Assignment for Monday, December 21

Either read in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or work on your exploratory essay. Also, come to class prepared to discuss the following questions in relation to the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour. Consider, too, how the film's visual strategies contribute to its rhetorical agenda. 

 

Who is the audience for this film? 

What kinds of rhetorical appeals do the filmmakers employ? 

What is the film's argument? Is that argument persuasive? 

What kinds of evidence are provided to support that argument? 

Are any counterarguments presented? If so, what are they? 

Assignment for Thursday, December 17

If you didn't take notes while watching Citizenfour, you should record some responses to some of the questions I asked you to think about while watching Citizenfour. At the start of Thursday's class, we'll talk about your observations of the film's rhetoric. Also, you should work on your exploratory essay, or you should begin reading George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. To avoid spoilers, do not read the inside of the book jacket and skip the Foreword. Simply begin with Chapter One.

Also, for more context and background on domestic surveillance in the United States, you might be interested in watching this Frontline documentary, The United States of Secrets.

Assignment for Tuesday, December 15

Read this article about Edward Snowden's revelations.. In class, we will watch the Academy Award-winning documentary Citizenfour, which is about Snowden.

For further, non-required but essential reading on Snowden and the NSA, read the articles listed below:
This is the first article based on information from Snowden.
Edward Snowden Timeline
Book Review of The Snowden Files, by Luke Harding (long)
Boundless Informant: The NSA's Secret Tool to Track Global Surveillance Data
No Warrant, No Problem How the Government can Your Digital Data
Revealed: How US and UK Spy Agencies Defeat Internet Privacy and Security
The Crux of the NSA Story in One Phrase: "Collect It All"
The Top-Secret Rules That Allow the NSA to Use US Data without a Warrant

Assignment for Friday, December 11

Finish reading and annotating (or preparing for a quiz on) Press's Beautiful Souls (pp. 155-183, which includes the Epilogue). We will discuss the book in class.

Also, type your multiple-choice questions and answers about Beautiful Souls and email them to me as Word document.

Note that the Exploratory Essay assignment that was handed out in class is posted to the right.

Assignment for Wednesday, December 9

In Press's Beautiful Souls, read (and annotate) pp. 131-155. (If you don't annotate, you will take a quiz on the reading.)

In class, you will continue working on your AP multiple-choice questions about Beautiful Souls.

Assignment for Monday, December 7

Read and annotate p. 104-129 in Beautiful Souls. I will check annotations, or you will take a quiz.

Assignment for Wednesday, November 18

Read to p. 65 in Press's Beautiful Souls. In class, we will begin with the exquisite corpse, you will watch and analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, and you will work on your annotated bibliography.

Assignment for Monday, Nov. 16

Read pp. 28-46 in Beautiful Souls. Annotate the reading or be prepared to take a quiz on it. Continue to work on the annotated bibliography.

In class, we will watch and analyze John F. Kennedy's inaugural address and continue to work on the annotated bibliography.

Assignment for Thursday, November 12, ff.

Read pp. 3-28 in Eyal Press's Beautiful Souls. You have the choice of annotating the reading or taking a quiz on it. If you missed class, also read the first two pages of the handout on rhetorical devices.

Since you are reading Beautiful Souls independently, here are the subsequent assignments for it. Again, annotate the reading, or be prepared to take a quiz on it.

Monday, Nov. 16: pp. 28-46
Wednesday, Nov. 18: pp. 47-65 (stop at the break on p. 65)
Friday, Nov. 20: pp. 65-84
Tuesday, Dec. 1: pp.  85-104 (discussion in class)
Monday, Dec. 7: pp. 104-129
Wednesday, Dec. 9: pp. 131-155
Friday, Dec. 11: pp. 155-183 (end of book; second discussion in class) 

Assignment for Monday, November 9

Your major assignment for the weekend is to enjoy it. Other than that, bring The Craft of Research to class; we will begin working on the annotated bibliography. Also, you will get a new book during Monday's class: Eyal Press's Beautiful Souls. You may watch a five-minute interview with the author here and read about the book here.

Assignments for Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Thursday, Nov. 5

For Tuesday, Read ch. 5 in The Craft of Research (pp. 68-83). Also, catch up on any reading you haven't done in Griftopia. In class, we will first finish The Flaw, then we will discuss Griftopia, and we will wrap up by looking at an argumentative essay from an AP exam.

On Thursday, you will write two in-class essays about Griftopia. (Keep in mind that on the AP exam, you have about forty minutes to write each essay.) One essay will be a rhetorical analysis essay; you will receive a passage from Griftopia and a prompt that directs you to analyze its rhetorical features. The other essay will make a statement about the 2008 financial collapse and will require you to take a position to answer it.

Assignments for Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Friday, Oct. 30

If you haven't turned in your mentor commitment letter, I need it this week.

For Wednesday, Oct. 28, finish the research prospectus. Be sure to address all of the questions in the instructions for the research prospectus. It does not have to be two full pages long; answer the questions to the best of your ability and convey your interest to the reader.

For Friday, Oct. 30, read and annotate pp. 221-250 in Griftopia.

Assignment for Monday, October 26

Work on the research prospectus that is due on Wednesday, October 28. I would like you to come to class with at least one page written, and bring an electronic copy of your research prospectus so you can continue working on it in class. Also, read pp. 206-221 in Griftopia. (Stop when you get to the first paragraph break on p. 221.)

Assignment for Tuesday, October 20

Read and annotate Ch. 3 of Taibbi's Griftopia (pp. 78-123). This chapter is very important and may be more difficult to read than the previous chapter because it is more dense with information. The tone shifts in this chapter and Taibbi employs a greater variety of rhetorical strategies than he does in the Greenspan chapter. You have nothing to write, but you will have another quiz. This one will be a mixture of short answer and multiple choice.

Also, please bring The Craft of Research again. We will start class with that book to make sure we get to it, then you'll take the quiz, then we'll get into Ch. 3.

Lastly, if you did not bring in your Mentor Commitment Letter, please bring it in.

Have a great weekend.

Assignment for Friday, October 16

Read and annotate Ch. 2 of Taibbi's Griftopia (pp. 35-77) and write one well-composed and well-developed paragraph in response to the following prompt: Does Taibbi persuade you that Alan Greenspan does indeed fulfill his description in the title of Chapter 2? Be specific about Taibbi's rhetorical strategies that succeed or fail in persuading you.

Also, bring in your copy of The Craft of Research. We will use it during class.

Lastly, bring in your signed Mentor Commitment Letter. If you misplaced the form or did not receive one in class, you can pick one up in my classroom, or you can print it out from the link on the right.

Assignment for Wednesday, October 14

Read and annotate pp. 3-34 of Matt Taibbi's Griftopia. You do not have anything to write, but you will have questions to answer in class.

Also, if you did not get the STP mentor commitment letter and guidelines, please print them out, give your mentor the guidelines, and return the signed commitment letter to me by Friday, October 16.

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 5, Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Friday, Oct. 9

Monday, October 5: During most of this class, you will have time to work on the narrative essay that is due on Wednesday, so bring a flash drive, a tablet, a laptop to class. You could also email it to yourself or work on it in Google Docs; laptops from the cart will be available.

Wednesday, October 7: Re-read pp. 91-101 in Gornick's The Situation and the Story. Write a narrative about something you experienced or witnessed. It can be of any length, and it is due on Wednesday, Oct. 7. It should be double-spaced in font no bigger than 12-point Times New Roman. (You don't have to use this font, but whatever you use should be no bigger than this font.)

Friday, October 9: Student's choice. Bring something of intellectual interest to you to share with the class. It may be something to read (in which case you should give it to me to photocopy ahead of class), view, or listen to.

Assignment for Tuesday, September 29

Read and annotate James Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son" and answer one of the two questions posted below. If you did not get the essay in class, a PDF is posted below. As I mentioned in class, if you did the creative assignment for the Biss reading, I'd like you to try the analytical assignment, and vice versa.

Creative: Write two paragraphs: The first should describe, in some detail, an important person in your life. The second paragraph should explain something about our society in light of your observations about this important person.

Analytical: Write two paragraphs: The first should analyze Baldwin's narrative persona in this essay; the second should explain whether that narrative persona helps advance the argument he makes in this essay.

James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son" 

Assignment for Friday, September 25

Read and annotate the Prologue and Chapter 1 of The Craft of Research (pp. 3-15). Be prepared to discuss specifically the authors' understanding of research, the reasons for research, and the reasons for putting one's research in writing.

Also, read and annotate Eula Biss's "Notes from No Man's Land" (handout). Choose one of the options below to respond to this reading.

Creative: Write two paragraphs: The first should be about a book, movie, play, or some other cultural text you have experienced. The second should connect that cultural text to an experience that might seem unrelated to that cultural text.

Analytical: Write two paragraphs: The first should analyze Biss's narrative persona in this essay; the second should explain whether that narrative persona is helps advance the argument she makes in this essay.

Assignment for Tuesday, September 22

Print and review the AP Contract posted to the right, and return it to me with your signature and that of a parent.

Read and annotate the essays distributed in class, M. F. K. Fisher's "The Measure of My Powers, 1919-1927" and E. B. White's "Once More to the Lake." Respond to one of the following prompts in one double-spaced page of writing. Please have your response printed before class.

1. Creative: Write or begin a short narrative modeled on the writing style or structure of either the Fisher or White essay.

2. Analytical: Explain how the structure of the Fisher and White essays contribute to their purpose. That is, given the purpose of each essay, explain how the structure helps the speaker achieve that purpose.

Assignment for Friday, September 18

Read and annotate the essays in the handout distributed in class. While reading, pay attention to the rhetorical strategies the authors use to bring a character (including themselves) to life. You may focus on one character per essay. You do not need to print a written response; simply record your observations on the handout or in a notebook.

Homework for Wednesday, September 16

Prepare for the in-class essay on your selected summer reading book by reviewing the rhetorical triangles, SOAPSTone, and DIDLS in relation to your book. You won't be able to write about all of these rhetorical features, so select those that are most relevant to your book. You will have one hour to write the essay by hand. You will be able to use your book, but if you do so, I will expect you to quote from it.

The topic you'll write about will be something like this: What is the text's purpose, and does the author accomplish that purpose? Support your position with specific reference to the rhetorical features we have discussed in class.

Also, read the David Sedaris essay "Me Talk Pretty One Day" that was handed out in class. Use the rhetorical features discussed in class to make sense of his writing strategies. (You should annotate it, but you don't have to write a response to it.) We will discuss this essay after you write the in-class essay.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Revisions to your STP Research Paper

For most of you, revisions to your STP research paper are due by Friday, May 22. For those of you who received the paper this week, you have until Tuesday, May 26 (preferably) or Wednesday, May 28 (if absolutely necessary). You must return the original version to me so I can compare it to the revision. You may email the revision to me, but if you do, be sure you get a confirmation email from me. If you do not get a confirmation email from me, then I do not have your paper. Also, even if you email it to me, you must return the original version to me. If I don't have the original version, I can't assure you that your revision will improve the original grade. As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

Class Work for Monday, May 4

Make an outline for each of the three FRQ's from the 2013 AP Lang exam that is linked below.

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/apcentral/ap13_frq_english_language.pdf

Each outline must have a thesis, and it should focus on your analysis or argument. Your outline should have three or four supporting points, and each supporting point must have evidence. For the synthesis essay, that evidence will come from the sources; for the rhetorical analysis essay, that evidence will come from the passage; and for the argumentative essay, that evidence will come from your knowledge of the world.

In each of the next few classes, you will write one essay, whether we have class first block or not. Prior to writing it, we will go over that particular kind of essay. This Wednesday, you will write an argumentative essay.

Sample outline:
Prompt: Who is more powerful, Yoda or Dumbledore?
Thesis: Yoda is more powerful than Dumbledore, but Dumbledore is a better wizard than Yoda is a Jedi.
Point 1. Yoda's connection to the force binds him to the most powerful source of positive energy in the universe, while Dumbledore studied spells in school.
Evidence: The force is a pre-existing factor in the universe that the Jedi must access; wizards are simply born and must learn spells and such.
Evidence: Yoda was never tempted by the dark side as Dumbledore was by the power of the elder wand, which means he has a more profound connection to the force than Dumbledore has to magic.
Point 2: Yoda's mastery of the force has allowed him to defeat numerous Sith Lords for centuries, while Dumbledore used magic to confront two nemeses, Grindelwald and Riddle/Voldemort.
Evidence: Yoda refers obliquely and modestly to previous battles, which makes Dumbledore duels seem like play fighing.
Point 3: Although Yoda is more powerful than Dumbledore, Dumbledore is superior to other wizards in ways Yoda is not superior to other Jedi and Sith Lords.
Evidence: Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, forced Voldemort to flee. Yoda could defeat neither Count Dookoo nor Darth Sidious.

Assignment for Thursday, April 16

Work on your STP presentation; the guidelines handed out in class are posted to the right. If you want to view more TED talks, see the links in the previous post just below this one. You will have time to work on it during class on Thursday and, as always, if you have any questions before then, don't hesitate to ask me.

Model TED Talks for the Presentation

Click here for a playlist of eleven TED talks that exemplify that strategies we've discussed (or will discuss, if you did the multiple-choice questions during first block on Thursday) in class. The talk we viewed is titled "The Power of Vulnerability." If you have a scientific topic, you might want to view "Underwater Astonishments" and "The New Bionics That Let Us Run, Climb, and Dance." If you don't find those helpful, go to this page for more TED talks that focus on science.

Assignment for Tuesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1

For Tuesday: Complete your draft of the research paper.

For Thursday: Submit a complete draft of your research paper, including its title. Combine your exploratory essay with the research you've written, and compile the list of references. All citations should be complete. Submit these as one document.

Assignment for Friday, March 27

Write an additional page of the research paper. You should be up to thirteen pages by Friday.

Assignment for Monday, March 23

Write and email to me an additional three pages of your research paper. By that time, you should be up to twelve eleven pages of the research paper.

Assignment for Wednesday, March 18

Write one additional page for the research paper and email it to me before Wednesday's class. By Wednesday, you should have at least eight pages for the research portion of the paper.

Please Read This

[For your homework, see the next post down.] This article isn't an assignment, hence the "please" in this post's title. The coming weeks of the college admission season will bring happiness, heartache, conflicted feelings, and indecision. Read this article to gain some insight on the meaning and significance of this process. I can't make the link "live" right now, so you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser. After you read the article, share it with your friends and parents. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-how-to-survive-the-college-admissions-madness.html

Assignment for Monday, March 16

Write at least two additional pages for your research paper. You will continue to work on it in class, and I will continue to meet with students. Add it on to the same document you previously sent to me, and email it to me (mrmontasmph@gmail.com) before class. Don't forget to also email to me the outline your worked on in class; if you didn't already finish it, you should finish it by Monday's class. 

Good Outline, Bad Outline

Here are the two examples of outlines that we saw in class. Click here for the good outline. notice how this good outline is clear about how the author will will write about the essay's topics. Click here for the bad outline. This outline isn't very helpful because it only mentions the topics to be addressed in the essay. 

For Thursday, March 12

Come to class prepared to work on your research paper. Bring any materials you need to work on it in class. The laptop cart will be available.

For Tuesday, March 10

You will write two essays that concern Luke Harding's The Snowden Files. One essay will require you to write a rhetorical analysis of a passage from Harding's book. Another essay will require you to write an argument about an issue raised by the book.

To prepare for the rhetorical analysis, review SOAPSTone, DIDLS, the rhetorical triangles, and the definition of exigence. Keep in mind that you should pay attention to these while you read the passage; don't start to think about them when you begin to write the essay. 

To prepare for the argumentative essay, you should review the issues raised by Snowden's case and the nuances of those issues. Any information gleaned from the Frontline documentary The United States of Secrets and Laura Poitras's Citizenfour can be used to supplement, not replace, information presented in Harding's book.

As we have practiced in class, you should lead with your points and avoid restating information in the passage or summarizing the book. Any information from the passage or the book should be used only to support the points you make in the essay.

Upcoming Assignments

In class on Monday, we discussed Luke Harding's The Snowden Files and watched a Frontline documentary, The United States of Secrets. If you missed Monday's class, you should watch up to the 31:55 mark at the following link:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/united-states-of-secrets/

In class, some of you asked about the original video that introduced Snowden to the world. Here's a link to that video: 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video

For Wednesday, February 25, read Ch. 11 of The Snowden Files (pp. 215-252). 

For Friday, February 27, read Ch. 12 of The Snowden Files (pp. 253-277). 

For Tuesday, March 2, finish reading The Snowden Files (pp. 279-333). 

Over the Break

Read to p. 214 in Luke Harding's The Snowden Files. You have nothing to write.

Upcoming Assignments

In the coming classes, you will work on public speaking while, at home, you will work on your research paper. Please observe the following due dates for the first five pages of your research paper. Email each step to me with the indicated subject line.

Thursday, Jan. 29: Write a paragraph that summarizes the first five pages of your research paper. Use the subject line paragraph summary. The first five pages of your research paper will be due on Friday, Feb. 6. Also, bring to class the text or video clip of a favorite speech of yours. It could be from a movie, a historical event, a recent political event; really, any moment, real or fictional, where a person stands in front of a group of people and addresses them.

Monday, Feb. 2: Write at least two pages of your academic research paper. Use the subject line first two pages. Bring to A Pocket Style Manual to class.

Wednesday, Feb. 4: Write at least two additional pages of your academic research paper. Email subject line: second two pages Send the two pages that were due on Monday. If you already sent those two pages, you don't have additional work to turn in for this class.

Friday, Feb, 6: Write at least one additional page of your academic research paper.  Email subject line: additional page

Tuesday, Feb. 10: Turn in at least five pages of your academic research paper. Email subject line: five pages

Assignment for Tuesday, January 27

Prepare for the rhetorical analysis of a passage from Much Ado about Nothing. The prompts for each block are posted to the right. Block A met first block on Friday; Block C met after senior snack on Friday. You will have forty minutes to write the essay.

Also, please bring your copy of The Craft of Research to class.

Assignment for Thursday, January 15

This assignment is slightly different than what I described in class. In Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing , find examples of three of the following kinds of prose. Then, identify language techniques employed in those examples (alliteration or other kinds of repetition, figurative language, allusions, puns or other kinds of word play, etc.) and explain the effects of those techniques.

1. Young women talking together excitedly or irritably; a young woman flirting and making jokes with undertones.

2. Young men joking uneasily; drunken men speaking cynically; old men speaking disapprovingly to a young woman.

3. A man choosing his words carefully so as not to offend his superior; a man offended by his superior but trying to hide it. 

4, A man desperately trying to make sense of his own sudden and overwhelming beliefs.

Be sure to write the original sentence(s) and refer to its scene and line numbers. 

Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 7

Read and annotate Act 2 of Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. As you read, identify any (but at least three) phrases or sentences that stand out because of their language.