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North CarolinaEnglish Language

Analyzing Argument and Author's Craft

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you analyze an author's craft, the deliberate choices of word, sentence, structure, and tone, and explain why those choices serve the author's purpose?

Analyzing the author's craft: reading deliberate choices of diction, sentence structure, organization, and tone as purposeful, explaining how a specific choice advances the author's purpose or central idea, and analyzing craft in both informational and argumentative passages on an unseen NC English II EOC text.
How to analyze an author's craft on an NC English II EOC passage: reading choices of diction, sentence structure, organization, and tone as deliberate, and explaining how a specific choice serves the author's purpose or central idea. The EOC rewards connecting a craft choice to its effect and purpose.
10 min answer →

How do you detect bias and one-sidedness in a text, and how does an author's use of counterclaims affect the strength and fairness of an argument?

Bias, perspective, and counterclaims: detecting bias and one-sidedness through word choice and selection or omission of evidence, distinguishing fact from opinion, and analyzing how an author's acknowledgment and rebuttal of counterclaims strengthens an argument on an unseen NC English II EOC passage.
How to detect bias and read counterclaims on an NC English II EOC passage: spotting one-sidedness through word choice and selection or omission of evidence, telling fact from opinion, and analyzing how acknowledging and rebutting counterclaims strengthens an argument. The EOC tests reading an argument's fairness.
9 min answer →

How do you delineate an argument by separating its central claim from the reasons and evidence that support it, and from the counterclaims it answers?

Delineating an argument and its claims: identifying the central claim (thesis) of an argumentative text, separating it from the reasons and evidence that support it, distinguishing a claim from a counterclaim, and mapping how the parts of an argument fit together on an unseen NC English II EOC passage.
How to delineate an argument on an NC English II EOC passage: identifying the central claim, separating it from supporting reasons and evidence, telling a claim apart from a counterclaim, and mapping how the parts fit. Argument analysis is a core Integration of Knowledge and Ideas skill on the test.
10 min answer →

How do you judge whether an argument's reasoning is sound and its evidence is relevant and sufficient, including spotting common logical fallacies?

Evaluating reasoning and evidence: judging whether the reasoning in an argument is valid and whether the evidence is relevant, sufficient, and credible, recognizing common logical fallacies (such as hasty generalization, false cause, and either-or), and assessing how well evidence supports a claim on an unseen NC English II EOC passage.
How to evaluate reasoning and evidence on an NC English II EOC passage: judging whether reasoning is valid and evidence is relevant, sufficient, and credible, and spotting common fallacies like hasty generalization and false cause. The EOC asks you to assess an argument, not just summarize it.
10 min answer →

How do you identify the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) and persuasive techniques an author uses, and explain how they work on the reader?

Rhetorical appeals and techniques: identifying ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) and recognizing persuasive techniques such as repetition, rhetorical questions, loaded language, and appeals to authority, then explaining how each works to persuade a reader on an unseen NC English II EOC passage.
How to analyze rhetorical appeals and techniques on an NC English II EOC passage: identifying ethos, pathos, and logos and persuasive moves like repetition, rhetorical questions, and loaded language, then explaining how each persuades the reader. The EOC rewards explaining the effect of a rhetorical choice.
10 min answer →