Unit 06 · Rhetoric & Public Voice · Week 17
How can a reader test whether persuasion is responsible and sound?
A complete five-day rhetoric sequence with local source material, explicit reasoning instruction, handwriting or typing, and evaluator-reviewed mastery.
Weekly targets
Course-created source
PROPOSAL — EXTEND THE LIBRARY HOUR During a four-week trial, the library remained open one additional hour on Tuesdays. Entry counts averaged 18 students during that hour, compared with 11 during the final regular hour. A voluntary exit card received 22 responses; 17 respondents said the later hour helped them finish schoolwork. The proposal recommends a twelve-week extension while collecting attendance, staffing cost, transportation, and student-access data. The trial does not establish that every student benefited or that the schedule caused the higher entry count.
This original instructional source may be printed, annotated, quoted and adapted for course work.
Day 81
Distinguish claim, reason, evidence and warrant.
Map the proposal’s recommendation. Identify the unstated bridge between attendance evidence and the conclusion.
Create a chain and identify two assumptions requiring investigation.
Day 82
Evaluate relevance, sufficiency, representativeness and credibility.
Audit sample size, voluntary response, comparison period, missing cost data and causal limits without dismissing all evidence.
Rate each evidence item and justify the rating in two sentences.
Day 83
Identify reasoning errors without using fallacy labels as insults.
Distinguish overgeneralization, false dilemma, circular reasoning, irrelevant appeal, post hoc reasoning and straw person. Repair a flawed argument after naming its exact broken step.
Correct six flawed claims and explain the repaired logic.
Day 84
Represent the strongest opposing concern fairly.
Develop concerns about staffing, transportation and unequal access. Decide which challenges the claim, which requests more data and which suggests a condition.
Write a counterclaim-and-response paragraph using concession and qualification.
Day 85
Reach a proportionate conclusion rather than “proven” or “worthless.”
Combine the chain, evidence ratings, assumptions and counterclaim. Recommend adopt, reject or revise-and-test with conditions.
Submit a 600–800 word audit and a correction memorandum.
Weekly mastery assessment
Submit the principal product, five daily responses, source annotations and a 150–250 word reflection. Completion or delivery alone does not establish mastery.
| Criterion | 2 · Secure | 1 · Developing | 0 · Insufficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhetorical understanding | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Evidence and source accuracy | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Reasoning and qualification | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Audience, organization and language | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Revision, reflection and delivery evidence | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
Mastery: 8/10 after evaluator review. Below mastery, revise the lowest criterion and resubmit. Accessible speech modes are evaluated by the same intellectual criteria, never by volume, eye contact or physical performance.
Earlier notes remain in their original fields. Bring revisions and tool evidence here.