Making Sense of Messages: A Critical Apprenticeship in Rhetorical Criticism

Using a developmental approach to the process of criticism,Making Sense of Messagesserves as an introduction to rhetorical criticism for communication majors. The text employs models of criticism to offer pointed and reflective commentary on the thinking process used to apply theory to a message. This developmental/apprenticeship approach helps students understand the thinking process behind critical analysis and aids in critical writing. Criticism Modelshelp students understand the critical thought process by presenting in a two-column format, with the model on the left and running critical commentary on the right. ModelStudent Essaysuse the same two-column format. A student's work is presented in the left-hand column, and author suggestions, reminders, and corrections appear in the right-hand column. ASequencingtool allows students to monitor their own thinking while elaborating on four types of critical thinking necessary to complete analysis.Sally J. Perkins is the author of 'Making Sense of Messages: A Critical Apprenticeship in Rhetorical Criticism' with ISBN 9780618144884 and ISBN 0618144889.