AP Language & Composition: The Writing Course

Friday, November 1, 2013

For Monday, Nov. 4

Read Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925). It's fine to read ahead. Some people may not be able to stop, and that's fine. (But if you do press ahead, please withhold spoilers!)

In Fitzgerald we meet an author who cultivates the power of suggestion. Fitzgerald doesn't simply state facts; he also relies on persistent suggestions and impressions... even apparitions.

It's clear that he hopes certain developments will 'pop' in our imaginations, and that it's better -- when realizations and discoveries pop -- than it would be if he merely narrated every fact or event. As you'll see, there are expectations that readers figure things out for ourselves.

So please read with an eye and an ear for elements that somehow transcend what lies on the surface.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Submittal options for DRAFT #2 of the M-DE.

1. Submit your paper at class-time on Wed.;

or 2., by email attachment Wed. night;

or 3., by 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, before 1^st Pd.

Please continue to bring your paper to class, whether you are handing it in or not.

Don't forget about Friday's vocabulary quiz: 40 words.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Cumulative Syntax in Essays and Stories We've Read in this Fall

"For more than twenty years I've had to live with it, feeling the shame, trying to push it away..." ~ Tim O'Brien, from "On the Rainy River."

"...and the trick was to maneuver the gun with your whole body, not lifting with the arms, just letting the rubber cord do the work for you." ~ Tim O'Brien, from "On the Rainy River."

"The songs, books, poems, and films that arouse us in war are awkward and embarrassing when the conflict ends, useful only to summon up the nostalgia of war's comradeship." ~ Chris Hedges, in "From The Destruction of Culture."

"And Tito's state pioneered the replacement of history with myth, forcing schoolchildren to memorize mythical stories about Tito's life and aphorisms." ~ Chris Hedges, in "From The Destruction of Culture."

[I've highlighted the instances of cumulative syntax in italics. ~ PB]

Friday, October 25, 2013

For Monday, Oct. 28

Make Progress on Your Paper.

Also, please remember that we'll have a Grand Vocabulary Quiz this Friday, Nov. 1.

All 40+ Words from the first four Vocabulary lists will be fair game. Therefore, please review our four lists in the right-hand column of this blog -- going back to Sept. 6 and 18.

And... PLEASE KEEP WRITING. Your second draft should show significant improvement over your first. Please check my comments on the two 2013 drafts now on ClassJump as well as the three sample essays from 2012.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

For Friday, Oct. 25

Please look at the fresh batch of vocabulary words -- the words for next week, but also the 30+ words we've looked at in the past few weeks. Our quiz next Friday will involve all 40+ words.

Also, I'll collect Exercises 1 and 2 from LOC this Friday. If you haven't done these yet, tonight is it.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Homework for Wednesday, Oct. 23

Part I: To score I-CE #3 -- the Nerds & Geeks essay -- please review the AP Scoring Guidelines, the three student papers on AP Central (2008 - FRQ #2), and the scoring commentary on the three essays. See also, the WHS 8-essay on Nerds & Geeks from 2012 (on ClassJump, among the General Downloads).

Part II: Study pp. 999-1004 in LOC. Write out your responses to Exercises 1 and 2 and bring these to Wednesday's class.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

MEA and Monday & Tuesday, Oct. 21 and 22.

I strongly suggest that you use part of the MEA break to work on your multi-draft essay of rhetorical analysis.

** AT 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, there are now three examples -- typed, multi-draft rhetorical analysis papers -- from 2012. ** (To view these, go to ClassJump for our course and scroll all the way down to 'General Downloads'.) It's fine if yours is shorter or longer than these when you hand it in this Tuesday -- the examples are simply meant to give you a general idea.

Your goal? To choose two representative passages and write a coherent, thoughtful and revealing rhetorical analysis of each passage.

It's what we've been doing all along! The only significant difference is that now you have more time -- time to write in relative seclusion, with no ticking timer-clock.

If you have questions after reading the instructions on ClassJump, please feel free to contact me via email.

Monday, October 21.
Please come to class fully up to speed in "On the Rainy River," by Tim O'Brien (LOC, pp. 961-973).
We will also score and review the Leonid Fridman I-CE essays (on Nerds & Geeks).

Tuesday, October 22.
First Drafts of the Multi-Draft Essay are due. Please carefully consult the instructions on ClassJump.

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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.)