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

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 poet’s 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 wrote.  Cite your sources.

 

6.  Read at least two pieces of criticism on the poet in general or the poem you’re presenting.  Do 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 critic’s 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.

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.

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.

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.