Students learn to critique opinion pieces and blogs, develop their understanding of persuasive techniques (rhetoric) and build their skills to write a critical analysis.
Summarizing, Analyzing, Critiquing, Evidence, Persuasive Devices, Rhetoric.
Learning Intention: To read/view and respond to an opinion piece.
Through the Internet, people's opinions can be readily voiced. Opinion pages in online newspapers, ezines, blogs and wikis, and sites such as TED provide opportunities for people to voice their opinions. The range of topics is vast - politics, environment, animal cruelty, health, technology, education, the future, war, and food, to name just a few. Here are two very different opinion pieces:
Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014.
The Problem With Energy Efficiency by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, New York Times, The Opinion Pages, October 8, 2014.
Comment: Choose one of the opinion pieces and comment on whether you agree of disagree with the opinion expressed. Provide reasons for your opinion. Then comment on one or two of your peers' comments. Start with @name, so the person knows that you are commenting on their comment.
The purpose of this activity is to engage students in the learning module, and to introduce them to the range of opinion pieces, including multimodal ones.
The Community Updates are designed to:
While students work collaboratively and independently on completing each Community Update, the teacher can support students who require extra help to think about the Comment and compose their responses. Encourage students to read other students' posts so they don't repeat comments.
Posting comments is a form of accountability, promotes reflection, and develops students’ writing skills and confidence to work in Scholar.
CCSS Focus
W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Learning Intention: To identify context, audience and purpose of blogs and online opinion pieces.
In order to analyze an opinion piece, it is good to start by identifying the context, audience and purpose of the opinion piece.
Definitions
| Context | The time and place (geographical location as well as journal or online newsapaper) in which the writing and reading occur. Context also takes account of any related current events, situations or developments. |
| Purpose | The intent or aim of the author in writing the piece. The main purpose may be to persuade, inform, and/or entertain. There can be many other purposes. |
| Audience | Who the author is directing the writing to. The audience's background is also important. |
With a partner, discuss the contexts, purposes and audiences of:
Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014.
The Problem With Energy Efficiency by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, New York Times, The Opinion Pages, October 8, 2014.
Comment: Find another opinion piece that is about an issue that you are interested in. It could be a talk, blog or from an online newspaper. Then add a comment in which you post a link to it, and briefly (1-2 sentences) describe its context, purpose, and audience. Then read and comment on other participants' links and comments, building on their ideas or asking questions to extend the discussion.
In this activity, participants are given information about context, audience, purpose. The Comment provides an opportunity for students to apply this information to an opinion piece that they are interested in. Identifying the context, purpose and audience will ensure that students read the piece closely and comprehend it at both the literal and inferential levels.
The opinion piece that students use in the Comment can also become the focus of their writing project. Alternatively, students may select a different text.
The next two activities build upon this activity, focusing on persuasive techniques and the structure and sequence of critical analyses. In this way students are cumulatively prepared to write their own critical analyses.
CCSS Focus
RI.9-10.10: By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literacy nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high-end of the range for grade 9, and independently and proficiently for grade 10.
SL 9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL 9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Learning Intention: To explore the use of persuasive techniques in an online opinion piece.
Rhetoric is a term first used by Aristotle, and is the art of communicating effectively, particularly the use of persuasive techniques in writing. This includes persuasive techniques in exposition, description, narration, and argumentation.
While it is necessary to identify persuasive techniques, it is most important to explain the effects of these techniques. Persuasive techniques are also called rhetorical devices. Understanding the effects of authors' choices enables you to make specific choices when you write your own texts.
View the following online opinion piece, Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014, and find examples of each of the persuasive techniques. Persuasive techniques will be identified in the talk as well as the written transcript of the talk.
Check the Definitions of Rhetorical Terms and Words for Tone or Tone/Attitude Words as you complete the table. Tone is the author's attitude to the topic. Many persuasive techniques create the tone; for example, providing credible evidence creates an objective tone, while making fun of something with humor can create a humorous or even a mocking tone. Using academic and technical vocabulary can create a more erudite (learned, polished, scholarly) tone.
Persuasive Techniques
| Persuasive Technique | Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You TED Talk | Effect/s |
| Evidence: Facts and Details | Supports the claims/conclusions of the author | |
| Evidence: Examples | Supports the claims/conclusions of the author | |
| Evidence: Statistics | Supports the claims/conclusions of the author | |
| Question and Answer Structure | Helps the reader to follow and comprehend the ideas presented in the text | |
| Tone (Direct - Let's, you; Passionate; Critical) | Directly involves the audience and tries to move them to action | |
| Repetition | Emphasizes a point | |
| Appeal to Logic and Reason (Logos) | Makes the author's arguments sound logical and reasonable, and hence more believable | |
| Appeal to Emotions (Pathos) | Engages the reader by appealing to their emotions and values, and makes the author's arguments more persuasive | |
| Appeal to Credibility and Trust (Ethos) | Makes the author sound credible and reliable, and hence more believable | |
| Visuals | Engages the audience and emphasizs a point | |
| Gestures, Eye Contact and Voice Intonation | Engages the auidence and emphasizes a point | |
| Other |
Complete the chart by adding quotes from the text that are examples of the persuasive technique. Post your completed chart to Submissions in Community.
Comment: Look at the opinion piece that you found in Activity 2. Describe 1 or 2 persuasive techniques that you think have been used effectively. Explain how the technique has been used and its effect. Comment on the examples provided by other participants, identifying other effects if possible, and asking questions to extend the discussion.
In this Update, participants build on their knowledge of persuasive techniques through analysis of Why Thinking You are Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014. This text will be analyzed further in Updates 4 and 5, as a model for students to refer to as they write their own critical analyses.
The emphasis on the effects of persuasive techniques is to increase participants' understanding of how such techniques are used in a text, but also to enable them to make deliberate choices to use them in texts that they create in their writing project in Update 6.
What do Students Need to Know about Rhetoric? is a useful resource for instructors.
The piece that students commented on in Update 2 may be the focus of their writing project. Alternatively, students may elect to find another piece.
CCSS Focus
RI: 9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.10: By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literacy nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high-end of the range for grade 9, and independently and proficiently for grade 10.
SL 9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL 9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Learning Intention: To summarize the main ideas in a text and identify what the author is doing.
Using Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014, follow the steps in the table below. No 1 is in the center column. Work with a partner to discuss where you would chunk the texts to identify the "power verbs".
Tips for Summarizing and Identifying What the Author is Saying and Doing
| What is the Author Saying? | The Text | What is the Author Doing? |
| 2. Chunk the text by drawing a horizontal line between each paragraph, or group 2 or 3 short paragraphs into one chunk. Then identify the key idea/s for each chunk, and summarize it in 10 words or less. | 1. In the centre of the page is the text. Scan or look over the text first, looking for information that can be deduced from the title, headings, introduction, topic sentences and conclusion. Then underline or circle key words and claims. | 3. In the right margin, list "reporting" words or "power verbs". These are words that describe what the author is doing: Identifying, Introducing, Describing, Detailing, Summarizing, Arguing, Illustrating, Comparing, Contrasting, Analyzing, Concluding etc. |
Comment: Share some of your ideas about what Meaghan Ramsay is saying and doing. Comment on the comments of other students, explaining why you agree or disagree with them, and asking questions or further clarification.
In this activity, students create a table with three columns and cut and paste the text of the TED talk into the center column. Chunking the text can be difficult so encourage students to work with other to complete this. Encourage them to find synonyms for the power verbs if necessary too.
RI: 9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.10: By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literacy nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high-end of the range for grade 9, and independently and proficiently for grade 10.
SL 9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL 9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Learning Intention: To understand how to sequence ideas in a critical analysis and analyze the persuasive techniques.
A critical analysis examines an article or other work to determine how effective the piece makes an argument or point. Writing a critical analysis develops your ability to reason and think objectively and analytically. This Update provides you with a model or mentor text which you can refer to as you write your own critical analysis of an opinion piece in Update 6.
Refer to Why Thinking You're Ugly is Bad for You, TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey, September, 2014 again. Read through a critical analysis of her article.The left hand column explains the structure of this critical analysis. Also note the italicised transition words which are used to sequence ideas, link ideas in sentences and paragraphs, and make the text more cohesive. They also help the reader to progress through a text and comprehend it.
| Sequence | Critical Analysis of Why Thinking You’re Ugly is Bad for You | Detail |
| Paragraph 1: Introduces Title, author, publication information, topic, context, purpose, audience and short statement of main ideas | In her TED Talk, Why Thinking You’re Ugly is Bad for You (TED, September, 2014), Meaghan Ramsay, of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, analyzes the impacts of an image-obsessed culture. In the context of a preoccupation with body image in many cultures, Ramsay’s purpose is to inform her TED audience about the effects of this, and to persuade them that there are actions that individuals, communities, businesses and governments can take, to address this issue. |
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| Paragraphs 2 & 3: Explain the writer's arguments, reasoning and evidence in more detail | Ramsay provides a range of evidence to support her claim that the self-esteem and confidence of young people are being undermined by society’s obsession with body image. Firstly, she presents facts, including statistical facts, appealing to our reason and logic. These include facts to describe how teenagers are under pressure to be continuously online and available, and about the impact of low body confidence on academic performance, health, and the economy. The statistical facts include the number of people googling “Am I ugly?” every month, the percentage of teenagers withdrawing from classroom debate, and school attendance. To illustrate how low body confidence impacts on health, the author adds more details about physical activity, food, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, depression, dieting, cosmetic surgery, earlier sex, and self harm. She also uses specific examples of young people to support her points.Further, she uses a question-answer technique, asking a question such as “But what’s the problem with all of this?” Then she goes on to identify the problems, and supports the audience to follow and understand the information she is presenting. In this way, she informs her audience, but also persuades them, providing powerful reasons for why the issue of body image must be addressed, as well as possible ways of addressing the issue |
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| Paragraphs 4 & 5: Analyze the use of persuasive techniques | Ramsay uses other persuasive techniques in her talk. To begin with, Ramsay takes a personal approach, discussing her one year old niece, and then moving to other examples, including personal anecdotes – “And as one mom told me…..” In addition, this appeal to our emotions is developed further in the talk through the use of first person in referring to “our kids”, and in Ramsay’s call to action in “Let’s (let us) show our kids the truth. Let’s show them….”.Finally, Ramsay’s tone is passionate and direct. This is conveyed through phrases such as “We can do this” and repetition of “so” in “…. so connected, so continuously, so instantaneously, so young”, and “your” in “Is it your wife? Your sister? Your daughter? Your niece? Your friend?” These also serve to emphasize the points she is making, and spur her audience to action. |
Persuasive Techniques:
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| Paragraph 4: Concludes with overall opinion of the text, its effectiveness and significance | Overall, Ramsay uses a combination of appeals to the audience’s logic and emotions to inform, and persuade her audience that there is a need to decrease the obsession with body image in western culture. While her audience may been persuaded by her talk, the real challenge is in whether they were moved to take action to address the issue. |
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You can also refer to a word version of this critical analysis.
In Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion (The Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab), you can learn more about the rhetorical appeals/persuasive techniques of Logos (logic, reason and proof), Ethos (credibility and trust) and Pathos (emotions). Also guides to writing critical analyses include:
Comment: What would be one important piece of advice would you give to other participants about how to write an effective critical analysis? Comment on the comments of other students by building on their suggestions or asking questions.
This Update provides a mentor text of a critical analysis as a model for students' own critical analysis in the writing project. Further clarification of what is expected is in the rubric.
CCSS Focus
RI.9-10.5: Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
RI.9-10.8: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.9-10.1a: Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
W.9-10.1b: Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.
W.9-10.1c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.9-10.1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
SL.9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
L.9-10.3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Learning Intention: To start my writing project and to use the Rubric to identify what is important to include.
Project Name: Opinion Piece: Critical Analysis
Description: Find an online opinion piece about an issue that interests you. It could be a blog, editorial, talk, article or opinion piece in an online newspaper or magazine. Write a critical analysis of the piece. Include a web link to it and to any other sources accessed (400-500 words).
Check the Work Request in your Notifications. Click on this link to open the “Untitled Work” in Creator. Then, change the title, and begin a first draft. Go to About This Work => Project => Description for further project information.
For what you need to do in order to write a good argumentative text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.
When you are ready to submit, click “Submit Draft” below the work. This is the version of your work that will be sent to others for review.
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
Post this Community Update first and then start the writing project. This will take you into Publisher in Scholar where you can set up dates and the number of reviewers.
For first time users of Scholar, the following Community Updates from Getting Started in Scholar: An Introductory Guide for New Users in the Bookstore may be useful to add to Community:
CCSS Focus
W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.9-10.1a: Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
W.9-10.1b: Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.
W.9-10.1c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.9-10.1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
SL.9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Learning Intention: To give feedback on other students’ works and then revise my own.
Check your Notifications for Feedback Requests: You have received a Feedback Request. Click on this link to take you to the work you have been assigned to review. Go to Feedback => Reviews => Review Work. Rate the work on each criterion and explain why you gave the work that rating. Make in-text comments at Feedback => Annotations. Make an overall recommendation at Feedback => Recommendation.
Submit your feedback once it is finished at About This Work => Project => Status. You will not be able to submit your review until all requirements set by you teacher have been met. These may include a Review, Annotations, and/or a Publication Recommendation.
For more information, see Reviewing a Work and Submitting a Review and Annotations.
The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.
Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a Revision Request. Click on this link to take you to the most recent version of your work. Then go to Feedback => Reviews => Results to see the reviews and Feedback => Annotations to see in-text comments. Once you have incorporated all of the feedback (Reviews/Annotations) from your peers, click “Submit Revision” below the work.
You can also write a self-review, explaining how you have taken on board the feedback you received.
For more information, see The Revision Phase.
Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
This update covers two stages of the writing process in Scholar: Review and Revision.
Before the students submit their final work, run the Analytics. Check the percentage of text revised between one draft and the next, the number of words currently written and the grade level of the writing. You may wish to ask some students to do more work before they submit.
CCSS Focus
W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9-10.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W.9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
L.8.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing.
L.8.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing.
Learning Intention: To identify what is successful writing.
Check Notifications to see if your work has been published and whether works that you provided feedback on have been selected for publication. Published works may be viewed on your and any collaborators' individual profiles in Community.
Comment: Read two or three other people's published narratives. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading other people’s writing, or the aspect of their writing that you enjoyed most. What have you learned about writing? Mention the creator and title of the other work, and make a link to that page so the person reading your comment can jump to the page quickly.
Notifications of publication are provided to the creator and all reviewers.
The reflection activity increases students’ metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ published works.
Ask students to look over other students’ writing—have them read at least two or three other works. Ask them to comment on something interesting they learned from reading others’ work.
Refer to Analytics to see how students have performed.
CCSS Focus
W.9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
SL 9-10.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented..
Title: Photograph by Matt Walker (Source); Fig.1: (Source); Fig. 2: (Source); Fig. 3: (Source); Fig. 4: (Source); Fig. 5: (Source); Fig. 6: (Source); Fig. 7: (Source).
Also thanks to Monique Hickman for her inspiring presentation, Rhetorical Analysis Writing, at the National Writing Project Urban Sites Conference, Loyola University, Chicago, April 25-26, 2014.