Whether we like it or not, English teachers are at a strange crossroads. AI most definitely impacts our classrooms, as it makes bypassing actual writing easier and faster for students, and it is incredibly hard to regulate. Even more so, the question is: in five years, will we even be writing essays? Are essays necessary to be able to write and to be good thinkers?

For now, the answer is yes, and we cannot predict what the future is going to be, as I didn’t have a return to cursive writing on my bingo card, but I believe human writing will always be essential to learning. Therefore, my goal is still to teach my students how to be effective writers. To do that, students still need to be able to think, organize their ideas, and revise and reflect on what they’ve written. The challenge is: how do we get students to achieve those goals in a world where it is so easy to avoid doing the hard work?

I have struggled with this for the past year, seeing students use AI not as a tool, but as a way to simply cheat. Additionally, from students’ attention spans to a weird kind of post-pandemic existential dread that some students have, trying to motivate students to really be efficient and to think about what they are reading and writing about has become more and more difficult every year. As an English teacher, my goal is to make my class engaging, but also to ensure that they learn. Otherwise, what is the point?

Because my students need to be able to write according to the expectations that our current educational system mandates, it is my duty to make sure that they achieve those objectives. To do that, I cannot worry or lament the fact that the world has changed. I have to adapt to “survive,” which means I have to change how I teach. Some teachers talk about going back to pen and paper or to blue books, and even though I understand that sentiment, I find it shortsighted because technology can make us better writers if used correctly. We also cannot put our heads in the sand because that will not change the reality of the moment we are teaching in. Therefore, we have to be intentional in how we structure our lessons and our classes. We have to have clear boundaries that students understand. Instead of an open environment where students can write or not write essays unfettered at home, we must use class time to create a controlled environment that ensures they reach the expectations we set.

What I decided to do for the writing of our first formal essay in my composition class was to require that all writing be done in my classroom or during a student’s open period.

Absolutely nothing will be typed at home.

The reasons for this are twofold: first, I want to create a sense of urgency so students use class time effectively. Second, if they are at school, they cannot use their phones, as I require them to put them in pouches in the back of my classroom, and all AI is currently blocked at my school. I want to create an environment that forces the students to do the hard work of thinking and writing.

It may not be popular with the student, and definitely won’t be easy. The things I am planning on implementing in my class are things I never imagined I would have to do. For example, using GoGuardian is something I never thought I would implement. I disliked the idea of “spying” on students and once saw it as an infringement on their privacy. However, I have also watched students become increasingly distracted and increasingly reliant on AI tools to produce work that is not their own. Having students tearfully admit to cheating or defiantly attempt to gaslight me that this was their writing when it was so obviously not, is exhausting. Learning is obviously being hindered at minimum or not happening at all for many students. How many? I do not believe anyone can conclusively say, but the disruption in learning is real and substantial in our classrooms. At some point, I had to decide whether my discomfort mattered more than their education.

GoGuardian helps create an environment where the writing process remains visible. I can see what students are working on, redirect them if they drift off task, and step in quickly when someone is stuck. The goal is not surveillance but to force them to do the hard work of thinking. If I can see their process, I can support the students. The most important aspect about requiring that writing be done in class is that I know my students are thinking, and I know they are writing. I do not have to rely on AI detectors, interrogate students, or investiage revision histories like some private investigator. Some teachers will say this is not how composition classes should be taught, and I do not entirely disagree. However, the way composition classes used to be taugh, writing mostly out of class, is unrealistic in a world where shortcuts are so easily available. To be blunt, more students are using AI to write their work than we want to admit.

The unfortunate part about shortcuts is that because they are easy, they do not promote hard work or critical thinking, and it is my job to ensure students practice both. If they cannot do those two things, they will not become proficient writers, and I will have failed as a teacher. The idea that things “should” be a certain way gets in the way for so many teachers. Parents should be more involved (or less involved), students should try harder, students should be kinder, and administrators should understand what teachers face daily. All those “shoulds” are distractions from the current reality. Our job is to teach the students in front of us and figure out the best way to do that.

If I am going to control the writing environment, I also need to model responsible AI use inside that environment. Control alone is not enough, as students also need guidance. If I simply block AI without teaching them how to engage with it thoughtfully, I am ignoring the reality they will face outside my classroom. AI can damage student writing if it is used to create the writing itself. However, I wanted to experiment with AI, specifically Gemini, and use it as a writing assistant rather than a writing substitute. As a teacher, it is difficult to reach every student at the exact moment they need help. There is a class to manage, emails to answer, and countless decisions to make during a single period. Plus, there are far more of them than there are of me. AI will be part of my students’ lives, so learning how to leverage it responsibly is something I believe matters.

With that in mind, I customized a Gem (a customized agent) on Gemini that prompts students with questions, encourages revision, and clarifies expectations. I fed the Gem my rhetorical analysis directions and rubric and explicitly instructed it not to rewrite sentences, generate full paragraphs, or replace student decision-making. Instead, I want it to prompt students to think more deeply about the analytical choices they are making in their writing. I am able to unblock it for my students using GoGuardian.

Rhetorical Analysis Gem

We begin the writing process by ensuring students understand what they are being asked to do. We review directions, and ideally, they internalize the expectations from our prior work in this unit. Students annotate their chosen article, and the outline walks them through the argument from beginning to end. I do not want them categorizing by appeals because that often limits their thinking and leads them to overlook key parts of the argument. I want them to approach rhetorical analysis as a tour guide, walking the reader through the article’s argument from beginning to end.

2026 Essay Rhetorical Analysis Annotation Outline

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Once students begin working through the outline, many start to see how it forms into an essay. After completing the outline, students begin drafting. They are given ample class time, and they are not allowed to draft outside my classroom. They may come during open periods or before or after school, but the writing happens only in my classroom. Our school’s internet filters block AI tools except for the Gemini Gem I created, and the students can only access it when I approve its use through Go Guardian. I will explain that although they can access broader AI tools in Gemini, doing so risks being flagged and receiving a zero. Clear boundaries matter.

Giving only class time to draft requires flexibility. Real-world disruptions happen, so I will adjust timelines when needed and eliminate other assignments if necessary. I do believe that dedicating this time to in-class writing forces students to be more efficient and, ultimately, produces stronger work.

All of these steps are designed to help students write more deliberately and think more carefully. They learn how to plan, how to structure an argument, and how to use AI as a tool rather than a shortcut. This is my thinking and goal to achieve with my classes. I am hoping this approach reduces cheating and produces essays that demonstrate deep thought and careful analysis.

This is not about control. It is about preserving thinking in a world of shortcuts.

Odds and ends:

• Students select the article they want to read and write about from a collection of essays and articles I have collected. Malcolm Gladwell, Christopher Hitchens, Wright Thompson, and pieces from The Atlantic are just a few of the options they have to write about.

• I do not profess to have the absolute answers, but I believe that writing instruction that does not include outlines is not good practice. Planning is underrated.

• My next post will examine how this change in approach went and the students’ perspective.

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Context-I teach upper-level high school English in a concurrent setting. My students are relatively well-behaved and good students. There are pockets of apathy and days when no one seems motivated. While some students are competent enough writers, many lack confidence and hesitate to take risks in their writing and analysis.

The second week, we shift from individually analyzing the rhetorical appeals separately to analyzing rhetorical appeals tandemly in groups by moving through the argument chronologically from beginning to end. The groups consist of four students that are randomly selected (with minor tweaks if certain students just cannot work together) for a few reasons. First, it is January. The students are comfortable with who they are comfortable with, which can lead to off-task behavior as they sense that their academic career as a K–12 student is coming to a close. Additionally, I believe it is essential that they learn soft skills as much as possible, and working with people you don’t know, or may even dislike, is a fact of being a human adult. I explain how I may not like every teacher in my department, but every single teacher in my department thinks I like them. This is a bit of a fabrication, as I work with really nice people, but if you work in a school for a month, you can’t help but spot the coworker who makes you question universities’ teacher preparation programs’ vetting processes.

The students choose a podcast from either Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell or Plain English by Derek Thompson. I suggest episodes that I think lend themselves well to the assignment, but they are allowed to choose whatever they want. This is when I begin to emphasize that arguments are everywhere. From the clothes we wear to the certificates on my wall, “arguments” are not necessarily only verbal crash outs we see on TikTok but can be subtle and implicit. This framing helps students see argument as a series of choices rather than a single stated claim. This is a constant reminder to the students while they work on this project because the podcast (especially Gladwell’s) present subtle positions that can seem infallibly informational and factual.

Once they choose the podcast episode, they are given a notes sheet to collect their ideas and a Google Slide deck that walks them through the analysis of the podcast. Both tools scaffold the process by prompting students to identify claims, evidence, and rhetorical moves as they appear in the podcast. They are given three days to listen, take notes, and create their presentation. On Thursday, they finish up loose ends and record a rehearsal of their presentation. The rehearsal recording allows the students to make sure they are all on the same page as far as who is presenting. I grade the rehearsal only for completion.

Rhetorical Analysis Notes & Chunking

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Revisionist History Analysis Podcast

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Purpose Analysis Graphic Organizer

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Friday is presentation day. I grade the groups as they present and release the grades after everyone has finished. Presentations are assessed primarily on the quality of evidence selection and depth of rhetorical analysis rather than their skill in public speaking. If a student no-shows the presentation, they do not earn points for the speaking portion. Students who miss because of activities or actual illness work with me and their group to find a time to present.

The students are engaged with the podcasts and do a good job with the presentations. Most importantly, we have mimicked how I want them to analyze the chosen article for their essay, chronologically, from beginning to end. This group project serves as a model students later replicate independently in writing their own rhetorical analysis.

I emphasize during this week that I do not want to hear the words ethos, pathos, or logos in the presentation. They must name the components the writer uses to establish their argument. For example, students describe how credibility is established, how an anedocode creates emotion, or how historical context may be used to support a position rather than labeling appeals.

Random odds and ends

• To avoid the dreaded summary land, I emphasize focusing on the “writer.” What moves are they making to create their argument? Students are repeatedly asked to explain why a move is effective and what it accomplishes rhetorically. I want them to tell me how the “writer” is supporting their argument.

• I push them to evaluate these moves. I want them to be critical readers and not passive participants. Analysis with evidence is strong; dismissing it or praising it without support is opinion, which is weak sauce.

• My next post, I am going to outline how I am changing my approach to drafting formal essays because of AI and what my plan is going to be.

I lead off the semester with rhetorical analysis because it builds a foundational skill: the ability to identify how arguments are constructed. By evaluating the effectiveness of a writer’s choices and moves now, I hope students develop the internal knowledge they can use later in the semester. By understanding how to analyze rhetoric, helps the students to effectively vet credible sources and support their own arguments when they begin the research process.

I am going to outline my approach to reading and pre-writing in this post in preparation of the students writing their own rhetorical analysis. Even though I teach older students, I would use the same approach for ELA classes starting in 7th grade. Obviously, the reading and the expectations would be altered to meet the skill and the grade level of the students.

I begin by reviewing the rhetorical appeals. Even though they have covered these ad nauseam in their time as ELA students, I don’t want to assume, so we do quick 4-5 day in-class activities to get reacquainted with rhetoric or rapidly learn the appeals.

Pathos Analysis

I begin this lesson by asking if they know Star Wars and have an opinion on it. Most have heard of it, but only some have watched it-and the ones who have are deep into it.

From there, I explain who Boba Fett is and how, as a child, every boy I knew wanted to be him. We then watch the first 20 minutes of the Disney+ episode of The Book of Boba Fett. The majority of students find it boring but appreciate the chance to watch something on the first day back instead of doing a review of the syllabus.

The next day, they read Drew Magary’s review of the episode. It is scathing and crude. I like to choose material that will create an emotional reaction in the students, and this definitely does that. Even if students don’t like the episode, some are turned off by Magary’s bitterness. This is good, as there is nothing as bad as apathy toward what we read. Without some sort of emotional investment, any meaningful analysis will be difficult to achieve.

I print the article and a graphic organizer and have them fill out the organizer while they read. The graphic organizer linked below is adapted from Jennifer Fletcher’s Teaching Arguments: Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response.

'The Book of Boba Fett' premiere is an abysmal failure on every level

Comp Pathos Analysis Graphic Organizer (1)

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I use a rubric where they earn points for completing the chart and for the effectiveness in their written response. I tell the students to not get caught up on filling out the boxes, but highlight what they deem important and focus on writing a response that addresses the bolded questions: How did the author go about doing this? Why did they do this? What purpose does it serve?

Logos Analysis

I am always on the hunt for interesting content to engage students. When it comes to logos analysis, this can be a struggle, as it is difficult to find something that will capture the interest of the majority. I have used 60 Minutes segments in the past that were timely, but I had trouble finding segments that didn’t require far more context than the time I had allotted. Recently, I have used a video from Vox about loops in roller coasters.

I start by asking students to discuss their opinions on roller coasters to begin the class. Once we talk about that, I ask them about their all-time favorites. This leads into me telling a story about riding the Millennium Force at Cedar Point. I try to share personal stories to make connections to what we are about to cover, but also to show that even though I am a teacher, I am human. It’s all about building those relationships, y’all!

We watch the video and repeat the process we used for pathos. Side note: at this point in their academic careers, I don’t spend too much time introducing the appeals. Most of them already know them, and I want them to learn by doing. The graphic organizer really helps them learn the components of the argument. Furthermore, I want them to focus less on the three appeals specifically as we move through the unit. Students have a tendency to throw around the names of the three appeals in a way that doesn’t make sense. The creator of the Vox video isn’t thinking, ‘Hmm, I need to use some logos’; he simply uses data and experts to prove his point. I want my students to focus on the latter rather than the former.

Comp Logos Analysis Graphic Organizer (1)

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Ethos Analysis

At this point, you get the drill. This time we focus on public speaking by analyzing commencement speeches. Students have the option to watch either Steve Jobs, Admiral McRaven, or Conan O’Brien establish credibility with their audiences. The past few years, I have let the class vote on one that we can watch together instead of everyone branching off. I am always more than pleased and hopeful about the future when they choose the Conan O’Brien speech. Granted, I do a pretty good job of selling it. The students appreciate the humor, but Conan’s speech would fly over younger students’ heads—and of course, they have no knowledge of the late-night show wars, so I do a quick explanation of that, which usually results in mostly blank stares. However, Conan’s commencement speech still works perfectly for ethos analysis for upper level high school students while the other two speeches I would use with younger students.

This takes about 4–5 days to cover in class, and I do believe it works for what I am trying to accomplish: a working knowledge of the rhetorical appeals and their components.

A few other thoughts:

• Finding content that engages your students while covering what is in the graphic organizer is the key. What I choose may not fit what your students would find appealing, but there is something out there, so spend time finding it! Engagement is key in developing skills.

• When grading their responses, I am generous in my scoring. However, I am looking to see what they are not understanding about the appeals so I can address those gaps in mini-lessons or openers the following week.

• As you talk to students about their work, start to push them to be specific about what the ‘writer’ is doing. For example, Conan doesn’t just ‘use ethos’ to establish credibility; he mentions his time working in television.

My next post will be about the second week of this unit. If you have any questions or ideas, please leave them in the comments. What I have works, but it is far from perfect. Sharing is not only caring, but it makes everyone involved better teachers.