The Book Project

You need to have
• 1 early American Literature book (context before 1865) and
• 1 non-fiction American Literature book from any genre

Read by January 1st, 2012.

Independent Reading Options
On January 3, 2012, Friday, January 6, 2012 you need to turn in evidence of your reading for each book. You now only need to show evidence of reading for one book. Happy Holidays. Options are below. (30 points / book)

1. Reading Journal – this may include
a. Summary / reflection of various chapters throughout the book
b. Notes / personal questions on the book
c. Your annotations – you write as you read or put sticky notes throughout the book to react to it
d. Create an artistic journal that captures key quotes / scenes throughout the book – w/ your analysis / response / interpretation

2. Select 8 significant & original quotes and explain why these quotes are significant to the plot, the speaker, and message / purpose of the book. Explain how each quote is relevant to the piece as a whole and your personal reaction. You MUST explain each quote! Include context of quote and speaker if your selection is dialogue. Don’t forget citations in MLA format. ½ - ¾ page double spaced. Visually portray your quotes. These should be quotes I should not find on spark notes or on other literary guides.

3. On Demand Essay – you will be asked to turn to a page of your book, present context and explain the significance of this part of the story. Then you will be asked to extend on a significant line from that page, explain its relationship to the book as a whole and analyze its effectiveness. (40 minutes)

4. Analyze the author’s style. Choose 8 quotes that stylistically display the author’s rhetoric, give insight into the persona of the speaker. Using the rhetorical devices studied, identify the device (i.e. complex syntax, biblical allusions, dramatic irony), explain the context of the quote and the effectiveness of using this device to convey the message. How does the content and style of what is said relate to the author’s larger purpose. Visually display analysis (1/2 – ¾ page per quote)

On Being a Target of Discrimination

1. Write a precis "On Being a Target of Discrimination". Include 2-3 techniques and at least 2 quotes. Due on google docs by January 2012. Share with jenmurphy11@gmail.com
2. Read "On Being a Target of Discrimination" by Ralph Ellison and annotate by Wednesday.
Read for:
the effect of Ellison's point of view
tone shifts and modes of writing
examples used

2. Complete On Being a Cripple Multiple Choice

3. Columnist Project Due Friday

Extra Credit On Compassion

Rhetorical Analysis. Write an essay in which you explain how Barbara Lazear Ascher uses style and rhetoric to convey her attitude toward her subject. You might consider
such features as tone, modes of discourse, figurative language, juxtaposition of diction, contrasting imagery, selection of detail, use of questions, and audience.

You can apply the same template used for WWII. Use your verbs sheet. 10 pnts.

Wed Dec 6 Read On Being a Cripple

Read On Being a Cripple

Tuesday December 6

1. Ernie Pyle 2 paragraph rhetorical analysis
2. On Compassion Multiple choice questions
3. Read Guilt passages - title describing how the author arranges ideas
example for passage 1: Memory of Guilt, story of guilt, first hand account of guilt

Read On Compassion for Monday Dec. 5

Chunk Text - how would you divide the text into sections? What is Ascher discussing and for what purpose in each section.

Read for
- juxtaposition (diction placed near each other to highlight or contrast a point)
- contrasting diction
- figurative language (metaphors, imagery, etc...)

Complete Multiple Choice Questions for Tuesday

On World War II - 2 paragraphs analysis due Tuesday December 6

Finish your 2 paragraph rhetorical analysis of WWII by Tuesday. (see slide below for examples). Feel free to go outside of these frames and adapt your own style.

Morning Sun Passage Multiple choice passage Nov. 30

You had an opportunity to take this multiple choice test collaboratively. Tests for cleared absences need to be made up before the break.

Follow a Columnist check

If you are on track with completing your project on time, you should have
- researched your columnist
- have 3 columns read and annotated
- have a precis written for each column

I will check for 2 annotated columns this Friday

Fallacy Poster - due Thursday (sign up Wed)

On the poster, include:
1. name of fallacy
2. example of fallacy
3. visual
4. Analysis of fallacy
* 1. What specific fallacy or fallacies have been committed?
* 2. What specific evidence in the author’s language or reasoning points to that particular fallacy?
* 3. Is the overall argument made by the author cogent? Is it persuasive?
In other words is it a
- reasonable argument (when the conclusion is likely) or
a false argument (when the conclusion is improbable).

Follow a Columnist Project - Due December 16 - start this weekend

In order to keep abreast of public dialogue over national issues, you will choose one columnist to follow. Choose 5 columns, preferably consecutive columns
Links to columnists and journalists are below.
You will find names of columnists and links to their site.
Archives can be searched on some of the columnist’s sites, but many publications require payment for articles older than one or two weeks. Therefore, check your columnist’s web site weekly.
1. Choose one columnist and begin reading one column a week.
2. Annotate each column per the assignment (see link on right side of this page)
3. Write a precis for each column
4. Choose one column

Columnists

Creators Syndicate
Here you will find columnists categorized according to their political predisposition. Look under "conservative opinion" or "liberal opinion." Remember: you will benefit more if you engage with a columnist you are inclined to challenge.

Real Clear Politics
Links to columnists and all things political

The Drudge Report
Scroll down the home page for links to newspapers and columnists

Blue Eagle Commentary
Links to over 700 columnists

In Defense of Prejudice - Precis, annotated article, & Questions due Monday

Now that you have read and discussed In Defense of Prejudice, write a precis on the article. Monday please bring
1. Precis typed, sentences separated
2. Article annotated
3. Questions

Read the following article In Defense of Prejudice
Due Tomorrow
In Defense of Prejudice Annotation & Questions

1. Chunk article for content - how can you group ideas in the article? (arguments, assumptions, evidence) & purpose (discuss, propose, evoke) of each section (how ideas are organized)
2. Annotate article for
a. Speaker’s tone & tone shifts (serious / humorous)
b. Stylistic devices & effect (logos, pathos)
Anecdotes
Historical evidence
Examples
Personal experience vs. Facts
Allusions (identify)
Diction that evokes a certain tone Uncontroversial – diction – presents contrasting idea to rally audience (pathos)
Syntax – short / long sentences for effect

What is his most effective evidence?

3. What do you know about the Speaker from reading this essay?
4. Originally published in 1982, how would Rauch’s ideas be received today?
5. Who is his audience and what assumptions does Rauch make about the audience?
6. What is his purpose? Find evidence in the passage to support this?
7. Rauch advances a controversial argument: that we should allow prejudice to be expressed rather than to repress or eradicate it. How in the opening paragraphs, does he establish himself as reasonable, even likeable person whose views should be heard? Where else in the essay does he create this persona? Why is persona (or ethos) important in ethical argument?
8. What does Rauch mean by “intellectual pluralism” and where else does he use examples to refer to this idea?
9. Rauch defines the position antithetical to his own as “purism”. Why does he choose this term rather than another? What does it mean?
10. What counterarguments does Rauch raise and refute? How effective is he at refuting these? Explain why.
11. Rauch ends with quotations from Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie. Why? What do their experiences as writers add to his argument? Are there other effective allusions?

Where do you stand politically?

In order to start understanding politics, it is essential to know where you stand.
politicalcompass.org is a website that helps you understand your views on politics beyond the typical democrat, republican, left, right labels. Read about the website and scroll down until you see Take the test - click here to start.
They ask a series of questions.
Bring in a paragraph description of your results and your personal thoughts about the result.
1. Summarize your results
2. Do you agree, disagree with the results and why?
3. Do you think political stance can be defined with a test and why?
4. If you had to label yourself without taking this test, how would you describe yourself and why?

Homework

1. The Creative Barry Piece will be accepted on WEDNESDAY as well.
2. Study for Chapter 3 - Review study guide I initially gave you.
3. Prepare brief vocab presentation (Per. 2 & 4) - Terms are listed below.
Term - Rhetorical ?
what is it - a question stated to make a point
example: Are you serious?
explain verbally how you can identify it.
4. News Story
Be Prepared to Describe your story in 30 seconds to a minute
& explain why is it significant.

Visually present your concept tomorrow (through dress, act, or visual component (i.e. on a piece of paper)& 60 second GET THE GIST SELL your word – how can you make us remember it) Be thorough and brief in your presentation.
1. active passive voice
2. alliteration
3. anadiplosis
4. anaphora
5. anthimeria
6. Antithesis
7. assonance
8. asyndeton
9. climax
10. complex sentence
11. compound complex sentence
12. compound sentence
13. connotation & denotation
14. ellipsis
15. epistrophe
16. formal words / informal words
17. general words / specific
18. hyperbole / litotes
19. irony
20. Jargon
21. loose sentence / periodic sentence
22. metonymy
23. onomatopoeia
24. oxymoron
25. parallelism
26. Parenthesis
27. periphrasis
28. personification
29. pun
30. simple sentence
31. synecdoche
32. slang
33. diction
34. rhetorical question

The Precis & Creative Barry Piece

We have read Dave Barry's "The Ugly Truth about Beauty" for examples, identified techniques and their effects. Now we are writing a precis on the essay. See the attached guide.
Creative Barry Piece: You now have the opportunity to respond to Barry or write on another topic of choice, using his style of exaggeration and sarcasm. See the slides below for details. 1 - 2 pages due Tuesday.

HW: Read Flying the Partisan Skies (we will eventually write a precis on this as well.

Chapter 3 Review for Everyday Use

Re - study for Test on Wednesday.

1. Know the purpose of the canons
2. Know your style devices. You should be able to identify all the words posted earlier. Create your own examples based off of the examples given to help you study.
3. Know how to identify the difference between a simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence.

Paradox - Find your own example

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

"War is peace."
"Freedom is slavery."
"Ignorance is strength."
(George Orwell, 1984)

"This statement is false"; the statement cannot be false and true at the same time.

"Everything I say is a lie."
"What happens when Pinocchio says, 'My nose will grow now'?"

Independent Reading - first book should be completed

Choose 2 books to read by the end of December 2011.
Your first book should be completed now. You need to show evidence of your reading by choosing 2 projects (1 for each book) from the list handed out in class.

Choice 1: An American author from the colonial to civil war period. This can be selected from the recommended book list in class or outside.

Choice 2: A piece of non-fiction (essay, biography, memoir, etc) of interest and high literary caliber.

Have one of your books by Monday. Check with me if you want to do a book off the list first.

Hit the News Annotation assignment - Due Friday

Find, annotate & complete a rhetorical triangle, 5 canon, appeal annotation this week on 4 news articles, one from each of the following topics:
- Business / Economic
- National worthy
- International
- article of your choice: Technology, Sports, Cartoon, Social Interest

Validity: Articles need to be SIGNIFICANT issues of concern, items that will be talked about and referenced to in the memory canon as time passes. This means current events of political, economic, and social significance. Although a review of Lady Gaga's latest performance may be interesting, it is not significant unless Lady Gaga's rhetoric has helped to change political policy and can be noted directly.

What to include:
annotation - might include
- reactions to the rhetor
- circled words identified as pathos / logos and a statement from you about why author is trying to do (causes reader to think about... connection between)
- questions to rhetor about bias, source of statements, & counterarguments where one is lacking
- article is chunked by purpose - what is the writer doing in each section / chunk
- statements about how the rhetor is trying to affect the reader (words cause reader to, statistics make reader think about,)

Appeals should also be noted in your annotation
Pathos - what words or description appeals to pathos
ethos - what makes the rhetor and rhetoric credible?
logos - facts, statistics, quotes from authorities, logic, structure

rhetorical triangle

speaker - how old do you think s the person who wrote the article? why? what other factors appear and might be important to note about their background (think about bias and lenses we see with)? (race, gender, class, ethnicity)? What do they value?

persona - in 1-2 words, how would you describe the voice that writes in the article (politically concerned, critical, etc.)

subject / - what is the topic of the rhetoric discussing? why?

Purpose - what is the writer trying to do and why? (To inform about, To create awareness)
what does the rhetor want people to think or do after reading this article?

Audience - To whom is this directed? Everyone and the American Public are too large of an answer. To find the target audience, identify: age group? certain gender? people who value a certain idea? (ecofriendly, value protecting rights), certain groups: political affiliation? blue / middle / uppper class? ethnicity / race?

Genre / Delivery - what form is the rhetoric in

invention - what does the rhetor do that is new? How do they approach this topic differently compared to what is seen in the usual conversation surrounding this topic

arrangement - you will show this through chunking. If it is a cartoon, then you need to explain how the rhetor has arranged material and why. What do you see first and why? Next? Where is your attention drawn last?

style? Tools this author uses to affect the reader -
- describe the diction (emotionally loaded, biting, sarcastic - pull out examples in annotation)
- syntax - short or long sentences for effect - arrangement of words make you focus on certain subject or ignore the consequences of an action
- figurative language - exaggerated or oversimplified language for effect (hyperbole, metaphor, simile, analogy)
- cartoon - exaggerated or minimized images / characters for effect, heavy or light shading to emphasize an idea? Color, bolded / italicized words & brief explanation about the result of each of these techniques

Memory - allusions to history, science, literature, pop culture & what else do you need to have a general understanding of in order to read this article

Genre / Delivery - type of text

Why is this significant? Why is this story politically, economically, socially significant to the world? How is the topic connected to other issues / similar rhetoric (patterns - has this been reported before)? Is this affecting a large group of people? What action needs to be taken?

Your delivery should include:
4 articles with your verbal vomit (annotation)
9 brief, but thorough notes on each including rhetorical triangle and 4 canons (arrangement will be shown through your chunking)
annotations should be legible

article

Working with style

Nursery Rhymes with 15 style devices should be completed and in.
Voice Analysis should also be in.
Continue reviewing your style terms from Chapter 3
Finish questions on Charlie Parker for Monday

Glossary / Flashcards

You should definitely have the following

Jargon antithesis parenthesis ellipsis asyndeton alliteration assonance anaphora epistrophe anadiplosis climax synechdoche periphrasis irony anthimeria slang litotes onomatopoeia hyperbole diction oxymoron rhetorical question active voice passive voice simple sentence compound sentence complex sentence
loose sentence periodic sentence general words specific words formal words informal words denotation pun personification connotation compound complex sentence parallelism

Analyze the Voice of one Persona in your Essential Question

1. Bring a children's tale or nursery rhyme to class tomorrow
2. Complete the persona analysis

How does the rhetorical devices used (vocab, syntax & attitude) convey the speaker's persona?
Example
Einstein

Did the chicken cross the road or did the road cross under the chicken?

Analysis: The speaker's combination of questioning and simplistic diction simultaneously captures the intellectual persona associated with the scientist, Einstein, and subtly hints at the speaker's sense of humor through the use of childish diction ("did", "road" and "cross"). The persona of youthful genuineness is further portrayed through speaker's syntactical arrangement of simple auxiliary verbs ("did") used to balance the parallel structure of the questioning dialogue. The reversal of the question at hand ("did the road cross under the chicken") provides insight into the speaker's intellectual capabilities and his ability to see situations through multiple perspectives. The word choice and arrangement conveys a spirited, yet serious tone as the first question conveys a lightness through the use of the common children's question ("did the chicken cross the road") while the latter focuses on the obstacles present, suggesting that it is not the chicken's choices that should be questioned, but factors concerning the external environment ("the road"). Despite the serious reversal of question, the repetition and use of the common children's joke reveal that the speaker is capable of managing problems through the use of humor and intellectual perspective.

Read Chapter 3

Tonight - begin reading Chapter 3 of Everyday Use - Finish by Monday
Create vocabulary flash cards for the style words section instead of taking notes.
Word / definition & example

Today we practiced creating Voice - using particular diction, syntax, and attitude in order to create 9 different personae.

Visual Cartoon Annotation

This will be due Thursday for Period 4/ Friday for Period 1 & 2. Choose a political cartoon or another genre of cartoon that makes a statement about humans, life, society, behavior that interests you. When you respond to a visual interpretation of an idea - it becomes rhetoric.

Annotate the cartoon using the rhetorical triangle and five canons. Identify each element in your piece.

What you should have completed

Class Tests: 
Full length Multiple choice test - diagnostic
I am a woman Multiple choice test 

Writings: 
Banneker Prompt - diagnostic 
World Views Paper
My favorite piece of rhetoric rhetorical analysis & presentation 
Your own Haiku

Readings: 
Readings for Writer's: Chapter 1-3 / notes
Everyday Use: Chapter 1 & 2 annotated / notes
Letter from Birmingham Jail annotation on text & questions

Chapter 2 Everyday Use & 5 Canons Homework

1. Please finish Chapter 2 of Everyday Use by Monday Click Here to get the Chapter
Take Notes using Questions (here) to guide your notetaking on

• Invention (Wednesday)
• Arrangement (Wednesday) 
• Style (Thursday) 
• Memory (Thursday)
• Delivery (Friday)

2. Read Martin Luther King's Letter from Bimingham Jail - annotate for

• invention - how does King propose new ideas or give us a new perspective of old arguments? Find lines that support this 
• outline how we arranges his idea - label the point of each paragraph or 2-3 paragraphs

My Favorite Piece of Rhetoric

Your rough draft analysis should be finished today. Make sure to label the various parts of your analysis (speaker/ persona, subject/message, etc) The analysis in creative format and delivery will be due Friday. Your presentation will be 60 second and include:

• an introduction to your favorite piece of rhetoric & why you have chosen it
• one element of the rhetoric that stands out to you or others in the audience (an element of its style, the way it appeals) How does it speak to or become memorable for others?

week of 9/12

Monday - You took your first full length multiple choice test.
Homework: Readings for Writers Chapter 1 Notes

Tuesday - we finished the test and began discussing critical reading.

Wednesday - Today, we had a long discussion about the rhetorical triangle, a tool you will begin using to analyze texts. We also discussed points on critical reading, emphasizing your notes and annotations should be interactive (more questions, declarations, musings and answers as opposed to fact finding and summary).

Homework: Annotate a credible article of your choice using those 14 points of critical reading.

Thursday: We analyzed the rhetorical triangle using Lou Gehrig's speech. You began creating your own rhetorical triangle to present an idea.

Friday: The 3 appeals were introduced.
These were added to your rhetorical triangle.

Homework: My favorite piece of rhetoric: Pick a text, song, speech, piece of art. etc that has moved you. Now analyze it using the elements of the rhetorical triangle and the 3 appeals (Speaker/Persona, message, audience, purpose, context & 3 appeals) This should be about 6 brief paragraphs. An example of the analysis was provided for you in class and available here
Present your project creatively (visually) - this may be a poster, a brochure, a quote on a swing,
If you chose: "life is like a box of chocolates" cut and paste your project onto an empty box of chocolates.
If your rhetoric is about freedom, you might have a picture of the ocean, a path, the top of a mountain with your words encircling that image.

Rhetoric

Today we discussed rhetoric as the art of communication, a message with a purpose. You received various definitions which should be placed in your binder to refer to later. Your world views paper is due tomorrow.

Welcome

Welcome to AP Language & Composition
This week we will be getting to know each other and taking some diagnostics to see where your skills are.
Today, I introduced the idea of speaking with authority, speaking with conviction. Bring your ideas, your disagreements, and qualifications, but bring them with evidence - concrete examples of your ideas in action.

World Views 
- we will continue discussing the lens in which you view the world. Your short paper will due typed, double spaced on Friday.