More Precis

Goal: Making progress on the rhetorical precis you started yesterday.

Agenda: 
Read
Rhetorical Precis
Homework (yep, homework)

Rhetorical Precis: 
Most of you made a good start on your rhetorical precis yesterday. Today we will take a look at how you are doing and make more progress. These are some of the hard parts:

• You need to know what McBride's main point or argument is to complete the first sentence. 
• The first sentence of a precis is long and that can make it hard to avoid grammar mistakes. 
• In part two you need to summarize his claims in one sentence. 
• Lots of you aren't clear on his purpose, probably because you also aren't clear about his main point. 

Example: Here is a complete precis for Undercover Parent. Looking at this one might help you write about Hip Hop Planet. 

Parent and New York Times journalist, Harlan Coben in his article “The Undercover Parent” (March 16, 2008) argues that putting spyware on your child’s computer is extremely beneficial in keeping your child safe on the internet. He supports this claim by explaining the purpose of spyware then goes on to present things people who object to spyware might say, but he rebuts those claims with logical arguments and implies parents who won’t use spyware are not good parents. Coben’s purpose is to inform and show a solution to the problem of internet safety in order to convince parents to use spyware to keep their children safe online. He adopts an informative, yet strong and convincing tone, to convince parents to adopt his view on the topic. 

Homework: Stylistic Word Choices

• McBride chooses his words carefully. 
• I am giving you a sheet for homework that uses quotes from his essay with some boring words (in bold). 
• Find the better word that McBride actually used then explain why his choice was better. 
• Also keep reading your book!