More college essays

Below are some college essays by graduating seniors that were published in The New York Times. These focus on issues related to money. First there is a link to the article that discusses the essays, then there is a link to the essays themselves.

College Essays That Stand Out from the Crowd

Four college essays about money and privilege 

Assignment for Monday, May 20

Read the handout of college essays by college presidents. Come to class prepared to discuss what makes them effective or ineffective college essays. If you missed class because of an AP, here are links to these readings:

College Essay by the President of Barnard
College Essay by the President of Vassar
College Essay by the President of Wesleyan

Assignment for Thursday, May 16

Write the first two paragraphs for two of the Common App essay topics. (If you misplaced the handout, follow the link to the right.) I will have laptops for you to use in class, but you may bring your own if you wish.

The satirical essay will be due Friday, May 25. The college essay will be due Wednesday, May 29.

AP Exam Score Information

Your AP score will be ready in July, and you can access it online. Click here for more information from the College Board about obtaining your score.

For Tuesday, April 30

Write one page of the satire on civil rights or immigration. If you haven't read Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," read it for Tuesday; we will discuss it. Lastly, Mr. Cardamone will speak (for roughly half the class) to each AP Lang class about writing the college essay. You might find it helpful to prepare a question or two for him in advance of his visit.

Homework for Wednesday, April 17 and other upcoming assignments

For Wednesday: First, read this background on W. E. B. Du Bois. Then, read Du Bois's essay "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," from his 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk, twice. You have no questions to answer; just read this essay. We will also discuss the satirical essay I mentioned last week.

Friday, April 19: Read and annotate Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Lived, What I Lived For" (handout; excerpt from Walden Pond).
Wednesday, April 24: Read and annotate William Hazlitt, "On the Pleasure of Hating." Also, read this New York Times article about resolving cold cases from the civil rights era. You will attend a presentation during tutorial by the Syracuse University law professors who direct the Cold Case Justice Initiative. In class, first block multiple choice practice exam. (It's a Day 6.)
Friday, April 26: Read and annotate David Foster Wallace, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" (handout). In class, first block multiple choice practice exam. (It's a Day 2.)
Tuesday, April 30: Satire on immigration or civil rights due.

Homework for Tuesday, March 12 and Subsequent Assignments

Read and annotate pp. 89-132 of Gladwell's The Tipping Point. As you continue reading The Tipping Point, think about how these theories could apply to MPH. If something needed to happen here, who are our connectors, mavens, and salespeople who could make it happen? How does the stickiness factor apply? How does the power of our context affect the ways members of our community behave within it?

Also, the first block class will complete the multiple-choice section of an AP practice exam.

Here's the upcoming schedule of readings and assignments:

Thursday, March 14 (Day 2): Read and annotate The Tipping Point, pp. 133-192. The first block class will complete the multiple-choice section of an AP practice exam.

Monday, March 18 (Day 4): Read and annotate The Tipping Point, pp.193-259.

Wednesday, March 20 (Day 6): Read and annotate The Tipping Point, pp. 260-280.

Friday, March 22 (Day 2): You will write two in-class essays about The Tipping Point. One will require you to write a rhetorical analysis of a passage, the other will require you to make an argument in response to The Tipping Point.

Tuesday, March 26 (Day 4): Read the sources for the take-home synthesis essay on The Tipping Point. (This assignment is similar to, but briefer than, the Two Trains Running essay.) The assignment is posted to the right.

Thursday, March 28 (Day 6): Take-home synthesis essay on The Tipping Point is due.

Assignment for Thursday, March 7

Bring both your original Two Trains Running essay and the revised version of the essay. I want to see how the essay has changed since Tuesday morning. Also, bring your copy of The Tipping Point.

Assignment for Wednesday, February 27

As we discussed in class, prepare for the in-class essay on your independent reading book, and be sure to bring your book to class so you can use it during the essay. Also, read and annotate pp. 1-29 of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Lastly, bring your Pocket Style Manual to class to review MLA formatting.

If you haven't noticed, the instructions for the Two Trains Running essay are posted to the right under "Syllabus and Assignments."

Malcolm X Videos for Two Trains Running Essay

Here are links to the Malcolm X videos we watched in class and that you can use for your Two Trains Running essay:

Who Taught You to Hate Yourself? (May 1962)
By Any Means Necessary (June 1964)
Oxford Union Debate (December 1964)

Homework for Monday, Feb. 4

Read and annotate the articles by Geneva Smitherman and Randall Kennedy that were handed out in class. You have nothing to write, but in class we will work on paraphrasing and summarizing sections of these articles. Also, if you didn't do the vocabulary work, complete pp. 51-56 in your vocabulary book and go through the additional suffixes on pp. 57-71.

The section that missed class because of the STP workshop will finish watching The Black Power Mixtape on Monday.

Homework for Thursday, Jan. 31

In preparation for reading and seeing a performance of August Wilson's Two Trains Running, read and annotate the handout of entries from the Encyclopedia Africana on "Black Power," "Black Nationalism," and "Hair and Beauty Culture." Also, click here to read about "urban renewal" in Syracuse. (This is a cached copy of the link; be patient while it loads. The current page wasn't working when I tried to post it here.) There is no writing for tonight; you will write in class.

For Friday's Synthesis Essay on Gatsby

Read and grade the student essays on the 2010 synthesis FRQ. We'll discuss them prior to your writing the Gatsby synthesis essay on Friday. Although it's unorthodox, bring your book to class for the synthesis essay; you will be able to use it if you feel a need for it.

Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 23

Go to JSTOR to access the articles listed below. (Use the login information given in class; if you don't have it, you can get it at the MPH library website by clicking the link for online databases.) Write a one paragraph summary for each article.

Thomas Boyle, "Unreliable Narration in The Great Gatsby" 

Dan Coleman, "'A World Complete in Itself': Gastby's Elegiac Narration" 

On Friday, Jan. 25, you will write a synthesis essay involving The Great Gatsby. We will review the synthesis essay during Wednesday's class.

Homework for Friday, Jan. 18

Finish reading and annotating The Great Gatsby (about 55 pages.) You have no writing for today.

Homework for Wednesday, Jan. 16

Apologies for posting this late. Read and annotate pp. 80-125 of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. (Stop at the break at the top of p. 125.) You do not have a writing component due with this reading assignment; instead, you'll write in class. During Monday's class, we talked about how Nick loses control of the narrative of Gatsby, first with Gatsby telling his own story, and then with Daisy taking over the narration. We talked about how that might indicate that Nick is no longer capable of telling this story. This is what you'll have to write about in class: In reading this section of the reading, do you find that Nick is up to the challenge of telling Gatsby's story, or do other factors interfere with his ability to be a reliable narrator? You will be able to use your book.

Homework for Monday, Jan. 14

Read and annotate pp. 39-80 of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and complete the following writing assignment: You are F. Scott Fitzgerald. Chapter IV of The Great Gatsby includes two stories that involve Gatsby, one told by Gatsby himself, and one told by Jordan Baker. Explain how you approached writing Gatsby's story about himself (pp. 65-67) and Jordan Baker's story about him (pp. 74-77). You may want to reflect on the purpose of each story in the narrative, dialogue, characterization,  flashback, internal narration, detail, punctuation, diction, Nick's involvement in each story, and so on.  (Not more than one page in length.)  

Assignment for Thursday, Jan. 10

Read and annotate chapters I and II of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (to p. 38). Read the first two pages at least three times, paying close attention to Nick's consistency. Answer this question in one or two well-developed paragraphs: Do you trust Nick as a narrator? Discuss how Nick establishes his credibility with the reader, and whether he maintains that credibility in his narration.

Homework for Friday, January 4

Read two of the pieces linked below. The first is a news analysis of the fiscal cliff by a New York Times reporter. The others are opinion pieces published over the last few days in the print edition of The New York Times. For the two pieces you select, do the following: First, complete a SOAPSTone analysis of each essay. The analysis does not have to be written in the form of an essay; simply list the SOAPSTone elements and write two-to-four sentences for each one. Second, identify the best sentence in each essay and write at one or two sentences that explain or describe why it stands out.

Lines of Resistance on Fiscal Deal
The Emancipation of Abe Lincoln
Let's Give Up on the Constitution
How Many Slaves Work for You?