Skip to content

References: Informational Text — Rhetoric, Argument, and Rhetorical Appeals

  1. Rhetoric - Wikipedia - Comprehensive history and theory of rhetoric from Aristotle through contemporary rhetorical studies, covering definitions of rhetoric, rhetorical situation, major rhetorical traditions, and the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos central to this chapter.

  2. Argumentation theory - Wikipedia - Explains the structure of arguments including claims, counterclaims, warrants, and evidence types; covers Toulmin's model of argumentation, which underlies the argument mapping skills in this chapter.

  3. Modes of persuasion - Wikipedia - Detailed treatment of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals — ethos, pathos, logos — and the later addition of kairos, with examples of how each appeal functions in persuasive and informational writing.

  4. Everything's an Argument with Readings (8th ed.) - Andrea Lunsford and John Ruszkiewicz - Bedford/St. Martin's - The most widely used college-level rhetoric and argument textbook; its treatment of rhetorical appeals, argument structure, and informational reading strategies is directly aligned with this chapter's concept list.

  5. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion (4th ed.) - Jay Heinrichs - Three Rivers Press - Accessible, engaging introduction to rhetorical argument for general readers; its conversational approach to ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos makes abstract rhetorical concepts concrete and memorable.

  6. Purdue OWL: The Rhetorical Situation - Purdue Online Writing Lab - Authoritative explanation of rhetorical situation (purpose, audience, context), the rhetorical appeals, and how to analyze them in informational texts; directly maps to this chapter's learning objectives.

  7. Achieve the Core: Reading Informational Text Standards - Student Achievement Partners - CCSS-aligned resources for reading informational text including close reading guides, text-dependent question sets, and author's purpose analysis tools.

  8. Khan Academy: Reading — Rhetoric and Argument - Khan Academy - Free practice reading passages featuring informational and argumentative texts with exercises in identifying claims, evidence, and rhetorical strategies.

  9. ThoughtCo: Rhetoric and Composition - ThoughtCo / Dotdash Meredith - Student-accessible explanations of rhetorical concepts including ethos, pathos, logos, kairos, author's purpose, and point of view in informational writing.

  10. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) - NCTE - Professional resources and position statements on teaching rhetoric, argument, and informational text reading, including research-backed instructional frameworks aligned to CCSS.