Monday, December 17, 2012

Final Exam: Self-Assessment Persuasive Essay

Your final exam this semester is a self-assessment of your understanding and use of the rhetoric skills we've worked on so far this year.  You have compiled a portfolio that should contain writing that shows each of the following skills as laid out in your syllabus:

  • Pathos, logos, and ethos
  • Various modes to include definition, narrative, compare/contrast, and exposition
  • Effective rhetorical devices
  • Evidence to convince
  • Clear purpose and audience in each piece
  • Standard written English
  • Correct MLA format and parenthetical citations—at 100% (Nabokov paper should do this)
  • Multiple drafts with revision based on feedback
  • Concise but convincing explanations
  • Smooth transitions and effective, interesting vocabulary
To receive an A, you must also show evidence of your own helpful feedback as a peer responder.

To complete your self-assessment, you must write a persuasive essay in which you convince ME, your teacher, of the grade you would give yourself in this class.  In order to be successful in convincing me, you will have to effectively explain your level of proficiency in each of the rhetorical skills listed above.  You MUST point to evidence in your portfolio as proof and support for your claims PLUS provide any needed explanations to be sure I interpret that evidence as you do.  DO NOT leave me to assume how your references to your portfolio support your claims about yourself.  I most likely will not have the same perceptions about you and your work as you do.  When you refer to a part of your portfolio, use parenthetical citations to point me to the correct page.  Then provide any additional context clues to find small or specific details you want me to note.  You should also address your progress as a critical reader.  You should point to your Nabokov essay as some evidence and use specific examples of your experiences in the class for additional support if needed.

This persuasive self-assessment essay should become the first page of your portfolio document.  Keep in mind that this should be a strong example of your writing ability.  Be sure to edit and polish this piece as well.

Once all of this is complete, upload your ONE FILE to Turnitin.com.  It is due by the end of your Lang section's testing period--NOT necessarily the date listed on Turnitin.com.  That date only applies to 8th hour students!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Portfolio Logistics

Once your pieces are completed, edited and polished, and totally ready to be turned in:


  1. Create a new document called 1st Semester Portfolio or something like it.
  2. Copy and paste all of your pieces into that one file.
  3. You MUST have your Nabokov essay plus at least two arguments
  4. You MAY have more than that if necessary to prove your understanding/use of ALL of the skills on the 1st semester portfolio checklist
  5. If you have a piece that uses Power Point, convert it to a PDF as you did to submit it to Turnitin.  Then try to copy and paste it from there into your portfolio document.  If that doesn't work, please email me and let me know.  We will come up with a plan B.
  6. To show your revisions based on feedback:  pick one piece that has undergone multiple drafts with significant change.  Put those drafts (properly labeled and in order) in your portfolio document to show the change.  You might also consider a screenshot of feedback that prompted those changes, though this part is not required.  If you don't know how to take a screenshot on your particular type of computer, google it.  It is different depending on what type of system you work on (Mac, Vista, Windows XP).
  7. You do not have to put anything in your portfolio to show the helpful feedback you provided your peers.  I will assess that based on your completion and appropriate participation in the peer reviews this semester.
  8. Once everything is in your portfolio document, add page numbers to the document.
  9. Save.


You are now ready to begin the final exam portion of this portfolio.


Monday, December 10, 2012

Portfolio Polishing Work


AP Lang--Grissom
Proofreading & Polishing Checklist

Before you submit your final portfolio, you MUST edit and polish your pieces!!! The feedback you've received from your peers and me has been on content only, but the final draft is the time to be sure your mechanics, presentation, and details are clean and correct.  Below are some last revision considerations and a polishing checklist.  Begin at the top, go through EACH step with EACH piece of writing.  Doing so carefully and thoroughly should ensure a reasonably clean final draft.


Add:
1.    Opening sentences that grab your reader’s attention—not in cheesy English 9 ways, but in authentic, thought-provoking ways that get them reading your argument
2.   Sensory detail that creates pathos, ethos, and logos.  Make your readers care about your argument with emotion, trust you because you’ve done your homework and include pertinent details, and understand your logic with solid facts and explanation.
3.   Conversations or thoughts that run through your head—especially in a narrative, use DIALOGUE!  It’s engaging and it shows what’s happening rather than just telling.
4.   Action, gestures, facial expressions, description of place or people, signal words, outside research, narrative details, definition, and explanation can all help your argument.

Subtract (No single argument should be more than 750 words):
1.    The junk—In each sentence experiment with pulling out words you don’t need.  Start with words like “which” and “that” and “started to . . .”  Make your writing FAR more concise than you though you could.
2.   Repetition—read each sentence one at a time out loud.  Get rid of words, phrases, ideas.
3.    Combine and condense sentences so you say the same thing in fewer words and space.  See how tight you can make your argument. 

Substitute and Rearrange:
1.    Use the Find feature.  Find “you”—Do you mean “I”
2.   Find “I” – Do you need third person or impersonal text?
3.   Word choice—Don’t substitute simply using the thesaurus.  Rewrite sentences.  Replace unspecific, or overused words with precise fresh language—but don’t use words you don’t really know or that will sound awkward given your tone and style.

Fine Tuning – Proofread and Polish:
1.     Title—Do you have one?  Is it capitalized correctly?  Capitalize first and last words and all words in between except for a, an, the, and, but, for, nor, or and yet, and all little prepositions under five letters.
2.     Format—Does it match your audience, purpose, and topic? Is it consistent? Paragraphs indented equally?  Margins?  Spacing?
3.     MLA citations—Did you use any?  If not, should you?  If so, did you use them correctly?  At the end of the sentence unless there is more than one citation in the sentence?  Is the citation part of a sentence (meaning there is end punctuation AFTER the citation)?
4.     Read the entire piece out loud to yourself—listen for places you get tripped up.  Revise those areas for better transition, flow, or clarity by looking at punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice.  If the sentence goes on for two or three lines, it’s likely a run-on that could be revised.  If your flow is choppy, you probably have a lot of simple sentences or compound sentences.  Use the Find feature to search for “and” or “but”—these are places you could revise for better flow.
5.     Hypen vs. dash—use the Find feature to search for a hyphen (-).  Are you using it correctly?  Is it making multiple words into one? With no spaces on either side?  Or are you using it as a dash (--) that interrupts a thought or denotes a long pause?
6.     Semicolon—did you use any?  Do you need to use fewer “and”s?  A semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences WITHOUT a conjunction.
7.     Comma—use the Find feature to search and check that you have followed the basic rules correctly.  I’ve listed them below.  If you need more info than I’ve provided, see the Purdue OWL for help.
a.     Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
b.     Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.
c.     Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
d.     Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
e.     Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.
f.      Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion. (If the placement of the modifier causes confusion, then it is not "free" and must remain "bound" to the word it modifies.)
g.     Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
8.     Usage—Use Find to locate the following words.  Check to see that you have used them correctly.

a.    It’s (it is)
b.    Its (possessive)
c.    Your (possessive
d.    You’re (you are)
e.    Here (place)
f.     Hear (to listen)
g.    There (place)
h.   Their (possessive
i.     They’re (they are)
j.     To
k.    Too (also or excessive amount)
l.     Two (number)
m. Witch (on a broom)
n.   Which (which one—this or that)
o.    Where (place)
p.    Wear (on your person)
q.    Were (past tense passive verb)
r.      We’re (we are)


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Independent Reading Paper

Your third (and required) portfolio piece will be an essay that illustrates your understanding of Nabokov's rules for readers and writers AND how you applied them to your independent reading book this quarter.  You will 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 no more than two pages of MLA format, double-spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font.  YOU and the NOVEL are the focus here: Do not summarize Nabokov's points.  Show how YOU stack up to his criteria and make sure you have 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 no more than two pages.

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.  You might also quote your own notes as evidence of your critical reading.
  • Don't rely on only one part of the text for all of your paper's support. I will question whether you are even familiar with the rest of the book.
  • Be specific and avoid the obvious. 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, don't simply summarize the novel. Show HOW the author is good at storytelling (the entertainment part).
  • 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 receive feedback.  Make sure the paper you turn in is your best work.

2nd Quarter Exam

Things that will be on your test next week:

Monday:  In-class essay in which you will read and analyze how the author uses the tools of language to achieve his/her purpose.  Remember to answer the entire prompt.  The more detail, evidence, and explanation you include in your analysis, the higher your score.

Tuesday:  The test is a combo of multiple choice, long answer, and short answer.  It will be a combo of answering questions on the actual test and scantron.

  1. Literature--two long answer questions over The Jungle (consider how you did and what you can do to improve the answers you had on the practice test) and some short answer questions about the two short stories we just completed.
  2. Textbook--know the important terms and concepts in the chapters on Toulmin logic, fallacies, the "research chapters," and humor.