AP Language and Composition

Transcription

1 AP Language and Composition Welcome to AP Lang! Summer Reading 2017 The final step of being accepted into the AP Language course is to successfully complete all summer reading requirements by the deadline of the first day of school. If you do not meet the summer deadline OR if it is clear that you did not do the reading through the quality of the work you submit, your schedule will be changed to the regular English 11 course. (You will not be allowed to take online English, and it will also be past the deadline to register for dual enrollment.) Additional summer reading packets will be available through the link on the ACA website under current students and then under the appropriate course heading. I ll also post this to the Edmodo site, to Renweb once classes/rosters are finalized, and to an that I ll be sending you during the summer. Your work will be assessed upon return to school in August during the first week of classes and we ll hit the ground running. In addition, your enrollment in AP Language is probationary during the first three weeks of school. You have the opportunity to change your own schedule (drop the course), and I have the option at my professional discretion to make changes if it is apparent that you will not be successful in AP Language. I want you to be enrolled in the course that best suits your needs and abilities. I want you to be successful in whatever course you take! So, what to do now? Step One: Watch this short video (which is under 5 minutes in length). Then, watch it again. Take notes! Step Two: Review the handout on Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. You need to have a clear understanding of these terms prior to reading Freakonomics. Your annotations and analysis are going to require you to apply the terms. Study the handout provided. Step Three: Read the book Freakonomics. IMPORTANT NOTE: YOU SHOULD ANNOTATE IN THE MARGINS AS YOU READ THIS BOOK! (BUT your novels WILL NOT be collected and graded based upon annotations. This suggestion is simply good work ethic advice for an AP student.) What the reader gets from annotating is a deeper initial reading and an understanding of the text that lasts. You can deliberately engage the author in conversation and questions, maybe stopping to argue, pay a compliment, or clarify an important issue much like having a teacher or storyteller with you in the room. When you come back to the book later, that initial interchange is recorded for you, making an excellent and entirely personal study tool. Plus, when you go on to the next step (Step 4), you ll be ready to respond! Step Four: Guidelines to Reading/Responding Read the explanatory note and introduction sections in the book first to give you context for the material and authors. Annotate as you read. We ll be discussing these sections.

2 Read the first chapter ( What Do School Teachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? through to the final chapter ( Perfect parenting, Part II; or: would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet? ) FOR EACH OF THESE CHAPTERS, write a response between 100 and 200 words; go longer if you need to, but I don t expect essays. HANDWRITE your responses in cursive. (I know, I know but trust me there is a reason!) A. Determine the author s main claim (point/argument) and cite the text that best reflect the argument being made. (Embed the direct quotes; quotes should NOT stand alone in your response. An embedded quote flows naturally into your own writing. When reading a well-embedded quote, it should sound like part of your own sentence. A dropped-in quote does not flow with the rest of the sentence. It sounds jarring and disrupts the sentence and paragraph. See my example below. Use MLA format for citations. Bad Example: As Sarah walked up the stairs, she came upon John, waiting at her door with her favorite flowers and a sorrowful expression on his face. Good Example: a. John exhibits his true feelings for Sarah when she finds him waiting at her door with her favorite flowers and a sorrowful expression on his face (Jones 12). B. Identify appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos in each chapter. For each appeal identified, summarize (in your own words) the passage, and explain how the authors use the appeal. (One paragraph for each appeal is the goal. For example, write a one paragraph summary and explanation on the use of pathos in the chapter, and then write a one paragraph summary and explanation on the use of ethos in the chapter to total three paragraphs and three appeals.) C. Focusing on the three passages you have chosen for the appeals in each chapter, think about the diction used. Choose ONE particularly effective word for each appeal you identified and explain what that particular word adds to the appeal. (You are identifying THREE tone words in total per chapter one word per appeal.) a. Definition of diction: A writer s choice of words. Formal diction consists of dignified, impersonal, and elevated use of language and follows the rules of syntax exactly, often with complex words and a lofty tone. Middle diction maintains correct language usage, but is less elevated than formal diction; it reflects the way most educated people speak. Informal diction represents the plain language of everyday use, and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contractions, and simple, common words. b. Here is my example. i. Authors Levitt and Dunbar assert that many parents view the option to pick up their child late from daycare as a perk they will abuse. They claim that once upon a time, a daycare was plagued with late pickups (Levitt and Dunbar 27). In this section, the authors are providing background for why a daycare might charge parents a late fee in the first place. By

3 using the term plagued, which implies a widespread illness that wreaks havoc on unsuspecting victims, they make a strong case for the need for such a penalty. Plague is a strong term that suggests the issue they are raising is not a one-time offense and that it affects everyone in the childcare center. In fact, the connotation of the word even makes one believe that the habit of late pickups could potentially spread throughout the parent population. D. Identify and explain the tone of each chapter you analyzed. You must pick a different tone word for each chapter. Make specific references to the text in your analysis with embedded quotes. a. See the list of tone words for help! This is not an all-encompassing list, but it will get you started. b. Definition of tone: The author s implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author s style. For example, tone could be characterized as serious or ironic, sad or happy, public or private, angry or affectionate, bitter or nostalgic, or any other attitudes or feelings that human beings experience. E. Read and annotate the Epilogue. (We ll discuss.) F. Read and annotate: Bonus matter. (We ll discuss.) G. Read and annotate: The Probability That a Real-Estate agent is Cheating You. (We ll discuss.) H. Read and annotate: Selected Freakonomics columns from The New York Times Magazine. (We ll discuss.) I. Read and annotate: A Q&A with the authors. (We ll discuss.) Step Four: The next task for reading is take a look at They Say/ I Say. We ll be using the book all year long, so the idea for the summer is to let you get your feet wet a bit with the text. Feel free to skim through the entire book and get an idea of its contents. The book and its techniques will help you become a better writer! NOTE: The problem with argumentative writing is that, although you are passionate arguers in whatever topics you like to nerd out about outside of school sports, fashion, video games, anime, fishing, music, or whatever you often lack the tools for entering into argumentative conversations in academic, professional, or civic realms. Basically, you are Luke Skywalker prior to his time with Yoda, or Anakin prior to his time with Obi Wan, or the karate kid prior to his time with Mr. Han. And in case a horrible tragedy has befallen your life and you re someone that has not seen the Star Wars series or Karate Kid and seriously, you should fix this here s what I m saying: I bet you already have got lots of spirit and energy, but you lack training and focus. You don t know how to synthesize (put together) the information. So it makes sense beautiful sense to offer you some scaffolding with which to support your thinking. Hence, this excellent book!

4 A. READ the preface and introductory information. Then, carefully read and annotate Chapter One. There are six (6) templates in the chapter. Practice each technique (and use each template) at least once. Handwrite your sentences in cursive. a. For example, if I was working with the Template for Introducing What They Say, my sentence might look like this: i. It has become the norm today to see couples sitting together in a restaurant not talking during the entire meal, because they are busily engaged on their own respective cell phone. B. After practicing and writing an example of your own for each template, read and annotate Chapter 2. a. Complete Exercise 1. You WILL be sharing these two summaries with a peer when you return in August. (Length requirements? I knew you d ask so aim for 2 pages HANDWRITTEN/IN CURSIVE. You do not have to use outside sources, but if you do well, you know the drill. b. Complete Exercise 2. Again, you ll be sharing these. Same length and formatting requirements as Exercise 1. C. Again, even though you re done with this book for now spend some time looking through it this summer. It s good stuff. BRING it to school in August! Bring Freakonomics, too. (And, for goodness sakes if you ve read the syllabus you already know this bring some chocolate ) Final Thoughts: 1. Read carefully and critically. Set up a reading schedule and just be diligent and consistent. Do not set yourself up for a stressful August because you didn t read. A few pages a day all summer will get you where you need to be without a crunch at the end! Don t start the school year burnt out. 2. ENJOY the reading! You are being asked to delve in deeply. Both summer books will allow for some interesting discussion in class. Be ready to share your insights. 3. Be proud of your work. Quality is just as important as quantity. Turn in your best work! Do not settle for anything less. Do not rely on someone else s analysis. Be an AP nerd from day one. 4. me if you need help! Don t struggle unnecessarily. (cblakley@acacademy.com) See the next page for TONE words

5 Master TONE Words List: YOU MAY ADD to this list! These just get you started POSITIVE Tone Words Synonyms 1. Whimsical fanciful; imaginary 2. Lighthearted carefree; happy 3. Convivial lively; jolly 4. Optimistic positive; affirmative 5. Compassionate tender; merciful 6. Sympathetic warm; considerate 7. Benevolent humane; charitable 8. Jovial contented; cheerful 9. Felicitous appropriate; desirable 10. Carefree lighthearted; happy-go-lucky 11. Exuberant buoyant; elated 12. Ecstatic delighted; enchanted 13. Exhilarated excited; uplifted 14. Festive pleased; merry 15. Contentment festive; joyous 16. Affable cordial; friendly 17. Serene pleasant; peaceful 18. Sanguine encouraging; hopeful 19. Reverent godly; holy 20. amicable friendly; congenial NEUTRAL Tone Words Synonyms 1. Indifferent impersonal; emotionless 2. Confident certain; assured 3. Unbelievable amazing; dubious 4. Ironically strangely; curiously 5. Wondrous astonishment; amazement 6. Composed calm; detached 7. Sincere truthful; straightforward 8. Desirable comfortable; alluring 9. Bizarre fantastic; grotesque 10. Taciturn reserved; subdued 11. Picturesque detailed; unusual 12. Sublime lofty; magnificent 13. Provocative provoking; stimulating 14. Passionate intense; amorous 15. Courageous audacious; fearless 16. Exquisite pleasing; delicate 17. Exotic strange; intriguing 18. Satiric mocking; bantering 19. Anxious uncertain; apprehensive 20. shocked astonished; surprised NEGATIVE Tone Words Synonyms 1. Demoralizing depressing; perverting 2. Indignant enraged; furious 3. Melancholy pensive; gloomy 4. Disgruntled discontented; dissatisfied 5. Lugubrious mournful; sorrowful 6. Disparaging sarcastic; critical 7. Inflamed irate; provoked 8. Haughty arrogant; condescending 9. Menacing threatening; ominous

6 10. Hostile malevolent; bellicose 11. Enigmatic puzzling; mysterious 12. Sinister cunning; portentous 13. Bleak desolate; lifeless 14. Condescending arrogant; snobbish 15. Depressing morbid; gruesome 16. Disconsolate downcast; sorrowful 17. Morose sullen; gloomy 18. Scathing cutting; trenchant 19. Morbid gruesome; macabre 20. Dismal dull; barren