AP Lang Week of September 29

For Mon: Take a break, enjoy the weekend, get some rest!
Class: Finish presentations; Narrative background; Freewrite

For Tues: Précis – “No Name Woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston
Class: CD of text; MC practice

For Wed: Classify and analyze the "voices" in “No Name Woman” – e.g., Kingston's mother, Kingston's speculative voice, the aunt herself, Kingston as historian. Fully support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.
Class: Read and discuss “When Afghanistan Was at Peace” by Margaret Atwood (group work in class)

For Thurs: Précis – “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell
Class: CD of text; MC practice

For Fri: Nothing, but see essay assignment for Monday. I will not be here, so be good for the sub.
Class: Senior Advisement from Mr. King – Juniors, you get to hang out and relax!

For Mon: Choose one of the prompts below.

1. Read carefully paragraphs 1 and 2 of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant." Then, in a well-organized essay, explain how the speaker uses stylistic and rhetorical strategies to convey his attitude toward himself and his position in Burma. Fully support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.

2. Read carefully paragraph 7 of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant." Then, in a well organized essay explain how the author uses resources of language to deliver the changing consciousness of the speaker. Consider such features of style and rhetoric as imagery, tone, parallel structures, organization, and figurative language. Fully support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.

3. Read carefully paragraphs 11-13 of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant." Then, write a well-organized essay explaining how the author uses stylistic devices and rhetorical strategies to convey his attitude toward shooting the elephant. Fully support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.

4. "Shooting an Elephant" concludes: "And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant. I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking like a fool." Orwell implies that such petty and selfish reasons, if we are honest enough to admit it, often drive our actions. Write an essay in which you argue for or against Orwell's position concerning human motives. Fully support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay with evidence from your reading, observation, and experience.

5. Early in the second paragraph of the piece, Orwell's narrator says, "Theoretically--and secretly, of course--I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British." And he concludes the same paragraph: "Feelings like these are the normal by-product of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty." With these qualifiers Orwell suggests that duplicity accompanies authority, a difference between the expression of the public and the private self. Write an essay in which you support, refute, or qualify that position regarding human expression. Refer to your reading, observation, or experience to support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.

6. In paragraph 7 Orwell observes that "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys," and that "He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it." Consider the implications of these statements concerning human nature. Write an essay in which you support, refute, or qualify Orwell's paradox and metaphor. Refer to your reading, observation, or experience to support your thesis in an organized, concise, and coherent essay.

Blog #7 (9/29)

Many of you are in the process of choosing colleges right now. Some of you already know exactly where you want to go and what you want to study when you get there, while others are not so sure. I made my choice many years ago to attend UGA as an act of rebellion against my father. Not the best decision-making process and certainly not one I would recommend, but it worked out ok for me.

Read the article "Don't Worry; Be Students" by Jacques Steinberg, author of The Gatekeepers (a great book!), and then explain what you think is important in deciding which colleges to apply to and, ultimately, which college to attend.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30poll-t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

AP Lang Week of September 22

For Mon: Bring hard copy of your selected convention speech
Class: Rhetorical analysis of Bush letter to Hussein

For Tues: Anything you need for your paper/presentation
Class: Workday in the lab (501) – convention speech paper/presentation

For Wed: Anything you need for your paper/presentation
Class: Workday in the lab (501) to finalize convention speech paper/presentation

For Thurs: All convention speech papers due
Class: Presentations

For Fri: Nothing due!!!
Class: Presentations

Blog #6 (9/22)

Read "Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race" by Brent Staples. Analyze his argument and then defend, challenge, or qualify his at least one of his assertions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/opinion/22observer.html?em

AP Lang Week of September 15

**You should be working on your convention speech paper and presentation throughout this week.

For Mon: Précis (2) – “As They Say, Drugs Kill” by L. Rowley and “Why You Can Hate Drugs and Still Want to Legalize Them” by J. Shenk
Class: CD of texts; Tag, You’re It!; Form groups for convention speech project; Review rhetorical analysis paper format

For Tues: Précis – JFK Inaugural Address
Class: CD of text; “The Hottest Rhetorical Device of Campaign ’08”; JFK classwork

For Wed: Précis – “Politics and the English Language” by G. Orwell
Class: CD of text; Text classwork; JFK speech analysis

For Thurs: Bring draft of advertising paper
Class: "The Declaration of Independence" and “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions”; SOAPSTone analysis of both texts

For Fri: Final draft of Advertising Analysis (attach draft and partner commentary);
Class: MC practice; “The Declaration of Independence in American”

Blog #5 (9/15)

The blog question this week involves a controversial ad that may offend you. Remember that you are only required to respond to 10 of the 16 postings in this class.

In 2007 the Italian fashion company Dolce & Gabana pulled a controversial advertisement from some countries, and the ad was banned in others. Esquire magazine published the ad in the United States. Read this brief press posting and view the ad itself. Then, decide for yourself whether the ad should have been banned or pulled and explain your opinion. Remember to directly reference specifics about the ad in your response.

Blog Issues...

Some of you emailed me about problems with the blog. I think I have everything fixed. Go ahead and try to post your comments, and don't worry about Friday deadline for the initial response.

AP Lang Week of September 8

For Mon: nothing due!

Class: Intro to rhetoric, Ethos/logos/pathos, Focus on ethos - Discourse Analysis

For Tues: Analyze appeals of SAT letter (1-2 paragraphs) - Are they effective? Explain; Summer Reading essay rewrites due

Class: Focus on pathos, Pathos analysis exercises, Introduce precis (also see example on website)

For Wed: Precis - "You Are Me" by Larry Carlat

Class: CD of text; Focus on logos, fallacies, syllogisms

For Thurs: Fallacies practice

Class: Monty Python exercise; Julius Caesar excerpts

For Fri: Bring an advertisement from a newspaper, magazine, or printout from internet

Class: Rhetoric in advertising; Murder Mystery exercise

For Mon: Precis - "As They Say, Drugs Kill" by Laura Rowley and "Why You Can Hate Drugs and Still Want to Legalize Them" by Joshua Wolf Shenk

Class: CD of texts; Form groups for convention speech project

Blog #4 (9/8)

No article to read this week, just a question...

How much privacy should public officials and/or celebrities have regarding their personal lives? Is anything off-limits? Does the public have "the right to know" everything? Or, is the answer somewhere in the middle? What do you think? Feel free to use current and past examples in your responses.

I am very curious about your opinions on this topic.

Initial post - due Friday

Response - due Sunday