Entries Tagged 'AP Language' ↓

So, we have a timed write today. I want to start out with a a short discussion on strategies and how to write a rhetorical strategies response.

Then, we’ll write one. We’ll have 40 minutes.

After a generous break, I want us to look at 2-3 fellow respondents and note aspects we liked and aspects we would fix.

Finally, I want to look at some of the graded responses and compare them to our own.

Finally-Finally, I’d like small groups to put together a list of take-aways. What would be the most useful advice to give to students taking the rhetorical strategies prompt?

If I have time, I’d love to show you a TED talk with Jill Baynor entitled “My Stroke of Insight.”

Plans for the AP exam.  Thanks to everyone for their spirited arguments about the upcoming AP exam/Final.  Here’s my final decision. Everyone will take some sort of final. If you’re taking the official final, you won’t be required to take a final from me and your grade will be the result of the other assignments we’ve had, including two more in-class AP prompts.  There will be no adjustment of grades for scores on the AP exam. If you want to take an exam from me in order to raise your grade, you can negotiate that with me. If you are not taking the official AP exam, our final will be May 20th and 22nd, will include the full compliment of the AP exam, will be graded more or less at the level of the AP exam and will be over before Memorial Day.  This seems to me to be the fairest method in balancing competing interests while fulfilling my need to evaluate you in your abilities and skills.

OK, let’s see your paragraphs from Quotidiana and teach us something.

Satire: An AP prompt used the following article from The Onion for an AP rhetorical strategies prompt. After some group consultation, we’ll talk about how to respond to this and what makes satire work.

In class, in pairs, write your own Onion headline and at least 3-4 paragraphs of the fake news piece that would accompany it. Some possible topics include:

• WASL
• Graduation
• Bad TV
• Pretentious Teachers/Artists
• Grades
• The Election
• Seattle

We may listen to this in preparation.

HW: Read A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. In a 300 word blog post: What’s the purpose of this piece? How does the satire serve a rhetorical purpose or put forth an indirect claim? Please excerpt 3 sections and comment more directly on them.

Image Credit: The Onion

…hear my children cry for vicuals once.”

We’ll start with small groups comparing analysis on the Downe prompt. Each group will choose 5 possible strategies used and create a topic sentence for each. Remember, logos, pathos, ethos as categories.

Take a look at the following list of rhetorical strategies. Imagine that you are going to try and convince us that “Everyone should take the AP exam.” Use 1 of the strategies and see if we can guess which one.

Triplets: In small groups no bigger than 3, choose one paragraph passage from this site (Quotidiana) and prepare to teach it to the rest of the class. Use Keynote or PowerPoint to 1) show us the passage 2) illustrate specific uses of rhetorical strategies and 3) ask questions about how these strategies affect the impact the argument makes.

HW: Read “Lying in Bed” by G.K. Chesterton and write a blog post that analyzes the 4-5 most important strategies used by the author.

Image Credit: someguysblog

So, let’s do it. After some breathing exercises, we’ll answer an AP prompt for 40 minutes. We’ll take a break and then read through the sample answers.

Afterwards, we’ll discuss what makes a successful and not so successful response.

Next, I want to have us comment on each other’s 2 paragraph arguments and then see if we can figure out which is the real deal.

HW: Bring home “As he himself puts it” and write a sample paragraph for the following prompt in which you include a quote from the prompt in your response and use the qualities and advice suggested by Graff/Birkenstein.

Image Credit: nytimes.com

First, I’d like you to both turn in a physical copy of the Juxtaposing Images assignment and post it onto your blog. Then, we’ll ask your fellow students to read 1-2 and post a comment with some specific analysis. I’ll also check and grade the comic book responses to the Sanders AP prompt.

Good, then I want to run through a short Keynote about argumentation and remind ourselves of important truths therein.

Then, I want to give small groups time to compare note on the Sanders prompt and then the Kennan prompt.

1. How can we create a nuance thesis or claim?
2. What evidence could we use to back up these claims?
3. What traps (obvious ideas that will likely be overused) are laying in wait?
4. How can we integrate quote into what we want to say?

Thursday plan on an in-class prompt writing extravaganza.

HW: Blog post: Write two paragraphs putting forth an opinion about an important social issue (Gun control, Affirmative Action, Cats are better than Dogs). Choose an issue you care about but write one paragraph according to how you actually feel and the other according to how someone who disagrees might feel. Try to make is so that someone from the outside wouldn’t know which of these you agree with.