Assignment for Tuesday, December 16

Have at least three pages written for your exploratory essay, and email them to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com. Bring a digital copy of your essay or a laptop to work on in class.

Work for Friday, December 12

The assignment that was due on Wednesday, December 10, is now due on Friday, December 12. Email that assignment to mrmontasmph@gmail.com. Bring Much Ado about Nothing to class.

Assignment for Wednesday, December 9

Write one page of the exploratory essay for your research paper. The handout describing it is posted to the right. Email it to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com, and bring a digital copy to work on in class. Also, be sure to bring Much Ado about Nothing to class. 

Assignment for Monday, December 8

Prepare for your poetry recitation. Here's a link to the scoring rubric that was distributed in class. If you need further clarification of any of the categories or criteria, check out this guide.

We will proceed in a random order, but the order will be listed on the board, so you'll know when you're turn is coming up. The recitations will take up most of class. After that, we will introduce the exploratory essay. You won't need Much Ado about Nothing for Monday's class.

Some students asked to watch a video of the 2014 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. It's posted below.

Poetry Out Loud: Recitation by Anita Norman, 2014 National Champion

Some students asked for a video of the most recent National Champion. Here it is:

Assignment for Thursday, December 4

Continue to prepare your poem for the recitation on Monday, December 8. Also, read and annotate Act 1 of William Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. Be sure to identify any interesting rhetorical features in the characters' language.

Assignment for Tuesday, Nov. 25

In preparation for reading William Shakespeare's comedy, Much Ado about Nothing, read the handout on Shakespeare's rhetoric and then the two sonnets linked below, paying particular attention to their rhetorical features.

Reading Shakespeare's Language 

Sonnet 123

Sonnet 138 

During class, we will read most of Act 1 of Much Ado about Nothing, so bring your book with you. If you missed Friday's and Tuesday's classes, you can read Act 1 of  Much Ado about Nothing in this reliable online edition of the play.

Assignment for Friday, Nov. 21

Print a copy of your Poetry Out Loud poem. In class, you will analyze its rhetoric and begin practicing your recitation. The date of your recitation is Monday, Dec. 8.

Also, bring your copy of The Piano Lesson. We will conclude our discussion of that play.

Possible Prompts for Wednesday's Synthesis Essay

Below are possible prompts for each section of AP Lang. Pay attention to the prompts that apply to your section. You will not have a choice between the two options for your class, so be ready for either prompt. 

For the class that met FIRST block on Monday, consider the following: 

1. William Faulkner famously wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Does this quote apply to August Wilson's The Piano Lesson? Using at least three sources to support your argument, evaluate the ways characters (two or more) in The Piano Lesson employ narratives of the past to support their individual arguments about the piano.  

2. The piano is an inanimate piece of property, but it is as important as any character in shaping the outcome of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. If the piano were free to speak, what would it say about Berniece and Boy Willie's argument about its future? Using at least three sources for support, explain the piano's position about its future. Do not write from the piano's point of view. 

For the class that met LAST block on Monday, consider the following: 

1. In August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, past events (such as the death of Berniece and Boy Willie's father over the piano, and Mama Ola's care for the piano, and Crawley's death) shape understandings of the present. How do Boy Willie and Berniece's ideas about their heritage influence their perspectives on the inheritance of the piano? Using at least three sources for support, explain how Berniece and Boy Willie's perceptions of the past influence their arguments about the future. 

2. In August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, Berniece and Boy Willie make very different arguments about the piano. Does the character who most deserves the piano also make the most persuasive argument for keeping it? Using at least three sources for support, evaluate who most deserves the piano and on what basis: the merits of their argument, or some other reason? 

Assignment for Monday, Nov. 17

Write two possible prompts for an essay about August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. Email them to me (mrmontasmph@gmail.com) and print them out for class. You will write the essay on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

In class, we will also discuss the article by Harry Elam, Jr., on The Piano Lesson.

Also, if you haven't already done so, select your poem for Poetry Out Loud. (see the link to the right). If you don't have a laptop or tablet, print out your poem. In class, you will look at your poem's rhetorical aspects. You will recite your poem on Monday, Dec. 8.

Assignment for Thursday, November 13

Read closely Harry Elam, Jr.'s article "The Dialectics of August Wilson's 'The Piano Lesson'" (available on JSTOR). First, summarize the article, then paraphrase one section of the article (three-to-five sentences).

Assignments for Tuesday, November 4, and Monday, Nov. 10

Read and annotate to p. 54 in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson.

If you want to attend the Syracuse Stage performance of The Piano Lesson on Wednesday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m., please bring $15 to school on Monday, and turn in the permission form posted to the right.

You will have to finish reading The Piano Lesson by Monday, November 10. You do not have anything to write.

Assignment for Monday, October 27

By the end of class on Monday, you'll need email me seven entries for the annotated bibliography, but you won't have the whole class to work on it. For part of the class, you will work in your writing groups  to get feedback on the entries you've written so far. Also, we will begin reading August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. 

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 23

By the end of class, complete at least four entries for your annotated bibliography. Email those entries to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com. During class on Thursday, you may work on the annotated bibliography, or you may work on your college essays. 

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct.21

The narrative essay is due on Tuesday. In class, you will begin working on the annotated bibliography, which is posted to the right. We will continue with the writing conferences while you work on the annotated bibliography. Bring some of your sources (two to four) to class.

Assignment for Friday, Oct. 17

Email to me (mrmontasmph@gmail.com) at least two pages of your narrative essay. This is just to make sure you are making progress on the essay. We will, at last, begin the writing conferences tomorrow, some come prepared to continue to write the essay in class while I meet individually with students.

For Wednesday, Oct. 15

You can begin writing the narrative essay (topics are posted to the right). During class, I will begin the student conferences. If you have a laptop that you can bring to school, please do bring it. I will have laptops available for anyone else who needs one. During Wednesday's and Friday's classes, I will meet with students about their writing; if I am not meeting with you, you should be writing the narrative essay.

Assignment for Friday, Oct. 10

My scanner has not been cooperating this evening so, first, sorry for the delay, and second, here are links to (rather than PDF's of) the essays you need to read for Friday. Answer the questions below the links; a well-developed paragraph in response to each question is sufficient.

Joan Didion, "On Keeping a Notebook"
Eula Biss, "Notes from No Man's Land"

What is Didion trying to persuade the reader of, and is she persuasive? Support your response with evidence from the text.

What is Biss trying to persuade the reader of, and is she persuasive? Support your response with evidence from the text.

Assignment for Wednesday, Oct. 8

In 50 Essays, read and annotate James Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son" (pp. 50-70). Answer two of the following questions on p. 71: numbers 1, 2, and 4.

Assignment for Monday, October 6

In 50 Essays, read and annotate John Jeremiah Sullivan, "Feet in Smoke" and Jonathan Lethem, "13, 1977, 21." Read the Sullivan essay first (Lethem's essay is . . . stranger, so read it second), and write a one-page rhetorical analysis of each essay. (Yes, that directive is purposely vague.) Email this assignment to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com.

Model Student Research Papers

Linked below are some model research papers by high school and college students. Not all of them are as long as yours will be, nor do they all touch on the range of topics that you are writing about. Most of these emerged from pure research interests and do not have a project component, as most of yours do. Nevertheless, it will be helpful to look at these papers as the outcomes of the same kinds of research processes you are engaged in.

Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and Perseverance (APA; 12 pages)
The Origins of 20th Century Islamic Fundamentalism (Chicago; 30 pages)
Toward a Recovery of Nineteenth Century Farming Handbooks (MLA; 11 pages)
Adaptive Manipulation of Offspring Sex Ratio as a Means of Ameliorating Sexual Conflict in Drosophila Melanogaster (APA; 28 pages)
Developmental Psychology Paper (APA; 19 pages)
Lollard Bible Translation (Chicago; 17 pages)
Promoting Renewable Energy Generation in the United States (23 pages)
Music Education: Its Importance and Place in Today's Education System (APA; 24 pages)
Governance, Club Structure, and Spending Power in the German Bundesliga (Chicago; 24 pages)

For those of you who are going to El Salvador, you might also be interested in the work of these students. You won't be able to see all of these papers, but some are available, and you can see the titles and abstracts.

For more student research papers, visit these sites at Yale, University of Puget Sound, University of Michigan, Virginia Commonwealth University, Columbia (science or sustainable development), The Concord Review, W. W. Norton (publisher), and The Council on Undergraduate Research.

Assignment for Friday, Sept. 26

Finish writing the research prospectus, for which the instructions are posted to the right. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me.

Bring 50 Essays to class. We will finish working on the Audre Lorde essay "Fourth of July." Also, we will look at some model student research essays in class.

Assignment for Tuesday, September 23

Complete the Action Plan you started in class on Friday. (If you weren't in class, the directions are posted to the right.) You should email this to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com with the subject line "Action Plan," but print out a copy for Mrs. Neuner. (Bring the printed copy to class; I'll give it to her.) Also, bring 50 Essays to class. If you finish the Action Plan early, you might want to start working on the Research Prospectus, which is also posted to the right. That will be due on Friday, September 26 (which is our last class until October 6).

The Mentor Commitment Letter, which is also due Sept. 23, is posted to the right, and it is also available here.

Assignment for Wednesday, Sept. 17

Print out and have a parent sign the permission form posted to the right. I need it by Thursday. Thanks.

Assignment for Monday, Sept. 15

1. Write your senior blurb for the yearbook. Bring a hard copy to class and have an electronic copy available to work on in class.
2. Repair your list of sources. With the Pocket Style Manual by your side, use the formatting style I recommended, and be sure to format the sources correctly and accurately according to that citation style. If you don't have a Pocket Style Manual, use this page to guide your formatting. bring a printed copy to class.
3. Find five more sources for your research paper, and add them to the list of sources you will turn in on Monday.

Do not email any of this work to me. Print it out, and bring an electronic copy of the senior blurb.

Assignment for Thursday, Sept. 11

In The Craft of Research, read and annotate pp. 31-50. Begin the process of answering the questions on pp. 40-45. Keep track of those answers; you'll need them later. Email to me your answer to the "So what?" question (pp. 45-46) for your research paper (mrmontasmph@gmail.com). If you have found your Pocket Style Manual, bring it to class. Also, bring 50 Essays to class.

Assignment for Tuesday, Sept. 9

Prepare for the in-class essay on the book you chose to read this summer. Be mindful of the rhetorical aspects we discussed in class. You may bring the book with you and use it while you write the essay. The question you will have to answer will be something like this: What is your author trying to accomplish in his/her book, and does s/he accomplish it? Support your position with evidence from the text and specific reference to the rhetorical qualities we reviewed in class.

Also, look for your Pocket Style Manual this weekend.

Assignment for Friday, Sept. 5

Read and annotate ch. 2 of The Craft of Research, "Connecting with Your Reader" (handout). In class, you will answer the questions on pp. 26-27, but you will find them helpful for thinking about the following writing assignment: In one page or so, describe the ideal reader for your research paper, describe your role as a researcher (based on pp. 18-20), and describe the reader's role in developing your research (based on pp. 20-24). Even if you send the homework as an attachment, please email it to mrmontasmph@gmail.com, not my MPH email or my other Gmail address.

Assignment for Wednesday, September 3

Read and annotate the handout distributed in class from The Craft of Research. Write at least one well-developed paragraph that describes or explains any concerns you have about conducting research for your senior thesis.Your paragraph may be improved if you reflect on how The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking might help you write the senior thesis. Email this assignment to me as a Word document or share it with me via Google Docs (mrmontasmph@gmail.com).

Summer Assignment

Hello, and welcome to AP Lang! I hope your summer is off to a great start. Click here for your summer assignment. (It is also posted to the right.) If you have any questions over the summer, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. See you in September!