Kennedy’s Rhetoric

This analytical worksheet is designed to help students in Grades 9, 10, and 11 closely examine the rhetorical craftsmanship of John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Inaugural Address. Students identify and analyze rhetorical devices such as parallelism, antithesis, repetition, and emotional appeal, focusing on how these techniques strengthen persuasion, unity, emphasis, and historical impact within a landmark political speech.

Learning Goals

• Rhetorical Devices in Speech (Grades 9-11)
  Students identify examples of parallelism, antithesis, repetition, and appeals in a historical address.
• Structure & Emphasis
  Learners analyze how repetition and balanced structure reinforce key ideas.
• Persuasive Technique Evaluation
  Students examine how rhetorical choices influence audience response and credibility.
• Historical Context & Meaning
  The activity connects rhetorical strategies to the Cold War era and national purpose.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with secondary ELA and social studies standards.
• AP-Style Text Analysis
  Prepares students for advanced rhetorical analysis and timed writing tasks.
• Close Reading & Annotation
  Encourages careful attention to language, structure, and purpose.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for rhetoric units, U.S. history integration, discussion prep, or assessment practice.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with identifying and analyzing rhetorical devices in a historically significant speech. By studying Kennedy’s use of language and persuasion, learners strengthen critical reading, rhetorical awareness, and evidence-based analysis skills. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports confident engagement with complex political texts and prepares students for advanced literary and rhetorical study.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 11 Reading Comprehension collection.