DISCUSSIONLEADEREXAMPLE

TITLES/AUTHORS OFESSAYS

Include a subtitle thatbrieflysummarizesthe main pointof the essay

TITLE OF FIRST ESSAY

Author’s name

Relevant education or professional background information

Other publication credits

Relevant professional connectionswith organizations, govt. bodies, etc.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PHOTO of AUTHOR

Select an image to help your classmates identify with the subject of the reading

Give them relevant background about the subject: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Give them relevant background about the piece itself: when was it written? Who published it?

RHETORICAL CONTEXT

Summarize the essay

Identify the main points, themes, and/or arguments of the essay

Select specific anecdotes or quotations that you found particularly intriguing or engaging; denote pages #s so your classmates can find them

Identify major statistics or facts that classmates should note

CONTENT

Identify ideas, quotations, anecdotes, images, or underlying themes that present rhetorical strategies like: Credibility of author/sources/subject matter

Pathos: appeals to the emotions of a reader

Logos: logical/factual arguments for the reader

Ethos: ethical, moral, or “should/should not” arguments

Identify fallacies or problematic areas of the essay Is there any bias in this essay? Is the author guilty of using weak language, fear-tactics, or

generalized argument? What possible rebuttals, or counterarguments, could be made?

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

Formulate quest ions for your c lassmates that engage with specific points or anecdotes from the materia l ; make connections with other readings & the Everyday Writer/Envis ion materia l , etc .

Allow at least 10 seconds for them to answer! Call on friends or previous groupmates if you’re not getting much response

What quest ions were you left wondering?

Were there quest ions inc luded with the reading, either at the end or within the text? Use those to help you formulate ideas.

What aspects of the essay(s) were most effective for you? Which were not effective, or even off-putt ing?

Did you agree with the author about the subject before reading it? Did you agree with the author afterward? I f you changed your mind, why do you think that happened?

Were there elements of the readings from Envision or The Everyday Writer that you saw in the essay(s)?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Make connections to other readings for that particular class period

Make connections to other class periods’ readings, photo essays, discussion points – in or out of class!

CONNECTIONS

Impacts &

Issueswith

Off-shore Drilling

EXAMPLE: THE BP COVER-UP

“BP and the government say the spill is fast disappearing – but dramatic new science reveals that its worst

effects may be yet to come.”

Julia Whitty

Writer, documentary filmmakerAwards include: PEN USA Literary Award, the John Burroughs Medal, finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace PrizeMother Jones environmental correspondent

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brit ish Petroleum offshore oi l r ig Deepwater Horizon explos ion, d isaster from Apr i l – Ju ly 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico

35,000-60,000, barre ls of o i l (40% methane) were be ing pumped into the Gulf of Mexico dai ly

Methane creates blooms of microbes that absorb the oxygen in the water, taking away the main l i fe ingredient to al l organisms l iv ing in the Gulf of Mexico, creat ing anoxic zones

“Corexit” pumped into the oi l in the extract ion process causing a lot of the oi l to stay submerged in the sea floor

“The BP Cover-Up” publ ished Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Mother Jones

THE BP COVER-UP: RHETORICAL CONTEXT

BP makes “oil-spill plan” – document which features inaccurate wildlife (i.e. walruses) & a dead “on call expert”

BP employs environmental/biochemical scientists with lucrative pay

Out-of-work Gulf residents (i.e. fishermen, captains); clean-up crews witnessed “watching movies”

“From the outset, BP has fought to control…”(8)

BP “pacifies” Gulf residents with payments – “They have to pay these guys to work or else they’ll riot”(9)

THE BP COVER-UP: CONTENT

Destruction of habitats – Barataria Bay (6), the Pinnacles (13), bathypelagic regions (5)

Drilling fluids, the “Top Kill” plan & Corexit(10)

Long-term impacts (7) on photosynthesis, phytoplankton, water quality, fisheries (11-12), migrating reptiles & marine mammals, Gulf residents’ health, economy (8-9)

THE BP COVER UP – CONTENT II

Inclusion of experts, locals: Rick Steiner, conservation specialist from University of Alaska/Exxon Valdez; Carl Safina, marine conservationist; David Valentine, biogeochemist at UC Santa Barbara; Cajun oysterman Flip Tayamen

Intensive logos appeals: spill statistics, biogeochemical effects, marine ecological explanations; “Death by oil…”(8)

Pathos in anecdotes and photos of dead/dying wildlife, Gulf residents; “Barataria Bay has become a hospice wilderness…” (7)

Ethos narrative: How should BP held accountable for the short-term and long-term effects? Should the United States still allow offshore drilling?

THE BP COVER-UP: RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES: GRAPHIC EFFECTS

British Petroleum is still in business. How do you think they should be held responsible?

What other ecological, socio-political, or economics impacts can you imagine have occurred since 2010?

Do you think the US should still be allowing offshore drilling activities/development in the Gulf of Mexico?

What aspects of Whitty’s essay were most effective for you? Why?

What facets of “North Dakota went Boom” do you see in this essay? How does it present a different side of domestic oil production?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Other Gulf Coast crises: Hurricane Katrina; “34” etc.

The Ecuadorian Amazon Chevron/Texaco case; “Crude”

Nydia Velazquez & “brown fields” in New York City

CONNECTIONS

Major themes,ideas,orarguments?

PHOTOS FROM

“OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”

PHOTOS FROM “OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”

If there is a photo essay for your discussion group, select a few images to discuss with your classmates. Be prepared to talk about why you picked them, how you can connect them with the readings, etc.

PHOTOS FROM “OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”

Include discussion questions with the photos on your slides so your classmates can respond to the images with thoughts.

PHOTOS FROM “OIL REACHES LOUISIANA SHORES”

Ask your classmates to identify the photos from the essay that were most striking for them.

Which photos were particularly effective, disturbing/upsetting, or intriguing for you?

How did you connect these photos to other readings for class?

OTHER PHOTOS?