Political Cartoon Precis

Symbolism,: objects are used to stand for larger concepts or ideas

Exaggeration: changes in size or shape to add the point, overdo physical characteristics of
people, caricature, draws attention to a specific spot
Stereotype: a simplistic view of a group, often insulting but makes point quickly, what it implies
Irony: situational-what happens is different form what is expected, dramatic-we know what the
characters don’t, verbal-what's said is opposite of what is happening, often makes things seem
ridiculous
Analogy: drawing a comparison between two unlike things.
Captions and Labelling: words used to reinforce the cartoons nonverbal features, what they
stand for, famous sayings, slogans, lyrics, pretty minimil.

What point the cartoonist is trying to make, what techniques communicate the method, which
method is most effective, how it would be different from a different point of view, what conditions
gave rise to this cartoon, what groups it appeals to, what values does the cartoon express.

Rogerian Argument
4 part structure
1. Introduction: the writer describes an issue, a problem, or a conflict. The description is
rich enough to demonstrate that the writer fully understands and respects any alternative
position or positions.
2. Contexts: The writer describes the contexts in which the alternative positions may be
valid or legitimate.
3. Writer’s position: The writer states his or her position on the issue and presents the
circumstances in which that opinion would be valid.
4. Benefits to opponent: The writer explains to opponents how they would benefit from
adopting his or her position.

The key is a willingness to think about opposing positions and to describe them fairly.

Toulmin Argument
Evidence and Reason(s)--------,► -So Claim
--personal experience, anecdotes, facts, authorities
--a writer needs to place context
--qualifiers play an essential role to limit yourself.

Reason(s)---.----.►So Claim
|
Since

Warrant
--Crucial to Toulmin. argument is appreciating that there must be a logical and persuasive
connection between a claim and the reasons and data it supports. How do I get from the claim
to the data
-rebuttal: acknowledging the opposite view makes your argument stronger.

Classical Argument
introduction: Draws the readers into the text by piquing their interest, challenging them, or
otherwise getting their attention. Often the writer establishes an ethos.
Background: Also known as narration. Provides factual info on the subject at hand, often
appeals to pathos.
Lines of Argument: Also known as confirmation. The nuts and bolts of the essay, containing the
most specific and concrete detail. Usually Logos. (Line of Reasoning)
Alternative Arguments: Also known as refutation, addresses the counterargument. Appeal to
logos.
Conclusion: Rather than repeating what has gone before, it brings the writer's ideas together
and answers the question, so what?

Writing Effective Commentary Notes

Commentary features a student's own insight, analysis, or explanation in response to evidence.
Write to a potato.
Comments connect evidence back to claim and topic sentence.
Commentary is a crucial piece of tying both a paragraph and an essay together.
The writer’s reasoning is often featured most prominently in the commentary.
The amount, type, or location of commentary in a text may shift, depending on the specific
circumstance.

What are you saying?

How do you know?
So what?
Good writers are intentional about constructing paragraphs and arguments in a way that
supports a clear line of reasoning.
Body paragraphs exist to support an essay;s central claim.

Rhetorical analysis
Rhetoric: using anything to construct meaning, need construct and abstract (using language)
Reterioc choice: all the little moves an author DOES make to enrich their writing and to
contribute to the purpose.
Rhetoric device: what a writer is USING. Things you can spot or point to directly
Rhetoric strategy: what a writer is DOING. The method or techniques.
Purpose: what the audience is supposed to understand and do
Rhetorical situation: exigence, audience, writer, purpose, context, message.
Avoid literary analysis. Focusing on its repetitions, metaphors, and allusions without recognizing
the rhetorical purposes behind those structures.
Focuses on the functions of language in action.
Tips:
1. Find 2 or 3 choices/strategies, just enough to explain deeply for each one
 2. If your text is a speech or an essay meant to address a specific issue, think about how
you want to incorporate SPACECAT elements into your response.
3. Make sure you write clear sentences that say what you mean.
4. Don't throw in big words to sound smart.
5. Organize your essay
Step one: provide 2-3 sentences that summarize the socio-historical context of the time period.
Step two: shift to describing the exigence for the piece you are analyzing.
Step three: add your thesis; When you do, make sure that it doesn't sound like you just tacked it
onto the end.

Device: word choice, syntax, repetition/parallelism, imagery, alliteration, allusions,

metaphor/simile personification.
Strategy: ideas communicated(shifts), appeals, tone, structure, organization, details,
comparison/contrast.

Dive driven thesis-a sentence that includes the rhetorical devices you will explore in your essay
(USES). Good, but limits you and very formulaic.
WRITER + STRONG VERB + “through” + DEVICES + PURPOSE
Idea driven theses- a sentence that states what the writer (DOES). Much better, but harder to
construct especially under duress.
“by” + STRATEGIES + WRITER + STRONG VERB +MESSAGE
Visual rhetoric: the use of an image of a series of images to communicate a position and offer
evidence to support that position.
● The use of images as an argument
● Arrangement of elements on a page
● Use of typography
● Analysis of existing images and visuals

Visual argument forms: advertisements, illustrations, charts, graphs or tables, diagrams, web
pages, pictures or photographs, cartoons.

How to analyze an image: determine what the argument is, then describe how the things
contribute to them. Start with the big questions before delving into minute details.
● (S): who creates it. Company or person
● (P): purpose of the visual argument. issue
● (A): intended audience. Friendly, hostile, neutral.
● (C): contect produced
● (E): exigence or catalyst behind creation
Things to look for
● Major components, such as characters, visual details, colors, symbols fonts
● Verbal clues like tites or tag lines, date, author, dialogue
● positions/actions/ of any characters especially relative one another or their
surroundings.
● Traits of the characters or objects
● significant=nt images, including repeated or patterned imagery
● Composition lines like parallel crossing.
● Position and size of details: exaggerations, focal ponies, or emphasizes, of other kinds
● Concrete items that may represent abstract ideas.
● Contrasts of lightness and darkness, color of shape, of size.
● What is included versus what is left out
Challenge the assumption that photographs and video footage represent “truth” that is absolute
and not subject to interpretation and manipulation.

Specific techniques used in print text (contrasts, metaphors, repetition) are also used in non-
print text.

Photographs: use composition lines, contrast, and color

Political cartoonsL exaggeration to emphasize characteristics and symbolism
Paintings: color and symbolism, also allusion
Posters: color and composition, symbolism and imagery to persuade and attract attention
Graphs: select sets of data and present them in a mmer that make them easy to interpret.
How to identify rhetorical choices:
Convey purpose and meaning. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the text. Use collective
pronouns.
The author… in order to… the audience.
Avoid “diction” and be more specific. Like listing, etc. Don’t use abstraction. Make the reader
drawn to the text.
Use words like “describing,” “recalling” or “reminding.” express concrete ideas. Tie the choice to
the effect, not describe the effect.
Use good verbs. What is the author doing?

AP Lang Q2:
Don’t use things you don’t know, use things you know. Try to do anything you can to infuse
yourself into the essay. Make your life easy, look for the big picture. Look for the obvious
choices. Look for patterns in the passage. Think of your thesis as an author’s purpose
statement. Don’t leave anything blank. Write as an authentic you, write to the audience, not like
a robot. Read the prompts really carefully and annotate them. Work on your thesis statement
and tie the topic sentences back to the thesis.

Conclusion:
A good conclusion will help them see why all your analysis and information should matter to
them after they put the paper down. It allows you to consider broader issues, make new
connections, and elaborate on the significance of your findings
2-5 sentences
1. Identify 2-3 key ideas to which the essay relates. (singular abstract words)
a. Resilience, justice, isolation, etc.
2. Generate a sentence that establishes the relationship between the ideas considered in
step 1; this will be the first sentence of your conclusion.
a. Through the (genre), (Last name) (highlight connections between ideas of the
author's piece. (don’t list rhetorical choices here; ideas only)
3. After, the ideas that the paper explores by putting them into a universally applicable
model and/or make the audience respond to said ideas, but never asking a question.
Also try to add an applicable piece of text for an added wow factor.
a. Leave a figurative “glass slipper.”
b. Talk about what the speaker did and make it universal and applicable.

Annotation:
Choices and strategies on the left, and right how to write in essay form.
Exemplification to questions. Uniting
Hypophora: answer your own question.
Establishing a line of essay: divide text into sections

Commentary for Rhetorical Access:

Because, since, this if, furthermore, ultimately moving the audience to: will force you to explain
thinking.
Articulate assumptions, stereotypes, and connotations and author’s message and purpose.
Communicate inferred assumptions. “Due to the fact that” is a good substitution for because.

Incorporating commentary:
Become familiar with a passage
Commentary examines the importance, how it relates to rhetorical situations, and how it
connects to your claim. 2 sentences of commentary for example.
Importance: what it is stating, how is it seen, etc.
Relate: how is this persuasive, what does this reveal, etc.
Connect: how relates to topic sentence, how does it connect to claim.

RA #2 feedback
HOW IS THE DEVICE EFFECTIVE? HOW IS IT WORKING?
-cite the quotations. What line??
-avoid summarizing in your final paragraph. Always build up.
- always refer to the speaker by their last names.
- provide a book into your thesis to strengthen your opening paragraph. Make it fun

Writing for sophistication

Crafting a nuanced argument by consistently exploring complexities or tensions across the
sources.
Articulating the implications or limitations of an argument by situating it within a broader context.
Making effective rhetorical choices that consistently strengthen the force and impact of the
students' argument.
Employing a style that is vivid and persuasive.
Significance or relevance.
Complexity and tensions.

Tension and complexity:

- Complexity- layers: perspective and positions
- Tension- irony: contrasting expectations, desires, and arguments. Contradiction and
fallacies.
Broader context:
- Intro paragraphs: engage your audience and show your knowledge of history and culture
- Conclusions: connect back to your into, connect your argument to the present day,
project your argument to the future call to action.
Rhetorical choices
- Apply your knowledge of methods and developments to your own writing.
- Choose your method on the argy/synth prompt
- Narration, cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, description.
Vivid and Persuasive
- Vary your sentence structure purposefully
- Simpe, compound, complex
- Include purposeful transitions
- Understand the use of, and incorporate advanced punctuation.
Nuanced argument
- Qualify your argument if allows
- Less absolute language
 - concessions
- Offer rebuttals and refutations if it allows.

News Satire
- Aim to entertain
- Expose the ridiculousness of human behavior by writing seemingly serious articles about
outrageous events and people
- Not misinformation, just for funsies.
- 5 W’s and the H
- Who, what, where, when, why, how
- Key features.
- Photograph, headlines and subheadings, newsworthiness, quotations, source,
facts, contexts
- News satire does this in a satirical way

Synthesis
- Combine different perspectives from sources to form a support of coherent position in
writing
- In other words, a synthesis essay requires you state your claim on a topic then highlight
the relationships between several sources that support your claim on the topic.
- You'll need to cite specific evidence from your sources to prove your point.
- Spend 15 minutes reading and analyzing the sources then write for 40 min
- Use at least 3 sources, 2 visual, don’t summarize
- Magazine articles, excerpts, editorial pieces, charts, photos, etc.
- Read like a writer, write like a ready.
- Make sure you understand what a source is arguing
- Writing steps
- Read the prompt
- Introduction, directions, assignments
- Read, annotate, and analyze the sources.
- Dealing with passages and visuals.
- What is the point of view, theism or info offered
- Are there any quotables
- Do you plan to use the pace of a portion of it to support it?
- Is it biased, date relevance, position of author, target audience
- Write a strong thesis
- Decide where you stand on the ectopic provided. Qualify your argument.
- Don't equivocate, qualify
- Outline your argument
- Write
- Make a concession to the opposing viewpoint
- Commentaries are your explanation of why your evidence supports the argument
you've outlined in your thesis.
- A word on sources
 - Examine how they relate to each other. Try to have them talk to each other,
relate them in how they complement, contradict, and/ or supplement each other.
- Selecting and citing evidence
- Use (author last name) or Source A.
- Say, mean, matter
- Provide context and explain its meaning
- Provide an answer to “so what.”

Multiple Choice Notes (what to expect)

- 45 questions
- 23-25 reading questions
- 20-22 writing questions
- 5 sets, each will have a stimulus passage
- 45% of total exam score
- 8 types of multiple-choice questions
- Reading comprehension
- Implication
- Overall passage and author questions
- Relationships between parts of the text
- Interpretation of imagery/figurative language
- Purpose of part of the text
- rhetorical questions
- Rhetorical strategy
- Style and effect
- How to prepare
- Read and engage with nonfiction
- Learn rhetorical terms and strategies

Multiple Choice Tips

- Can practice with AP Classroom and SAT/ACT released tests.
- Nonfiction reading passages
- Process of elimination
- Watch your timing
- Answer each question
- Read the sentence before and include the transition word completely.
- Ignore the transition word in the sentence so you aren't biased.
- Determine the relationship between the two sentences.
- Determine why you make your choices.
- Think about chronological order and clarity
- Reread the paragraph with the sentence in the correct spot to confirm the clarity

Synthesis Essay Conclusion Video Notes

- Connect to the topic at hand while addressing the audience
- Steps
- Identify 2-3 key ideas that the paper relates to and write them done
- Think about a personal experiences that holds some emotional and logical
weight in relation to the argument
- Generate a sentence that established the relationship between the ideas
considered in step 1 and the experience from step 2; this will be the first
sentence of your conclusion
- After highlighting your role in relation to the topic that the paper explores, finish
your story and then move your paper toward a universally applicable model
and/or make the audience respond to your closing in some way