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.
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    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
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