Teaching Taco Bell Canon Summary

Rhetorical Analysis of “Teaching Taco Bell Canon”

“New studies show that children read for leisure less as they get older, with 45% of 17-year-olds saying that they read by choice only once or twice a year” (Time). The lack of interest for reading is unfortunately true. Moreover, it is causing students to spell and pronounce words incorrectly. In this highly descriptive article, “Teaching Taco Bell Canon”, James E. Courter recounts the hilarious misspellings that students wrote in their essays. Courter’s tone, evidence, and rhetorical mode of narration supports his argument that a lack of reading may hinder a person’s ability to communicate effectively.

The author evokes a comically light hearted tone throughout the article. He emphasizes this tone by adding, “they have erroneous, and sometimes hilarious, notions of how the written language represents what they hear” (Courter). This article was not intended to mock or ridicule his students, but

He references “Many students have difficulty adjusting to life in dormitories” (Courter) to exhibit some of the issues this caused. Also, he adds, “two young men who missed class” to describe how this has taken place in his own life. By describing situations where this happens in real life extends this problem for more than just an essay. Lack of reading not only causes a person to be more likely to misspell a word in an essay, but it broadens to real life scenarios as well.

The tone, evidence, and rhetorical mode of narration presented in the article support the author’s main argument that students who read less are more likely to interpret the words they hear incorrectly. Reading is linked with writing, and people that read often tend to be more proficient writers. Courter’s use of real life scenarios showcase how this issue extends to more than an essay and how it widens to real life.