English 11
Persuasion 1/Puritan Unit
Summative Assessment
Day 1
Part 1: Rhetorical analysis
Task: Listen to the speech given by poet and English professor Nikki Giovanni at the memorial service held for students killed during an attack at Virginia Tech in April 2007.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nikkigiovannivatechmemorial.htm.
Using the text of the speech, select the best answer to the questions that follow.
We are Virginia Tech.
We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile.
We are not moving on; we are embracing our mourning.
We are Virginia Tech.
We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly;
We are brave enough to bend to cry
And sad enough to know we must laugh again.
We are Virginia Tech.
We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does the child in Africa dying of AIDS; neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by a rogue army; neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water; neither does a Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.
We are Virginia Tech.
The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hand to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness. We are the Hokies.
We will prevail!
We will prevail!
We will prevail!
We are Virginia Tech.
1. How is Dr. Giovanni’s ethos established? (RI.4)
a. She is an English professor at Virginia Tech.
b. She is a published poet.
c. She is an accomplished speaker.
d. All of the above.
2. Analyze the function of anaphora in lines 5-6: “We are strong enough to stand tall
tearlessly; We are brave enough to bend to cry.” (RI.4)
a. To emphasize her appeal to pathos
b. To dramatize her appeal to logos
c. To create imagery of fear
d. All of the above
3. In lines 9-16, identify which two rhetorical strategies Giovanni employs in concert with one another. (RI.4; SL.3)
a. parallel structure and pathos
b. imagery and pathos
c. metaphor and simile
d. ethos and logos
4. What theme is developed throughout lines 9-15? (RI.1)
a. All tragedies are undeserved.
b. Other people have suffered worse consequences.
c. Human suffering is inevitable.
d. Dr. Giovanni is familiar with world crises.
5. Lines 19-20, “We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid,” employs the following rhetorical device: (RI.5)
a. anaphora
b. asyndeton
c. polysyndeton
d. anadiplosis
6. The repetitive of “We are Virginia Tech” throughout the speech serves to (RI.6)
a. create sarcasm and encourage action.
b. create solidarity and encourage unity.
c. create anger and encourage vengeance.
d. all of the above
7. Analyze the function of antithesis in the lines “We are better than we think, and not quite
what we want to be.” (RI.4)
a. We should be confident enough to strive for our potential.
b. We should be confident that we have met our potential.
c. Because of our shortcomings, we must evolve.
d. Because of our shortcomings, we will not evolve.
Task 2: Read the following poem by Puritan writer Edward Taylor and answer the questions that follow.
Huswifery
By Edward Taylor
Make me, O Lord, thy Spining Wheele compleate.
Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee.
Make mine Affections thy Swift Flyers neate
And make my Soule thy holy Spoole to bee.
My Conversation make to be thy Reele
And reele the yarn thereon spun of thy Wheele.
Make me thy Loome then, knit therein this Twine:
And make thy Holy Spirit, Lord, winde quills:
Then weave the Web thyselfe. The yarn is fine.
Thine Ordinances make my Fulling Mills.
Then dy the same in Heavenly Colours Choice,
All pinkt with Varnisht Flowers of Paradise.
Then cloath therewith mine Understanding, Will,
Affections, Judgment, Conscience, Memory
My Words, and Actions, that their shine may fill
My wayes with glory and thee glorify.
Then mine apparell shall display before yee
That I am Cloathd in Holy robes for glory.
8. Which two lines convey Taylor’s belief that religious grace comes as a gift from God, rather than as a result of a person’s efforts? (RL.1)
a. Lines 1-2
b. Lines 3-4
c. Lines 9-10
d. Lines 13-14
9. Taylor implies, through the use of the spinning wheel, that he would like to become a servant, “machine,” or “tool” of God. This is an example of which literary device? (RL.4)
a. Simile and metaphor
b. Figurative language and metaphor
c. Alliteration and assonance
d. Anadiplosis and anaphora
10. Which lines in the poem reveal the overall metaphor? (RL.4)
a. Lines 1-2
b. Lines 3-4
c. Lines 13-14
d. Lines 17-18
Task 3: Open-ended question
11. In a brief paragraph, explain how the poem exposes the values and philosophies of the Puritan era. Cite evidence from the poem to support your explanation. (RI.1)
English 11
Persuasion 1/Puritan Unit
Summative Assessment
Day 2: Argument Writing
In a well-developed response that employs and identifies five different rhetorical devices, take a stance on the issue presented and support your position. Underline and label in the margin the rhetorical devices used. (W.1a,b,c,d,e)
The principal at your school has instituted random locker and backpack searches to check for weapons and drugs. The principal argues that the random searches not only will guard against contraband but will also help students feel safer. In a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, state your position and support it with convincing reasons.