Grade Reports and Civil Rights Rhetoric

AP Language. Sat, Sep 21st, 2013 at 7:45 am

We’ve finished Nixon’s “Checkers” Â speech and analyzed his success in renewing his credibility in the eyes of the voters. If you would like to revise that or your DFW analysis for your progress report grade, please turn it in Monday. Of course, you may turn in any revision any time after that, but it won’t be reflected in the report.

We kicked off this section with JFK’s Inaugural Address. I didn’t ask you to analyze this, but if you don’t feel that your current grade in any skill reflects your current ability I encourage you to demonstrate it there.

Currently we’re discussing the LBJ’s address to Congress concerning the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We’ll focus on his use of pathos and logic specifically in our analysis after we finish.

These two speeches are leading into our largest analysis so far this year: MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This is considered to be one of the US’s greatest rhetorical achievements and will take considerable effort for us to undertake.

Before we begin, make sure you’re comfortable with the arg/means pattern of analysis we’ve been using, as well as any rhetorical devices/appeals/techniques we’ve discussed so far. As I’ve said before, it is a good idea to revise any analysis you feel warrants it.

As always, email with questions or comment below.