Just Mine Now

I'm now finishing other texts I've started reading this summer.  So once I finish reading them (I invite you to read them as well should you be interested), I'll begin the other text that I've invited you to explore with me as I read it for the first time.   For now I'll just be finishing In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, something that has been called a nonfiction novel (yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms).  Many other AP Language students across the country read this text, some for their summer reading assignment.  And, yes, I've never read it before now (imagine there being books an Engish teacher hasn't read!) I'm a little better than half way through.  For some it might take some time to get into it at the beginning, but then it starts moving faster, and becomes more interesting.  It's based on the murder of four family members in Kansas, the two men responsible, and the investigation that follows.  Some say parts of this ...

You might want to check this blog fairly often to see what visuals are posted on the right.  Analysis of visuals is a part of what you will encounter in this course this year.  Maybe you'd like to try analyzing some of them.   One other thing that you might want to consider doing is responding to the quote underneath the paintings.  Think about what it means.  How does it relate to society?  Completing these will help you later in dealing with the quotations that often accompany question 3 of the exam.

New APers!   Now that I have finished scoring Question 1 for this year's AP English Language Exam in Louisville, KY it's time I turn my attention to welcoming all of you.  Yes, it has been a very long week of scoring essays; still it's time for me to turn to your summer assignment Have you begun your summer reading?  I've finished rereading your required summer reading, and have some ideas to bounce around, just a few anyway.  Remember, you should be identifying each person's purpose for writing their letters.  You should have some opinions about the letters written as well, including Obama's response to them.   One particular letter (Hailey's letter), which you can find on pp. 176-178, did you notice the anaphora he uses? The definition for anaphora can be found here as well as several examples if you aren't familiar with this term.  What do you think its function is?  What about the many rhetorical questions that can be found in one p...