Friday, December 9, 2011

Ind Rdg Booktalk

AP English
Independent Reading

Booktalk

Rather than writing a paper over this independent reading book, I’d like you to prepare a booktalk.  This will still demand some preparation time and require you to look critically at your novel.  However, you’ll be able to skip the writing time.

You should include all of the following in your presentation:

  • Author, title, and year your book was written


  • Biographical and historical info on your author and his/her cultural context


  • BRIEF plot synopsis


  • Analysis of the novel:  what is the POINT of the book (theme/the author’s argument about society, humanity, life, etc.) and what aspects of the author’s writing show that (this is your evidence--discuss symbols, characters, setting, etc.)


  • Overview of at least two pieces of professional criticism on the particular text you read or the author’s work in general.  (Do not choose criticism over another text by the same author and try to make it work.) You need professional criticism written by scholars of literature.  This criticism should come ONLY from EBSCO’s Literary Reference Center OR a print source from the MC or Dunn Library.  Sources that are not really criticism will not receive credit!


  • Do some research to determine the impact of your particular text and/or author on the literary world.  What later works were inspired by this one?  Which authors/texts inspired your author?  Why is this author/text considered to be great?  (Notice I have not asked for your opinion on whether it’s great.  If you’re reading it, it is.  Instead, I want you to focus on what makes it great.)


The only thing I will collect from you is a works cited page documenting all the sources you used in preparing your presentation, including your independent reading book.  (This should be at least four sources.)  Do it right!  I’m grading for real now and you will not have a chance to re-do it.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Final Exam Study Guide

AP Language & Composition
1st Semester Exam Study Guide

Rhetoric/Argument Terms
Matching—I’ll pull from key terms in your textbook.

Short Argument Analysis
Multi-choice and short answer—I’ll provide you a NYT article.  You’ll read it and answer questions similar to what you’ve been doing with the NYT this week.

Good Readers & Good Writers
These questions will revolve around the essays by Nabokov, Frost, and Perrine.  Go back and review those essays as well as your reading journals and/or notes.

Connections in Literature
This section will focus on your 2nd quarter readings.  Firstly, you should be able to not only provide critical interpretations of the literature, but also pinpoint how the author uses the rhetorical model of writing to achieve his/her purpose.  Also, pay attention to the effect of literary devices—not just that they’re there, but how they function in the author’s overall purpose.  In other words, why does the author use them?

Secondly, look at the connections between the pieces of literature.  Pay attention to direct allusions, parody, etc. as well as more subtle connections.  Make sure you understand the value and purpose of connecting to previously written literature.  How does each contemporary author add to his/her purpose and overall effect by using these connections?  Be prepared to compare and contrast the audience, purpose, and meaning of each text.

Everything’s an Argument
This section will test you on your understanding of key concepts from the textbook.  Review your annotations, notes, or reread sections of the textbook with which you’re not totally comfortable.  You’ll also want to review the various kinds of writing we’ve covered this semester as there will be questions pertaining to the various rhetorical strategies in this section of the exam.

AP Multiple Choice
I’ll give you one section of an AP exam (a prose passage and the questions following).

AP Essay Prompt
I’ll give you one essay question for which you should allow yourself 40 minutes.  Remember, it’s important that you pay attention to what the prompt is asking of you and that you respond to all parts of it.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Reading Journal Conference--Written!

This must be submitted to Turnitin by midnight on Thursday.  This is an informal write-up (as if you were actually having a conversation with me) and can be brief but thorough.

1.  Evaluate yourself as a critical reader using Nabokov's standards (have EVIDENCE!!!)
  • strengths and weaknesses (which rules are you following and which are you not)
  • note improvement from 1st quarter

2.  Discuss your reading of each of this quarter's pairs.  Discuss the connections you see between the works and how critical reading helped you to understand that.
  • Jungle and FFN
  • Devil stories
  • Poe and Gilman

3.  Set your READING goal for next semester.  What can you focus on to continue to improve your critical reading?

Monday, November 28, 2011

Poe and Gilman RJ


AP Lang
Poe and Perkins Gilman Journal

POE
1.    Read the Poe first.  Because you may be familiar with the storyline, make sure you note any surprises or elements of the story you don’t remember.  On your first read:  Follow the general guidelines for your reading journal.  (This may be a good time to go back and look at those. ☺)

2.    On your second readPay careful attention to Poe’s language.  Note the level of vocabulary, the diction choices in establishing and maintaining a mood, the assonance and alliteration and consonance.  (Look up those terms before you begin to be sure you know what you’re looking for. ☺)

3.    Finally, chart the rhythm and pace in the entire story.  Make sure you use specific descriptors here.  Also note the use of loose (sentences that are constructed in a S-V grammatical structure) and periodic (sentences that force the reader to wait until the end for the S-V) sentences.  Make note of what is happening in the plot in relation to the pace and rhythm and sentence types.

PERKINS GILMAN
1.    Read the Gilman.  I strongly urge you to read it at least three times.  Note the obvious
       connections between the two stories, and be very specific.
2.    Note the significant departures from Poe in the Gilman.
3.    What can you say about the Gilman story regarding issues of power and authority?
4.    As the narrator begins to interpret the wallpaper, she becomes wholly taken up with
       figuring it out.  She says that her life “is very much more exciting now than it used to be. 
       You see I have something more to expect, to look forward to, to watch.”  A bit later she
       says, “I don’t want anybody to get that woman out at night but myself.”  Finally, she
       concludes with a confusion of pronouns that merges into a grammatical statement of
       identity:
As soon as it was moonlight and that poor thing began to crawl and shake the pattern, I got up and ran to help her.
              I pulled and she shook, and I shook and she pulled, and before morning we had peeled off yards of that paper.
             What do you make of that?  “I don’t know” is, obviously, an unacceptable answer. 
             Use what we’ve discussed with Nabokov and Perrine to try to come up with a plausible
             answer to what’s going on in this story.
5.    When does the narrator’s descent into madness begin?  How does the answer to
       that question affect your reading of the whole?


COME TO CLASS WITH YOUR RIGHT-HAND SIDE COMPLETED.  KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU MUST DO IT ALL.  IT SHOULD BE YOUR BEST ATTEMPT AT CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS.  COME TO CLASS WITH AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DISCUSS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THESE STORIES AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM BETTER.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Next Ind Rdg Book

World Literature Independent Reading
AP English

For your next independent reading book, your assignment is to expose yourself to some great world literature—an area where you guys are lacking.  To do this, I’d like you to read something in translation.  The objectives:

  • Read some of the greatest novels ever written
  • Acknowledge the great literature that is neither American nor British
  • Continue to read classics that well-read, educated audiences are assumed to have read—which may be alluded to in more recent writing
  • Understand the impact that some of these old Russian, French, and German authors had on literature


The list below is not complete, nor is it exclusive.  If you would like to read a book not on the list, you may AS LONG AS:
  • It is indeed great literature (not as determined by you, but widely accepted as outstanding writing)
  • It was not originally written in English (a.k.a. it has been translated into English)


The Trial—Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis—Franz Kafka
Crime and Punishment—Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Brothers Karamazov—Dostoyevsky
Notes From the Underground—Dostoyevsky
The Idiot—Dostoyevsky
The Eumenides—Aeschylus
Medea—Euripides
Anna Karenina—Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace—Tolstoy
Madame Bovary—Flaubert
The Cherry Orchard—Chekov
Three Sisters—Chekov
Aeneid—Virgil
All Quiet on the Western Front—Remarque
Crime and Punishment—Dostoyevsky
Divine Comedy:  Inferno—Dante
Don Quixote—Cervantes
Faust—Goethe
Iliad—Homer
The Stranger—Camus
The Plague—Camus
The Prince—Machiavelli
Steppenwolf—Hermann Hesse
Love in the time of Cholera—Gabriel Garcie Marquez
Hedda Gabler—Henrik Ibsen
The Misanthrope—Moliere
Tartuffe—Moliere
The Flowers of Evil—Baudelaire
So Long a Letter—Mariama Ba


Choose a book, sign it up with me, and then begin reading.  You should read it critically, annotating the copy or taking extensive notes.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Ind Rdg Nabokov Essay

AP Language
Independent Reading

We have talked extensively this quarter about Vladimir Nabokov's essay.  We will continue to do so as we use him as a standard with which to gauge our own critical reading skills.  Now, I would like you to assess yourself as a reader and assess the author of your fiction choice as a writer. This should be done only in the context of the Nabokov piece, "Good Readers and Good Writers." 

Objectives:
  • demonstrate your understanding of the Nabokov essay
  • analyze yourself as a critical reader, identifying your strengths and weaknesses when reading fiction on your own
  • continue your work with argumentation and analysis
  • demonstrate your ability as a writer: structure, organization, support, and standard English
The Assignment: This paper should have two distinct parts.
In Part One, assess yourself as a reader of your independent reading book using Nabokov's standards of major and minor readers. You must accomplish this in 500-600 words. Remember that you and the novel are the focus here: Do not simply summarize Nabokov's points.  Show how you stack up to his criteria and make sure you evidence to support your claims about yourself!
In Part Two, explain how the author of your book fits all three criteria for Nabokov's major writer.  You should also have evidence for this--quotes from the book that SHOW the author fulfilling Nabokov's roles for great writers. This section should also be 500-600 words.

Things to Consider:  
Part One
  • Remember that your audience is me. I have read the Nabokov essay and do not need it explained.  Keep the focus on you and how you read the novel.
  • Consider what textual evidence will best support your points. Make sure you choose the best evidence to prove your point.
  • Be careful that you aren't relying on one part of the text for all of your paper's support. If your paper refers only to pages 1-100--even if you do a great job with those pages-- I will have to question whether or not you are even familiar with the rest of the book.
  • Be specific. Avoid the obvious. Use this question to guide you here: Does this paper explain how I read this novel in relation to Nabokov or could this have been written by a generic student?  Because this section is about how YOU read the book, it should be written in first person.
Part Two
  • When you talk about the author as a storyteller, be careful that you don't simply summarize the novel. You need to show HOW the author is good at storytelling--not tell the story he writes.
  • Be careful with the enchanter section.  Remember, enchanter doesn't mean magical in a abracadabra kind of way.  It is the artistic brilliance of the author--the way all of the details come together in the end.  Again, don't use plot summary here.  You must prove that the writer is, indeed, an enchanter.
  • Because the focus of this section is on the AUTHOR, it should be written in third person--no "I" or "you."
Overall
  • Work for good transitions.
  • Pay attention to your word choice.
  • Audience and purpose should always influence your tone and level of language.
  • No one except you should ever see a first (and probably a second) draft of any major writing assignment.  This paper will NOT go through process.  Make sure the paper you turn in is your best work.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Still Sick...

So here's what you guys all need to know.  (I know some of you have heard parts of this already and some of you have heard it all, but I just need to make sure everyone knows everything.)

D2s
Honestly, there's no way I'm going to get them done by Friday now.  I can't even be vertical for more than a few minutes.  I think I'm going to have to get them done over the weekend or early next week which means you won't turn in your final drafts until the very end of the quarter.  Therefore, I will not have time to grade them for 1st quarter and I'm going to shift them to your 2nd quarter grade.  I think this will work out quite nicely for you guys because you already have lots of writing points in 1st quarter (several that have not yet been graded) and you don't have much for 2nd quarter.  This will hopefully balance things out a bit.  I'm sorry about this, but there's not a lot I can do about it at this point. =(

RJ Conferences
A reading journal conference is where you sit down with me for 5-10 minutes (this will happen one day next week while you're reading The Jungle) and talk to me about where you are as a critical reader.  This is the beginning of the year so we're really just beginning this process.  Therefore, I'm not looking for you all to say you're star readers who always follow all of Nabokov's rules. (I won't believe you if you do.)  I am looking for an honest assessment of the rules you follow or at least know you should and the ones you're really not using at all.  These are claims about yourself and you'll need evidence to support them.  Your evidence is your RJ.  Show aspects of it as proof of what you're doing well.  Are you pretty good at noticing details or rhetorical devices? Show examples from your RJ.  Are you rereading?  What were you able to accomplish in your RJ because of that?  If you're not doing something, where is the weakness in your RJ that could have been improved?

After you assess yourself and offer evidence, then I would like one or two specific goals you can set to work on your critical reading during 2nd quarter.  You can't fix everything, so start with what will make the biggest impact (time management, better organization or note-taking, learning more rhetorical devices, better effort to reread, etc.).

How will I grade this?  If you sit down with me, have your RJ, cover what you need to thoroughly but concisely--showing evidence from your completed RJ--you get an A.  If you don't have much in the way of specific evidence, you'll get an A-.   If I have to prompt you to make sure you cover it all or have very little evidence, you'll get some type of B depending on how much prompting you require or how sparse the evidence is.  If you require prompting but can't even answer what I'm asking for OR you clearly don't have a completed RJ OR you just have absolutely no evidence for your claims, you'll end up in the C range.

The Jungle
Ms. Stark will be here today to give a brief explanation of how to use the Nooks.  Use the rest of class to read and work on your RJ.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Possible Poets

This is just a short list to get you started.  The big key to keep in mind is that it has to be a GREAT poet by Nabokov and others' literary standards.

Edgar Allan Poe
e.e. cummings
Carl Sandburg
Emily Dickinson
William Blake
William Shakespeare
Dylan Thomas
Sylvia Plath
Walt Whitman
William Wordsworth
Edna St. Vincent Millay
John Keats
Langston Hughes
John Donne
Robert Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Friday, September 16, 2011

In-Depth Poet Study

AP Lang In-Depth Poet Study

 

Your Individual Study:

1.  Choose a poet and find a partner who wants to read the same poet.

 

2.  Find several of your poet’s poems (in book form at Dunn, Indianola Public Library, or my book collection or online at a site that offers free access to your poet’s work).

 

3.  Read several poems by your selected poet (at least 5), looking for one poem you really get—you know, the one where you “meet at the top of the mountain” or establish that “closeness.” =)

 

4.  Read the poem closely several times, noticing the poets use of rhetorical devices and appeals.  Common rhetorical devices in poetry include figures of speech, metaphor/simile, irony, symbols, personification, rhythm and rhyme, sound devices, interesting word choice, and even form/shape. Spend time coming up with an educated interpretation of the poet’s argument.  Make sure you can back it up with the details you noticed, keeping Perrine’s essay in mind. 

 

5.  Research your poet’s biographical information and the historical/societal context in which they wroteCite your sources.

 

6.  Read at least two pieces of criticism on the poet in general or the poem you’re presentingDo this AFTER you’ve completed your own reading and interpretation.  If you have a solid understanding of the poem yourself, criticism should help you clarify and figure out how to present those ideas to the class.  Complete a short write-up in which you summarize each critics argument and explain how it affects your own thinking about the poet/poem.  Again, cite your sources.

 

7.  Complete a correctly formatted works cited page in which you document the sources you used above AND the poem you’ll be presenting.  (A minimum of four sources—at least one bio/historical, two critical, and one poem.)

 

Your Partner:

Your partner is your moral support—NOT part of your grade!  Poetry is difficult and I realize that some of you are not very comfortable or confident with it.  Your partner will be reading the same poet as you and should be a chance for you to discuss what you’re reading.  You are NOT to complete any part of your project with them—you are each working independently.  However, you can discuss your poet, poems, biographical info, and critical sources either to help each other understand the information better or to get ideas for sources.  Also check to be sure that you’ll be presenting different poems to the class.

 

Your Presentation:

Plan a 5-10 minute presentation in which you and your partner share the poet’s background.  That is the only part you complete together.  Then, individually, you'll read your poem aloud, point out the poet’s rhetorical devices and appeals, and explain your interpretation of the poem.  Be sure that you give credit to the critics that helped you by pointing out where you got your ideas/information if it wasn't your own brainchild. =) 

 

Your Grade:

Your grade is individual.  I’ll grade your analysis and interpretation of the poem and your ability to present it to the class.  I’ll also grade your choice and correct citing of quality sources and your criticism write-ups.


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Definition Process Paper

Extended Definition Essay

 

This paper, like all process papers in AP Lang, will include a proposal, multiple drafts (two drafts for feedback), and a final critical reflection.

 

The Assignment: Pick a word (preferably an abstract concept), look up a high-quality definition of the word (you'll include this in your proposal) and develop an original argument about that word.  Your argument should be 500-750 words.

 

Purposes of the Assignment:

  • To practice the rhetorical model of writing:  letting audience, content, and purpose drive the essay
  • To build a solid argument using the techniques we’ve been studying in class
  • To work on making your writing tight and concise
  • To play with style and tone in an essay

 

 

PRE-WRITING STAGE

You’ve read some professional models and some “defining” of what a definition essay is.  Brainstorm some words or concepts you might like to explore—the more abstract, the better.  Try employing a number of prewriting strategies to help you come up with ideas for your topic.  Here are a few that might be particularly helpful:

  • Conversation—peers, teachers, parents
  • Unfocused or Focused Free Writing—write for 10 uninterrupted minutes (without letting your pen stop moving) to get your brain moving, coming up with possible topics you could explore.
  • Outside Reading—read other sources for ideas:  think NYT editorials, your “fun” magazines, reading for other classes, current events, etc.  You might also get ideas from literature you’re reading or have read recently.

 

Choose your topic, develop your idea, come up with a plan of action, and then write your proposal.

 

DEFINITION ESSAY PROPOSAL

The purpose of the proposal is to give you a structure for meaningful pre-writing rather than simply sitting down to write your draft to “finish the assignment.”  Like an outline, it is a simple way of organizing your thoughts, planning a strategy for your argument, and then getting some feedback from me before you begin writing the actual draft.

 

1.  What is your word and its dictionary definition?  This is where you include the definition you found.

 

2.  What is your thesis?  Articulate it in a clear, clean, specific sentence or two.  Remember that this is an argument so your thesis will be arguing your definition of the word.  The whole point is that the word isn't easily pinned down by a dictionary definition because it's too complex.  Your thesis will be the argument you are making--the way you and others should define the word.  If you cannot clearly put that into a sentence or two, you are not ready to submit a proposal.  Consider additional pre-writing activities to help:  more conversation with friends/family, journaling, etc.

 

3.  Which professional model(s) influenced you the most?  How?  What will you try to emulate from those models?

 

4.  What logos will your argument use?  Go back to EAA to review if necessary.  How will you convince a reasonable person to agree with your argument?

 

5.  What values can you appeal to in your audience to help your argument  Which emotions can you appeal to?  Go back to EAA.  Be specific about what you will use to establish ethos with your audience and how you might use pathos.

 

6.  What tone and stylistic touches will you try to use in this piece?  Remember to consider your audience, purpose, and own authority (what you know) to help you determine the tone.  As far as style, what kind of techniques can you use to make your writing interesting, powerful, persuasive, touching—in general, more effective?

 

7.  What questions or concerns do you have at this point?

 

THE WRITING STAGE

Draft One is due one week after your proposal is approved.  However, let’s be clear on this fact:  NO ONE BUT YOU should EVER read the very first, very rough draft.  Draft One is your best effort, one that comes through revision ON YOUR OWN.  Be prepared to have your drafts read by your peers.  I will have specific items set up in Turnitin.com for you to comment on as you read your peers' D1s.  You'll be randomly assigned two essays and your essay will be read by two peers from your class.  D1 comments will not be spent on what you like/dislike about the paper, but rather how it effectively meets the criteria (or could more effectively meet the criteria) of our basic guidelines.  You will also complete a self review in Turnitin.  This is a good way for each of you to re-evaluate your own drafts and the ways in which you meet that same criteria.

 

Feedback on your first couple of drafts will focus on big things to work on (i.e. organization, more support for claims, switching appeal tactics).  We will NOT be focusing on ANY kind of grammar, usage, mechanic problems.  However, if it’s obvious that you have not spent time at least attempting to make your draft readable, I will reserve the right to halt comments on it and ask you to deal with the issues.  If I’m reading your drafts, asking your peers to read them, and working with you individually on your writing skills, the least you can do is not waste my time (or your peers') with your lack of effort and planning.

 

THE RE-VISION STAGE

Each draft will have you all moving in different directions.  This is where individualized instruction is made possible—my comments will be suited to you and your particular needs.  You always have one week per draft.  I do my absolute best to get it back to you within 2-3 days of receiving it.

 

Strategies to try in this stage:

  • Take time away from your draft—periodically, you need to come at your draft with a “fresh eye.”  Work on it, take some time away, then come back to it and try some more.  This is why you SHOULD NOT just wait until the night before you need to turn it in.  Use the week I give you to work on the draft in spurts rather than one gung-ho cram session.  You’ll see a marked improvement in the quality of your writing.
  • Discuss your paper with others—particularly other students in the class.  You can get ideas and understand concepts better by reading their papers as well as having them read yours.  You can learn a lot in the way of connotative language, levels of diction, word choice, pace, and syntactical variety and sophistication.
  • Look back at those professional models for the same types of ideas you can get from a peer’s paper.
  • Sign up for a writing appointment if you need more help or guidance from me on the items or skills you’re trying to improve.

 

Each of these drafts should be viewed as a major writing assignment:  one you’ve put extensive thinking, re-visioning, and time into.

 

THE FINAL EDITED DRAFT

This is where you can begin to focus on the mechanics.  You should only need a day or two to complete this stage.  I’m not going to promise I'll identify and fix every mistake you’ve made.  Turnitin does much of it for you and, quite honestly, you need to learn to do that on your own as I will not be at college with you next year.  However, I will address the kinds of things you need to look for and point out areas where you have errors.  Your job will be to find them and fix them.  Some advice:  once you figure out where your weaknesses lie (or if you already have some ideas about that), spend some time on Purdue’s OWL.  Review rules, do a tutorial, print out a help sheet that you can easily and regularly reference.  Help yourself learn this stuff BEFORE next year.

 

THE CRITICAL REFLECTION

This reflection essay completes the entire process of the writing assignment and is due with your final draft.  You should compose a piece of writing in which you reflect on every step of the process—from when you got the assignment to when you completed your final draft.  This is where you should think and write about obstacles you encountered and achievements and improvements you accomplished.  I want you to take the time to reflect on what you learned in the process, where you struggled, and what you managed easily.  You might also make note of how you can improve on your weaknesses in the future.

 

You and I are the audience for this informal essay of approximately 500-750 words.  Consider the following, but understand that you are not confined to these questions alone:

 

  • The dates you started and finished the essay.
  • The number of conferences you had with me and at what stages in the process.
  • Was this a student or teacher directed assignment?
  • Consider your level of involvement with the assignment.  If you aren’t interested in what you have to say, chances are good that your readers can’t be interested.
  • What type of writing were you asked to do?  Have you ever written in this rhetorical mode before?  How did that affect you here?
  • How much did you use the professional models I gave you?  How did they help you as you moved through the process of finding an idea to finally polishing your essay?
  • What was easy for you?  Some people, for example, find an idea fairly quickly.
  • What was difficult for you?  Some people, for example, don’t realize that they have no support to offer until they have written an entire draft.
  • What attention did you give to the structure of the entire essay?  At what stage of the process?
  • What coherence problems did you have in the essay?
  • How satisfied are you with your agility with language?  How much did you work on finding the right word to communicate your exact denotative and connotative meaning?  How much on sentence variety and rhythm?
  • How reliant were you on my comments and guidance?  Keep track of this.  As we move through the year, you’ll want to note your movement toward independence.

 

These questions are simply a guideline.  As you get more comfortable with the process, you will rely less and less on this set of questions.  You will find yourself naturally reflecting on the process of writing.


Monday, September 5, 2011

Fast Food Nation Rewrite

First of all, this is a revision assignment in Turnitin.com and is due by midnight on Friday.  That is HOMECOMING so plan accordingly!

Rewrite Requirements:
  • Expand to 3-4 pages
  • Include multiple examples of each tenet with explanation of how each works, why Schlosser used that technique/piece of info, and the effect it has on his argument
  • Show both strengths and weaknesses in each appeal.
  • MLA style with correct textual citations
  • Clean mechanics
How I will grade you:
A  successfully fulfills all requirements
A- successfully fulfills all requirements with some minor errors
B  successfully fulfills most requirements--missing something or major errors (level of B determined by this)
C  unsuccessful, unacceptable attempt

Considerations:
  • MLA format--use the Purdue OWL if you do not remember how to do this for both formatting of your paper AND documenting of your sources.  One note regarding citations:  you only need the page number since all of your citations are coming from one source.  Example:  "About one-quarter of American children between the ages of two and five have a TV in their room" (51).  Do not use long quotes (four typed lines or longer) as you don't have room in this paper and you haven't learned how to properly format them.
  • Third person--this is an objective analysis and you're looking at the effect on readers, not you personally.  Argument is always stronger without "I think" or "I believe."
  • Intro and conclusion can be short but you do need some kind of intro and some kind of conclusion.  Intro should introduce title (books are italicized) and author (whole name) and give some kind of overall statement about how Schlosser did with the tenets of rhetoric.  Conclusion should wrap up the argument and feel like the end.
  • Once you introduce Schlosser in the beginning, refer to him by only his last name for the rest of the paper.  No Eric or Mr. please. =)
  • Logos is singular, as is pathos and ethos. There's no such thing as an etho.
  • Remember the hamburger method for quotes:  you always need to introduce the quote, include the quote, and then explain the quote.  Therefore, you would never begin or end a paragraph with a quote.
  • To help with your mechanics, go back and look at the document you submitted to Turnitin.  The website has run it's own e-grading check for mechanics.  If you hover over the purple boxes, it will tell you the problem.  If you don't understand the problem, you can click on a link and it will take you to a website that explains the rule.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Independent Reading

First quarter is well underway so it's time to pick your independent reading book.  Here are the guidelines we'll go over in class.  Make sure you choose a book and have it in your possession by Sept 16.  It will need to be approved by me so you might do that before the 16th.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Welcome

All right--new website.  A blog will serve our purposes well, I think, and it'll save me money. =)  Plus, the confusing Thompson maiden name is gone since most of you never knew me as Ms. Thompson.  Check out the links on the right.  You'll notice that your Assignments calendar is the first one.  Also, forthcoming assignments will be posted right here on the blog for your convenience.  As we go through the year, I'll post additional information and documents right here to the blog and this will hopefully keep us all organized.  You can subscribe to the blog by email (use the one that comes to your phone if possible) and it will notify you when I've posted something new.