Monday, September 30, 2013

Poetry to Practice for Thursday

Your assignment for Thursday is to read eight poems we've linked to below.  The objective of this assignment is for you to practice both your critical reading and interpretation skills.

Make notes in your journal about each poem:


  1. Title and author
  2. Details you notice
  3. Questions you have
  4. Beginning interpretation (Don't get too worked up about this or do anything lame like try to google the meaning of the poem.  It's practice.  See what you can do.  We'll talk about them in class, so come with some ideas. You might even surprise yourself.)


Class Poetry Exercise

We will practice critical reading and interpretation skills on these poems today in class:

"The Traveling Onion" by Naomi Shihab Nye

"The Pardon" by Richard Wilbur

"Practice" by Timothy Steele

"The Flea" by John Donne

Reminders to Consider:


  • Pay attention to the details
  • Reread the poem multiple times
  • Form a hypothesis and then check the details against it.  If it all works out, you have an interpretation that fits in the "cone of rightness."
  • If all of the details don't fit or you can't come up with an adequate explanation for some part of the poem, your interpretation is NOT in the "cone of rightness" so go back and form a new hypothesis.
  • Record your interpretation, thoughts, a-ha moments in your journal--it's evidence of your critical reading!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Sept. 25 AoW

Here's an interesting topic for you guys!  Remember, you're reading the article, noting the effective and ineffective rhetoric, and then writing a 1-page reflection that responds to the article.  You might find plenty to say about this one....

Monday, September 16, 2013

Ind Rdg

First quarter is well underway so it's time to pick your independent reading book for first semester.  Here are the guidelines for choosing your book.  Make sure you choose a book soon and you can always use your Wednesday work time to read it.  It will need to be approved so you might decide this week.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

We're Splitting Off!

It is time for the Summer AP Lang in Turnitin to end and the AP Lang 2013-14 with your individual teacher to begin.  So here's the scoop on how to do that.

Log in to Turnitin and click to enroll in a class.

Ms. Darrah's Students:
Class ID:  6982554
Password:  Darrah

Ms. Grissom's Students:
Class ID:  6971460
Password:  grissom

Set this up ASAP!  Once you get into the class, you will see your Definition Proposal and draft assignments, as well as deadlines, etc.  You'll need to turn your proposal in to your individual teacher's account by next Monday at 11:59 pm.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Definition Argument


Definition Argument

This paper is what we call a process paper in AP Lang.  It is tedious and long BUT it is where you will become a better writer!  Your argument will go through a proposal, multiple drafts (two drafts for feedback), and a final draft with a critical reflection.

The Assignment: Choose a concept that you think people misunderstand (abstract concepts work best) and develop an original argument convincing a target audience that you're perspective has merit.  Your final 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

Friday, September 6, 2013

Article of the Week

Each week--or most--you will have an Article of the Week (AoW) assignment posted on the blog.  Once we get into our once-a-week lab days, that is one of the things you can use that lab time for.  The objectives for this assignment are simple:


  • Practice your critical reading skills on short arguments, paying attention to both effective and ineffective rhetoric.
  • Respond to the variety of topics and opinions in current discourse which may lead you to ideas for your own arguments.
  • Add to your cultural literacy--know what's going on in the world! =)


The assignment is also simple:

  1. Read the article.
  2. Make note in your journal (under date, title, and author) the rhetoric that makes the argument strong or the rhetoric that weakens it.  What to consider: mode, ethos, pathos, logos, format, length, evidence, style.
  3. Write a 1-pg reflection in your journal about the article, responding to its topic, the information you learned, your opinion on the issue, your opinion of the argument itself, and/or any rhetorical strategies you see working in this piece that you could use in your own writing.


The first one we'll do as a class--here it is.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

FFN Rewrite


This is a REQUIRED revision assignment in Turnitin.com and is due Tuesday by midnight.


Rewrite Requirements:
  • Expand to 750-1000 words
  • 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.
  • 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.  Intro should introduce title (books are italicized) and author (whole name) and give some kind of statement about Schlosser using the tenets of rhetoric.  Conclusion should wrap up the argument, make some kind of judgment on how strong/effective the argument is, 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 its 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.