Writing A Rhetorical Writing A Rhetorical PrecisPrecis

Jennifer Romanowski

Assessing ReadingAssessing Reading

Multiple choice tests

Open ended questions

Summary

Rhetorical Precis

All of these may be an appropriate formative* assessment of reading

* formative = providing information about the extent to which a student has read and understood the text.

In a rhetorical precis, students write a brief analysis of the content, purpose, and persuasive strategies of a text. (From Reading Rhetorically - Bean, Chappell, and Gillian).

Rhetorical Precis?Rhetorical Precis?

What is a Rhetorical What is a Rhetorical Précis?Précis?

A rhetorical precis differs from a summary in that it is a less neutral, more analytical condensation of both the content and the method of the original text.

If you think of a summary as primarily a brief representation of what a text says, then you might think of a rhetorical precis as a brief representation of what a text both says and does.

What does it look like?What does it look like?

Four sentences in which the writer/student identifies the main argument

How the author develops the main claims (structures and patterns of organization)

Author’s purpose

Audience & tone

Sentence 1: Note the name of the author, the genre and title of the work, and the publication date in parentheses; a rhetorically accurate verb; and a “that clause” containing the major assertion or thesis statement in the work.

Sentence 2: An explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis, usually in chronological order.

Sentence 3: A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.

Sentence 4: A description of the intended audience, the relationship the author establishes with the audience, or both.

SampleSample

Stereotypes Sample

How?How?Use charting to identify the main argument and methods of developing & use idea mapping to identify the main claim and sub-claims

Consider audience and purpose. Although this text is seen in many anthologies, it originally appeared in The Progressive, a magazine with a definite political leaning. However, there are also textual clues that provide clues about audience and purpose.

Helping students...Helping students...The academic voice and syntax of the rhetorical precis is unfamiliar to many students. They Say/I Say can help

Page 148 provides a frame and a word bank to help students get started.

Page 150 provides more words that will help students later on with tone

Page 152 provides a more extensive list of rhetorically active verbs

Page 153 offers an more open frame that will gradually release responsibility to students

Your TurnYour Turn

Write a rhetorical precis for one of the following texts.

“Joe and Jane Go to College”

“Unsung Heroes”

“Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space.”

Giving FeedbackGiving Feedback

The materials book offers a scoring guide for giving feedback on a rhetorical précis.

Examine your own RP with respect to the SG and make any changes that you think you should

Debriefing Writing the Debriefing Writing the RPRP

What did you do? Why did it matter