Class Notes: September 27-October 1

Class Notes (September 27-October 1)

We focused on two main things this week: Style and Syntax.

The first thing we looked at was Style.

Clarity:

• Avoid formal, clanky sentences
• Be careful when attaching verbs to subjects
• Do not overuse the passive voice (or the prepositional phrases that can accompany them)
• Use the passive voice when trying to take blame off of someone or when you don’t know who to place the blame on
• Keep in mind that the passive voice is usually more difficult to comprehend than the active voice
• Be careful of nominalizations (actions expressed as nouns)
• Nominalizations are not needed to sound objective or scientific

The Plain Style:

• The ultimate goal as a writer is to be understood
• Being plain is okay!  Not everything has to be fancy and overdone
• The ideas of a piece are what should be impressive, not the syntax and vocabulary
• By utilizing the extensive English vocabulary we can choose words or short phrases that can get across our points concisely (example: “To satisfy her own need of hunger, she ate the bread” vs. “She devoured the bread”).  Sometimes simply changing the word choice makes all the difference
• To be a good writer you have to read a lot
• Keep in mind that readers cannot pay attention to everything at once

Concision:

• Avoid wordiness at all costs!
• Use strong verbs
• Active voice > Passive voice
• Be careful of unnecessary adverbs and adjectives
• Recognize empty words and phrases and eliminate them

Rhetoric:

• Prefer plain to fancy diction in most cases
• Embrace parallelism; it creates a graceful, mature tone
• Get rid of nested lists
• Remember inversion and chiasmus
• Learn to use and love repetition
• Watch tense changes: do not change tenses without a reason.  Most analyses and commentaries are written in the historical present
• Alliteration in moderation
• The rule of three (the third is more important than the first two)
• Ration the use of humor
• Direct questions are useful; exclamations are informal and do not work well
• Link sentences to maximize fluidity

The second main thing we focused on this week was Syntax.

Some Basic Vocabulary:

• Coordinating Conjunction: FANBOYS
• Subordinating Conjunction: because, since, although, however
• Compound Sentence: use of a coordinating conjunction
• Complex Sentence: use of a subordinating conjunction
• Simple Sentence: no conjunctions used at all

The Main Syntax Techniques

• Short sentences: more forceful conveyance (example: The door slammed.  The stairs creaked.  Julie crept upstairs.)
• Sentence fragments: can create a lyrical or distressed sound (example: The gun fired.  Agonizing screams.  Blood everywhere.)
• Imperatives vs. Declaratives: imperatives are more commanding (example: Please take a seat vs. Sit down.)
• -ing form of verbs: create suspense (example: Rounding the corner, she darted into the shadows.)
• Passive voice: places blame on someone other than the one at fault (Mistakes were made.)
• Omission of conjunctions: hurried or sometimes lyrical conveyance (example: She was hopelessly, madly, undeniably in love.
• Inverted syntax: changing up the word order (example: “Death be not proud.”)
• Interrupters: create suspense by dragging the story on (example: Jake, the newlywed, the valedictorian, the young man who had everything he could ever want, was now doomed to a life behind bars.)
• Interrogatives: alter the mood of the piece (example: Why did he think so?)
• Punctuation: can change the tone in a variety of ways.  Exclamation points, for instance, often create an immature, childish mood (example: She couldn’t believe it.  “Stan beat me!  And I studied more!  I hate school!”) while periods enforce the severity of the text (example: She couldn’t stand calculus.  Mrs. James was a horrible teacher.  Math made no sense.)

English Syntax Flashcards: http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=english-literary-syntax-structures

More Syntax Flashcards: http://quizlet.com/218968/syntax-ap-english-style-terms-flash-cards/

Definitions of Syntax Structures: http://mail.baylorschool.org/~jstover/toolbox/syntax.html 

Class Notes: October 4-8

Class Notes (October 4-8)

The AP English Literature and Composition Exam

• 3 hour exam that consists of two parts
• Part One = Multiple Choice Section consisting of passages and questions that follow (one hour; 45% of total AP score)
• Part Two = Essay Section consisting of three prompts (two hours; 55% of total AP Score)

The Multiple Choice Section:

• 4 passages: 2 prose, 2 poetry
• 10-15 questions follow each passage
• Find the passage that seems the easiest and start there
• Quickly read the poem once
• Read the poem a second time, this time in depth: annotate, underline, etc.
• Reading in order to answer questions is not the same as reading to write an essay: don’t overdo it
• Keep a running paraphrase in your head so that if you zone out, you’ll catch it quickly
• Read all the questions quickly and cross out any answers that other questions may eliminate
• Answer the questions: use the process of elimination and keep in mind that some answer options won’t adequately respond to the question

Types of Questions:

• 1-2 Questions: these are basic; similar to the ACT
• 3-4 Questions: more challenging
• 5 Questions: these questions weed out the 5-ers; you will not get all of these right, or even most of them right.  Experts will disagree on these questions; the trick is to narrow the answers down to the expert choices and then guess.  If you can do this every time, statistically you should get about half of them right

The Essay Section

• Three prompts: one closed reading and two open readings
• 9 point scale for each essay: a 7 is considered a respectable score

Closed Readings

• Will be asked about a given passage
• Spend a lot of time analyzing the prompt itself: you HAVE to answer the question or the maximum score you can get is a 3/9
• Skim the passage first, then read a second time in depth.  Let the prompt guide you in your annotations
• In the essay itself, do not summarize the passage
• Don’t forget that you can talk about opposition too

The Open Prompt

• Two main categories: critical theory (make a statement about how a given element of literature sometimes functions and then asks you to show how this true of some piece you’ve already read) and content (present a common thematic element of literature and then ask you to show this theme is developed in some piece you’ve already read)
• Same strategy as closed readings
• You should be able to pull any question from Hamlet or The Invisible Man.  Know these works inside and out!

Details about the exam: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_englit.html

Past free response questions and scoring guidelines: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/english_lit/samp.html?englit

Additional free response questions, scoring guidelines, and sample essays: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2002.html?affiliateId=APSamp&bannerId=enli

List of helpful AP websites: http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listaplitma.html

There are several AP books that are designed to help students crack the AP exam, also.  A few include Princeton Review, Baron's, McGraw Hill, and Cliffs.

http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780071621922 

The big day is Thursday, May 5, 2011.

Allusions (Perrine chapter 8)

Allusion: a reference to something in history or previous literature

“For an allusion… is like a richly connotative word or a symbol, a means of suggesting far more than it says” (Perrine 852).

“Allusions are a means of reinforcing the emotion or the ideas of one’s own work with the emotion or ideas of another work or occasion.  Because they may compact so much meaning in so small s space, they are extremely useful to the poet” (Perrine 853).

When a writer uses an allusion, they are risking the ability of the reader to understand it.  Most allusions are to the Bible or mythology, but some writers venture further and use other literature and popular culture as well. 

Definition and examples of allusions: http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/allusion/page

Modern example:

"I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth." – the then Senator Barack Obama

Meaning and Idea (Perrine chapter 9)

Total Meaning: the experience that something communicates

• Determines the value and worth of a poem

Prose Meaning: the ingredient that can be separated out in the form of a prose paraphrase

• Not necessarily an idea; may be a story, a description, a statement of emotion, a presentation of human character, etc.

 Although this is not a very academically reliable source, I think it does a good job of explaining these two terms.  http://www.blurtit.com/q755270.html 

“But good readers strive for intellectual flexibility and tolerance, and are able to entertain sympathetically ideas other than their own.  They often will like a poem whose idea they disagree with better than one with an idea they accept.  And, above all, they will not confuse the prose meaning of a poem with its total meaning” (Perrine 869). 

Reflective Essay Outside Reading: October 10

Reflective Essay Outside Reading

“Dispatches from a Guy Trying Unsuccessfully to Sell a Song in Nashville” by Charlie Hopper

McSweeny’s October 1, 2010

Charlie Hopper’s “Dispatches from a Guy Trying Unsuccessfully to Sell a Song in Nashville” describes one man’s attempt to make something extraordinary of his life.  On his way back from Nashville, Charlie Hopper prompts a conversation with his twelve-year-old son about this hobby.  Although this discussion eventually produces results that Mr. Hopper deems unfavorable, he is able to effectively communicate through a variety of rhetoric choices.

Perhaps the most prevalent syntax structure that appears in this essay is the use of short sentences.  As he’s explaining the process of selling a song, Hopper continually uses short, choppy sentences.  These propel the story forward, and create a suspense that would not normally be present in a simple narrative.  These short sentences often act as interrupters, as well.  These further the pace of the story even more, and are a big strength of Hopper’s in this essay.

Another thing that Hopper does quite effectively involves relating the story back to the reader.  After his son discovers that selling a song would make his dad a lot of money, Hopper realizes the effect this could have on his son and immediately begins back tracking.  “If those are horses I’m hearing, son, hold them” (5).  This figure of speech makes the story relatable to the reader, because Hopper is speaking in a voice that everyday people are familiar with.  Hopper also directly alludes to popular culture.  As he attempts to justify his hobby, he suddenly dead ends and recognizes that ordinary, everyday parents do not spend their free time writing songs.  “Normal as… what, blueberry pie?  Wait, that’s from a Broadway musical song” (7).  This relation to everyday life once again contributes to the reminiscent, yet common, tone that Hopper exercises throughout the essay.

Because the tone is so common, this essay would not make for a good AP essay.  The informality does not meet the voice standards of the AP Exam, and would therefore not be appropriate in an academic setting.  Hopper also is not very concise and often wanders off on unrelated tangents: both of which are weaknesses that are not suitable in formal writing.  However, I enjoyed this essay as I studied it.  The scatterbrained nature of his writing contributes to the overall tone of the essay; although Hopper’s point is to inform the audience of unimportant facts, he constructed his essay in a way that is pleasant and easy to read.

Editorial Outside Reading: October 10

Editorial Outside Reading

“Twitter, Facebook, and Social Activism” by Malcolm Gladwell

The New Yorker October 4, 2010

“Twitter, Facebook, and Social Activism” by Malcolm Gladwell offers a critique of society’s dependency on social networking systems and its consequent lack of activism.  He argues that a culture based on constant communication tends to shy away from anything involving a risk, and people have thus become more reluctant to stand up for what they believe to be right.  In this editorial, Gladwell employs a strong voice and uses many techniques that ultimately leave little doubt in the reader’s mind of the validity of his argument.

Gladwell’s argument is very well constructed.  He begins with a discussion of the civil rights movement and the ends that Martin Luther King Jr. went to in order to be successful.  He navigates away from this history lesson fairly quickly, but by continually coming back to it his argument is strengthened.  Gladwell also brings in examples of activism, or perhaps attempted activism, in modern society.  He discusses the Save Darfur Coalition that has utilized Facebook in its attempt to rally support, and explains that their efforts have actually done little to help their cause.  “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated to make a real sacrifice” (4).  As this example illustrates, Gladwell smoothly guides his reader to his thesis; he chooses strong evidence and along with refuting his opposition, is able to construct an argument that is difficult to contend with.

By employing a strong, mostly formal voice, Gladwell is able to smoothly communicate with the reader, but he maintains a slightly informal tone.  Because he occasionally uses the second person, this editorial would not be appropriate for an AP essay.  However, everything else about his argument is crafted in a way that would make for an AP level work.  Gladwell’s strong points include organization, clarity, and voice, while his weaknesses are limited to this use of second person.

Gladwell also uses irony to communicate his point.  At the end of his editorial, he shares a story of a young man who used Facebook to recover his friend’s lost phone.  The author of this story, Clay Shirky, finishes his account with the question, “What happens next?”  Gladwell immediately refutes this.  “What happens next is more of the same.  A networked, weak-tie world is good at things like helping Wall Streeters get phones back from teen-age girls.  Viva la revolución” (6).  This use of irony effectively leaves the reader thinking that any activism prompted by Facebook is absurd and empty, and left me completely agreeing with his editorial.

Book Review Outside Reading: October 10

Book Review Outside Reading

“There Goes the Neighborhood” by Gregg Easterbrook

The New York Times January 30, 2005

            “There Goes the Neighborhood” by Gregg Easterbrook offers a mixed review of Jared Diamond’s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.  Easterbrook is very complimentary of Diamond and his intellect and dedication, but he also points out the flaws of Diamond’s argument.  By deconstructing Collapse, Easterbrook leaves his reader wondering how accurate Diamond’s argument really is.

            In reviewing this book, Easterbrook employs a blend of New Historicist and Biographical Criticisms.  Easterbrook begins by discussing Diamond’s background and how his education in particular may have influenced Collapse.  Diamond himself is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, and he therefore is well versed in obscure islands and the societies that once existed there.  Easterbrook is quick to point this out, because most of the places that Diamond analyzes are remote islands.  This book review also looks at Diamond’s initial specialization, which was conservation biology.  Diamond spent a lot of time studying in New Guinea and other Pacific Islands, which continually appear in his book.  Interestingly however, Easterbrook also finds a discrepancy between Diamond’s book and Diamond’s education.  Diamond also studied evolution, but Easterbrook points out that Diamond is slow to analyze the evolutionary capability of the world today.

            Easterbrook’s argument is very well organized.  He adopts a very clear voice and is able to piece together a logical string of claims that easily convince the reader that Diamond’s arguments may in fact be fallacies.  This construction is a great strength of Easterbrook’s.  However, Easterbrook often lets his analysis wander and occasionally spends more time discussing Diamond’s book rather that critiquing it.  This weakness is minimal though, because his claims are so well crafted and supported.

            Easterbrook also employs diction in his attempt to persuade his audience.  His word choice is very sophisticated and he constructs a lot of compound sentences that ultimately create an academic tone throughout his review.  This tone helps to establish the validity of his argument because the reader is quick to trust such a refined review.  By praising Diamond’s strengths and cautiously pointing out his defects, Easterbrook is able to carefully guide his reader through his work and lead them to the conclusion that Diamond’s work actually is fundamentally flawed.

            Overall, Easterbrook constructs a concise argument that challenges the ideas and beliefs that Diamond’s construes in Collapse.  By employing New Historicist and Biographical criticism in addition to carefully choosing his language, Easterbrook creates a sound argument that is difficult to contend with.

Class Notes: September 13-17

Class Notes (September 13-17)

Poetry: language condensed to artistic effect; takes longer to explain the meaning and themes of the poem than it does to read the poem aloud

It’s important to note that there are no answers in literature; we don’t know what the author intended, but we do know what was written, and that’s what we have to analyze.  We always assume that there is meaning, whether that was conscious or unconscious on the author’s part.

“Hidden Meanings” – Dabney Stuart

 Ambiguity: the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways

At the surface level, Dabney Stuart seems to be comparing life to fairytales and suggesting that fables are unrealistic and incongruent with everyday experiences.  However, as we looked at the “hidden meanings” within the poem, we discovered themes of castration, autoeroticism, and molestation.  As we continued to analyze this work, we finally concluded that Stuart is suggesting that women are vampires that control men, and that society reinforces this by revering and continuing to tell fairytales.  However, the themes that we originally noticed were not wrong, thus illustrating ambiguity.

“Kitchenette Building”

Brooks analyzes themes of reality vs. dreaming.

Diction: Why did the author choose this word?

“A primary distinction between the practical use of language and the literary use is that in literature, especially in poetry, a fuller use is made of individual words” (Perrine 757).

Three parts to a word:

1.      Sound: combination of noises and tones

2.      Denotation: the definition of the word

3.      Connotation: the hidden meaning(s) behind the actual definition

“A frequent misconception of poetic language is that poets seek always the most beautiful or noble-sounding words.  What they really seek for are the most meaningful words, and these vary from one context to another” (Perrine 760).

“The poet, we may say, plays on a many-stringed instrument and sounds more than one note at a time” (Perrine 763).

Connotation and Denotation: the difference between the dictionary definition and the cultural baggage attached to it (gaunt, skinny, thin, slender, svelte)

Concreteness vs. Abstraction: the specificity of language and naming (clothes, pants, jeans, levis)

Precision: empty words vs. content-laden words (“nice!” or, “good!” vs. “I’m so relieved you answered that question!”)

Elevation and Colloquialism: the continuum between slang and epic diction

Dialects: only four in the continental United States (west, midwest, northeast, southeast)

Regions: smaller than dialects (the Great Lakes region) ex: pop vs. soda vs. coke

Jargon: like “military jargon”; language specific to a certain group of people

“Naming of Parts” and “The Widow’s Lament”

Reed and Williams both employ diction cleverly to create the tone that they’d like.  It amazes me how changing just one word can alter the entire meaning of a phrase.

Imagery: representation through language of sense experience

Visual: most common; produces a visual picture

Auditory: represents a sound

Olfactory: represents a scent

Gustatory: represents a taste

Tactile: represents touch

Organic: represents an internal sensation

Kinesthetic: represents movement or tension in the muscles or joints

“Poetry is fact given over to imagery.” – Rod McKuen

The diction and imagery worksheets we did in class, plus more: http://mreldridge.net/dailyExercises.aspx