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Writing A Rhetorical Precis. Jennifer Romanowski. Assessing Reading. Multiple choice tests Open ended questions Summary Rhetorical Precis All of these may be an appropriate formative* assessment of reading.
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Writing A Rhetorical Precis • Jennifer Romanowski
Assessing 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.
Rhetorical Precis? • 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).
What is a Rhetorical 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? • 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.
Sample • Stereotypes Sample
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... • 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 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 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