Monday, December 3, 2012

AP Breakfast on Saturday, Dec. 8th



Ms. Carlson's Breakfast Potatoes

 

Reminder: High Protein Breakfast from 8-8:45.  My Treat! 

Scrambled Eggs with Portuguese Sausage
 



Yogurt and Muffins

Dear Class,

I am looking for a few extra items:

  • Paper plates (50)
  • Forks (50)
  • Spoons (50)
  • Napkins (50)
  • Chilled Juice Boxes (50)
  • Water Bottles (50)
If you can, please sign-up to bring an item noted above and post how many you can contribute.  I am anticpating 40+ students for breakfast.

But if you cannot contribute, please do not worry.  There will be other gatherings if you would like to contribute at another time.

Aloha,
Ms. Carlson

PS  Mock Exam will begin promptly at 9 a.m. and will end a little after 12 noon.

Monday, November 12, 2012

You Are Nothing Special

Wellesley High School 2012 Commencement Speech


http://theswellesleyreport.com/2012/06/wellesley-high-grads-told-youre-not-special/

Click on the link above to hear the commencement speech. (12 min. long)

Now read the speech below and address the following:

1.) Identify One Scheme: Choose from Balance, Unusual Word Order, Omission or Repetition.  Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
2.) Identify One Trope.  Choose from Comparison, Word Play, or Exaggeration.  Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the trope using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
3.) After identifying a Scheme and a Trope, now  discuss if you agree with the speaker, disagree with the speaker ( referred to as refutation, the act of refuting or disagreeing), OR if you agree with some of the speech  but disagree with other parts of it.  (This is the concept of Qualifying an argument in which you do not totally disagree or agree.)
So Agree, Refute, or Qualify the speaker's comments in a supporting paragraph that specifically references part of the speech.
Due Date: Posting to me by Monday, Nov. 19th. (20 Pts)

Due Date: Response to another student's posting by Friday, Nov. 23rd. (20 Pts.)

Weak responses will receive minimal credit.

Commencement Speech for 2012 Graduating Class
Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful.  Thank you.

So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)

But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.

No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.

All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.

You are not special. You are not exceptional.

Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.

Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! [Editor’s upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report!] And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.

The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.

“But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfection! Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?” As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans. It’s an epidemic — and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not.

If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning. You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. (Second is ice cream… just an fyi) I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.

As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.

ing life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–quite an active verb, “pursuit”–which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube. The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it. Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands. (Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life. Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter.)

None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly. Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion–and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

Because everyone is.

Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.

By David McCullough, English teacher at Wellesley High School.

Your Directions Again:

1.) Identify One Scheme: Choose from Balance, Unusual Word Order, Omission or Repetition. Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
2.) Identify One Trope. Choose from Comparison, Word Play, or Exaggeration. Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
3.) After identifying a Scheme and a Trope, now discuss if you agree with the speaker, disagree with the speaker (This is referred to as refutation, the act of refuting or disagreeing), OR if you agree with some of the speech but disagree with other parts of it (This is the concept of Qualifying an argument in which you do not totally disagree or agree.)
So Agree, Refute, or Qualify the speaker's comments in a supporting paragraph that specifically references part of the speech.

Due Date: Posting to me by Monday, Nov. 19th. (20 Pts)

Due Date: Response to another student's posting by Friday, Nov. 23rd.  (20 Pts.)

 Weak responses will receive minimal credit.


 

 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

from In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

 

 

"It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky, and an easterly wind rustled, without ripping loose, the last of the leaves on the Chinese elms. Autumns reward western Kansas for the evils that the remaining seasons impose: winter's rough Colorado winds and hip-high, sheep-slaughtering snows; the slushes and the strange land fogs of spring; and summer, when even crows seek the puny shade, and the tawny infinitude of wheatstalks bristle, blaze" (10-11).

Student Responses:

  1. In the quote provided above, Capote’s dazzling description of the Kansas plains in autumn juxtaposed with the bleak depiction of the conditions that the region exhibits during the other, less forgiving seasons unify to produce one of the most stunning passages in the novel. Though the author primarily strives to maintain an air of journalism when recounting the truth of the horrific events (and, in doing so, creates what could be described as a “nonfiction novel”), he often disperses poetic, almost lyrical details of the setting into the story, much of which reads as a newspaper article or an investigative report. The tactic of contrasting tone is one of Capote’s most appealing strategies in his attempt to craft a narrative from the ghastly real-life chronicle of the Clutter murders.

    Idyllic descriptions aside, my favorite passage is found on p. 79. Several close friends of the murdered family have cleaned the Clutter household, deeming it their “Christian duty” to purge the home of the family’s blood stained belongings. After accumulating all reminders of the Clutter’s gruesome fate, the troupe transports the relics to an open field on the property of River Valley Farm. Dousing the assortment in kerosene, preparing to ignite the remnants of the victims’ pasts, Andy Erhart, Mr. Clutter’s closest confidante, reflects on the merits of the family and speculates about the repercussions of the atrocity that has befallen the Clutters- “But that life, and what [Mr. Clutter] had made of it- how could this happen, Erhart wondered as he watched the bonfire catch. How was it possible that such effort, such plain virtue, could overnight be reduced to this- smoke, thinning as it rose and was received by the big, annihilating sky?”

    The beauty of this passage and the simplistic metaphor it contains is found in its succinct and accurate reflection of the human attitude toward death. The Clutters were prominent citizens in Holcomb: Mr. Clutter was a successful and philanthropic farmer. Nancy Clutter was class president and future prom queen. With such esteem, it seems unnatural, even preposterous, that something as commonplace as death should have the power to desecrate the upstanding reputation that the family has built for itself. This ideal is neatly summarized in Andy’s thoughts. Furthermore, the symbolism of smoke as the Clutter family’s legacy is a clever rhetorical device employed by the author. Even the largest, most impactful fire is eventually reduced to smoke, much like the influential lives of the family. Lastly, the use of the word “annihilating” to describe the expansive sky adds an unexpectedly foreboding aspect to the passage, implying that the Clutters’ memory will dissipate just as surely as the smoke is obliterated by the sky.
    ReplyDelete
  2. “After rain, or when snowfalls thaw, the streets, unnamed, unshaded, unpaved, turn from the thickest dust into the direst mud. At one end of the town stands a stark old stucco structure, the roof of which supports an electric sign – Dance – but the dancing has ceased and the advertisement has been dark for several years. Nearby is another building with an irrelevant sign, this one is flaking fold on a dirty window – Holcomb Bank. The bank closed in 1933 and its former counting rooms have been converted into apartments” (1-2).

    There are many reasons that this passage struck me as I was choosing among my favorite passages in the book. Capote employs a complex style and uses many subordinate clauses in his prose. This technique creates a unique cadence, but the cadence of this passage stood out among the rest. He uses three past participles, “unnamed, unshaded, unpaved, to describe the streets of Holcomb. This clever device shows us that Holcomb is a small town that has not caught up with some modern conveniences such as paved roads without coming out and saying it blatantly. Capote subtly gives up some other interesting details about Holcomb, Kansas in this passage. He tells us that the Holcomb Bank closed in 1933, the peak of the Great Depression. He also tells us that there is a vacant dance hall in Holcomb. Presumably, the dance hall was a popular establishment in the 1920’s that went out of business during the Depression. These two details show the reader that Holcomb was hit hard by the Depression and is still recovering from its implications. The way that Capote delicately gives us detail makes this passage one of my favorites in the book. Another aspect of this passage that I thought was interesting was the foreshadowing at the beginning of the passage. He tells us that the streets of Holcomb turned from “the thickest dust into the direst mud” after it rains. The roads can be interpreted as a symbol for the Holcomb community, while the rain symbolizes tragedy for the community, such as the Clutter murders. The rain turns the roads into the “direst mud,” just like the Clutter murders turned the community into a disarray of fear and confusion. He uses the word “direst” to describe the mud, which is interesting because usually that word is used to describe a dire situation. By describing the situation of the roads after rain, he foreshadows the “dire” atmosphere of Holcomb after the Clutter tragedy.

I found the above passages from Anna's Stone AP English 2013 blogsite. Her blog site required students to respond to various online assignments over summer vacation. I liked this assignment called Favorite Sentence(s) so well that I felt it was beneficial to show you the level of writing by other 11th grade AP students; however, I added an additional activity where you respond to one other classmate in a specific manner.

 

Your Task: Find a favorite passage and explain the stylistic devices and/or rhetorical strategies that Truman Capote uses. After you post your response, your next task is to respond to one student's favorite passage by discussing how their passage connects to a theme or advances/contributes to the novel-like structure. You must cite the page number(s) for your favorite passage in order to assist the person repsonding to your post. Also, please sign your repsonse by indicating to me your class period.

This assignment is worth 40 Points.

Due Dates:
  • Monday, November 5th: Your favorite passage with your analysis.       
  • Wednesday, November 7th: Your response to a classmate which highlights a theme within the novel or discusses the purpose of the passage by how the passage advances the plot or contributes to the novel-like structure that Capote creates.

Please note that your repsonse to one classmate will take more time than usual; therefore, your entire blog response cannot be completed on Wednesday night.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Virtual Thinking Strategies

Philip Yenawine conducts a VTS discussion in Amsterdam, 2012.




http://vimeo.com/51146289

View the video link above.  You will watch how an instructor helps guides other teachers into discussing how to interpret visuals.  His discussion helps support what you will have to do very quickly within the AP Lang & Comp exam because part of the exam requires you to synthesize sources into an argumentative response, and one source is always visual.

After watching the video, carefully construct a response directed towards your opinion of the death penalty.  You need to use part of the discussion from the video to help mold your response.  Comments that come from the video, whether quoted or summarized, need to be cited within your sentence by way of a "lead-in".  Use these as possible  "lead-ins" for your citations: 
  • One person from the audience highlights . . . . .  (Yes, I know using the word highlights may feel awkward to use, but get use to it and start using it because it is the language of academic writing.)  
  • According to the instructor he notes . . . . . . (Notice I use a strong verb "notes" and the verb "highlights" is also a strong verb.  And notice that I am using these verbs as present tense verbs.)
  • He also points out . . . . . ("points out" is acceptable to use even though it is colloquial.)
  • An audience member argues . . . . . .  (another strong verb in the present tense)
  • Strong Verbs: highlights, notes, points out, argues, and so on. 
  • Notice that when a lead-in is used to cite who said something, you do not need to cite again at the end of the sentence.
  • No need for a Works Cited page for this activity

Graded Task

  1. Post your reflection on the dealth penalty that integrates something from the video.=20 pts.
  2. Respond to two classmates' ideas thoughtfully.  (And I mean thoughtfully.  Not just "I agree with what you said."  In fact, I'd rather have you disagree--but politely.)=20 pts
So, this posting has more points than any other posting.  This is due to the fact that you have to use critical thinking skills, proper citations, and take an  argumenative stance.  Please do not feel that you have to write a lengthy response; however, if your response really lacks substance, then your grade will also be lacking.  (Hey, that's an AP style strategy within my last sentence.  We will discuss it later in class:>)

And one more note: if you have not already experienced the nightmare of losing a response, I suggest that  you write your response within a Word doc and check it for spelling and grammar.  Next, save it to your desktop and then copy/paste it into your blog reply.

Due Dates:  Saturday, October 27th to me.  And then Monday, October, 29th to two classmates.


Monday, October 15, 2012

Lessons From Death Row


Sometime within this quarter you will  be writing an argumentative essay about the death penalty.  The link below connects you to a Ted Talk's video and I encourage you to take notes to use for your argumentative essay.  

After viewing the video, discuss the following by Saturday, Oct. 20th:

  1.  What  is the "common ground" that the speaker tries to establish with his audience.  (Common ground is a Rogerian technique of argumentation in which the speaker or author find what they believe both sides of an argument would agree upon.) 

  2. What rhetorical strategies does the speaker use.

  3. Highlight something that struck a chord with you in terms of new knowledge or in terms of your agreement or disagreement with the speaker's thesis.

  4. Finally, respond thoughtfully to two classmates postings by Sunday, Oct. 21st.

The  link to the Ted Talk's video  is right below.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_r_dow_lessons_from_death_row_inmates.html  (about 18 min. long)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Fallacies

Get To Know Them When You . . .  See, Read, or Hear Them



















Above is an example of a common logical fallacy known as the ad hominem argument, which is Latin for "argument against the person" or "argument toward the person". Basically, an ad hominem argument goes like this:
Person 1 makes claim X
There is something objectionable about Person 1
Therefore claim X is false
 
There are over 100 Fallacies and most likely you will not remember the names of even the most commonly used fallacies; however, what's important about Fallacies is your ability to recognize a claim or premise that lacks logic.  When this happens, it falls under the category of being a fallacy.
 
Please open the link below and review this website devoted to fallacies.  On the left side of the website is an extensive list of fallacies with definitions and then on the right side of the website--representing two-thirds of the page--are several articles with links to their full text as well as a couple videos that discuss the use of fallacies within today's news stories. 
 
Your assignment is to choose an article or video and then discuss the fallacy that appears within the piece.  If the author identifies the name of the fallacy, you can search for its definition on the left side of the website.  If the author does not mention the name of the fallacy, see if you can figure out the name.  Make sure that your discussion includes the following:
  1. The name of the article or video.
  2. The type of fallacy being used--if it is not given, then make an educated guess by reviewing the sidebar definitions.
  3. An explanation of the fallacy (in your own words)
  4. The implication of the fallacy if people were to believe what they read, viewed, or heard.

After posting your response, you must respond to two of your classmates postings by commenting about the implications of the fallacy or perhaps if you disagree with the student's choice in naming the fallacy, then you may comment on this.  Just make sure that you have something meaningful to say by adding on to the student's existing conversation on the fallacy and/or topic.

Due Date: Tuesday, September 25th  Please note that this is your last blog for First Quarter and the due date was extended because I posted it Monday night verses Sunday night.

Here is the Link:

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/index.html

One more request:  When you sign your name, please include your period in order to make it just a bit easier for me to record your work.  Mahalo.

Sincerely,

Ms. Carlson 3rd Period


Monday, September 10, 2012

What's the Purpose?


August 20, 2012, 11:13 pm

Scared Straight — Into the Voting Booth


It strikes me as funny that we call our political organizations “parties.” For most of us, elections and political parties are the antithesis of fun. It’s no wonder that many young people avoid them. As colleges around the country welcome hordes of students, and politicians feebly attempt to spark interest in the fall election, we should ask why.

I live in a college town, Austin, now the fastest growing city in the country. Young people are moving here in droves, drawn by the city’s creative energy and laid back lifestyle. And they are some of the most active and committed people I know.

I’ve been lucky to get to know many of them since I moved back to town last summer, after many years in New York City. Tanene Allison is developing a new media platform to give a voice to women, people of color and gay and lesbian youth. Cristina Tzintzun organizes low-income construction workers. Michelle Dahlenburg helps incarcerated women through theater and creative writing. John Fiege is making a film about people taking direct action to address climate change. Patrick Slevin launched a youth orchestra for Latinos. I could go on.

So why do so few young people vote?

In the recent run-off elections to select Senate candidates for the race this fall in Texas (there was one for Democrats and one for Republicans) only 8.5% of eligible voters showed up. These determined citizens essentially decided the outcome in November, given the extreme odds against a Democrat defeating the Republican run-off winner, Ted Cruz. Though Texas is certainly ground zero for weak voter participation, even national averages for young people (18-35) have teetered just around 50% for most presidential elections, and they’re half that in non-presidential election years – 24% in the 2010 midterm elections.

 
While the percentage of young people who vote has actually grown incrementally during the last few presidential elections, we have yet to return to the voting levels of the early 1970s. Turnout was 55% in 1972 — just after the 26th Amendment to the Constitution added millions of young voters to the rolls by dropping the voting age from 21 to 18. To offer a more stark comparison, voter turnout rates have topped 70% in Canada, 79% in France, and 96% in Australia (where voting is compulsory).

Quoting these sobering statistics, older generations love to bemoan the antipathy of youth, the lack of a culture of civic participation in America. At a dinner party I hosted recently, dour comments flowed. While it was hardly a representative group — the guests included journalists, advocates, a documentary filmmaker and a government official — their remarks were typical: “When I was young everybody got involved in politics, but my kids just don’t care;” “Young people have given up on government, and it’s our fault because government sucks;” “Occupy was so inspiring at first, but I guess they all just wanted to camp.”

These comments ignore other forms of youth engagement that may tell us something about why young people can be enthusiastic volunteers and organizers but tepid voters. Three causes are worth exploring. First of all, many young people just don’t see the connection between voting and their commitment to improve their communities, advocate for a cause, or change the world. Secondly, there are very real grounds for political cynicism. And finally, let’s face it, civic engagement can be a snore.

The missing link between issue advocacy and voting struck me forcefully when I discovered that many of the young women who rallied recently at the state capitol to protest Gov. Rick Perry’s attack on Planned Parenthood hadn’t voted in the 2010 gubernatorial election. They had skipped a step in the policymaking process that might’ve kept them out of the heat – voting out a leader willing to risk women’s lives to score political points. I’ve also met plenty of bike-riding young people who are passionate about saving the environment, fanatic about composting, obsessed with their carbon footprint — but they don’t vote either.

Other citizens get how government is supposed to work but are deeply cynical about the political process. This isn’t just youthful ennui. Big money has an outsize influence on both political parties, gerrymandering dilutes votes, and partisan gridlock stalls action on even the most pressing problems. Young people are courted during election season and then ignored or chastised when they demand accountability and solutions. There are still too few candidates who represent the diversity of the younger generation, which is comprised mostly of people of color and immigrants. Recognizing all this, we need to make a better case that voting still matters.

Then there’s the fun factor. The fact is, for many young people – all right, most people – civic engagement is a bore. The phrase “civic engagement” conjures images of neighborhood meetings that plod along in rooms with stained carpets, cheap paneling and fluorescent lighting. Slick, overproduced political rallies and overly earnest sharefests. I know, I’ve been there. I’ve even sponsored a few.

How to remedy these ills? We need to put young people in charge, because they will engage their peers where they’re already active – in community gardens, volunteer networks, sports clubs and cultural hubs. Voting should be tied directly to issues that young people care about, as a natural extension of other forms of involvement, creative expression and collective action. And the best way to counter youth cynicism may be to rub their noses in the stale fruit of inaction – do you really want to have no say in policies that determine whether or not you have a job, what you pay for college, whether climate change ever gets addressed or even acknowledged? Scared straight into voting.

Most importantly, it should be terrific fun to vote and to stay involved after election day. What if the average civic gathering – whether it’s a political rally, grassroots group, school task force, or city council – involved cook-offs, improv or gaming? What if we devised clever ways to scale up what’s working, instead of whining for a living? What if we banned Robert’s Rules of Order and actually got to know one another? It’s no surprise that two of the most effective movements in the last few years have been the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. They threw out tired old forms of engagement and communication, and inspired people to make noise, create political theater, to engage people’s emotions and not just their rational brains.

Some groups are doing things differently now, and we need more like them. The Bus Project in Oregon recruits young people to get on a bus — yes, an actual bus — to engage voters on issues or candidates they believe in. They’ve made even tried and true methods of political organizing more fun, like their Phone Phests: “Vivacious volunteers + tasty treats + delicious drinks + magnificent music + dialing for democracy = the greatest phone calling experience of your sweet young life.”

The League of Young Voters, despite its stodgy name, is masterful at cultural organizing and social media outreach. Check out “Total Recall Live,” the league’s weekly online talk show where an R&B songstress and a D.J. remix news regarding hip-hop and politics.


Yana Paskova for The
New York TimesYouth volunteers in Athens, Ohio, 2008.

Conservatives have wisely invested in youth leadership programs for decades, through groups like the Leadership Institute. Their graduates helped Cruz, a Tea Party favorite, win the primary against the candidate of the Republican establishment and Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

In 2008, as a candidate, Obama dazzled the nation with his ability to inspire millions, including loads of young people, to get involved in political organizing for the first time. And they reached their goal – they elected Obama. Problem was, it was the wrong goal. The party ended, and many were disillusioned when change didn’t happen overnight. Voting is critical, but it is just one step in the broad spectrum of engagement required to advance real change, whatever your goals and ideology. For democracy to flourish, we need people to do it all — vote, volunteer and raise some righteous hell.

Ann Beeson is a senior fellow and lecturer at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas. She was previously the national associate legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
After reading the article above, answer the following questions:

1.) What was the author's purpose? 
To Inform
To Entertain
To Question
To Argue
To Ellicit an Emotional Response
2.) Once you identify the author's purpose, next explain "for what and/or for whom."  In other words, if you stated the author's purpose was to entertain, then explain for what reasons and/or to whom.
3.) Next explain "why?"
Please note that questions 1-3 could be completed in as little as one sentence.
4.) Now list some evidence that supports your assertion on her purpose.  You may write this in sentence format, or you may simply bullet the information.
5.) Now discuss what strategy she used to achieve her purpose.   You may need to review your notes on all the rhetorical devices and strategies we have discussed so far.  Sorry, but I am not giving any hints here.
5.)  Next, open up one of the ten hyperlinks within the article and read where it takes you.  Comment upon the relevancy of the link as it pertains to the article.  Does it support the article, if so, in what manner?  Does it seem off-topic from the article?  If so, then why?
Please try to read a different link than what others have already reviewed.
6.)  Finally, respond to one other person's commentary.  Just one person this time:>) unless you would like to respond to more than one person, then please feel free to do so.
Your posting to me is due by Friday, September 14th, and your response to one other classmate is due by Sunday, September 16th.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Reality Check

Freshman Composition Syllabus


Below is a syllabus for a Florida State University freshman composition writing course that was given during summer.  Either copy/paste the document into a word doc and save it to your desktop, or read the entire document within this blog  and then answer the questions written in red in a thoughtful manner by using evidence from the document and your new-found understanding of the AP exam.  Do Not Post Your Response.  Email it to: aplangkhs@gmail.com.  Identify your class period and your first and last name within the Subject section of the email like this: Per. 3 Jack Johnson

 

Freshman English Composition Course Syllabus 

ENC 1101.17 Investigating Communities: How We See Ourselves and Others

Summer Session C, 2008

11-12:15 M-F Williams 217

Instructor: Lucy Littler

Office: Williams 329

Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-4pm, Thursdays 2-4

Email: clr07d@fsu.edu

First Year Composition Mission Statement

First-Year Writing courses at FSU teach writing as a recursive and frequently collaborative process of invention, drafting, and revising. Writing is both personal and social, and students should learn how to write for a variety of purposes and audiences. Since writing is a process of making meaning as well as communicating, FYW teachers respond to the content of students' writing as well as to surface errors. Students should expect frequent written and oral response on the content of their writing from both teacher and peers. Classes rely heavily on a workshop format. Instruction emphasizes the connection between writing, reading, and critical thinking; students should give thoughtful, reasoned responses to the readings. Both reading and writing are the subjects of class discussions and workshops, and students are expected to be active participants of the classroom community. Learning from each other will be a large part of the classroom experience. If you would like further information regarding the First-Year Composition Program, feel free to contact the program director, Dr. Deborah Coxwell-Teague at dteague@fsu.edu.

Our Course Goals

This course will help you to grow as a writer and a critical thinker by encouraging you to investigate and to write about communities that have played a role in shaping you as an individual. In addition to looking closely at yourself, you will take a close look at others within the communities around you and study larger communities you currently participate in or hope to join.

 This course aims to help you improve your writing and communication skills in all areas: discovering what you have to say, organizing your thoughts for a variety of audiences, and improving fluency and rhetorical sophistication. You will write and revise three papers, give an oral presentation, write sustained exploratory journals (both in and out of class), work directly with an audience of your peers to practice critical reading and response, and learn many new writing techniques.

 We will begin the semester with Paper #1 which asks you to examine your own literacy history and how you see yourself as a member of the writing/reading community. From there you will use community as the lens with which to examine and write about someone else in Paper #2, and then in Paper #3, you will examine a larger community you are currently a member of or one you think you would like to join. To conclude our course, we will focus briefly on oral communication as each student will organize and present his/her favorite paper from the term to the class. You will not read your paper to the class, but you will convey what about the process of writing the paper was most enjoyable, challenging, memorable, etc.

Required Materials:

On Writing 3rd Edition, FSU Edition (Bishop 2008)

The New McGraw-Hill Handbook (Maimon, Pertiz, Yancy, 2007

Our Own Words available at http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/oow

Access to a Computer (the university provides a number of computer labs)

Electronic Storage device (flash/thumb drive, disk, etc) for use in and out of class

Requirements of Course

All of the formal written assignments below must be turned in to me in order to pass the course. Attendance is also a requirement. More than four absences in a 6 week course is grounds for failure. Three "tardies" will constitute an absence.

Three papers, edited and polished

Oral presentation

Multiple drafts and revisions of each of the three formal papers

 Exploratory journals, some in-class & some out-of-class

Two individual conferences

Thoughtful, active, and responsible participation and citizenship, including discussion, preparation for class, in- and out-of-class informal writing

Check email and course Blackboard site daily

Evaluation

Rough drafts will be graded on completeness and potential—not on editing, coherence, or other mechanical issues. If you miss a scheduled workshop or show up to a workshop without a complete and thoughtful draft (or the requested number of copies, etc), your final paper grade will be lowered by 1/3 (this means a final paper that would normally be a B would become a B- if you missed one workshop, a C+ if you missed two workshops, etc. Please note that showing up without a draft, without a draft that addresses the given assignment, without having posted your draft on Blackboard, or without bringing the required number of copies of your draft all carry the same penalty as missing the workshop altogether. No exceptions. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LISTEN TO/CHECK BLACKBOARD FOR DIRECTIONS AND COME PREPARED TO ALL CLASS MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS.)

Final papers will be graded on audience-awareness, organization, thoughtfulness, and editing. Each final paper will be handed in with a packet of required materials (rough drafts, process writing, etc).

If you fail to hand in a final paper on time or with the necessary required materials, your final paper grade for that assignment will be lowered by a full letter grade. All other written and oral work (quizzes, journals, presentations, etc) will be graded on meaning or content and appropriateness to the assignment.

 Paper 1—Personal Exploration: How You See Yourself as a Writer (20%)

Paper 2—How You See Another: Community Member Profile (30%)

Paper 3—Featured Article: How You See Yourself and Others within a Community (30%)

Oral Presentation—Writing Process: Your Favorite Paper from our Course (10%)

Journals—Writing activities, in and out of class (10%)

ALL FORMAL PAPERS AND THEIR DRAFTS MUST BE COMPLETED AND TURNED IN TO EARN A PASSING GRADE IN THIS COURSE.

Attendance

I keep strict attendance and will adhere to the First-Year Writing rule that an excess of four absences in a 6 week class [that's the equivalent of 20% of this course] is grounds for failure. You should always inform me, ahead of time when possible, about why you miss class, but letting me know you will be out of town or that you don’t feel well, etc. does not "excuse" the absence. All absences, no matter what the reason, count toward the total number. Save your absences for when you get sick (it will happen, trust me) or for family emergencies. If you are late to class (and/or conference) three times, it will be counted as an absence. Not showing up for a conference counts as an absence as well.

Please keep in mind that attendance in this course means being here both physically

and mentally. Sleeping, not participating, or detracting from the progress of the class is grounds being asked to leave for the remainder of the class meeting and counted absent for the day.

 Drafts and Workshops

FSU believes that writing is an on-going process that includes stages of invention, drafting, revision, and editing. These stages don’t always happen in a set order, nor do they necessarily happen only once during any given writing task. To encourage this process-approach to writing, each paper in ENC 1101 will consist of several drafts. These drafts will be due on designated workshop days—days on which you will be expected not only to receive feedback on your own work but also to generate feedback on the work of your peers.

 You are required not only to attend workshops with a completed and thoughtful draft, but you are also expected to contribute to the workshop by giving your peers’ drafts your full attention and offering them honest, helpful criticism.

 You should submit your draft to our online Blackboard site (please use .rtf format) well in advance of class time so you will be prepared to share your work as soon as class begins. Sometimes you will be expected (you will have ample time to prepare) to bring one or more hard copies of your draft to class.

I will take up drafts at various times during the course and provide written and/or oral feedback. I will not tell you what to do because your writing should be a reflection of your choices as a writer--I will offer suggestions by discussion with you how your work has affected or reached me as a reader.  I will act as a "sounding board" on which you can flesh out your ideas and bring your intentions as a writer to fruition from the initial invention stages of an assignment all the way to editing and polishing your final drafts.

For more information on this approach to teaching composition, please see Brannon and Knoblauch’s "On Student’s Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response"

Please see the

Evaluation section of this course information sheet for the penalties associated with missing a workshop or coming to a workshop unprepared.

 Journals

Each week, we will engage in a number of journal assignments. Some of these assignments will be completed in class, others will require that you spend some time reading, reflecting, and writing outside of designated class meeting time.

First-Year Composition Course Drop Policy

This course is NOT eligible to be dropped in accordance with the "Drop Policy" adopted by the Faculty Senate in the spring of 2004. The Undergraduate Studies Dean will not consider drop requests for a First-Year Composition course unless there are extraordinary and extenuating circumstances utterly beyond the student's control (e.g.:death of a parent or sibling, illness requiring hospitalization, etc.). The Faculty Senate specifically eliminated First-Year Composition courses from the University Drop Policy because of the overriding requirement that First-Year Composition be completed during students' initial enrollment at FSU.

Reading/Writing Center

The RWC offers one-on-one help for students with their writing, whether they need help with a writing problem, understanding what their teacher wants, or just want to do better on their writing assignments. The Center is staffed by teaching assistants who are trained in writing and teaching. Make an appointment by calling ahead (644-6495) or stopping in (222-C WMS). The Writing Center is open 9:00-4:30 Monday-Friday. Online tutoring is also available. The Center is a great asset; please take advantage of it.

 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is grounds for suspension from the university as well as for failure in this course. It will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism must be reported to the Director of First-Year Writing and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Plagiarism is a counterproductive, non-writing behavior that is unacceptable in a course intended to aid the growth of individual writers. Plagiarism is included among the violations defined in the Academic Honor Code, section b), paragraph 2, as follows: "Regarding academic assignments, violations of the Academic Honor Code shall include representing another's work or any part thereof, be it published or unpublished, as one's own." A plagiarism education assignment that further explains this issue will be administered in all first-year writing courses during the second week of class. Each student will be responsible for completing the assignment and asking questions regarding any parts they do not fully understand.

Gordon Rule

Successful completion of all writings in this course and a final course grade of C- or better will allow you to satisfy the Gordon Rule requirement. The University requires you to write 7,000 words, but you will be writing much more than that in any FYW course.

American Disability Act

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should in the FIRST WEEK OF CLASS 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) and 2) bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating the need for academic accommodations. This and all other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

 Description of Paper Assignments

(These descriptions are subject to modification as I see fit)

Personal Exploration: How You See Yourself as a Writer (20%)

This essay should explore the aspects of what makes you who you are as a writer. As a person, and as a member of your larger communities, what has shaped you as a writer, and a student of writing, to this point? Who has influenced your attitudes and perceptions toward reading, writing and academic education? What decisions or events in your life have determined your literacy? How did you become the writer you are today?

 For this essay, explore all of these questions by considering and reflecting on your past experiences with reading and writing. Think of the communities you belong to (home, school, hobbies, social groups, etc.) and how those communities have contributed to your evolution into the literate person you are today. You may choose to focus on a turning point, such as a time when a teacher influenced you, the first great book you read that introduced you to the joys of literature, or the influence of a friend or family member on some aspect of your literacy history. Or you may choose to focus on a practice you have developed, or an experience related to your literacy that has impacted you. Your focus might be positive or negative—you may relate a struggle connected to reading or writing (perhaps it was never something you liked), or you may want to discuss a discovery you made (perhaps you enjoy a particular genre of literature) that changed your perspective.

 Whatever your focus, this essay should contain a significant amount of analysis and interpretation of what has shaped you. Tell your story in this essay, but move beyond narration to reflect upon and articulate why and how the experience(s) was(were) significant for you. How were you shaped as a person and within your larger communities by this experience/event/discovery? The essay should provide a level of detail, through example, anecdote and explanation, which enables a reader to relate to your experience and to understand your perspective. It should provide significant insight into what or who has made/makes you who you are as a writer, reader, student and person of your world.

The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on using sensory detail and description, using dialogue, and taking risks through radical revision.

 The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

 Paper Two – Community Member Profile: How We See Another

As our class is focused on community, this essay asks you to examine a community in relation to one of its members. Before you start work on this paper, you will want to consider what a community is, how it functions, what traits its members have, and why this community exists.

In your first paper, you wrote about yourself; now, you are being asked to closely examine another person and write a profile. Unlike a biography that catalogs the major events in a person’s life, a profile looks at a person through a specific lens. The lens you choose dictates which traits and experiences will be highlighted. A profile based on a person’s job will look very different than a profile looking at someone’s childhood.

 You will use community as the lens with which to examine someone. Choose someone to profile whom you think belongs to an interesting community or whose relationship with that community tells a lot about the person. There are any number of opportunities to find a unique view of this person through his/her involvement with a community—you may choose generation, culture, profession, etc.

 You will want to explore both the community and the person. In what ways does this person interact with this community? What traits do all members of the community possess? How does this person reflect this community? How would this person be different if he/she didn’t interact with this community?

 In order to discover the answers to these questions, you will want to interview this person (maybe more than once). The interview(s) will allow you to integrate direct quotations into your paper.

Here are a few examples to keep in mind:

Maria is from Cuba and extremely religious. A profile could examine how religion, especially aspects of Cuban Catholicism, helped her when she immigrated to the U.S.

 

Bruce is a civil engineer. He is obsessed with structural safety and has spent 20 years traveling around the country examining structures. His profile could focus on how his career has influenced his hobbies, lifestyle, and thought processes.

 

Susan was born in the 50s and grew up during Vietnam. She saw a picture in a magazine of a girl in Vietnam running from a bomb. Her profile could center on her loss of innocence during that era, an era when it is often argued our nation lost her innocence as well.

 

Your essay will most likely include description, narration, analysis, and reflection; it is up to you to decide how these will all be integrated. You will not merely describe the person and his/her community, but you will analyze the relationship between the person and the community, paying special attention to why this relationship deserves to be explored in a profile. Why is looking at this person in this light particularly interesting, important, or insightful?

 

The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on thoughtful representation of your subject matter, your audience’s perspective, description, analysis, and using interviews as source material.

 

The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

Paper Three –Feature Article: How We See Ourselves and Others Within a Community

We began the semester by looking at ourselves and what shaped us in a community of readers and writers. Next we interviewed another person and examined a community in relation to one of its members. Now we will examine a larger community we are currently a member of or one we think we would like to join. We will expand our writing lens to include a much larger, broader focus that will now cover a more expansive community.

 You will research your topic with the intent of publishing your essay as a feature article for a college magazine. You will inform and describe some of the important ideas behind your academic or professional goals for people who might want to pursue the same avenue. Some questions you might consider: What is my academic or professional goal? What kind of knowledge do I need to understand this goal better? What types of classes will I need to take? What characteristics do I need in order to successfully obtain these goals? What are the societal stereotypes that I might need to overcome? How will these stereotypes affect me? In order to answer these questions, you will need to interview people in your field in academia or working professionals.

 You will also need to examine questions about yourself: Why do I have these goals? Where do they stem from? Am I secure and/or comfortable with my goals? Do they fit with what I want to do with my life? How do I know this for sure (reflect and research)? What do I know about myself that will be conducive for this field? What stereotypes might I need to overcome to succeed?

 Finally, you will need to reflect and respond: What did I already know and what did I learn as a result of my research?

 The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on thoughtful representation of your subject matter, your audience’s perspective, description, analysis, and using various types of source material (interview, ethnography, periodicals, the web, etc).

 The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

Description of Oral Presentation

During the final days of our course, each student will share with the rest of the class what he or she has learned about his or her personal writing process through an analysis of his or her favorite paper from our course.

 Using your favorite paper (and any writing or materials you used while developing that paper) from our course, you should analyze and explain to your peers in an organized oral presentation what you have discovered about your writing process. What helps you write? What gets in your way? What do you like or dislike about your writing and why? How does this particular paper illustrate your process, or what you would like your process to be? What will you take from this paper with you into future writing situations?

 Though you should cite your own writing (such as drafts, journals, process letters, etc) in your presentation to illustrate your points, you should not plan to simply read your paper to the class. The purpose of this oral presentation is not to summarize the paper itself but to help you analyze and share what discoveries you made during the writing of this particular paper that you feel were valuable to you in some way. This assignment will serve as a bridge between ENC 1101 and whatever courses and writing experiences await you in the future as it encourages you to recognize and examine what works (and what doesn’t work) for you as a writer.

 Your oral presentation will be between 4 and 5 minutes long and it will include a visual aid. You must be present and attentive for all presentations in order to get credit for your own.

Tentative Schedule

(All readings, assignments, and due dates are subject to change. Check Blackboard DAILY for updates.)

Week 1

Monday, June 30th

 

Syllabus, ENC 1101 Expectations?

Read "What Goes on in First Year Writing" by Devan Cook, Our Own Words 1998-99 Edition http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/?q=node/444

Section 2A in The New McGraw Hill (p 21-23)

 Tuesday, July 1st

Discussion: What are your expectations for ENC 1101? College writing in general? Writing beyond college? How does Cook’s text affect what you think/expect?

What is process writing?

Introductions

Read Paule Marshall’s "The Poets in the Kitchen," Amy Tan’s "Mother Tongue" and the Introduction to Chapter 2 in On Writing

Section 11 in The New McGraw Hill (p 237-241)

 Wednesday, July 2nd

 Introducing Paper 1

Discussion: How has language affected Marshall’s life? How has language affected Tan’s life? How is language related to or reflective of community?

Invention Strategy: Timelining and Looping

Read Richard Straub’s "Responding—Really Responding—to Other Students’ Writing" in On Writing and Section 5A in The New McGraw Hill (p 90-93)

 Thursday, July 3rd

 Discussion: What’s the point of workshopping, and what should we expect to get (and give?) in a peer review?

Example Student Paper

 Friday, July 4th

No Class, University Holiday

 Week 2

Monday, July 7th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read "Sing with Me Somehow" and "Knocked Up" from Our Own Words (2007-2008 edition)

 Tuesday, July 8th

Discussion: What choices have these writers made to convey their stories effectively? What risks might you take with your draft?

Invention Activity: Showing vs. Telling

Snapshots, Exploding the Moment

Example Student Paper

Read Anne Lamotte’s "Shitty First Drafts" in On Writing

Complete out of class journal (TBA) in preparation for your conference

 Wednesday, July 9th

 Conferences, no class meeting

Thursday, July 10th

 Conferences, no class meeting

 Friday, July 11th

 Invention Activity: Sensory Detail

Workshop 2

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Week 3

Monday, July 14th

Final Draft of Paper 1 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

Introducing Paper 2

How to conduct an interview

Read "The Unsung Hero" in Our Own Words, 1999-2000 Edition http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/?q=node/150

Section 3A in The New McGraw Hill (p 35-45)

Tuesday, July 15th

Discussion: What decisions has this student writer made in profiling his grandfather?

Using a cultural artifact to guide an interview

Read Haunani-Kay Trask’s "Tourist, Stay Home" in On Writing and Section 4B-C in The New McGraw Hill (p 65-71)

 Wednesday, July 16th

 Discussion: How does Trask’s essay profile her community? How is language central to this community’s struggle?

Biography vs. Profile: Focusing through a specific lens

Paragraph length Profile

 Thursday, July 17th

 Sample Paper:

Seinfeld’s "The Soup Nazi"

Friday, July 18th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you.

Complete out of class journal (TBA) in preparation for your conference

Week 4

Monday, July 21st

Conferences, no class meeting

Tuesday, July 22nd

Conferences, no class meeting

Wednesday, July 23rd

 Final Draft of Paper 2 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

 Introducing Paper 3

What is Ethnography?

Read "Life in a Box: The Psychological Effects of Dormitory Architecture and Layout on Residents" Blakely Louis Beals from Our Own Words 1999-2000 Edition

Thursday, July 24th

Discussion: What does this essay reveal about student life/living at FSU? How would you describe this author’s style?

Example Student Paper

Invention Activity: Cubing

Read "Freaks and Geeks" in On Writing and Section 3B-D The New McGraw Hill (p. 45-57)

Friday, July 25th

 Discussion: How does Reeves’ essay profile a community through one of its members? How does Reeves use interview? Ethnography? Cultural Artifacts?

Using Language to convey reality: Abstract Shapes

Week 5

Monday, July 28thLibrary Visit, Meet in the "Coffee Lobby" at Strozier at 11am. Don’t be late!!

Tuesday, July 29th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read Section 18B The New McGraw Hill (p 323-325) and Fulwiler’s "The Role of Audiences" in On Writing

 Wednesday, July 30th

Who is your audience?

Searching the Web for Usable and Reliable Information

Thursday, July 31st

Revision Workshop using "Glossing" and "Commentary"

Friday, August 1st

Workshop 2

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read Section 13 in The New McGraw Hill (p 248-253)

Week 6

Monday, August 4th

How to Give an Effective and Engaging Oral Presentation

Tuesday, August 5th

 Revisiting Process Writing in Preparation for your Oral Presentation

"Imagoes"

Wednesday, August 6th

Final Draft of Paper 3 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

Oral Presentation "Dress Rehearsal"

Thursday, August 7th

Oral Presentations

Friday, August 8th

 Oral Presentations

 

Your Assignment:  After reading the 12 page document--yes it was 12 pages, comment on the following:

  1.  What surprised you the most?

  2. Do you have a greater understanding on why I am pushing you to do your work on time and use technology?  Please explain by referring to the FSU syllabus, thus showing me evidence of your understanding and why I require certain things within this course.

  3. Reflect on what you now understand about the AP Language and Composition exam and how I am trying to get you ready for bypassing an English composition course by preparing you to score high on the exam and yet still preparing you on what you would have learned within a college composition course. 

DO NOT POST YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS ASSIGNMENT ON THIS BLOG SITE.  This time, I want you to email me your response to aplangkhs@gmail.com.  In the subject column, identify your class period then write your formal name: first and last.  

Example: Per. 3: Jack Johnson

Make sure that your response remains in letter format and that you thoughtfully address the three items noted above.  Make sure that you use evidence from the sample syllabus and your understanding of the AP exam in order to support your response.

 Once Again: Do Not Post Your Response. 

Please email me your response to: aplangkhs@gmail.com.  Note your period and your first and last name within the subject heading of your email.

Assignment due no latter than September 9th, by Midnight

Please accept my apology on the radical change in font size within this document.  While trying to copy/paste it within the blog site, it would not allow me to remove some formatting features.  My sincerest apology.
~Ms. Carlson