The site is a copy of the Letter from Birmingham Jail in the form of a Word document, with emotional, ethical, and logical appeals, as well as opponents’ arguments, highlighted using various colors for the text. The site contains a color-coded PDF highlighting the different rhetorical strategies used in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
Type of Material:
lecture/presentation
Recommended Uses:
Once students printed it out, this would be useful for in-class work.
This could be used in concert with a study of MLK Jr.'s essay or with a unit on argument. It would need to be used in conjunction with class discussion or assignment as it does not define the rhetorical terms or their uses.
Technical Requirements:
Browser and Microsoft Word; pdf also
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Students will, in the author’s words, “view one specific example of a communications expert putting all three artistic proofs to work effectively.” This material would be a useful tool to teach the classic rhetorical appeals of argument--ethos, pathos, logos--as well as a possible approach to an argumentative response to criticisms.
Target Student Population:
Students in undergraduate composition or speech courses, from first-year composition to upper-level courses in rhetoric.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Some basic knowledge of argument would be necessary, as this document does not define the terminology it highlights in any detailed way.
Student would also need basic computer skills to find and open the document.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The module provides a clear visual demonstration of the way the three artistic proofs are interwoven in a major example of persuasive rhetoric. It would be very difficult to allot the class time necessary to analyze the essay this thoroughly, so this is potentially a very useful resource.
Because the rhetorical strategies are highlighted in different colors, with a color key at the top, it is easy to see the different elements at work in this piece.
Concerns:
• In spite of its general usefulness, the color highlighting does not seem to allow for arguments that function simultaneously in more than one way.
• This page needs to be used with the author’s workshop, but that page is not included in the MERLOT description and its location (or even its existence) is not immediately obvious, although it can be found.
• The ethical effect of citing the same authorities the audience would cite needs to be indicated in some way.
• My concern here is the same as in F. The workshop page needs to be included and is probably the page MERLOT should link to.
• The page does not integrate the concept with the examples very clearly, but it would do so if the missing material were added.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The material provides a clear, effective and efficient demonstration of how the artistic proofs are used in the essay, but without the workshop page learners must know or intuit the necessary background and the objective of the page. This material could be used as a strong visual way to see different argumentative rhetorical strategies in "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
Concerns:
The material contains little explanatory information as to the definitions and purposes of the basic appeals, or why a writer would choose one over the other. It would need to be used in concert with other materials or lectures. Creating assignments for it could prove difficult as well.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The visual demonstration of the various kinds of arguments is clear and appealing, and providing an analysis of the entire essay should reinforce the concepts very well.
Concerns:
This isn't interactive in any way. It's a PDF, so all the student can do is open it and read. It also doesn’t contain any substantive information about pathos, logos and ethos or other argumentative rhetorical choices, so it can't stand alone. It is also a bit hard to follow because it is so marked up with color. Parts of the essay that aren't in color get lost in the reading.
If a student were to print this for later use, he or she would need a color printer. Otherwise the color-coding would be lost.
Other Issues and Comments:
This would be a very useful item if the link were changed to the workshop this example supports.
Creative Commons:
Search by ISBN?
It looks like you have entered an ISBN number. Would you like to search using what you have
entered as an ISBN number?
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
