F 21 Friday Forum Instructions

Instructions for Friday Forum
AP Language with American Literature

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This assignment serves as an opportunity to sharpen your rhetorical analysis skills by exploring the
techniques employed by contemporary writers discussing current events. Please read all of the
instructions and review the rubric carefully.
Fall 2021 Friday Forum Presentation Schedule

August 20, 27 September 3, 10, 17, 24 October 8, 15, 22, 29 November 5, 12, 19 December 3, 10
Forum Presenter Checklist

(All items are detailed on the following page.)
❏ Pick an editorial/opinion essay (2-4 pages with new vocabulary for you)
❏ Upload URL for article to teacher’s blog (by the Wednesday before your presentation date)
❏ Annotate article thoroughly
❏ Complete Friday Forum Report
❏ Upload report & picture of annotations to TurnItIn.com (by the Thursday before your
presentation date)
❏ Print report to give to your teacher
❏ Practice a 5 minute presentation that will excite your audience to discuss the topic
❏ Record your presentation & upload presentation to Flipgrid (by the Thursday before your due
date)
Forum Audience Instructions

Read all of the current week’s articles posted by your classmates on your teacher’s blog. Consider
your opinion of the issue and be prepared to make comments that add to our scholarly discussion in
class.
Presentation Sign-Up Forms

Sign up here to choose your presentation date.
➔ https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D49A8AA5-tatum
Flipgrid Directions
1. Go to your teacher’s Flipgrid page.
○ Tatum: https://flipgrid.com/4803d3ab
○ Crandall: https://flipgrid.com/c8bcab2d
2. Click the down arrow at the word Topics to find your specific Forum Date.
3. Follow the instructions for presenters and audience members, based on your role for the given
week:
○ Presenters: Click the giant plus sign to add a Friday Forum presentation.
○ Audience Members: Click on a peer’s presentation to view.
4. Need more Flipgrid help? Click HERE.
Friday Forum Presentation Instructions
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Presentation Date Sign-Up

Each Friday, two or three students will present their Friday Forum projects. Please sign up on your
teacher’s blog under Friday Forum for your due date. (See the links on the first page of this document.)
Article Requirements
Find an editorial/opinion essay that is approximately two pages long. Your editorial should connect
somehow to one of the broad themes of the class (education/literacy, social justice/injustice, media, or
technology). Recommended online sources include CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,
The Guardian, The Atlantic, or other papers from major cities. You should select an essay/editorial that
can add at least four unknown words to your vocabulary. If you know all the words in an article, DO NOT
CHOOSE THAT ARTICLE.
Annotation & Analysis

Print your selected article and rhetorically analyze the article through ANNOTATION. Any highlighted
text should have written information about why it is highlighted. Then, complete the typed Friday
Forum Report (see attached template/sample) in MLA format. Remember that you are looking for
techniques and details that make for a strong argument and/or flaws in the argument. Identify and
address any bias that might be included in the argument. You will include photos of your annotation
with your report when you submit to TurnItIn.com. (See details below in “Posting & Submitting Your
Work.”)
Planning & Recording the Presentation

Each presentation should be under 5 minutes long. Flipgrid will cut off after 5 minutes. In your video
presentation, you will summarize your article and present your report. Please think about how you will
present before you begin your recording - avoid simply reading a boring report directly from your paper
- create an experience your peers will want to engage with. You are expected to be able to convey the
main ideas of the article, briefly explain how/why the structure or rhetorical choices are effective or
not, and anticipate questions from the audience of your peers about the topic. Your peers will respond
to your video to “debrief” your report and ask questions regarding your analysis. You may record on
your phone or computer and then upload that video, or you may record directly in Flipgrid. You may use
editing or graphics/visuals to make your presentation more engaging, but editing is not required.
Posting & Submitting Work

● By 11:59 PM the Wednesday before your forum date: Post the URL for your article to the Friday
Forum tab on your teacher’s blog. The rest of the class is responsible for reading your chosen
article BEFORE viewing your presentation.
● By 11:59 PM the Thursday before your forum date: Add a photo of your annotated article to the
end of your Friday Forum Report document. Then, upload this single document to TurnItIn.com.
Upload your presentation video to Flipgrid. (See the Flipgrid link/instructions on page 1 of this
document.)
Evaluation
Your teacher will evaluate your annotations, Friday Forum Report, and presentation video on the Friday
Forum Rubric on the last page of this document.
Last Name #
Your Name
Teacher’s Name
AP Language and Composition, __ pd.
Day Month Year
Friday Forum Report Template/Sample
1. [WRITER]: Danny Cevallos, born in 1974, wrote this article. He is an attorney and
appears on CNN as their legal analyst. He focuses his practice in the areas of state,
federal, and territorial criminal defense and civil litigation. Cevallos practices law in New
York, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [This portion will require some research
outside of your article.]
2. [ARTICLE/SOURCE]: The article “The Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy of the Powerball”

was published on CNN’s website on January 15, 2016. Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/15/opinions/cevallos-powerball-lottery-hypocrisy/index.ht
ml
3. [TOPIC]: Cevallo’s main topic is the hypocrisy of state-sponsored gambling and

lotteries.
4. [PURPOSE]: Cevallos’s primary purpose is to reveal how immoral and misguided

state-sponsored lotteries are. He argues that very little good results from the lottery and
criticizes the government for sanctioning an event that is deemed illegal if conducted
outside of the government’s purview.
5. [TONE]: Cevallos’s tone remains serious throughout the essay, but at times, he uses
sarcasm to become more critical of the government: “Instead I'm with most of you,
experiencing a national hangover” (Cevallos 1). Further evidence of Cevallos’s sarcastic
tone is found in paragraph 9.
6. [EXIGENCE]: Cevallos is responding to the January 13, 2016 Powerball lottery drawing
that resulted in three different winners splitting $1.5 billion.
7. [STRUCTURE/MODE OF DISCOURSE]: Cevallos begins the argument with a direct

but rather ambiguous claim: “When it comes to lotteries, the government should be
ashamed of itself” (Cevallos 1). He defines lotteries as gambling and offers several
examples that fit his definition such as.... Then Cevallos… .The author resolves his
argument/ends his article by…. [Be sure that you address the mode of discourse used to
create the article, noting specifically the beginning, middle, and end.]
Last Name #
8. [RHETORICAL DEVICES—IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS THREE] *You MUST

include specific references to the text and direct, cited quotations where appropriate.
A. Analogy: Cevallos uses facts to discuss the odds involved in winning at typical
casino games and compares these to the odds of winning a lottery. Cevallos
explains, “If you follow basic blackjack strategy, the house advantage against a
player using the basic strategy can be as low as 0.16%” (Cevallos 2). This logical
analogy supports his position that government-sponsored lotteries are the
equivalent of legal theft.
B. Colloquial Diction: Cevallos uses informal expressions throughout the essay
(“jaw-dropping,” “mishegas,” and “nudniks”) to create some humor and connect
to his audience.
C. Catalog: Cevallos presents a list of items in the penultimate paragraph that details
some of the negative consequences that result from gambling and lotteries.
Cevallos may hope that this closing list will persuade those readers who have not
been influenced by his argument up to this point.
9. [VOCABULARY] *Include part of speech and the page/paragraph where the word
is found.
a. angst (N, p. 3): a feeling of dread or anxiety
b. vice (N, p. 12): an immoral or evil habit or practice
c. scourge (N, p. 13): a cause of affliction or calamity
d. inexorable (ADJ, p. 19): not to be persuaded or altered
10. [FINAL ANALYSIS]

Cevallos is effective in pointing out the hypocrisy involved with state-sponsored
gambling, and satire is a very appropriate and effective tool to use in directing his
criticism towards the government. His tone suggests that he doesn’t take this topic or his
argument too seriously. While he does make occasional use of logos, a more serious tone
and some more support based on logic would have made his argument stronger. For
example, Cevallos could include specific statistics that highlight the negative effects of
gambling addiction, and he could also give specific examples that reveal education
funding has not really improved as a result of lottery ticket sales. He omits one important
detail from his argument: he does not criticize those players who choose to participate in
a game that offers them “1 in 292.2 million odds” (Cevallos 2). Perhaps he does not want
to alienate any of his potential readers, and his real target is not the lottery itself, but the
hypocrisy that results when the government takes advantage of the very citizens it should
be protecting.
This page is intentionally left blank.
Rubric on next page.

Friday Forum Rubric
Student: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________

Article Title: _____________________________________________________________________
Source: _________________________ Date Published: _____________________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Time (5 minutes): ____ / 5
II. Preparation:
Student uploads article to teacher’s blog ____ / 5
and Turnitin.com on time
Article is thoroughly annotated and shows evident
interaction with the text ____ / 5
III. Quality of Article -- Length (approx. 2 pages): ____ / 5

Quality of Article -- Editorial/Opinion ____ / 5
IV. Quality of Presentation:

Student provides background of writer and/or source ____ / 5
Student provides main idea of the author’s argument ____ / 5
Student addresses rhetorical devices
and how they affect the reader ____ / 5
Student does not simply read from written report ____ / 5
Student facilitates engaging discussion ____ / 5
V. Written Report:
All required elements are present (2 pts ea) ____ / 20
Formatting is correct ____ / 5
Grammar and spelling are accurate ____ / 5
Student spent adequate time ensuring the report
is thorough and well-presented ____ / 5
VI. Vocabulary
(4 words w/part of speech & page/paragraph number):____ / 15
Teacher’s Notes: TOTAL: ____ / 100

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Instructions for Friday Forum

AP Language with American Literature

Fall 2021 Friday Forum Presentation Schedule

Forum Presenter Checklist

Forum Audience Instructions

Presentation Sign-Up Forms

Presentation Date Sign-Up

Annotation & Analysis

Planning & Recording the Presentation

Posting & Submitting Work

AP Language and Composition, __ pd.

Day Month Year

Friday Forum Report Template/Sample

2. [ARTICLE/SOURCE]: The article “The Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy of the Powerball”

3. [TOPIC]: Cevallo’s main topic is the hypocrisy of state-sponsored gambling and

4. [PURPOSE]: Cevallos’s primary purpose is to reveal how immoral and misguided

7. [STRUCTURE/MODE OF DISCOURSE]: Cevallos begins the argument with a direct

8. [RHETORICAL DEVICES—IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS THREE] *You MUST

10. [FINAL ANALYSIS]

Rubric on next page.

Student: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________

III. Quality of Article -- Length (approx. 2 pages): ____ / 5

IV. Quality of Presentation:

Teacher’s Notes: TOTAL: ____ / 100

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Student: ________________________ Date: _