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.