Unit 6: Literary Nonfiction

1. Unit 6: Literary Nonfiction CHS English I April 22, 2013

2. Types of Nonfiction • ESSAY: examines and discusses a focused topic, often including the writer’s personal viewpoints. • ARTICLE: provides information about a topic, person, or event. • SPEECH: written to be read aloud; presents a topic and may persuade, inform, explain, or entertain.

3. Types of Essays • NARRATIVE essays tell the stories of real-life events. Examples include autobiographies and memoirs. • EXPOSITORY essays inform or explain. Examples include analytical essays and research reports. • PERSUASIVE essays present reasons and evidence to convince the reader to act or think in a certain way. Examples include editorials and political speeches.

4. Types of Essays • DESCRIPTIVE essays use details related to the senses to create mental images for the reader. Examples include character sketches and scientific observations. • REFLECTIVE essays express the writer’s thoughts and feelings in response to a personal experience or to an idea.

5. Important Elements: • Style: the way an author uses language; reflects personality. • Examples: formal v. slang language; use of figurative language; word choice; sentence patterns • Tone: the author’s attitude toward both the subject and the audience; you can “hear” tone; often can be described in one word. • Perspective: the viewpoint or opinion of the author. Bias occurs when the author chooses a particular side in an argument. • Purpose: the author’s reason for writing. (Persuade, entertain, inform, etc.).

6. Check Your Understanding • Formal, friendly, or casual • Style • Descriptive • Encouraging polite behavior • Essay • Bias • Retelling a historical event • Persuasive • Narrative • Explaining how Congress votes • Expository • Reflective • Comic, mysterious, or doubtful • Tone • Article

7. Unit Vocabulary: Copy down the term and definition. Use FIVE words in a sentence. (5 sentences). • Epicenter: focal or central point • Palpable: able to be touched or felt; tangible • Entrenched: securely established; unmovable • Bravado: false courage or confidence • Lexicon: the special vocabulary of a particular subject • Despotic: like an absolute ruler or tyrant • Censure: strong disapproval • Droll: funny in an odd or dry way • Abolitionist: person in favor of doing away with slavery • Raillery: good-natured teasing • Hallowed: sacred • Degenerate: grow worse • Creed: statement of belief • Renegade: disloyal; traitorous • Feisty: full of spirit; energetic

8. “Before Hip-Hop Was Hip-Hop”Narrative/Reflective Essay, p. 391 by Rebecca Walker (b. 1969)

9. “Before Hip-Hop Was Hip-Hop” • This essay discusses the impact of hip-hop music and culture of the author’s life. • She addresses the idea of how young people created their own culture in the form of the hip-hop movement. • She suggests that this culture was not a passing fad, that it was a genuine expression of “new cosmopolitan sense of solidarity among urban American teens.”

10. “Before Hip-Hop Was Hip-Hop”: Review RESTATE all questions in your answers. I should be able to know what question was asked without looking at this slide. • What did you enjoy most about Walker’s descriptions of hip-hop culture during her youth? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • In what specific ways did hip-hop help Walker and her friends overcome their differences? What other benefits did hip-hop provide to young people in that time and place? Answer in 2-3 sentences. • What differences does Walker find between the music of her youth and today’s hip-hop? Is this judgment fair or biased? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • What strategies do teenagers use today to express themselves? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • TONE: Is the tone of Walker’s essay personal or impersonal? What other adjectives would you use to describe her tone? List 2-3 specific examples from the text to support your conclusions.

11. from A Lincoln PrefaceBiographical Writing, p. 452 by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

12. from A Lincoln Preface • This is an excerpt (or small section) of Carl Sandburg’s monumental biography of Lincoln. • This biography is still considered one of the most important examinations of Lincoln’s life. • Sandburg provides the audience with a series of anecdotes that show Lincoln’s humor, determination, and political skills. • Carl Sandburg is one of America’s most influential writers (biographer, poet, etc.).

13. from A Lincoln Preface: Review RESTATE all questions in your answers. I should be able to know what question was asked without looking at this slide. • Which story about Lincoln interested you the most? Explain why in 2-3 sentences. • To whom did Lincoln refer as “the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war”? • According to Sandburg, what personal qualities make Lincoln a great historical figure, “an American possession,”? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • Do you think Lincoln was justified in violating the constitution to save the Union? Why or why not? (2-3 sentences). • Look at the painting of Lincoln on p. 452 (Lincoln Proclaiming Thanksgiving, Dean Cornwell). Does this painting portray Lincoln as a man of great power? Explain in 5 sentences.

14. “I Have A Dream”Persuasive Speech, p. 494 Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

15. “I Have A Dream” • In this speech, MLK challenges Americans to live up to the national ideals of equality and justice. • MLK was the most charismatic and important leader of the Civil Rights Movement. • At 35, MLK became the youngest, and only the third black man, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. • King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

16. “I Have A Dream”: Review RESTATE all questions in your answers. I should be able to know what question was asked without looking at this slide. • In this persuasive speech, what is Dr. King trying to persuade his audience to think or do? What persuasive/rhetorical devices does he use to convince the audience? • What feelings does Dr. King’s speech stir in you? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • In what ways does Dr. King appeal to emotion in his speech? In what ways does he appeal to reason (knowledge)? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • How would you describe Dr. King’s expression when he gives this speech? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • Why do you think this speech is considered one of the greatest in modern history? Is it worthy of this standing? Explain your thoughts in 2-3 sentences.

17. “I Have A Dream”: Review: 4/6 RESTATE all questions in your answers. I should be able to know what question was asked without looking at this slide. • In this persuasive speech, what is Dr. King trying to persuade his audience to think or do? What persuasive/rhetorical devices does he use to convince the audience? • What feelings does Dr. King’s speech stir in you? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • In what ways does Dr. King appeal to emotion in his speech? In what ways does he appeal to reason (knowledge)? Explain in 2-3 sentences. • Why do you think this speech is considered one of the greatest in modern history? Is it worthy of this standing? Explain your thoughts in 4-5 sentences. • How would you describe Dr. King’s expression/diction/performance when he gives this speech? How is listening to, and/or, viewing the speech differ from reading it silently? Explain in 4-5 sentences.

18. “Go Deep to the Sewer”Humorous, Reflective Essay, p. 525 by Bill Cosby (b. 1937)

19. “Go Deep to the Sewer” • Bill Cosby grew up in a poor, underprivileged neighborhood in Philadelphia. • He always had a knack for finding humor in difficult situations and would regularly perform comedy routines for his mother and other family members. • This essay describes the games Cosby and his friends played as children, with a tone that is both warm-hearted and self-mocking.

20. “Go Deep to the Sewer” RESTATE all questions in your answers. I should be able to know what question was asked without looking at this slide. • How did Cosby describe his physical stature as a child? How did these physical limitation affect his skills at various sports? • What neighborhood features were part of the “diamond” on which Cosby and his friends played stickball? • What does Cosby’s description of the playing space say about the people who live in his neighborhood? What does it say about the safety of the games that these children played? • What does Cosby mean when he says, “the essence of childhood…is play”? Do you agree with his statement? Explain in 3-5 sentences. • List and explain AT LEAST three examples of hyperbole in the essay.