Speeches and Essays of Literary Merit:Directions: To become more successful as a reader or writer, it is necessary to read from a diverse selection of good writers who deal with a plethora of issues in a host of different ways with a variety of individual styles. This seemingly impossible task can begin to be accomplished with a speech and essay unit. Over a period of three weeks, 300 pages of speeches and essays should be read. These works must deal with a diversity of subjects, written by a good balance of men and women who represent a variety of cultural backgrounds. These works should be selected because they are worthy of scrutiny; their richness of thought and diverse manipulations of language challenge the reader; and their style is worthy of emulating. Students can choose a collection of essays by one writer of literary merit, or an anthology of essays by many writers. Use the following chart to document the reading of the essays or speeches in this Personal Essay Classroom:
Title of Essay or Speech (circle one):
Number of pages: Originally Appeared in:
Author and description of cultural background, awards won, etc.:
Mode of Writing (expository, descriptive, speculative, persuasive, etc.):
Subject/Issues Raised:
Speaker (Predominant Tone, Attitude or Point of view displayed by the author or speaker toward some person, place of thing):
Occasion:
Audience (Who are they and what was the intentional and probable effect produced by the speech or essay):
Purpose:
Notable Quotes:
Diction (neat choice of words):
Syntax (neat sentence arrangement):
Imagery (appeals to anyone of the five senses):
Figures of speech (simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron, etc.):
