Focus+questions

Prepare a discussion of your assigned chapter while making use of the following guide to analyzing prose passages. Your discussion should begin with an assertion of a thesis (treat your assigned chapter as an essay-what is the author's argument) and a discussion of the author's use of rhetorical and literary devices in support of his thesis.

1.  Typically, the four purposes of academic nonfiction prose are:  ·  Describe  ·  Explain  ·  Inform  ·  Persuade 2.  Persuasion stems from three sources  ·  Ethos - an author may rely upon his own reputation to move an audience  ·  Pathos – an author may rely upon an audiences’ feelings  ·  Logos – an author uses reason to persuade an audience 3.  Is the passage an excerpt from fiction?  ·  These passages tend to be a description of character or location, seldom a philosophical commentary **Organization** 1.  If the passage is descriptive, is it organized spatially or by order of importance? What is the overall effect? 2.  If the passage is narrative, is the chronological order of events interrupted by flashback, foreshadowing, episodic events? 3.  If the passage is expository, are any of the following devices or methods used: definition, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, classification, examples, analogy? 4.  If persuasion is used, what methods does the author use to bolster the argument? Does the author deal with opposing evidence? Does the author fall into any logical fallacies? **Tone and Mood** 1.  What is the mood (effect upon the reader)? 2.  What is the tone (author’s attitude)? **Language and Style** 1.  What is the word choice? Is it colloquial, idiomatic, scientific, Latinate, formal, concrete, abstract, scholarly, allusive? 2.  To what senses does the author appeal? 3.  What literary devices of sense does the author use (personification, metaphor, simile, allusion)? 4.  What literary devices of sound does the author use (alliteration, assonance, consonance, repetition)? 5.  Does the language have rhythm? 6.  Are the sentences long or short? Where does the author use short sentences or fragments for special emphasis? Where are there long sentences or run-ons for special effect? 7.  Are the sentences simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex? Where does the author use sentence variety to emphasize an idea? 8.  What specialized sentence structure does the author use? Balanced, freight-train, inverted, parallel, periodic? Anaphora, antithesis, asyndeton, chiasmus, negative-positive restatement, polysyndeton? (see rhetorical devices handout on [|www.dothgrin.net] ) 9.  Do any sentences begin or end with a significant word or phrase? Do any sentences have the main idea hidden in the middle, in an interrupter, so as to create surprise or suspense? 10.  Does the author use colors to enhance moods or characterize someone? 11.  What are the best-worded phases or best chosen words?