AP Language & Composition: The Writing Course: Week of December 3-4-5-6 and Week of December 9-10-11-12-13

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Week of December 3-4-5-6 and Week of December 9-10-11-12-13

Monday, Dec. 2 -- No School for Students.

The following link takes you to the AP English Multiple-Choice Practice Exam you took on Wednesday, November 27. The correct answers appear on p. 29 of the .PDF file. There were two 49s and one 50 last week. Any score in the 40s is extremely promising, pointing towards a 5 (if your essays are rock-solid); a score in the mid-30s or above points to a score of 4 (again, if your essays are rock-solid). Wednesday's AP English Multiple-Choice Practice Exam. We will continue to take these -- or anyway, segments of them. But to guarantee raising your multiple-choice score, please do what past WHS "5" Students have done: buy a published practice booklet and work with it on your own. For many students, success on this AP exam requires outside rehearsal, in advance!

Tuesday, Dec. 3 -- new sections / new Tri / new seats
Bring your two Poetry Out Loud selections to class: printed text, title, and poet.
The low-down skivvy: choose one shorter poem (25 lines or less) and one longer poem (26 lines or more). Either one of these two poems -- the shorter or the longer -- must have a pre-1900 publication date. (And yes, they can both be pre-1900 if you prefer.) ALL selections need to come from the Poetry Out Loud anthology online. When you visit the site, you'll see that the online tools support the requirements -- see "Find Poems" under the Poems and Performance menu. (And yes, there is also a printed anthology -- I have copies in Rm. 201; and yes, they've scratched several titles from the '12-'13 online anthology. Check 'more information here' if you want to see the list of deleted, and thus ineligible, poems.) Memorize your shorter poem by January 3, 2014.

Please brush up on The Great Gatsby, Chapters 7-8-9. If you haven't already read these chapters, now would be the time. In case you left your copy at school: The Great Gatsby online.

Film adaptation will be the topic of our preview Argument Essay -- a trial run // not-for-points // kick the tires. So you would do well to think about, among other things, what Baz Luhrmann & Co. did with The Great Gatsby. We'll see more of the film(s) on Tuesday.

[Portfolios and Writing Grades, back to you this Thursday, Dec. 5.] POL SELECTIONS: 12/6.

P.M. Begin reading the new, revised LOC Ch. 3 (ClassJump). OPEN-NOTES QUIZ: TUES., Dec. 10

Wednesday, Dec. 4
A trial run for the In-Class Argument essay. You know the drill: dark ink, lined paper, forty-five minutes. Although this essay will not "count" in the same sense that future ones will, you can still refer to it in your Winter Letter of Self-Evaluation (Feb./Mar. 2014), so you'd be smart to take a good whack at today's prompt. (N.B., Other AP English juniors will read & "rough-score" your essay, so these will be written anonymously -- Student I.D. numbers only.)

P.M. Continue reading new, revised LOC Ch. 3 (ClassJump). OPEN-NOTES QUIZ: TUES., Dec. 10. POL SELECTIONS: 12/6.

Thursday, Dec. 5
Introduce the Argument Essay, with help from Northwestern University Prof. David Zarefesky. Reminder about LOC, new Chapter 3 ("Argument"), for Dec. 9-10. (It's on ClassJump.) Introduce the AP // College Board standards for scoring the Argument Essay.

Poetry Out Loud: a brief introduction to poetry declamation.

PORTFOLIOS BACK TO YOU: grades, scores, comments, and congratulations.

P.M. Continue to study the new, revised LOC Ch. 3 (ClassJump). Also, for Friday, please read an Argument Prompt (TBA), along with two past essays in response to this prompt: a 6 & an 8 (TBA). GRADED DEADLINE FOR POL SELECTIONS: FRIDAY, 12/6.

Friday, Dec. 6
Your Poetry Out Loud selections are due today; no further delays!

Further discussion of AP argument and the AP // College Board scoring standards.

Score Tuesday's Argument essays on film adaptation. In groups of three, 4th Period students will score 5th Period essays, and 5th Period students will score 4th Period essays. Scored essays back on Monday.

WEEKEND: Please finish reading and annotating the new, revised LOC Chapter 3. We'll talk through this chapter on Monday -- including hints, study guide, et al. -- and take an Open-Notes Quiz on Tuesday.

Monday, Dec. 9
Study hints, guidelines, discussion, Q & A, and Study Groups on the new, revised LOC Chapter 3. Laptops and/or iPads will be welcome this day. I will try to reserve 16 COW laptops for people who don't bring their own computers. Tuesday's quiz will focus on pp. 1-18 of the .PDF file (pp. 81-115 of the Chapter itself).

P.M. Study for Tuesday's quiz: pp. 1-18 of the .PDF file -- pp. 81-115 of the Chapter itself.

Tuesday, Dec. 10
Open-Notes Quiz on Argumentative Writing focusing on pp. 1-18 of the .PDF file -- pp. 81-115 of the Chapter itself... in the new, revised Chapter 3 of LOC (ClassJump).

P.M. Homework amnesty, but practice saying your poems aloud, and be sure to bring both poems to Wednesday's class.

Wednesday, Dec. 11
Briefly discuss the results of the Open-Notes quiz.

LAUNCH Sentence-Combining Workshop: Modeling sentences after professional writers' sentences.

Remaining time: POETRY REHEARSAL.

P.M. Read three short argument essays (TBA). (One professionally edited essay; two student AP essays.) We will write the first I-CE Argument essay in class this Friday, Dec. 12.

Thursday, Dec. 12
Discussion process for the three essays: Scores, characteristics, spots of brilliance, areas that need work.

P.M. Review your notes on Chapter 3. Think about the framework -- the spine -- of a fine persuasive argument. Read at least two or three more exemplary student essays in response to past prompts on AP Central. (Argument prompts, and the corresponding student essays, have always fallen under Free-Response Question #3 since the 2005 AP English exam.)

Friday, Dec. 13 -- Aieee!
In-Class Argument Essay #1. Lined paper; dark ink; 40+ minutes. Good luck!

Weekend: Read the AP scoring guidelines, the three (or more) student essays, and the AP Scoring Commentary for Friday's prompt. We will score your Friday essays this Monday. Also, please run your poems at least three times each -- out loud, with another sentient creature nearby (i.e., at least a parakeet, a turtle, a Miniature Schnauzer... possibly a human being...). Please be sure to bring your poems on Monday.

Monday, Dec. 16 -- Beethoven's Birthday, and the great Noel Coward's birthday.
So, we will score and sing -- score AP essays and sing tributes to these two musical greats. Also, caroling rehearsal for our Super-Lunch appearances this Thursday and Friday.

Sentence-Combining Workshop: Part II.

P.M. STUDY FOR TUESDAY'S VOCABULARY QUIZ #5.

No comments:

5th Period Lit Circle Vocabulary Harvest: Quiz on Mon., 5/19

Debate Structure for Tues., March 25, and Wed., March 27, 2014

OPENINGS & Cross-Examination
Opening Statement (AFF.)
(3 min.)

2 Questions (NEG.  AFF.)
(15 sec./60 sec. – 15 sec./60 sec.)

Opening Statement (NEG.)
(3 min.)

2 Questions (AFF.  NEG.)
(15 sec./60 sec. – 15 sec./60 sec.)

FOLLOW-UP
Follow-up Statement (AFF.)
(2 min.)

Follow-up Statement (NEG.)
(2 min.)

AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
(12 min. for Q. & A. –
Answers Limited to 90 sec. each, with
30 sec. follow-up by opponent.)

REBUTTAL*
Rebuttal (NEG.)
(2 min.)

Rebuttal (AFF.)
(2 min.)

SUMMATION
Closing Statement (NEG.)
(2 min.)

Closing Statement (AFF.)
(2 min.)

Scoring Standards for Debate on Oct. 10

QUALITY OF DEBATE (60 pts.)

Team’s overall use of logic: reasoned argument.

Team’s overall use of meaningful evidence & examples.

Team’s skill and conviction in Rebuttal.

At least four (4) credible sources cited during the debate (per side)

PRESENTATION (20 pts.)

Eloquence of expression (openings & summations).

Team members debate with eye contact (not looking down at notes)

Full participation: everyone carries at least one section of the debate (no wallflowers -- no situation where 1 person tries to carry the whole thing).

DECORUM ( = good conduct) (20 pts.)

Team’s respect for the Audience (in Q & A) (0-10)

Team’s respect for the Time limits (0-10)

Team’s respect towards the Referees (0-10)

Highest possible overall score: 100 pts.

Each Judge will maintain a copy of this scoring sheet for each of the two opposing teams. The team with the highest combined score following all phases of the debate will be declared the winner.

Vocabulary #7, for Tuesday, January 28

Vocabulary #6, on Monday, Jan. 13

Princeton Rev. words pertaining to judgment & argument... 'law words'

arbiter

biased

exculpate

impartial

incontrovertible

integrity

objectivity

plausible

substantiated

vindicate(-d)

Words pertaining to knowing & knowledge:

acquired (participial adj., as in 'an acquired taste')

conviction

dogmatic

enlightening

impression

misconception

intuition

You can find a glossary of definitions and examples on the Writer's Resources blog. If you own a copy of the Princeton Review practice booklet for our AP English exam, you can find rock-solid definitions there as well.

VOCABULARY #5 - Twenty-one (that's 21) words for Tuesday, Dec. 17 - but USE THEM BEFORE DEC. 17!

“Logic words”

premise (n.)

syllogism (n.)

presume (v.)

implicit (adj.)

proposition (n.)

axiom (n.), and axiomatic (adj.)

exclude (v.)

inductive (adj.)

deductive (adj.)

disprove (v.) (antonym: prove!)

Other words that might prove helpful as you compose argumentative essays

impeccable (adj.)

indisputable (adj.)

auspicious (adj.) // (antonym: inauspicious)

affirm (v.)

insinuate (v.)

dispute (v.)

disambiguate (v.)

undermine (v.)

validate (v.)

conflate (with) (v.)

polemic (n.), or polemical (adj.)

Do your best to use some of these words in your upcoming In-Class Argumentative Essays -- even in this Friday's. For many of you, two or three words per essay would be plenty. You might use certain words awkwardly at first – in a strained, non-idiomatic way. But if you push yourself to write them and say them and try them, the list will conflate with your growing daily vocabulary.

Link to our Writer's Resources blog for pertinent definitions and examples.

5th Period MLK Presentation teams

GROUP 1 – Manu, Ashley D., Nathan, Ben, Keoni (2^nd blue bench)

GROUP 2 – Emma B., Grace, Simone, Amrita, Jonathan (1^st blue bench)

GROUP 3 – Kayla, Amy E., Harsha, Ellen O. (“Nicholas” bench)

GROUP 4 – Peter B., Sydnie, John L., Ashley S. (Shakespeare corner)

GROUP 5 – Tanner, Kate H., Albert, Matt S. (window)

GROUP 6 – Javier, Jessie H., Abby L., Eric W. (by Mr. B.’s desk)

GROUP 7 – Bethany, Anna H., Cece, Marta (grey table)`

4th Period MLK Presentation teams

Key Literary Concepts to Know & Use (!) as the AP Exam Draws Near (1-20)

Tone

Irony

Paradox - and a subset of paradox: Oxymoron

Satire

Narrative

Context

Metaphor

Simile

Analogy (a comparison between two relationships)

Diction (e.g., elevated ___; colloquial ___ ; archaic ___)

Syntax (word order; especially, the meaning that stems from a particular word order)

Anaphora ("repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses" - LOC) ( = identical parallelism - PB)

Antithesis (deliberate opposition betw. 2 ideas or values)

Shifts in tone (these occur in most of the significant writing that you'll encounter in AP English -- in published essays, novels, and poems).

Parallelism/Parallel structure (you know)

Anecdote (n.) (anecdotal = adj.) An anecdote = a story.

counterargument (a challenge to a prevailing position)

Discourse (= discussion or treatment of a topic)

N.B. to A.P. students from P.B.: As a conceptual exercise before the AP exam, you might do well to review the eight modes of discourse set forth in Chapter 1 of LOC. By gently reviewing these fundamentals, you could sharpen your edge as a reader, especially for the Multiple-Choice segments and the Rhetorical Analysis essay. ~ PB

Logical Fallacies - a Helpful List from UNC-Chapel Hill

Teaching logical fallacies has gone out of fashion among American English teachers, according to FallacyFiles.org, which also states that "there is no substitute for studying the positive principles of good reasoning."

Having noted that -- and I agree with both ends of the sentence -- I offer you the following nice breakdown of classical errors in reasoning - fallacies - along with several helpful examples for each.

I "offer it" (although you've had access to it, like Dorothy's ruby slippers, all along) on the theory that for some students, identifying mistakes could intensify - or at least fortify - logic.

UNC-Chapel Hill Handout on Fallacies.

Vocabulary for March 6 and 7

impunity – a feeling or intuition that someone will not be punished for misdeeds

disparity – a difference between two objects or two conditions; a gap; inequality

discrepancy – a break with the normal pattern or scheme; an inconsistency

declamatory – pertaining to speech or declamation

empirical – logical or rational; based on provable science

satiety – condition of feeling satisfied, happy or content.

alliance – truce; partnership; harmonious collaboration; team or teamwork.

vigilance – watchfulness; alertness; standing guard

qualms – doubts; uncertain feelings

maxim – a rule or principle

unabashed – uninhibited; shameless; candid

corporeal – physical; pertaining to the human body (i.e., as opposed to the mind)

judgment <-- Note the correct spelling of this word!

predicate <-- Mystery word? (Woooooo....wooooo....)

What is mythos?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines mythos as “a pattern of beliefs expressing often symbolically the characteristic or prevalent attitudes in a group or culture.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle equated mythos with theme or plot, the underlying story-pattern of a tragedy or comedy.

To the author of AP essay ‘T’, mithos’ (sic) denotes an appeal to an underlying theme -- in this case, the theme of American patriotism. As a rhetorical device, mythos seems to be an appeal to commonly held values or ideals.

Although the authors of The Language of Composition seem to group mythos in the category of pathos, the author of essay ‘T’ clearly believes that mythos functions as its own species of appeal. The student makes a good case for this in his or her high-scoring essay on Kennedy’s speech about the steel industry.

"A phrase is a group of related words that does not include a subject and verb." ~ CCC site

"Tom Walker" words

Prostrate – lying horizontally, in the condition of a felled tree.

Slough – in this context, a slough is a depression in the ground – a ‘dip’ or small valley in the land.

Quagmire – a swamp

Propitiate – to gain or regain favor, especially the good will of someone whose favor you have lost. To soothe or appease.

Surly – threatening, menacing, or brutal in appearance

Bittern – ( see YouTube for shots of this ‘gulping’ swamp bird. )

To saunter (v.) – to walk with a slouch; to walk with a devil-may-care attitude.

To throng (v.) – to crowd; to build up or swell a crowd

Ostentation – deliberate showiness or gaudiness; conspicuous performance or behavior

Outstrip (outstripped) – to outdo; to compete

Indulgence (n.) – a favor; an act of generosity that spoils or pampers another person; a kindness that overlooks a fault

Usurer (usury) – someone who's involved lending money, usually one who charges high interest rates.

Dates for Poetry Out Loud

By the time we’re back from the Thanksgiving holiday, be committed to your two (2) poems from the Poetry Out Loud web site.

One poem can be 25 lines or fewer. The other poem needs to be 26 lines or longer. One of these two poems – either one – needs to come from before the 20th century: 1899 or before.

We will rehearse poems out loud during the week before winter break.

We will perform these poems in class during the first week of 2012. (Performance schedule TBA.)

The Woodbury school-wide contest will held on Thursday night, January 12, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.

Take-Home Final in The Great Gatsby

Select a paragraph - or two or three - from the latter half of The Great Gatsby (Chapters 6-7-8-9.) Try to choose a passage like the ones we've used for Chapters 4 and 5: something more-or-less self-contained, with plenty of rich language. Try to choose a segment that impresses you as you read it.

Cite the passage in full; then write a detailed rhetorical analysis, discussing the effects achieved by Fitzgerald’s sly, thoughtful choices in diction and syntax. How does the author's style promote or reinforce or intensify his purposes in writing this segment? Quote often, and discuss what the language achieves.

See ClassJump for a sample essay on a passage from Chapter One.

Your essay should be roughly the same size and shape as the essay on ClassJump: one or two pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. Essays will be due at class time on Monday, October 31.

For a burst of "Enhanced Credit" in AP Comp...

Have a friend take your picture! Visit the U. of M. Stand by the panel for the Honeycrisp Apple along the Wall of Discovery... hold up an apple... smile... and snap!

Bring your picture to Mr. B. by Monday, November 7.

The Wall of Discovery is just east of the Mississippi River, in the heart of the U. of M. East Bank campus. Park in (or near) the Harvard Parking Ramp along Washington Avenue, and walk toward the main Mall of the U. of M. campus. If you walk from the Harvard Ramp to the Physics Building, you should see the Wall of Discovery -- it's by the Electrical Engineering Building.)

This video shows the Wall of Discovery. (See the segment at 3 minutes & 30 seconds.)

AP Language & Composition: The Writing Course

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Week of December 3-4-5-6 and Week of December 9-10-11-12-13

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