AcDv B61: Rhetorical Precis and Mind Maps Bakersfield College Jessica Wojtysiak Fall 2016 AcDv B61: Rhetorical Precis and Mind Maps

Notetaking/Outlining Alternatives Different learners have different learning preferences Note-taking is too often a passive process You have to figure out what works best for you

Also known as a cluster, concept map, web, or tree diagram. Mind Maps: The Basics Also known as a cluster, concept map, web, or tree diagram. Use it to organize your ideas. Often preferred by visual learners.

Making a Mind Map Identify one unifying concept Try to think of three or four categories/supporting details. Sort your ideas into those categories. Don’t worry about the order of your ideas, neatness, spelling, or grammar.

Making a Mind Map

Example: “Successful Student Behaviors” Don’t procrastinate Attend class regularly Don’t be afraid to make mistakes Turn in homework Read directions Responsibility Attitude Stay positive Get to school early Set goals Successful Student Behaviors Don’t be late Stay focused Study Groups Ask questions Receive Help Study Skills Go to office hours To-do lists Take notes Time management Go to tutoring Attend workshops Organization Outlines Flash cards Day planner

Mind Maps for Readers Identify the author’s thesis Identify the key points used as support. Sort the ideas of the text around the supporting points

Potential Mind Map Branches Author’s major arguments Author’s personal information Book publication and award information Potential counterarguments or problems

Fast Food Nation

Let’s Practice Using Chapter 1 of The Big Thirst, create a Mind Map. The Mind Map should have no fewer than 4 primary branches. Each branch must have a minimum of two additional points.

A Four Sentence Analytical Summary The Rhetorical Precis A Four Sentence Analytical Summary

Different from a Summary Summary: Brief Representation of What a Text Says Rhetorical Precis: Brief Representation of What a Text Says and Does RP: Concerned with How and to Whom

Sentence One Includes the author, the title of work, and the author’s qualifications; an action verb that describes the author’s rhetoric; the author’s thesis.

Template In _________________________, _________________________, (Title) (Author) ________________________, ______________ (Author’s qualifications) (Action Verb: See B) that ___________________________________________. (thesis)

Sentence Two Offers an explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis.

Template ____________________________ supports his/her (Author’s Last Name) _________________ by _______________________________ (Claim, etc.) (Explain the author’s rhetorical strategy) ___________________________________________________.

Sentence Three A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.

Template The author’s purpose is to ______________________________ ________________________________ in order to / so that ____________________________________.

Sentence Four A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.

Template The author writes in a ______________________tone for (Adjective) ______________________________________. (Intended Audience)

Example In her essay "Disturbing Nurses and the Kindness of Sharks," Toni Morrison, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and professor, implies that racism in the United States has affected the craft and process of American novelists. Morrison supports her implication by describing how Ernest Hemingway writes about black characters in his novels and short stories. Her purpose is to make her readers aware of the cruel reality of racism underlying some of the greatest works of American literature in order to help them examine the far-reaching effects racism has not only on those discriminated against but also on those who discriminate. She establishes a formal and highly analytical tone with her audience of racially mixed (but probably mainly white), theoretically sophisticated readers and critical interpreters of American literature

Big Thirst Chapter Groups On Presentation Day, Each Group must turn in: 1 Visual Map of their Chapter 1 Rhetorical Precis (Typed, Turnitin.com) Each group must also present. The presentation must: Offer a short (3 minute) presentation summarizing their chapter identify and define 3 vocabulary words from their chapter.