Revision Notes On My Draft English 112

Revision of My Draft By Me

            My thesis statement was “I believe the majority of the U.S. would consider this speech powerful and agree that it has changed the present and the future.” To improve my thesis statement I could mention some reasons why it is powerful. Reasons like the rhetorical appeals, and techniques. For example, “The rhetorical appeals, ad techniques, would lead the world to agree that the speech is powerful and has changed present and future.” I shared a lot of biography because it was a last minute thing. I don’t recall myself wandering off topic. I stayed on two subjects, Patrick Henry and his speech. I also did not use the writing process, which is prewriting, drafting and more. I think if I apply these changes to my analysis I should be better off.

Peer Review Note of Holden English 112

Peer Notes on Holden Draft

I believe the thesis statement in the analysis is “the declaration of independence is the foundation on which our nation was created, and without its ideas who knows where we would be today.” I think you could find some way to mention rhetorical appeals, and techniques in the thesis statement unless; the following sentence was also part of the thesis. You explained the use of rhetorical appeals in each paragraph which was a very effective way to explain. I honestly feel you did not need a whole paragraph on logical appeals. Instead, you could tell the audience what the appeals are within the three separate paragraphs you already have. Overall, I could not find much more, and I enjoyed reading it.

Rhetorical Analysis : Patrick Henry "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death" English 112

Jabari Stafford

English 112

Professor Brandon

3/10/13

                        Rhetorical Analysis: Patrick Henry

            “Give Me Liberty, or Give me Death!” These seven words were the conclusion, of an influential speech delivered by Patrick Henry on March 23, 1775. This took place in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He gave this speech to encourage the Virginians to fight for their right to bare arms. The speech had a beneficial effect. I believe the majority of the U.S. would consider this speech powerful and agree that it has changed the present and the future. The speech has a vast amount of strength within itself, and we should definitely keep these powerful words embedded in our hearts. Henry showed a great amount of courage during the speech, and he or his speech will never be forgotten.

Patrick Henry was a bright young boy, and was expected to be more than just a farm boy. He was born 39 years before he decided to give this speech, on May 29, 1736. His hometown was Hanover, Virginia on a plantation owned by his mother’s family. Patrick Henry did not support slavery, but was frightened by abolitionists. His mother led him to practice Presbyterian beliefs when dealing with religion. Henry went to a local school for a few years and the rest of his education was received from his father, who attended King’s College. When Patrick Henry was eighteen years old, he got married to a sixteen-year old girl whose name was Sarah Shelton. But after his wife Sarah died during spring 1775, Henry was married again on October 25, 1777 to a woman named Dorothea Danridge. Patrick’s political life began on December 1763 with his victory in the Parson’s Cause. Henry served in the Virginia House Of Delegates from 1780 to 1784. He was one of the most prominent political leaders and also one of the seven delegates. (190) Henry did not show support regarding to the 12 amendments sent by the very first congress in 1789. Patrick Henry opposed a strong centralized government, which is one of the main beliefs of anti-federalists. The Anti-federalists included Henry, Madison, Sam Adams, John Hancock and some others. He also opposed the United States constitution because it did not completely protect the rights of the people of America. Patrick Henry believed the absence of the Bill of Rights was “the most absurd thing to mankind that ever the world saw.” (265)  Henry also had many other achievements and accomplishments which changed America. He will always be an idol remembered for his impact on politics in America.

With this famous speech, “give me liberty, or give me death”, there are many changes within America. For example, in Gabriel’s rebellion, the rebels planned to carry a banner which said, “Death or liberty”, in remembrance of the words once spoken from the famous, Patrick Henry. (Norton) The speech was started saying “Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house.” Meaning he has the utmost respect for patriotism and believes in the American Dream. He felt he should not hold any of his thoughts back at such a time although others may disagree with his opinion. “Henry’s power as a speaker came from a unique style that combined moral appeals with blunt directness.” (190) Henry also said “it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope.” This is basically saying no man will come to reality and agree that failure is a possibility. They would rather believe that there is only hope in their future. He also states the idea of baring arms. He says “They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them?” Henry’s intentions were to tell the Americans to let it be known that want their right to bare arms. He says how long should we sit back and be looked upon as weak. “Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.” Every man may say they want peace, but there is no sign of peace. Henry says “The war is actually begun!” “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

To get his point across to the members of the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry utilized many forms of rhetorical appeals. The first appeal was pathos. The pathos appeal is dealing with the audience’s emotions. For example, his first sentence “No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house.” He expresses his strong beliefs of success for America and warms the hearts of the audience. Another form of rhetorical appeals Henry used is ethos. Ethos is usually associated with experience, reputation, credibility, honesty and identification. In the speech, Henry says “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience.” The ethos appeal was used in the first two sentences also. Henry says “But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.” This shows Patrick Henry would speak his truths regardless of what the audience felt about it. The author also used rhetorical techniques to draw the audience to agree with him. First of all, identification was used to persuade the receivers of the message. Patrick says “Mr. President it is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth…” He showed an attitude that many of the men amongst him shared. Another rhetorical technique used is the very selective word choice. Patrick Henry had a way with his words throughout the whole speech. For example, he used the word “we” to include the audience he spoke to. “Sir we are not weak, if we make proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.” The rhetorical techniques and appeals were used effectively in Henry’s speech at the Virginia House of Burgesses.

In conclusion, Henry’s speech to the men in the Virginia House of Burgesses brought hope and courage to the people there and individuals throughout America. Patrick Henry has instilled in my mind to have passion for liberty. He was truly a revolutionary hero in the 1700’s and a large contribution to the present and the future. (265) The speech, is a historical speech because of his rhetorical techniques and appeals which persuades the audience. The agenda of Henry’s speech was to promote the idea of having the right to bare arms. Patrick Henry most definitely made an impact in the political part of America. Every individual in America should remember these words of encouragement. He showed an act of bravery by speaking the truth whether anyone was offended or not. Patrick was a man who was destined to fight for our liberty in America. We all should admire Patrick Henry for his intelligence and boldness; and remember his famous words, “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death.”

Patrick Henry Works Cited Page English 112

Jabari Stafford

Professor Brandon

English 112

3/19/13

Works Cited Page

”Patrick Henry.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, 03 May 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2013"

“Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! : An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print”

“Bill of Rights Institute: Patrick Henry.” Bill of Rights Institute Patrick Henry Comments. N.P., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013"

"History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official History and Citizenship Website." Patrick Henry : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013"

Rhetorical Analysis Memo: Patrick Henry English 112

Memo

To: Professor Brandon

From: Jabari A Stafford

Date: 26 February, 2013

Subject: Rhetorical Analysis: Patrick Henry Speech (“Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death”)

                 I am explaining to you why I chose to complete a rhetorical analysis using this primary source. The speech by Patrick Henry is most certainly a success in my eyes. The reason for Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death”, speech was to put determination in the mind of his fellow citizens. Yes, I believe this speech had a great effect on the United States of America. U.S. citizens saw Henry’s motivation and his strong belief in patriotism, and this pushed them. This definitely has an impact on America today, because it is still a cherished moment. The speech was given on March 23, 1775 at St. John’s Church. Patrick Henry really had a way with words. His word choice is one of the main reasons his speech was so powerful. His rhetorical appeals and techniques were also a big part of his encouraging speech. There were appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos and techniques such as, word choice, identification, personification and more. For example,” Mr. President, it is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope.” This meant almost every man will believe and hope for success no matter the circumstances. It is the natural thought of any human. These were one of the most important primary sources, and this is why I chose this particular source.

Artifacts Of Learning (Include SDV 100 and English 111)

Jabari Stafford

English 111

Professor Brandon

12/10/12

           

                                    Artifacts of Learning

Rhetoric – the study of how to become a better communicator.

                   Rhetorical Analysis – An opinion or response to another article by someone  else.

Three Rhetorical Appeals – Logos: Facts, Ethos: Credibility, Reputation, Pathos: Emotion

Research – looking out of your own knowledge.

Evaluations – another person’s thought on the effect and quality of the subject.

Reviews - someone’s opinion on an activity whether negative or positive review.

 

Kaizen – this means working from the shortest assignment to the longest assignment. It is definitely a time management skill.

Setting Goals – In SDV 100, which was connected to English 111, my class was told to set a goal that we would like to achieve or reach by the end of the semester.

Digital Portfolio vs. Hard Copy Portfolio - Professor Brandon told us the difference between audiences and how it should be published for each person.

Art Of Conversation - He also taught us the art of conversation, which is just making sure you and the others you are conversating with feel comfortable within the conversation.

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English 111 Class Evaluation

Jabari Stafford

English 111

Professor Brandon

12/4/12

                        English 111 Class Evaluation

In Dr. Brandon’s English 111 my classmates and I have learned many new things. Our minds have also been refreshed by many old lessons. We have an awesome teacher who would do make sure we are capable of receiving a passing grade. My teacher is an extremely concerned and helpful teacher. Although he was not perfect, he still made sure all of his instructions were understandable. English 111 will definitely have a great impact in my future career.

The lessons we have learned were all vital and come week by week. The very first lesson we learned was about rhetoric. It is the study on how to become a better communicator. Such as what the author does when he delivers that message to the audience as they receive the author’s crafted messages. The rhetorical triangle was also introduced to us to explain the cycle. This is the first and one of the most valuable lessons in the classroom this semester. While learning more on rhetoric we also learned about the three rhetoric appeals. There is “pathos” which means emotion, and how the author causes the reader to agree by showing his or her feelings toward the article. The second appeal is “logos” which shows the author’s knowledge of the article and the facts he has about it. Usually when an author has facts the reader will agree with him or her. The last appeal is called “ethos.” This appeal is mainly based on credibility, reputation, honesty, and identification which is pretty much experience. People sometimes will trust an article based on a person’s wisdom. These appeals are used while writing a rhetorical analysis. A rhetorical analysis is one’s opinion on another person’s point of view. The study of rhetoric is an extremely important part of my English 111 class.

The next lesson I would like to discuss is learning how to construct a review. When you write a review, you are telling the audience your opinion or experience with an activity. For example, in English 111 my class wrote reviews on activities we were in. The first review was supposed to be based on how you feel towards a movie, a restaurant, an athletic activity, or any other activity. A review does not have to be positive. If you did not enjoy an activity then be truthful to the audience. My movie review was definitely a positive review because I really enjoyed the action and suspense in the movie. But my math tutoring activity assignment for Dr. Brandon was a negative review because the tutoring was not an effective session. It was somewhat a waste of my time. I wrote about how it occurred and what I did and did not like about it. This is an important lesson because my career as a sports journalist will be working with reviews and opinions on activities. Many lessons were important, but this one was a great part of our English 111 class.

Another lesson which was learned is how to do a research paper. The research paper I was to complete in class was about our career choices. While doing a research paper the internet is the main source. First, you research information from various websites. Make sure they are websites that are trusted by many others because if not then the information from that website is possibly not true. Then you have to cite sources where you received the information to not be accused of plagiarism or cheating. Lastly, you will have to just organize the paper in the best possible way you can. This is an effective way to become a talented writer.

All of the assignments will be completed much faster utilizing the writing process. It contains six steps in the process. These six steps are prewriting, drafting, revision, proofreading, publishing, and reviewing. Without the writing process it would be a little more complicated to complete evaluations, reviews, essays, and many more. The six steps of the writing process are all vital steps and are made to create successful papers.

 Also, I have more about independent clauses, dependent clauses, subject phrases and much more. Sentences are built up from independent clauses, which is also called a simple sentence and contains a subject and a predicate. For example “The cat is very mean.” The cat is obviously the subject and the predicate is mean. These are all used in the six sentence forms. If you know about independent clauses and all that it is associated with then writing sentences and paragraphs will not take too much effort.

In addition to all the lessons learned in class, I have also learned many simple lessons. One, I was taught to make sure to write my notes the correct way. If the professor writes it on the board, repeats it twice, or simply instructs you to write it on the paper then do so. This will make sure you have all the important notes you need to study for any class. As a student, everyone needs notes to go over for a certain class. Second of all, the art of conversation, which is not as difficult, was also taught to the class. It was simply just talking with a large amount confidence, while at the same time not dominating the entire conversation. He taught us many details, like a stance during the conversation, how to leave a conversation, how to make others feel comfortable and much more. I thought even though the art of conversation was not a challenge, the details he shared with us really help everyone in my class. These lessons will always be kept in mind for my future classes.

English class has already made a big impact in my education, and taught me a great amount of lessons that give me much more knowledge. The class was great although I was late at times. The reason for my tardiness was my bad sleeping pattern. My work schedule did not have a huge effect on my timeliness, but it did take a small toll of my time. I would end up sleeping late every night whether it was because of being at work late, going out with friends, coming home late, or just simply completing homework very late at night. My class started at 11:00 a.m. Sometimes I would come in 5 minutes late between 11:05-11:10, or I would be even later and arrive between 11:22-11:27. I have definitely learned to keep a decent sleeping pattern throughout the semester. If I were to practice resting earlier then I will receive a better outcome for next semester and be on time for every class session.

In conclusion, I will sum it all up with saying I would definitely bring forth these tools of knowledge along with me. In the future, I plan on enrolling in Professor Brandon’s English 112 class for the spring semester. It is fantastic being that I learned the study of rhetoric, writing reviews, analysis, evaluations, and research papers. Next semester’s English 112 should most likely be a breeze, I would recommend Dr. Brandon’s class to anyone because it will have them prepared to be independent and successful in their career choice, and most importantly their lives. This English 111 class helped me to make decisions concerning my future, and I believe I have picked the correct path. I thank my instructor Professor Brandon for all the knowledge he has shared with my class and I.