MLK's "Beyond Vietnam" Speech - Rhetorical Analysis Essay Lesson Writing Guide

This resource supports your students' rhetorical analysis essay writing with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech/sermon, delivered at Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, "Beyond Vietnam--A Time to Break the Silence" (also known as the "Riverside Church speech." Important: This listing is for a two-page excerpt of the entire sermon. (See product previews). The full speech, read loud is linked to the assignment (YouTube) and includes a transcript within that link.

When I teach this speech, I focus on looking at Dr. King's delivery through juxtaposition. I've included slides to support students' understanding of juxtaposition and how to analyze it as a rhetorical device. I have also linked 3 of my YouTube videos on strategies for Reading Like a Writer and analyzing the following rhetorical devices: repetition, parallelism, juxtaposition, alliteration, analogy (metaphor/simile), irony, sarcasm, understatement, litotes, asyndeton, polysyndeton.

This resource includes a detailed/scaffolded Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Guide, which hats helped my students write the AP Language Rhetorical Analysis essay, connecting writer's / speaker's choice in writing to idea-based themes, while analyzing the function and impact of the writing choice. This Guide is a color-coded chart that helps students "chunk" and process the thinking steps of writing a rhetorical analysis essay. This is modeled after the AP Language Rhetorical Analysis essay, but would be great in other grades as well as history.

What's included:

• 17-slide lesson on juxtaposition as a rhetorical device, how it functions and builds a deeper meaning within the text on a word/phrase/sentence level and in relation to the writer's message. Facilitates students' understanding of juxtaposition through visual thinking.

• A detailed/scaffolded essay writing graphic organizer that guides students in developing thorough analysis and commentary with specific rhetorical analysis questions to get students to see the connection between writing choice (What / How / Why) it connects to the writer/speaker's message and produces a "so what" (Impact), as well as thesis writing frame and claim/topic sentence writing frame. The table organizer contains cues to get students to connect rhetorical choice to device to message and impact.

• A Google Document with assignment overview + brief description of juxtaposition + Dr. King's EXCERPTED sermon/speech. Please note: This listing is a two-page excerpt of Dr. King's full sermon/speech.

• A single slide demonstrating "rhetorical analysis sentence flow," or variations of pairing sentences together to dig deeper beyond the function of the rhetorical device, but how it helps shape the speech and deliver the message.

• Links embedded into the documents: power verbs, tone wheel, rhetorical analysis writing frames, 3 videos on my YouTube Channel on rhetorical devices beyond juxtaposition (see above description, link to the full audio version (YouTube) of Dr. King delivering the sermon/speech.

I've had great outcomes using the table guide/writing organizer as a first step to the rhetorical analysis essay. After a few times with it, students begin to see the connections required of this essay.

Juxtaposition in this speech is deeply embedded in its message as I guide students to look for more than one level of meaning. By analyzing for juxtaposition, students begin to pair side-by-side Dr. King's descriptions of racism in America with injustices of Vietnam War and push each other to think about his message. As a speech that conveys Dr. King's views on the Vietnam War, and a call for taking action both for Civil Rights in America as well as a call for peace in Vietnam, the text also pairs well with SPACECAT or SOAPSTone and discussion of the Rhetorical Situation - exigence, purpose, message - and its place in history of our nation and globally.

Two other resources that I find helpful are my listings for AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Reflection Tool and Rhetorical Device BIG Slide Deck.

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