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Rhetorical Modes

The term rhetorical modes refers to the different styles and techniques we use when we write. This chapter will discuss different modes, explaining the specific aspects and techniques involved in these methods of communication. As you read about these, remember that the rhetorical mode a writer chooses depends on his/her purpose for writing. Some assignments ask students to use a specific rhetorical mode, such as writing a descriptive passage or contrasting two concepts, but most essays incorporate several different rhetorical modes to express an idea. Overall, the rhetorical modes are a set of tools that allow you different methods to effectively communicate information to your audience.

1.       Narrative

2.       Description

3.       Process analysis

4.       Illustration and exemplification

5.       Cause and effect

6.       Comparison and contrast

7.       Definition

8.       Classification

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Read the complete article and take notes. You should be able to identify the different patterns and describe their distinctive features. Upload your notes on items 1 and 2 (Narrative and Description)  to the following shared folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1INbukatWUkcA1vZ-wTzQx_xtyRdueFn-?usp=sharing

24/09/2021 

a) Look at the following pictures and write a short description of each one (one paragraph each) on a Google Document: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1INbukatWUkcA1vZ-wTzQx_xtyRdueFn-?usp=sharing

b) Look at the following picture and write a short narrative about what happened (past), using the landscape and the character you described before. Add it to the previous file.

c) Put together a) and b) and  make the necessary changes to complete the anecdote. Add it to the previous file.

Paragraphing Your Work

 Sentences have to be grouped together in paragraphs, which are indented at the beginning so the page looks more ‘reader friendly’. Most paragraphs contain a number of sentences but it is

possible to use a one-sentence paragraph for effect.

Paragraphs can vary in length but each paragraph deals with one topic. Within the group of sentences there should usually be a topic sentence. This is the main sentence and the content is expanded in the rest of the paragraph.

◆The start of a paragraph must always be indented.
◆Paragraphs must deal with only one topic.
◆ Each paragraph should have a topic sentence whose content is expanded in the rest of the  paragraph.
◆ Short paragraphs may be used for effect.
◆ Direct speech is always enclosed in inverted commas.
◆ A new paragraph always starts at the beginning of the sentence in which a character speaks.
◆ There is always a punctuation mark before the inverted commas are closed.
◆ A punctuation mark always separates the speech from the person who says it.
◆ Start a new paragraph when returning to the narrative.
◆ Use double inverted commas for quotations and titles if contained in dialogue.
◆ Inverted commas are not needed when reporting speech or writing a play.

Read unit 4  from Improve your writing and complete  the activities there.

Paragraph Writing

Paragraph

 

Activity: https://www.englishunits.com/wp-content/uploads/What-is-a-Paragraph-Part-1.pdf 

Topic sentences

Activity:  https://www.englishunits.com/wp-content/uploads/Topic-Sentence-of-a-Paragraph.pdf

Supporting sentences

Activities: https://www.englishunits.com/wp-content/uploads/Detail-Sentences.pdf

What Makes an Effective Sentence?

Writing beautiful sentences is not an exact science. Although there are basic rules of grammar, good writers find ways to express themselves through writing in different ways: using different vocabulary, varying the length of sentences, using different sentence types, and more!
As you know, grammatically, a sentence needs a subject and a predicate. However, stylistically, it needs much more:

• clarity:  a sentence should be clear to the reader
• well-chosen vocabulary: choose words whose meaning you are sure of, and use them correctly
• strong verbs: when possible, use verbs that show the action of the sentence. The verb 'be' (in all its forms -- is, are, was, were, etc.) is a weaker choice of verb in many cases. Try to find a verb that shows the action.
• proper length: if your sentence expresses a simple idea, it probably needs to be a short sentence. More complex ideas may need longer sentences. Vary your sentence lengths as well. If all your sentences are short, your writing sounds "choppy." If all your sentences are long, your writing can be overly complicated and hard to understand.
• limited number of clauses and prepositions: the more clauses and prepositions you have in a sentence, the harder it can be to understand. Think about how many clauses you have included in a single sentence.
• subject-verb agreement: be sure you can identify the subject of your sentence, then make sure the verb agrees with it in number. For example:

The cup is full of coffee.

The cups are full of coffee.

• correct verb tense: if you are speaking of things in the past, use past tense verbs. This may seem obvious, but it can be a difficult aspect of English.

Famous Sentences

The sentences below are some of the most famous in English language literature (although some are translated from their original languages).
As you read each sentence, ask yourself what the writer was trying to accomplish. Also think about the choice of vocabulary, the message, and any other thing that appeals to you.
After you've read them all, choose your favorite and discuss what makes it a good sentence, in your opinion. Post your response in the comment section; respond to at least two of your classmates' choices.

Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. — Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

"Call me Ishmael."  — Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." — 1984, by George Orwell


"Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu." —Waiting, by Ha Jin

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." — Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."  — A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

"All this happened, more or less." —Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." —100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." —Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

"Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure." —The Stranger, by Albert Camus

"A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead." —The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene

"124 was spiteful." --Beloved, by Toni Morrison

"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed." —The Gunslinger, by Stephen King

"It was a pleasure to burn." —Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

"I am an invisible man." —Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into an enormous insect." —The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

Report + Summary

 Activity1:

Choose one of the elements named in the story and write a short report about it. (badminton, Cambodia, London, the Statue of Liberty, etc). No need to include a contents page or a summary of the report. The last paragragh should relate the report to the story.

Share the link to the report in the comment section. 

Activity 2:

Write a short summary of the story. Share the link to the summary in the comment section. Do no forget to include your name and surname.

How to cite

 One of the most important skills you can develop as a student is the ability to use outside sources correctly and smoothly. Academic knowledge builds on the knowledge of others. When we cite others through our quotations and paraphrases, we start with ideas established by others and build upon them to develop our own ideas.

1. WHAT IS A QUOTATION?

A quotation is one way you may make use of a source to support and illustrate points in your essay. A quotation is made up of exact words from the source, and you must be careful to let your reader know that these words were not originally yours. To indicate your reliance on exact words from a source, either place the borrowed words between quotation marks or if the quotation is four lines or more, use indentation to create a block quotation.

Once you have determined that you want to use a quotation, the following strategies will help you smoothly fit quotations into your writing. We will discuss these strategies in more detail later in this chapter.

• Signal phrases help you integrate quoted material into your essay.
• Quotations must be made to work within the grammar of your sentences, whether you are quoting phrases or complete sentences.
• Quotations must be properly punctuated.
• Quotations must contain a citation.

2. WHEN SHOULD I QUOTE?

Quote when the exact wording is necessary to make your point. For example, if you were analyzing the style choices in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, you would quote because it would be important to illustrate the unforgettable language or to use exact wording in a discussion of word choice and sentence structure. You would also quote if the exact wording captures information, tone, or emotion that would be lost if the source were reworded. Use quotations to assist with conciseness if it would take you longer to relate the information if you were to put it into your own words. Finally, if you cannot reword the information yourself and retain its meaning, you should quote it.

Source: It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking.

Quoting to preserve emotion: One nurse described an exchange between the two sides as “awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).

3. HOW LONG SHOULD A QUOTATION BE?

Quote only as many words as necessary to capture the information, tone, or expression from the original work for the new context that you are providing. Lengthy quotations actually can backfire on a writer because key words from the source may be hidden among less important words. In addition, your own words will be crowded out. Never quote a paragraph when a sentence will do; never quote a sentence when a phrase will do; never quote a phrase when a word will do.

Source: It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking.

Quoting everything: One nurse described an artillery exchange between the two sides. She wrote, “It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).

Quoting key words: One nurse described an artillery exchange between the two sides as “awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).

4. WHAT IS A PARAPHRASE?

A paraphrase preserves information from a source but does not preserve its exact wording. A paraphrase uses vocabulary and sentence structure that is largely different from the language in the original. A paraphrase may preserve specialized vocabulary shared by everyone in a field or discipline; otherwise, the writer paraphrasing a source starts fresh, creating new sentences that repurpose the information in the source so that the information plays a supportive role its new location.

5. WHEN SHOULD I PARAPHRASE?

Paraphrase when information from a source can help you explain or illustrate a point you are making in your own essay, but when the exact wording of the source is not crucial.

Source: The war against piracy cannot be won without mapping and dividing the tasks at hand. I divide this map into two parts: that which anyone can do now, and that which requires the help of lawmakers.

Paraphrase: Researchers argue that legislators will need to address the problem but that other people can get involved as well (Lessig 563).

If you were analyzing Lessig’s style, you might want to quote his map metaphor; however, if you were focusing on his opinions about the need to reform copyright law, a paraphrase would be appropriate.

6. WHAT IS EFFECTIVE PARAPHRASING?

Effective paraphrasing repurposes the information from a source so that the information plays a supportive role in its new location. This repurposing requires a writer to rely on her own sentence structure and vocabulary. She creates her own sentences and chooses her own words so the source’s information will fit into the context of her own ideas and contribute to the development of her thesis.

Source: Citizens of this generation witnessed the first concerted attempt to disseminate knowledge about disease prevention and health promotion, downplaying or omitting altogether information about disease treatment.

Effective Paraphrase: Murphy pointed out that in the first half of the nineteenth century, people worked hard to spread information about how to prevent disease but did not emphasize how to treat diseases (415).

7. WHEN DOES PARAPHRASING BECOME PLAGIARISM?

A paraphrase should use vocabulary and sentence structure different from the source’s vocabulary and sentence structure. Potential plagiarism occurs when a writer goes through a sentence from a source and inserts synonyms without rewriting the sentence as a whole.

Source: Citizens of this generation witnessed the first concerted attempt to disseminate knowledge about disease prevention and health promotion, downplaying or omitting altogether information about disease treatment.

Potential plagiarism: People of this period observed the first organized effort to share information about preventing disease and promoting health, deemphasizing or skipping completely information about treating diseases (Murphy 141).

The sentence structure of the bad paraphrase is identical to the sentence structure of the source, matching it almost word for word. The writer has provided an in-text citation pointing to Murphy as the source of the information, but she is, in fact, plagiarizing because she hasn’t written her own sentence.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE: LET'S GET WRITING!

Chapter 7 – How and Why to Cite

Summarising

 Watch the following video, write a summary and upload it here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14ti9qQvBc0l0Ns9U8hl-g0f00COPumOL?usp=sharing