Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric

Roman Roads Press describes Fitting Words as a complete curriculum covering a year of instruction for high school students and above, with a hardback textbook, a student workbook, an answer key, an exam pack, and a video course.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Classical rhetoric: the publisher says the 30 lessons are arranged around the five canons of rhetoric, with speeches written and delivered by the student (product page)
Worldview	The product page says Fitting Words is "anchored on the Word of God and written from a Christian perspective." The publisher's statement of faith says its courses reflect a Protestant perspective with a "Mere Christianity" approach, and that its leadership is committed to the major Reformational Protestant confessions, especially the Westminster Confession of Faith, but is also appreciative of the historic Christian traditions
Grades	The product page says high school students and above, is headed grades 9-12+, and is tagged 10th and 11th grade. The rhetoric page repeats grades 9-12+ and 10th-11th grade, the individual products page is headed grades 9-12, and the curriculum page gives grades 8-12 and adult education
Formats	Non-consumable hardback textbook, consumable student workbook, answer key, exam pack, and a video course as streaming or Blu-ray/DVD plus streaming (bundle page); the individual products page describes the exam pack as a looseleaf packet
Cost tier	Standard: the bundle lists at $115 to $204, retrieved October 2026
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	The publisher lists the state ESA programs it works with; confirm for your state
Accredited	The publisher's pages we read state no accreditation status for Fitting Words. The founder's FAQ reply that curriculum is not by itself accredited concerned its Western Civilization coursework and says nothing specific about Fitting Words
Established	The product page describes a first edition in 2016 and a second edition in 2018, the current edition
Website	romanroadspress.com/store/fitting-words

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	5	Thirty lessons arranged around the five canons, exercises for every lesson, nine exams, and up to five speeches to write and deliver
Ease of teaching	4	A lesson video and an application video for every lesson, and an answer key with answers to all exercises and exams; the student delivers the speeches to a parent, teacher, or other judge, who can use the judging sheets (preface)
Content quality	5	In our assessment, the scope is coherent: the textbook's table of contents runs from foundations of rhetoric through invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery
Flexibility	4	The answer key offers one-year and two-year schedules, the parts are sold separately, and a co-op and school video license is $25 for an academic year
Value for money	4	The bundle lists at $115 without video and $204 with video (retrieved October 2026)
Worldview scope	2	Written from a Christian perspective, with examples from scripture used throughout the lessons
Visual/design	4	A hardback textbook with more than 100 original illustrations
Support resources	3	The publisher lists live chat and email and a private Facebook group, and says it offers live classes for Fitting Words

Who the publisher is

Roman Roads Press sells Fitting Words on its store page. The publisher's terms and conditions state that the site is operated by Roman Roads Media, LLC, which they call Roman Roads Press, and the copyright page of the 2018 textbook sample names Roman Roads Media, LLC as publisher, in Moscow, Idaho. The product page says the course was written by Roman Roads staff with experience teaching classical rhetoric to young people, and neither the product page nor the sample's copyright page names an author.

The product page says the Second Edition (2018) is the current edition and was primarily a graphical overhaul, with page numbers kept intact so that first and second edition materials can be mixed. Roman Roads Press describes itself as a publisher of curriculum and books in the classical Christian tradition.

The core pedagogy

The publisher says rhetoric is the capstone of a classical education. Fitting Words has 30 lessons arranged around the five canons of rhetoric, invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery, and also covers the six parts of a discourse and the three modes of persuasion. The table of contents in the publisher's sample PDF groups the lessons into seven units: Foundations of Rhetoric (Lessons 1-4), Invention and Arrangement (5-9), Understanding Emotions: Ethos and Pathos (10-13), Special Lines of Argument (14-16), General Lines of Argument (17-24), Style and Ornament (25-28), and Memory and Delivery (29-30). The General Lines of Argument unit includes lessons on terms and definitions, deductive arguments, and informal fallacies, per the same table of contents.

The individual products page says the textbook reproduces 12 primary speech examples in full in the back of the text and has an appendix identifying every speech in the Bible. The textbook preface says every lesson ends with optional Thinking Deeper, Developing Memory, and Reading Further sections, and that each lesson has one or two exercises in the Student Workbook.

The preface also says the course assigns five speeches, delivered by the student to a parent, teacher, or other judge after Lessons 13, 14, 15, 16, and 30, with judging sheets in the Student Workbook and the Exam Packet. The product page says students write and deliver up to five complete speeches.

The individual products page says each lesson has two videos, Lesson and Application, and that there is an exam prep video for each of the nine exams. The bundle page describes the video course as in-depth teaching from the author for every lesson, and the pages we read do not name the instructor. The exam pack is a looseleaf packet of nine exams with test review sheets and speech judging sheets, and the answer key includes answers to all exercises and exams, point suggestions for the exams, and suggested one- and two-year course schedules.

How a week runs

The publisher recommends these steps for each lesson: read the lesson in the textbook, watch the Lesson portion of the video, work the exercises in the Student Workbook, watch the Application portion with the workbook open, and, where appropriate, put the application into practice (individual products page).

The individual products page says the answer key includes suggested one- and two-year course schedules.

What they do exceptionally well

Five-canon structure. The five canons organize the whole course, and the table of contents gives memory and delivery their own unit, Lessons 29 and 30.

Speech practice is built in. The preface assigns five speeches, and the workbook and exam pack both include speech judging sheets, so the person judging has the criteria in hand.

Parts are sold separately. The individual products page sells the textbook, workbook, answer key, exam pack, and video separately, and the publisher offers a video license for co-ops and schools for one academic year.

Live-class option. The product page says the publisher also offers live classes for Fitting Words. The getting started page says most of its curriculum is available as a live online class through its sister company, Kepler Education, with classes limited to 12 students.

What they do poorly

A Christian perspective by design. The product page says Fitting Words is anchored on the Word of God and written from a Christian perspective, uses examples from scripture throughout the lessons, and has an appendix identifying more than 500 speeches in the Bible. Lesson 1 in the table of contents is titled A Christian View of Rhetoric. Families who want a worldview-neutral rhetoric course should read the product description and the textbook sample before buying.

Speeches need a judge. The preface says the course assigns five speeches to be delivered to a parent, teacher, or other judge, so the student needs someone to hear and score them. In our assessment, scoring a speech means judging argument and style rather than checking answers against a key; the publisher supplies judging sheets for that purpose.

The video is priced separately. The textbook, workbook, answer key, and exam pack total $115, and the video course adds $89 (retrieved October 2026). A family that wants the video should plan on the $204 bundle price.

The grade band is not consistent across the publisher's pages. The product page says high school students and above and is headed grades 9-12+ with 10th and 11th grade tags, the rhetoric page repeats those bands, the individual products page is headed grades 9-12, and the curriculum page gives grades 8-12 and adult education. Check the textbook sample before choosing a year.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Fitting Words if: you want a one-year classical rhetoric course for high school built around the five canons; your student will write and deliver speeches to a parent, teacher, or other judge; you are comfortable with a course written from a Christian perspective, with scripture examples throughout; you want a bundle of textbook, workbook, answer key, exam pack, and optional video from one publisher.

• Skip Fitting Words if: you want a worldview-neutral or secular rhetoric course; no one is available to hear and judge the speeches; you need a course with a stated accreditation status, which the publisher's pages we read do not give for Fitting Words; you want a multi-year writing sequence rather than a single rhetoric course.

Cost honest assessment

The figures below are the publisher's list prices, retrieved October 2026.

• The Fitting Words bundle lists at $115 without video and at $204 with streaming video or with Blu-ray/DVD plus streaming. The bundle page lists the textbook at $59, the workbook at $24, the answer key at $22, and the exam pack at $10, and describes the textbook as non-consumable and the workbook as consumable.
• The individual products page lists the video course at $89 as streaming and at $89 as Blu-ray plus streaming.
• A school or co-op video license is $25 for one academic year.

The publisher's return policy allows a return within 60 days for a full refund.

ESA eligibility notes

As of October 2026, the publisher's ESA page says the most common method is to purchase from its site and submit the invoice to the state ESA program, most often through ClassWallet, and that it is working on a DirectPay option. It lists the states it is currently working with: the NH Scholarship Fund, Ohio's ACE program, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Indiana, with others in progress. It notes that some states require families to request a vendor before the vendor can apply. Confirm eligibility with your state program before ordering.

Alternatives

• Writing & Rhetoric (Classical Academic Press), a family would choose Writing & Rhetoric over Fitting Words for a multi-year writing sequence: Classical Academic Press describes it as a writing journey for grades 3-12 that moves step by step through the classical progymnasmata.
• The Lost Tools of Writing (CiRCE Institute), a family would choose Lost Tools over Fitting Words for a persuasive-writing course: CiRCE describes three levels that train students in the classical art of rhetoric, ideal for students in seventh through tenth grade, with Level I covering primarily the persuasive essay.
• IEW Introduction to Public Speaking, a family would choose IEW's course over Fitting Words for a shorter speaking course: IEW describes a twelve-week course for grades 6-8 and 9-12 in which students learn memory and delivery techniques as they write and present five speeches.