“Plan of Action”

1. Read your independent reading book for 5 minutes; then provide a one-sentence summary of what y0u read.

2. “Plan of Action” • You have been invited to accompany your best friend's family on a 14-day trip to Florida!  They will cover all the accommodations and travel and food costs.  The trip will take place over the entire duration of your Winter Break, so you won't have to miss any school.  However, you will have to miss visiting your crazy Great Aunt Hilda to celebrate her 80th birthday, and you won't be able to babysit your younger brother for the 3 days you already agreed to babysit him over break.   • Your task is to convince your parents to let you go on this trip and to do so in the next 3 days (as travel arrangements must be completed by then through the travel agency).   • How would you convince your parents to let you go?   • What strategies would you use?   • How would you organize your argument?

3. Plan of Action Sample Plan of Action • Employ flattery techniques (i.e., “Did you get a haircut?” “My, that dress is slimming!”) • Set a positive mood (i.e., no whining about anything until after you ask) • Demonstrate adultness (i.e., tell a story about something they would be proud of) • Explain the proposition without stopping for objections • List opportunities this could provide (get to see new places, interact with new people, cohabitate peaceably with others, etc.). • Reassure that adults will be there & it’s safe. • Compare to other opportunities you’ve had or siblings have gotten to do. • Counter issues with cash, Great Aunt Hilda, and brother with plans to remedy. • Offer to do other things to make up for missed family time and brother. • Explain how disappointed you’ll be if you don’t get to go; get emotional if needed. • Summarize main points of all the great parts. • Pray they say yes, because if there are objections, you’re probably done for.

4. Revolutionary Period

5. Patrick Henry (1736-1799) • His famous speech against the hated Stamp Act caused him to be recognized as one of the most persuasive figures in Virginia politics. • As a 29-year-old lawyer, he was chosen to represent his region to the Virginia House of Burgesses. • Britain implemented the Intolerable Acts but said they would repeal the taxes if the colonists fully supported British rule and contributed to the maintenance of British troops in America. • The Virginia Convention was held in March of 1775 to determine how to deal with the growing military threat from Great Britain. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both present. • Several speakers were in favor of compromise with Britain, but Patrick Henry spoke in defense of building up American forces against Britain. • Henry persuaded the delegation to fight and less than a month later, the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place.

6. Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention

7. Rhetorical Devices

8. Rhetorical Question: a question to which no answer is expected • What becomes of the broken-hearted? by The Contours • How do I live without you? by LeAnn Rimes • What’s love got to do with it? by Tina Turner • Where do broken hearts go? by Whitney Houston • Why does it always rain on me? by Travis

9. Antithesis: expresses contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures It was real...It was magicIt was calm...It was savageIt was cool as a breezeIt was warm to the touchIt was never enoughIt was always too muchIt did all the things love doesThat's how I knewIt was by Chely Wright

10. Antithesis: expresses contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures • “That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong • "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!" – Martin Luther King, Jr.

11. Repetition: the recurrence of words, phrases, or lines

12. Parallelism: a kind of repetition in which words or phrases in the same grammatical form connect ideas A my name is Alice My husband's name is Arthur, We come from Alabama, Where we sell artichokes. B my name is Barney My wife's name is Bridget, We come from Brooklyn, Where we sell bicycles. Children’s rhyme

13. Flattery: giving excessive compliments in an attempt to win support for one’s side • You look lovely today, Mother. I know it’s a school night, but can I go to the movies with Sarah?

14. Biblical Allusions: references to events, figures, or phrases from the Bible • Well, it is a weeping and a moaning and a gnashing of teeth / It is a weeping and a moaning and a gnashing of teeth from Matthew 13:42 Mercy by Kanye West • Jealousy’s a sin, Cain killed Abel . . . It’s hard to weed ‘em out, even Jesus had Judas from 1 Corinthians 3:3 Sweet Freestyle by Pusha T from Genesis 4:1-8 from Matthew 26: 47-56

15. Ethos • the ethical appeal, meant to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character • Ethos can be developed by choosing language that is appropriate for the audience and topic (also means choosing proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased, introducing your expertise or pedigree, and by using correct grammar and syntax.

16. Pathos • the emotional appeal, meant to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions • Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotional tone, emotion evoking examples, stories of emotional events, and implied meanings. 

17. Logos • the appeal to logic, meant to convince an audience by use of logic or reason • Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical or abstract language, citing facts (very important), using historical and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.