Rhetoric II

Full-year course. The second year of a 3-year high school sequence. Based on Thomas Kane’s New Oxford Guide to Writing and incorporating other rhetoric resources, this course follows our Rhetoric I class. Continued attention to the development of sophisticated sentences and paragraphs; development of different forms of the persuasive essay; use of classical rhetoric techniques to support topics; finding subjects and constructing theses; close examination of how to make use of sources in support of arguments; research techniques. Click here for an explanation of our writing and grammar curriculum, and sample course sequences.

Prerequisite: Rhetoric I. For help in placement, see our writing assessment, which will be evaluated by Academy writing instructors.




My son's essay writing skills greatly improved throughout this course. I feel he is being well prepared for college essay writing. - Parent Course Evaluation
"Because you are someone who played a role in my college application process, I want to let you know how that process ended: I’m going to Purdue University! I will be attending the Honors College and studying biology, hopefully with a minor or major in psychology. I believe that the writing skills that I learned in your Rhetoric class are one of the reasons that I got into the Honors College, so I thank you not only for a letter of recommendation, but also for writing skills that will help me for the rest of my education." WTMA Student A.V.




    Register Now



    You may also like...


    Newspaper Club for the Rhetoric Stage

    For students interested in current events and publications. Send submissions to [email protected]


    Learn More

    Rhetoric II Information




    • Example Syllabus
    • Class meets twice per week for 50-55 minutes.
    • Class cap: average 12 students.
    • Designed for grades 10-12.
    • High school students may be awarded 1 Language Arts credit upon completion of this course.

    Course Materials




    • Click here to purchase the course texts.
      • The New Oxford Guide to Writing, Thomas Kane
      • They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings (5th Edition), Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein


    Expand for More Course Resources