Analyzing Argumentative Texts

Analyzing Argumentative Text Homework

Practice using a speech from Barack Obama

To help you through this homework assignment, refer back to the following lessons:

• Rhetorical Analysis

• Author's Purpose

• Commentary

• Making Inferences

• Rhetorical Appeals (from the 1st semester)

Remember

Reach out if you need assistance.

Introduction

In the midst of a tight race with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President, Barack Obama (b. 1961) delivered his “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia in March of 2008. Addressing the delicate subject of racial tension and calling for better harmony among all Americans, the speech is considered a key step towards Obama's eventual election as the 44th President of the United States.

Assignment Instructions

Watch the video on the next slide and read the transcript of Barack Obama's speech - A More Perfect Union

Speech Transcript

PDF version of the speech can be found in Google Classroom.

Multiple Choice

How mainly does the speaker’s discussion of the U.S. Constitution add to the development of his larger argument?

• By showing the Constitution, and thus the country, to be in a perpetual state of perfecting its ideals and freedoms over time.

• By proving the Constitution began as a racist document that insisted upon white supremacy.

• By revealing that the Constitution banned slavery from the beginning, but was deliberately misread by slave states.

• By helping build a case that America never truly intended for all citizens to be free and equal.

Multiple Choice

Which of these inferences about Reverend Jeremiah Wright is best supported by the text?

• He thinks white racism has gotten worse over time.

• He expects his congregation to agree with him about everything.

• He was a member of the Black Panther party.

• He believes white racism is built into America’s character.

Multiple Choice

How does the author’s description of Trinity United Church of Christ mainly add to the development of his speech’s racial themes (paragraph 20)?

“...I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories—of survival, and freedom, and hope—became our stories, my story; the blood that spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world.”

• It presents the history of African-Americans as fundamentally different from that of other races.

• It suggests that Reverend Wright’s sermons contained half-truths and delusions that do not square with reality.

• It shows the problems of African-Americans to be distinct, but also part of the shared human condition.

• It provokes the reader to take a radical stance towards white supremacy in America.

Multiple Choice

What do the following lines from the text reveal mainly about Reverend Jeremiah Wright (paragraph 33)?

"But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years."

• Reverend Wright’s controversial rhetoric is unique in the African-American community.

• Reverend Wright preaches one thing, but believes another.

• Reverend Wright’s perspective was informed by the historical treatment of blacks in America.

• Reverend Wright was defeated by discrimination.

Multiple Choice

What is most likely Obama’s reason for including his story about Ashley Baia?

• He wants the reader to completely ignore racial conflict and focus on togetherness.

• Baia’s story reveals common needs among American citizens of different races.

• He is frustrated by the elderly black man’s reluctance to help others.

• Baia’s story reveals how Obama personally mentored her.

Open Ended

For what reason would Obama share personal, family stories during a political speech? How does referring to his personal life affect his argument? Cite examples from the text in your response.

Assignment from McGraw-Hill

Study Sync