Class notes (11/15-11/26)

AP exam Essay
- T.A.P, Thesis Answers Prompt
-find all the goals and reverse engineer the thesis based on how the author uses technique to create meaning
(the AP question)

AP Multiple Choice
-read for the big picture first than details second. this way you stay in the context of the big picture
Rhetorical Function
-author focused
-one spot compared to the whole
Context
-what does the word mean in relation to the others
-one spot compared to the whole
Antecedent
-mostly in poetry
-read the whole sentence, not just line by line
Style
-global type of question choices (in general/ all of them)
-usually are a question with a "better" answer where others may by right but not as right
-don't waste time on these, come back
Tone
-the test writers often "shoot themselves in the foot" by making paired answers, if one part
is wrong, it is all wrong

Sources of Hamlet
-based on a Norse legend from 1200 AD
-the character was originally named Amleth instead of Hamlet
-composed by Saxo Grammiticus
-Francois de Belleforest translated it into french
-didn't appear in english until 1608, so Shakespeare may have used an earlier play by
Thomas Kyd called Ur-Hamlet
-originally ended with Amleth claiming his rightful throne after taking revenge (i.e. killing the king)

Revenge Tragedy
-tragedy- imitation of a single unified action that is serious and complete
-plot may include

• hero's hesitation
• hero's insanity (real of fake)
• contemplation of suicide
• multiple levels of intrigue
• able, scheming villain
• abundance of philosophic soliloquies
• sensational on-stage murder

-the audience encounters

• the "offense"
• the antagonist
• clarification of stragedy
• series of delays, obstacles, divisions,mistakes, and reservations (anything that delays)
• unforeseen development that almost thwarts the scheme (messed up but not stopped)
• show down

Outside Reading: Column

Our Daughter Isn't A Selfish Brat; Your Son Just Hasn't Read Atlas Shrugged
By : Eric Hague

In this column, Our Daughter Isn't A Selfish Brat; Your Son Just Hasn't Read Atlas Shrugged by Eric Hague, Hague creates a persona that has just had a volatile encounter at the "Tot Lot" with his young daughter. He crafts this persona with his use of polite diction and long explanatory syntax that makes his persona sound sincere in his apology but is also not sorry about the outcome, his daughter did "win" after all.
The voice that he made also uses humor to create a tone that changes what he is saying from a very serious issue to a regrettable situation but one that is not bad and happens regularly. Because of his use of diction like "admittedly", "I think", "contradictory", and "delighted" create a sense that the persona is in no way confrontational,  the long sentence structure supports this and adds the sense that this is also to explain the event from his point of view.
This persona allows the reader to appreciate what he is saying and not being fixated on the event that happened, exactly as would be necessary for this to balance the "veritable powder keg of different and contradicting parenting styles". The humor that he uses makes the situation easier to see from his point of view as well because it creates a mutual respect and light hearted atmosphere. 
His persona is definitely not appropriate for an AP essay because of the humor that is used throughout. The humor creates an inappropriate connection to the reader. The persona comes off as funny but also as cocky since the combination of all of these elements are not confrontational but very confident. For an AP essay informative and confident writing is good, but funny and cocky is less effective for a persuassive essay.

Outside Reading: Reflective Essay

Please, Can We Not Go to the Party
By: Michael Ian Black

In this reflective essay "Please, Can We Not Go To The Party", Black creates an irritated and uncomfortable tone. He has created this tone by using language that is harsh and logic that is straight to the point. He reflects on what he is feeling by saying that "i am not feeling well...probably would not show up on any sort of medical exam...i am confident is quite contagious". This establishes the discomfort, but it is not only physical discomfort but is something much more because he mentions that it would not show up on an exam, meaning that it is mainly a excuse. This is reinforced by how flustered the topics are that he jumps between, even though the show progression of thought and logic. Both his language and logic are brutally honest, he uses short sentences with simple repetitive diction to reinforce his ideas, which are constructed that way to demonstrate the ideas with straight to the point short paragraphs also.
This tone makes me feel that he is not the best reference for the correct details of the events. Since he takes this tone of irritation his interpretation of is most likely scewed be the fact that he's unhappy and uncomfortable.
This tone is not apropriate for an AP essay because it creates a case where you are not a reputable source. For an AP essay it is absolutely necessary that you come across as reputable since you are trying to support a point of view based on a piece of literature. The straight to the point logic that is used on the other hand would be very good for an essay because it takes the unnecessary fluff out of an essay and takes less time to write. 

Outside Reading: Book Review

"Who Occupies This House"
By: Kathleen Hill

In this review "The Ancestral Home" by Tom LeClaire analyses the book "Who Occupies This House" by Kathleen Hill. He takes A harsh stance on the book, giving some very specific examples where he feels that the it loses readers with unanswered questions and an incomplete representation of some of the themes leave the reader confused.  He also names some other books that have used irregular methods of narration effectively, but does not include this book, saying that it simply fell short of effective.
One of the things that LeCLaire did in this review is use long eloquent diction when he is talking about what the author did poorly. This way he is able to be harsh and have a negative stance on parts of the book without sounding cruel, of even at first glance that these are major faults of the writer. He does this be using words like voluptuous, implores, wheedles, scrupulosity. He also uses words that, in conjunction with his eloquent wording add a sense that this review is very "politically" correct. They are not very forceful words, like instead of saying ignores, LeClaire uses evades, which has a more furtive but not entirely gone connotation. He drastically switches from matter-a-fact diction that is simply describing the content of the book to this eloquent politically correct diction when he begins the criticism.
This gives the review a split tone, one that is cold and uninviting in the beginning, to a more sympathetic and evasive tone, as though he is not interested in conflict. There is not a distinct critical approach that LeClaire is partial, he is mostly discusses the aspects of the book that he felt were not effective, with his eloquent language, displaying a hint of new historicism because he uses mostly textual evidence to support his interpretation. 

Class notes (11/8-11/12)

Writing A Thesis
-make sure to completely answer the prompt just with the thesis
-answer the hidden "so what" question
-the rest of the paper should "prove" the thesis
-try to avoid a thesis that lends itself to a "basic" technique structured paper
instead try to create one that will work well with a claim based structure
-spend five minutes just analyzing the prompt and forming the thesis
-break down the prompt to Understand ALL the goals
-remember to follow ALL the directions or you will only be able to get a three
at the highest, this includes the goals

Class notes (10/25-10/29)

Drama
-both an auditory and visual medium
-generally performed
-tries to create a illusion of reality "verisimilitude"
-meant to be seen or read in all one sitting
Tragedy
-in general, involves the downfall of the main characters
Comedy
-lighter drama where the main characters overcome difficulties the temporarily fall on them
-generally humorous
Melodrama
-blend of the serious action of a tragedy with the happy ending of a comedy
-clearly defined "good" conquers "evil"
Tragi-comedy
-like a melodrama but is much more developed and deals with more complex ideas
-more likely to contain humor
Problem Play
-drama of social criticism that discusses social, economic, or political issues
Farce
-when a comedy involves ridiculous complications without regard for human values
Comedy of Manners
-comedy that wittily portrays fashionable life
Domestic/Bourgeois Drama
-serious play that deals with ordinary people
Theater of the Absurd
-presents a world that cannot be explained

Class notes (10/11-10/22)

Tone
-speaker/narrator's attitude toward the present subject/moment/events
-can and often changes often
-described in terms of emotion
-an effect created by the author's choices in techniques

Voice
-speaker/narrator's personality toward life/the world in general
-can change if the character is dynamic, but doesn't change often
-described in terms of character
-created by techniques

 

Style
-author's "written personality"
-made up artificial persona's stance (choice, a part of them)
-stable throughout all of a writers work, but can change with time
-described in terms of character
-created by techniques

 

Rhythm & Meter
-Rhythm: refers to any wavelike recurrence of motion or sound

• Accented or stressed syllables pronounce rhythm
• end-stopped line: the end of the line corresponds to a natural speech pause
• run-on line: the line has the sense of moving without pause to the next line
• caesuras: pauses that occur between lines, can be grammatical or rhetorical

-Meter: the identifying characteristic of rhythmic language

• ex: the thing you tap you feet to
• accents of language seem to appear at regular intervals
• foot: consists of normally one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables 

Sound & Meaning
-Onomatopoeia: words that supposedly sound like what they mean, hiss, snap, bang, etc
-Phonetic intensives: sound word connects to its meaning

• fl- = flame, flicker, flash
• gl- = glare, gleam, glint, glow

-euphonious: smooth or pleasant sounding
-cacophonous: rough or rough sounding

Outside Reading: Reflective Essay

 “It's a Lot Harder to Fly a Plane Using the Force Than Star Wars Would Suggest.”
Author: Jordy Greenblatt

Original Text

 10/10/10

In this column on McSweeney's , Jordy Greenblatt writes a comical reflective essay on the history of him piloting aircraft with his eyes closed. His recitation of the events leading up to this involve him having to make multiple emergency stops and having the most deaths of any of the other pilots.

He uses simple diction to make it so that the reader does not spend any time looking at the words but can concentrate on what he is actually saying. The syntax that is used is repetitive, he uses yes and no to start sentences to hammer home the ridiculous things he is saying. He does a similar thing when he starts his sentences with “you”, it is to show that he is directly addressing the reader when he is speaker, later in the account the reader finds out why he is addressing them so obviously, he is the pilot of the plane the readers on.

The strength of this essay is the strong connection to the reader made by the syntax, and the ease of the read because of the diction. It also has a strong shock value at the end when the reader realizes they are on the plane with this crazy pilot. The weakness is that this there is not much depth to this story, it is limited to what can be seen at face value. Other than the allusion to Star Wars there are not any connections to other texts or archetypes.

The author takes a comical tone when describing his exploits. He does this be saying things like, “but the first time I tried it they really chewed me out”. These short sentences with common joking and funny phrases lead the reader to think that he is kidding and it is perfectly reasonable to look at everything he says as ridiculous. It makes his message less serious and he loses the ability to make a moving relevant message.

His tone is not appropriate for an AP exam at all because the joking manner in an AP exam would allow for the audience to ignore what the writer has to say because by taking that tone the writer loses the status of a reliable source.  

Outside Reading: Book Review

Published: 10/8/10

Book: “The Network” by Jason Elliot

Review: The Inconstant Gardener” by Tobin Harshaw

Original text 

Tobin Harshaw introduces the book as different from the typical spy thriller. He says, “Forget Borndian femme fatales and bournian superassassins”. Right off the bat he has caught the interest of the reader by telling the reader that it is an ideal thriller but is less action like in a bond or bourne book.

The tone that Harshaw takes is a relaxed friendly tone that works well in a book review because it sounds like the reader is talking to a friend, someone who has reliable good source of information. His use of diction reinforces this feeling, He uses words like fun, toting, swell that have a joking relaxed connotation. The syntax he uses is natural sounding like he is talking to the reader in an earnest way also. Harshaw draws a connection to the audience using an image of the office and the water cooler to further demonstrate that this is a discussion between friends.

The tone that Harshaw chose to take is a strength of this review, it allows the reader to trust the review more easily. The downside of the review though, is that it does not include anything that he did not like about the book, it is only a positive view of the book.

This review is from a formalist perspective, because it does not take into account the writers history other than stating his prior book. It deals entirely with the text and what he thought of the book without analysis from a different perspectives. This is actually another strength, it is only about the book so that the reader can read the text without a preconceived notion of what the meaning is based on.

This review is a good example of how the techniques we have learned in class can be used effectively to create a certain tone. The class discussed the use of diction, and syntax, both are evident in this review. It is also similar to some of the sheets that the class received in it's earnest and friend-to-friend tone. 

Outside Reading: Column

“Are You There God? It's Me Earnest”

 Author: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

9/28/10

Original text

 In the column “Are You There God? It's Me Earnest” the writer describes an afternoon in a child's, Earnest, life after his family has moved to a new house. Earnest meets a girl neighbor who wants to play in the sprinklers with him. The day goes well, in an awkward six grader way until the girl scrapes her knee.

The use of short choppy sentences and simple diction reflect the simplicity of the story and the afternoon through the boys perspective. The short syntax is also consistent throughout the story and the reader is not drawn to any specific line because it varies, until the last two lines which are long and more thoughtful showing the progression of the afternoon. This is also where the boy returns to his thoughts about god.

A strength of this writing is the simple structure of the syntax and the simple word choice that makes it evident that this is from the perspective of a kid, because it makes the message simpler. The weakness is also that it is from the perspective of the child, because it requires that the reader look back at their life, and if they cannot make a connection meaning could be lost.

Through diction and syntax the author creates the persona of Earnest the young boy. This persona that she uses makes the story have more weight because that amount of faith from a child is more impressive. If it was coming from an adult, the simplicity of the day would be lost and the faith shown would mean very little.

The speaker would not be appropriate because the persona of a child is not a reputable source to pay attention to in terms of literary analysis.

Class notes (10/4-10/8)

AP Exam

-45% Multiple choice

-55% Essay

Multiple choice

-55 questions

-1 hour for this section

-read the passages, then read All the questions before starting, some questions will give hints for others

Essay

-3 essays

-2 hours to write all three

-Analyze the prompt, all the parts of the prompt are considered directions, and if even one of the directions isn't followed the highest score that can be earned is a three

-2 essays are “closed readings”

• given a text and a prompt
• answer the prompt completely with evidence from the text

-1 essay is “open”

• evidence needs to be gathered from one or more texts that you have read to support the answer to the prompt

Even if it isn't asked, discuss meaning

Ms. Holmes highly supports collegeconfidential.com as a resource

Class notes (9/27-10/1)

Syntax

SVO (subject-verb-object) or SVC (subject-verb-complement) is the basic structure of a sentence.

Ex: Subject   -   verb   -   object

             I              ate      a sandwich

Two techniques can be used to change this structure, construction and length

• Construction: the order and punctuation of a sentence
• Length: length of sentences can be changed for different results

The sentence variety created by these techniques make different effects;

• Pace: the perception of the passing of time

• Tone: the emotion in the writing
• Emphasis/Attention: certain can be forced to the audience's attention or downplayed. Ex: in last weeks notes I used a short sentence “Study away.” to emphasize that we should be studying literary terms without using the “childish” exclamation point.

 Terms

• Coordinating conjunction: “F.A.N.B.O.Y.S” for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. The fanboys connect two independent thoughts that could be used separately. Ex: My family is putting in a new floor and I finished my AP English notes.
• Subordinating conjunction: one of the clauses in a subordinating conjunction is dependent on an independent thought. However, since, because, although, while. Ex: Since we don't have a dog, my sister has a pet care business called Divine Canine Care.
• More information on distinguishing the two at http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/coordinatingconjunction.htm
• Compound sentences: when a coordinating conjunction is used
• Complex sentences: when a subordinating conjunction is used
• Simple sentences: when neither is used. Ex: I ate a great sandwich.

  Clarity

-use “short active verbs”

-be careful to say what you mean

-some times the passive voice is the right choice, just don't over use it

-avoid nominalizations; “an action that is expressed as a noun” Ex: “an analysis was performed” without nominalization it should be “Dr. Radic performed an analysis”

 The Plain Style

-don't be afraid to be direct and plain, it helps your argument and clarity

-strip away “stuffiness”

-use strong verbs

 Concision

-resist the “Lure of wordiness”

-avoid “empty words”

-adverbs are often not helpful, just use stronger verbs

 Rhetoric

-diction: the first choice of the writer, even when meaning the same thing, words have different connotations

-parallelism: “any structure which brings together parallel elements”

-repetition: used to “hammer home an idea”

-tense: keep it consistent

-historical present: talk about texts in the present tense, not the past

-alliteration: two or more repeated syllables; use sparingly

-the rule of three: if you have flexibility, three is a good number

-humor:use sparingly

-first and second person: first person can be found used appropriately, but second person is more rare

Class notes (9/20-9/24)

Literary Terms

-The class needs to study literary terms to prepare for the AP exam.

-A good source of words is the Quizlet that can be accessed through the Spruz website.

-Look for large numbers of words in an entry, these are usually good lists.

-Then compare them to definitions you already know.

-Study away.

Rhetorical Situation

-The art of communication

-The rhetorical situation is the context for communication

• situation in which the communication takes place
• if communicating, one will try to analyze the rhetorical situation before composing a message, leading to a plan (Holmes)

-Subject

• What is your topic?
• What main ideas
• Broaden, narrow, or refocus
• details, examples, explanations
• what do you need

-Purpose

• What do you want to get out of it
• to entertain
• to reflect
• to inform
• to persuade
• It is alright and often productive to mix purposes, for example if satire is used well it can inform and entertain

-Audience

• What age group? old, teens, college students, middle-aged adults?
• Social, political, or religious bias
• expectations

-Speaker (persona)

• who will be speaking, you or a fictional character
• what characteristics will best connect you to the audience
• what attitude will be most effective

Argument: a way to accomplish persuasion

 

 -Types

• Ethos "ethics": arguments on ethics try to appeal to the morality of the audience
• Logos "Logic": arguments that are constructed based on logical progression of facts
• Pathos "emotions": arguments that try to appeal to the emotions of the audience

-Thesis: one main point, always an opinion, not a fact

-Claim:an assertation- an idea that is not a simple fact or or to obvious, more than one should be used to support the thesis

-Warrant: an explanation of your reasoning that shows what your evidence means, they tie evidence to claims

-Evidence: facts that show claims as reasonable

 -Necessary: needed, necessary elements that cannot be ignored

-Sufficient: when the condition of sufficiency is met, "enough" has been done to satisfy the argument.

Example: the man that walks be my house every day is planning to rob it. this thesis, has not become an argument because it still has necessary elements left out. It is not sufficient.

~turned in late with permission~

Class notes 9/13-9/17

Poetry

 ~the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poetry

• literary supernova
• more intense and dense than other works
• poetry takes longer to explain than it does to read
• more work to read, takes a more active approach

There are no wright or wrong answers... just no answers.

Diction (choice of individual words)

 ~style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: good diction. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diction

• connotation and denotation: “cultural baggage” (connotation) can be positive (honorific) or negative (pejorative). Detonation is a dictionary definition
• concreteness vs. abstraction: concrete= more specific
  abstract = less specific, allows for interpretation

Earnest Hemingway creates a personal friend-like relationship with abstract description

• Precision: vague vs. precise, what is socially appropriate

                                                                    (spectrum of language use)

• elevation vs. colloquialism: Slang <---------------------> Epic diction

 Slang side= colloquial language


 Epic diction side= elevated (once in a lifetime)

• regionalism, jargon, dialect: (specialized words)
  Jargon= the language of a profession, technical

 Regionalism= smaller division of a dialect region with some different words

 Dialect= division with some different words (more than regionalism)

• no “proper” English, only that of the people with the most influence
• can be used to show a limited world view

 (cant post a picture follow the link please)

Dialect Map (http://www.acoustics.org/press/147th/clopper.htm)