Definition Essay

Assignment:

Write a 300-400 word definition essay which mimics the works we have read this week. Definitions can be either stipulative, where you define a word a certain way to support a larger argument or purpose, or extended, where the purpose is exploring the complexity of a thing, quality, or idea and then qualifying or limiting the range of that definition.

Important dates: *All late papers are penalized one full grade for every school day the essay is late.

Friday 12/2 Lab time
Monday 12/5 Definition Essay Due

Example of an Example essay

“Flow like water-strong like current.”


This quote rings true because flexibility and adaptability are the cornerstones of strength. For example, during high winds a tree that has give and bends with the wind will remain intact and healthy, whereas a stiff tree whose branches are inflexible snap like a brittle bone in an old woman’s body. When one looks out after very heavy winds to see the destruction of fallen tree limbs and snapped branches, one is seeing the result of being inflexible, of being stubborn, of being unable to deal with change. This is not only true in the natural world but in the world of morality and character. The strongest people are the most adaptable. Those who fail, fail because of their unwavering core. Those who fail, fail because they refuse to adjust. Those who fail, fail because their inflexibility makes them weak. Those who succeed adjust. Those who succeed consider the time, place, and people-the circumstances dictate their actions. In time of trouble they prevail by adapting. In times of promise, they adapt to remain humble and grateful. They constantly adjust like homeostasis adjusts to keep the body 98.6 degrees. In the smothering heat of August, when sweat pours from society’s skin, the body regulates and adjusts. In the icy cold of January, the body attempts to stoke the furnace of your soul to generate enough heat to stay alive. Flexibility and adaptability is strength. In the face of a strong wind or an extreme temperature remember to lean on the strength of being supple, like water rushing during a spring thaw, bouncing and moving over rocks and under toppled trees. For just like that rushing river, whose roar announces it strength like a lion’s roar announces his presence across the savannah, the most flexible and adaptable is also the strongest.

Example Essay

Assignment:

Write a 300-400 word example essay which mimics the works we have read this week. Take a generalization like: Haste makes waste, then use examples to prove this.

Remember, our previous discussions on evidence. Hypothetical evidence is weak and should be avoided.

Specific and relevant examples which help to support your thesis will lead to the best possible essay.

Important dates: *All late papers are penalized one full grade for every school day the essay is late.

Wednesday 11/23 Lab time
Monday 11/28 Example Essay Due

Rhetorical Analysis (Documentary Film)

Documentary films use images, words, and sounds in order to present an argument. View a documentary film and then analyze the rhetorical strategies employed by the filmmaker in the construction of the film’s argument.

The paper should not be a summary of the film.

The paper should not be a review of the film.

Identify the filmmaker’s purpose and analyze the rhetorical strategies used in order to develop the film’s thesis.

Your paper should do all of the following:

1. Identify the main argument and / or purpose of the film

2. Examine the ways in which the thesis and / or aim of the film’s argument is supported through the particular style and manner of the composition’s construction, that is, through rhetorical strategies. Choose a selection of strategies and techniques to analyze; do not attempt to discuss everything about the film. Choose specific scenes or moments from the film that illustrate these techniques, and analyze how the filmmaker uses them to present the film’s argument.

3. Interpret or explain why you think that the filmmakers made the particular rhetorical choices they did in an effort to forward their main argument or achieve their purpose. These choices are not random. Interpret why the filmmakers makes these certain choices. Again, support all claims with specific examples from the film.

I strongly encourage you to organize groups to watch and discuss the movie together. This collaboration should prove helpful in terms of organizing and clarifying your reactions.

Movies can be found on NETFLIX, Greenfield Public Library, GCC, Greenfield High School library, or any other video outlet available to students. Again organizing and watching in groups will allow for many students to gain access to the material with only one copy of the film. I will post a link on the website of some suggested documentaries.

The essay should be 400-600 words. The essay is due Friday 12/2/11.

Some Popular Documentaries

OutFoxed

Lost Boys of Sudan
Grizzly Man
Man on a Wire
Bowling for Columbine
Rivers And Tides
Gasland
Generation Next
The Thin Blue Line
An inconvenient Truth
The Devil Came on Horseback
Chiefs
Sicko
The Cove
Restrepo
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Collapse
Food Inc.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Kicking It
The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters
When We Were Kings
Alone in the Wilderness
We Live in Public
In the Shadow of the Stars
Who Killed the Electric Car?

Process Analysis Essay

Assignment:

Write a 300-400 word process analysis essay which mimics the works we have read this week. Process analysis asks mainly how something happens. Processes can be mechanical, natural, psychological, or political. Directive analysis should be in second person, while explanatory should be in third person. Both should address the process in chronological order.

Friday 11/18 Lab time
Monday 11/21 Process Analysis Essay Due

New Library link

New Library link.

http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mlin_w_greenhs?db=GRGM&id=pantaray&ugroup=outside

Descriptive Essay

Assignment:

Write a 200-300 word descriptive essay which mimics the works we have read this week. Describe a place, thing, or person.

Be sure to consider the following:

1. Details

2. Figurative language

3. Objective vs. Subjective

4. A dominant impression

5. Physical or psychological point of view


Each of the above areas will be graded on a 4 point scale, with 4 representing excellence.

Important dates: *All late papers are penalized one full grade for every school day the essay is late.

Friday 11/9 Lab time

Monday 11/14 Descriptive Due

2nd Qtr Syllabus

Syllabus for 2nd Quarter   AP LANG 2011-2012
Assignment 1 Class Notes First Five Weeks Classwork/Homework  10.00%

Assignment 2 Class Notes Second Five Weeks Classwork/Homework 10.00%

Assignment 3 Reading Journal First Five Weeks Classwork/Homework 10.00%
Assignment 4  Reading Journal Second Five Weeks Classwork/Homework 10.00%
Assignment 5  Six way tone paragraph Classwork/Homework 10.00%

Assignment 6 Speech Analysis Essays/Projects 25% 5.00%
Assignment 7 Essay Response to Documentary Essays/Projects 5.00%
Assignment 8 Letter to the Editor Essays/Projects 5.00%
Assignment 9  Annotation of Article Essays/Projects 5.00%
Assignment 10  (4) Multiple Choice Selections Essays/Projects 5.00%

Assignment 11  Description-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 12  Process Analysis-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 13  Example-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 14  Definition-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 15 Classification-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 16 Narration-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 17  Divison or Analysis-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 18  Cause and Effect-Patterns of Development Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 19  Comparison and Constrast-Patterns of Dev. Timed Writings 2.50%
Assignment 20  Argument and Persuasion-Patterns of Dev. Timed Writings 2.50%

Reading Journals should have 10 of the following entries, without duplication, per five weeks:
A 400 word imitation of the author's style
A 400 word retelling of one scene in the book from a different point of view
A 400 word discussion of the author's tone
A 400 word discussion of one the the three Appeals
A 400 word discussion of a recurring rhetorical device
A 400 word discussion which connects the novel to another piece we have read in class
A 200 word argument response regarding a premise in the novel
A 200 word character sketch
A 200 word response which discusses one instance of a rhetorical device
A 200 word response to a quote from the text.
A 200 word discussion on the diction on one page of the novel
A 200 word discussion on the speaker
A 100 word statement of the author's purpose
A 100 word statement of the author's intended audience
An Annotation of a two-page excerpt

Instead of a non-fiction book, students will select 6-8 essays of at least 3500 words from the following magazines:
The New Yorker,The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Magazine,  Ebony, Mother Jones
This requires less reading, offers greater variety , and provides more convenient access as all the articles are on-line.
Full text from back issues of these magazines can be found using the library’s website:
http://greenfieldhslibrary.wikispaces.com/Garland
Select General Reference Center Gold from the list and then hit {Proceed}.
If you prefer or require hard copy back issues, some are available in the library.

Class notes should include:
Short In-Class Writing Responses
Annotations
Multiple Choice answers
Class Group work notes
Notes
New vocabulary

Annotation of an Article: Separate assignment guidelines will be provided.
Letter to the Editor:  Write a proofread and publishable letter to The Recorder or any other periodical.
Essay Response to Documentary:  Select a documentary then write an analysis of its purpose and use of rhetoric.
Speech Analysis:  Write an analysis of the rhetoric, purpose, and/or argument of a speech.