Monday

Okay - so most of you demonstrated that you still remember how to write a precise.  The key is can you do it in 10 minutes.

So, we are going to go over the test and its structure this week, and practice the multiple choice questions.  Note, when you get back from Spring Break you will be writing many practice essays, so be prepared.

First - before we get into  Cracking the AP Language and Composition Exam. let's talk about student walkouts and gun control.

BRAINS

Today we are going to read "Women's Brains" by Jay Gould in The Language of Composition on page 518.  After we finish reading you will write a Precise on it.

If we have time left over in class you can work on your rewrites. 

Tuesday

Today we are going to read "Working for A Living: the Codes for Work and Money" by Clotaire Rapaille in One Hundred Great Essays on page 482.  After we finish reading you will write a Precise on it.

If we have time left over in class you can work on your rewrites. 

Precise

Rhetorical Précis Writing

A rhetorical précis analyzes both the content (the what) and the delivery (the how) of a unit of spoken or written discourse. It is a highly structured four-sentence paragraph blending summary and analysis. Each of the four sentences requires specific information; students are expected to use brief quotations (to convey a sense of the author’s style and tone) and to include a terminal bibliographic reference. Practicing this sort of writing fosters precision in both reading and writing, forcing a writer to employ a variety of sentence structures and to develop a discerning eye for connotative shades of meaning. Take a look at the overall format 
  1) Name of author, (optional: a phrase describing the author), genre and title of the work, date in parentheses (additional publishing information in parentheses); a rhetorically accurate verb (such as "assert," "argue," "suggest," "imply," "claim," etc.); and a THAT clause containing the major assertion (thesis) of the work.
2) An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the thesis, usually in chronological order.
3) A statement of the author's apparent purpose followed by an "in order to" phrase.
4) A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author established with the audience.
 

Now take a closer look:  

1. THE FIRST SENTENCE identifies the essay's author and title, provides the article's date in parenthesis, uses some form of the verb says (claims, asserts, suggests, argues—) followed by that, and the essay's thesis (paraphrased or quoted).  

EXAMPLE: In "The Ugly Truth about Beauty" (1998), Dave Barry argues that "...women generally do not think of their looks in the same way that men do" (4).  

EXAMPLE: In "The Ugly Truth about Beauty" (1998), Dave Barry satirizes the unnecessary ways that women obsess about their physical appearance.  

2. THE SECOND SENTENCE conveys the author's support for the thesis (how the author develops the essay); the trick is to convey a good sense of the breadth of the author’s support/examples, usually in chronological order.  

EXAMPLE: Barry illuminates this discrepancy by juxtaposing men's perceptions of their looks ("average-looking") with women's ("not good enough"), by contrasting female role models (Barbie, Cindy Crawford) with male role models (He-Man, Buzz- V. Stevenson and M. Frerichs, AP Language PHHS, San Diego, reprint date: 5/24/2010

Off), and by comparing men's interests (the Super Bowl, lawn care) with women's (manicures).  

3. THE THIRD SENTENCE analyzes the author's purpose using an in order to statement:  

EXAMPLE: He exaggerates and stereotypes these differences in order to prevent women from so eagerly accepting society's expectation of them; to this end, Barry claims that men who want women to "look like Cindy Crawford" are "idiots"(10), implying that women who adhere to the Crawford standard are fools as well. 

  4. THE FOURTH SENTENCE describes the essay's target audience and characterizes the author's relationship with that audience—or the essay's tone: 

  EXAMPLE: Barry ostensibly addresses men in this essay because he opens and closes the essay directly addressing men (as in "If you're a man...”) and offering to give them advice in a mockingly conspiratorial fashion; however, by using humor to poke fun at both men and women’s perceptions of themselves, Barry makes his essay palatable to women as well, hoping to convince them to stop obsessively "thinking they need to look like Barbie" (8). Put it all together and it looks darn smart:  
In "The Ugly Truth about Beauty" (1998), Dave Barry argues that ". . . women generally do not think of their looks in the same way that men do"(4). Barry illuminates this discrepancyby juxtaposing men's perceptions of their looks ("average-looking") with women's ("not good enough"), by contrasting female role models (Barbie, Cindy Crawford) with male role models (He-Man, Buzz- Off), and by comparing men's interests (the Super Bowl, lawn care) with women's (manicures). He exaggerates and stereotypes these differences in order to prevent women from so eagerly accepting society's expectation of them; in fact, Barry claims that men who want women to "look like Cindy Crawford" are "idiots" (10). Barry ostensibly addresses men in this essay because he opens and closes the essay directly addressing men (as in "If you're a man...”) and offering to give them advice in a mockingly conspiratorial fashion; however, by using humor to poke fun at both men and women’s perceptions of themselves, Barry makes his essay palatable to both genders and hopes to convince women to stop obsessively "thinking they need to look like Barbie" (8).  

Monday - Essay Drafts DUE

Today - we are going to talk about cell phones, we will read a few articles, and finally, we will write a precise on one of the essays.

https://www.kcaw.org/2018/03/08/mehs-students-research-phones-affect-cognitive-ability/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2015/06/15/cellphones-school-teaching-tool-distraction/OzHjXyL7VVIXV1AEkeYTiJ/story.html

http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/09/27/students-cellphones-school

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/04/27/the-student-cellphone-addiction-is-no-joke.html

https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/should-students-use-their-smartphones-as-learning-tools/

Essays to read this week:

"Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying" by Adrienne Rich
"Working for A Living: the Codes for Work and Money" by Clotaire Rapaille 
"Women's Brains" by Jay Gould
"Hip Hop Planet" by James McBride

Friday - Cause and Effect

Today is the last day - in class - to work on your essays.  Remember your "Cause and Effect" essay is due on Monday, and then you will have a week to work on your rewrites.  Most of that rewriting will be homework.   Final drafts on due on March 21st.

We need to go back to looking closely at Essays and analyzing them. 

Here is the reading we need to try and finish before Spring Break:

·      “The Conversation” by Wendy Lesser

·      “The Keyboard” by William Zinsser

·      “The Golden Spike” by John Steele Gordon

·      “Selected Web Sites” by Dave Barry

·      “Women and Children First: Gender and Settling of the Electronic Frontier” by Laura Miller

·      “Welcome to Cyberbia” by M. Kadi

·      “Looking for Community on the Internet” by Evan I Scharz

 

  Cause and Effect - Examples: https://www.essaymasters.co.uk/free-cause-and-effect-essay-example

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday

Okay - I'm stuck in Juneau.  Will you please continue to work on your essays - and post them.  I will be making comments on them.

Please email me or text me if you need any immediate help.

Cause and Effect

If you're have issues look at the video above. 

Remember - what is the effect of gun violence?  What was the effect of 9/11?  What was the effect of being dump by that hot guy/girl? 

This is the last essay for this project, but remember you need to work on revising your essays.  Most of them are not finished! 

Points to Remember: Cause and Effect

CAUSE AND EFFECT Points to Remember
1. Remember that in human events you can almost never prove direct, simple, cause and effect relationships, Qualify your claims.
2. Be careful not to oversimplify your cause and effect statements, be cautious about saying that a cause always produces a certain effect of that a remedy never succeeds.
3. Distinguish between the immediate, obvious cause of something and more long range, less apparent causes for that effect.
4. Avoid confusing coincidence or simple sequence with cause and effect; because B follows A doesn’t mean that A caused B.
5. Build your cause-and-effect argument as a trial lawyer would. Present as much evidence as you can and argue for your hypothesis.

Cause and Effect

CAUSE AND EFFECT Points to Remember

1. Remember that in human events you can almost never prove direct, simple, cause and effect relationships, Qualify your claims.
   
2. Be careful not to oversimplify your cause and effect statements, be cautious about saying that a cause always produces a certain effect of that a remedy never succeeds.
   
3. Distinguish between the immediate, obvious cause of something and more long range, less apparent causes for that effect.
   
4. Avoid confusing coincidence or simple sequence with cause and effect; because B follows A doesn’t mean that A caused B.
   
5. Build your cause-and-effect argument as a trial lawyer would. Present as much evidence as you can and argue for your hypothesis.
   
   
   What caused 9/11 and what is the effect of 9/11?
   
   
   Do not simplify your cause or effect.  
   
   
   
   
   
   MODES OF COMPOSITION RUBRIC 
   
   
   (HANDOUT - go here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M0r2yBp_jEbQWMw0yj9c9jM36--YWmYm/view?usp=sharing)