Intro
This is the lesson that seemed to be most memorable to my students. TWEP is an acronym my mom taught her high school AP students for 35+ years. It’s an acronym that stands for To What Effect and Purpose. The goal is to get students to always think about explaining the “so what” to everything they write. I want them to think metacognitively about their writing and I want them to be intentional with their writing and for them to be intentional they need to explain the effect and purpose for every point and sentence that they write. TWEP offers a quick way to think through this concept.
Another thing I like about this lesson is that it teaches that there are some concepts and rules that cross boundaries. Maybe the effect and purpose of your language will change between genres, but you do still need to explain that effect and purpose. I sometimes fear that my students will break through the performative wall and then feel rudderless. Teaching them rules that cross boundaries helps them find a rudder!
One of my primary goals as a teacher is to give students rules that work across boundaries. These rules help them to situate themselves in new rhetorical situations more quickly. They can alter their tone and tailor their voice while still keeping a few key rules in mind to make sure that they are communicating effectively. Throughout the semester I also like to show them how each genre also contains its own, community defined rules. But I’ve found from student feedback that TWEP is an acronym that sticks with students. In their multi-modal project presentations, I always get a couple of students who invoke the acronym.
One thing I’m looking to develop more with this lesson is how to incorporate different languages into the lesson. I want to be able to show a little more clearly that it doesn’t matter the genre, TWEP almost always applies.
Note: This lesson plan is an approximation of the lesson I teach. I tend to be less formal with my lessons; I like to be flexible and able to adjust according to where the students lead me. As such, I give myself examples in my lesson plans and outline happy-paths, but I also don’t necessarily follow them. They serve as outlines more than anything.
Lesson Plan: From Observation to Analysis with "TWEP"
Time Allotted: 50 minutes
Learning Objective: Students will be able to move beyond simple observation and into detailed rhetorical analysis by applying the "TWEP" acronym to their writing.
Part 1: Introduction & Setting the Stage (5 minutes)
- Reviewing Mini-Analysis: Students have made great observations, but they aren’t answering the “So what” for those observations. They aren’t hooking readers, and they aren’t getting us invested in their writing. Show examples of observations.
- Introduce TWEP: Write the acronym "TWEP" on the board and reveal the meaning: "To What Effect and Purpose." Explain that this is the missing piece in their analysis.
Part 2: The Three Levels of Analysis (10 minutes)
- Level 1: Observation (What is it?) - Write: "Iggy, the school mascot was included on the flyer"
- Level 2: Connection (What rhetorical strategy is it?) - Write: "Including Iggy on the flyer is a use of ethos"
- Level 3: Analysis (TWEP - Why it matters?) - Write: "The creator of the flyer chose to include Iggy, the school mascot, as an appeal to ethos that was intended to give students confidence that Iggy’s Adventure Games is an official school event."
- Discussion: Point out how Level 3 answers two critical questions:
- To what effect? (It boosts the viewer's emotional connection.)
- To what purpose? (To make them want to go to the event.)
- Emphasize that the purpose is the author's intent.
Use examples of flyers used and practice taking observations to analysis land.
Part 3: Guided Activity - The "So What?" Method (15 minutes)
- We look at media examples, make observations, and ask so what 3-5 times.
Part 4: The "Be Specific" Principle (10 minutes)
- Look at impersonal pronoun usage (This was a specific section for the class I was teaching. I was covering a topic I saw come up a lot in their previous assignment. That said, excessive impersonal pronoun usage is a common theme I have found throughout all FYC classes)
Part 5: Wrap-Up & Homework (10 minutes)
- Review: Briefly recap the four key ideas: Observation, Connection, Analysis (TWEP), and Specificity.
- Homework: Assign students the following task:
- "Go back to your campus flyer essay. Find one body paragraph that is descriptive or only makes a connection.
- "Rewrite that paragraph, making sure to apply the TWEP acronym. Ask yourself, 'To what effect and purpose did the rhetor make this choice?'
- "Make sure your revised paragraph is as specific as possible, using our discussion from today to guide you."