1. A Close Reading of “Too Much Pressure”
Objective:
To skim and then conduct a close reading of “To Much Pressure” to deepen analysis of an argument’s organization, diction, citation language, citations, and position statements

2. Quickwrite
Do most students think cheating is acceptable? How common is cheating in our school? What are students’ attitudes towards cheating? What counts as cheating? When isn’t it cheating?

3. Skimming
Skimming is a method of moving your eyes rapidly over text with the purpose of getting the main idea
Read the title, introductory, and first paragraph completely
Read the first line and last line of each paragraph
Look for clue words, bold, italics, quotations etc..
(page 564)

4. Skim You will have 5 minutes to skim “Too Much Pressure”
At the end of 5 minutes, I will ask you to write a summary of the essay based only on what you have skimmed

5. Close Reading Follow along as we read aloud the first paragraph:
How effective do you find Wenke’s opening paragraph? Is there another way she could have started this essay? How might it change her message?
What does it suggest about her intended audience? What diction or imagery is used to support your inference about the audience?

6. Close Reading Follow along as we read the second and third paragraphs:
S-Speaker
O-Occasion
A-Audience
P-Purpose
S-Subject

7. Close Reading Follow along as we read paragraph four aloud:
What information does Wenke provide to introduce the source?
How does this build credibility for the source and for Wenke? (ethos)
What kind of support is provided in the citations (facts/statistics/examples/anecdotes) How many words are in each citation? (logos)
What is Wenke’s reaction to the citations?
Describe any connections Wenke makes to other positions/thoughts/beliefs/examples made previously in the text.

8. Close Reading Follow along as we paragraph five aloud:
What information does Wenke provide to introduce the source?
How does this build credibility for the source and for Wenke? (ethos)
What kind of support is provided in the citations (facts/statistics/examples/anecdotes) How many words are in each citation? (logos)
What is Wenke’s reaction to the citations?
Describe any connections Wenke makes to other positions/thoughts/beliefs/examples made previously in the text.

9. Close Reading Follow along as we read paragraph 6 aloud:
How does Wenke use a definition of cheater to clarify the problem?
What is the effect of juxtaposing cheaters then and now?
Page 564

10. Close Reading Follow along as we read paragraph 7:
How are the ellipses used for the in-text citation? Are they used at the beginning, middle, or end?
What is the purpose or function of the ellipses?

11. Close Reading Follow along as we paragraph nine aloud:
What is the effect of Wenke’s admission that she herself copied homework from friends in high school? Does this admission add to or detract from Wenke’s ethical appeal? Why?

12. Close Reading Follow along as we read paragraph ten:
Does her analysis seem sound to you? Do you think she overemphasizes some causes for cheating or overlooks others? Explain.

13. Writing Prompt
Colleen Wenke explores several answers to why students cheat in an essay she wrote for college in After reading “Too Much Pressure,” write an essay that analyzes how Wenke uses rhetorical strategies to argue her position on cheating.