
Context
Evidence
Commentary E A C

19. “The Inheritance of Tools”
Sanders creates a parallel between his father and himself in order to show that the inheritance he received from his father was more than just a hammer. Before his mother calls him to tell him of the news of his father’s death, Sanders says, “We were both doing carpentry that day, but far apart. He was building cupboards at my brother’s place in Oklahoma; I was at home in Indiana putting up a wall in the basement to make a bedroom for my daughter (331). ” Though distance kept the two apart, they were similar in their actions and behavior. Sanders shows this by using a balanced sentence, creating a mirror image of his father building cupboards and Sanders, himself, putting up a wall, with a semicolon in between to indicate their equal weight, both independent clauses, both fathers building for their children. In essence, through the use of syntactical symmetry, Sanders asserts that there, too, is symmetry in the lives of Sanders and his father.

20. Exit Card
3 Different types of sentences 2