Florida B.E.S.T. ELA.9.R.2.3
The Standard
Analyze how an author establishes and achieves purpose(s) through rhetorical appeals and/or figurative language.
Florida B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify the intended audience, the author’s goal, and the response the author wants. They explain how specific appeals or figures of speech shape that response.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can identify the audience, message, and intended response in an informational text. The student can cite a specific phrase and explain why that choice works for that audience.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often label ethos, pathos, or logos without explaining the effect. They may call any emotional word pathos or any statistic logos, even when it does not support the claim. They may spot a metaphor but miss how it shapes the reader’s response.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short editorial and ask: “Choose one rhetorical appeal or example of figurative language. Explain how it helps persuade the intended audience.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed speech and three colors of sticky notes to tag appeals, figurative language, and each choice’s intended effect.
Ask students to write: Which single phrase best advances the author’s purpose, and how would the passage change without it?
Run a card match where teams pair short excerpts with audience, purpose, appeal, and effect cards, then defend one match.
Compare two public service ads on the same issue, and decide which rhetorical choices better move the target audience to act.
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Printable ELA.9.R.2.3 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- ELA.10.R.3.4
Analyze an author's use of rhetoric in a text.
- ELA.11.R.3.4
Evaluate an author's use of rhetoric in text.
- ELA.8.R.3.4
Explain how an author uses rhetorical devices to support or advance an appeal.
- ELA.8.R.2.3
Explain how an author establishes and achieves purpose(s) through rhetorical appeals and/or figurative language.
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