Just Mine Now

A Sunday Morning Show played an excerpt on July 20, 2014, "Retracing Thoreau's journey through the wilds of Maine"; while not exactly Walden , this is a good introductory peek for you to introduce you to Thoreau's world and philosophy.  What you will find is both the excerpt's video (about 5 minutes) plus an article with resources linked here.   Henry D. Thoreau (best to view full screen) Henry David Thoreau's Walden: A Lecture by Annette Woodlief (something to listen to several times while you study Walden .) Study text for Walden online  Thoreau: Analysis  Analysis and Notes on Walden   Something else you might want to check out - Lit Charts

I do hope that you write the assigned essay  due Monday very carefully, and check to make sure that you do not take anything from another source without giving it credit.  A strong chance exists that I may bump the due date to tomorrow because of this problem and because I never want to see it again.  I've seen many instances of plagiarism in your position papers, something I should not see at all in your writing.  While some of it may be unintentional, it's still plagiarism, something I have zero tolerance for seeing.  What happens when I find it?  Your essay receives no credit. Because of its proliferation recently, I'll be requiring that your PowerPoints for your presentations be submitted to Turnitin the evening before they are due.  We will be discussing this in more detail Monday.  Plans are being changed to address this problem.  I'm also going to post some resources here for you to read closely.  My hope is that I no longer s...

Here is the link to the first page: Atlantic and College Board Writing Prize .

Here you go.  Just click here , and it will take you to where you need to be.  

AP for Students might be worth following on Twitter.  This link originated with that moniker today.  Consider it worth reading.  As an aside you may be reading more by her later in the year, possibly next semester, a book she authored in fact, not just an essay though you may be reading both (something to look forward to later). 

Here are a few links that can be read in the beginning.  More may follow as you read the text.  The book reviews: A New York Times book review A review on Slate The interviews: An interview on NPR    On NPR, Joan Didion , Writing a Story After an Ending The Guardian interview Some miscellaneous links: Notes on Style Analysis of Style

First, all of you who participated in the Socratic Seminar this morning were impressive.  Cudos to all of you!  Your excitement was infectious!    I have a few suggestions you might want to consider as you begin to create your plan for writing for The Rediscovery of North America .  Remember that "mapping an argument" handout I gave you?  You might want to try filling that our first.  It might help you organize your thoughts.  Think also about Lopez's rhetorical purpose for writing.  Also, think about identifying the exigence, the rhetorical situation.  Some questions to pose:  Why did Lopez begin with Columbus's "discovery"?    Why did Lopez return to this time period at the end of the essay?   How successful is his argument?  Why?  Remember your thesis, even your tentative thesis must include the title and author's name. I may add more later.  Hopefully, something here should hel...

As promised in class today, here's a link to the film we watched in class, Return to the Wild .  You can watch it again here, then complete the assignment given in class. Hint: make sure to include the title of the film in your sentence.

Two parts for this assignment today: On pages 21-24, what attitude of the Spaniards is presented?  How is this done? On pages 24-29, one of Lopez's strategies is providing a litany of different cultures in North America as well as places.  What do you think his purpose is here?  Explain.   Please note there will be no other blog posting today.  I've decided to cancel it for the time being.  

Please respond to the following questions as you begin to explore Lopez's The Rediscovery of North America .  You should have discussed some of what you're asked below in class today. Perform a SOAPS on this section of the reading.  Make sure to explain each part completely. Think about the focus of this section of the reading.  What is it?  How does Lopez present it?  Make sure to explain completely. Modes of writing include description, narration, exposition, etc.  Identify at least two modes of writing found in this section of The Rediscovery of North America .  Be sure to provide examples from the text that are correctly documented. If you have any questions about responding to these questions, please ask.   I would like to see some of your responses here. 

The Worst Hard Time provides much documentation about how people’s lives were directly affected in a large section of this country, mostly in what is referred to as “No Man’s Land” for quite some time during the Dust Bowl, a phrase not used till later as many tried to figure out just what to call these huge dust storms, the worst being on April 14, 1935.   This text is a prime example of how nonfiction can provide a learning experience that delves into examples of not only cause and effect but also how many people’s lives were changed forever.   These major dust storms didn't just disrupt peoples' lives, but also cost their their livestock.  For instance, some of the effects included their cars shorting out (they were electric at that time), files of dust sneaking in through the cracks of the dugouts many used as homes, extreme cases of dust pneumonia that took the lives of people as well as livestock, and so much more.   Some of these ...

Welcome to the blog.  Here is the beginning of your experience with Advanced Placement English Language.  Please "keep calm and read." My greatest hopes emphasize the need to complete what has been assigned as summer reading this year, Thank You For Arguing .  My suggestion? If you have the time, read the text through chapter 28 though the last 15 chapters are not assigned this summer, because an assignment will accompany the text about the second week in September, and it does entail information through the 28 chapters.  So, in order to get a jump on the school year, I strongly suggest you consider reading at least some of these unless you don't mind extra reading for homework in the fall.  You will be completing other reading/writing assignments at that time, beginning with the second day of school.  Reading ahead will give you a little wiggle room in terms of homework.  Yes, much is assigned for this course.  But none of it is ...

Because this is the most difficult essay to write for most AP English Language students, I decided to create a posting with links to resources that may answer some of your questions about how to write this kind of essay, including all parts.  However, remember, you don't have to be concerned about naming devices in a passage as long as you can analyze their effect, function, things of that nature. Here's the beginning of the list (more will be added later): Rhetorical Analysis - University Writing Center - Texas A & M Dong a Rhetorical Analysis of a Text - Colorado State University Understanding Misunderstanding: How to do a rhetorical Analysis - University of Texas Rhetorical and Textual Analyses Tools - LSU

There will be no tutoring the morning we come back from break.  We'll pick it up again the following week.

Here are a few websites that can be used to create your own cartoon that should accompany your own "Modest Proposal" due April 21: Pixton Pearltrees Bitstrips Stripgenerator.com   ReadWriteThink: Comic Generator   Chogger Witty Comics Make Believe Comix More sites may be added.  If, perchance, you have a Mac, you should have a program loaded on it that creates comics.

Here's an interesting website that may be helpful for essay writing .

Some links that may prove useful as we study this essay include: Victorian Web - Jonathan Swift Rhetorical Analysis by another Literary Analysis by another ENGL 102 Guest Lecture Analysis and Short Summary An earlier post provides a link to how others have responded to "A Modest Proposal," worth searching for to watch.  

Here's the link promised in class (see the last bullet point).  This should make it easy to find the video I mentioned in class.  Yes, it's claymation, but it's still a decent showing of the allegory.

Remember your presentations are tomorrow.  If you would like a copy of the rubric, email me and I'll send you a copy.

Now that you've about read most of Walden what about looking at what others have had to say about him other than what I will present in class soon?  I'm thinking of an article in Orion Magazine , " The Thoreau Problem ."  What do you think about what is said?  Do you agree with Solnit's view of him and his beliefs? Please explain. Granted your only knowledge is what you have read in Walden, and what we have discussed in class.  Later I'm hoping we will have the time to also study at least a part of "Civil Disobedience."  But we can start the discussion now, then add to it later as you read what some others have said of him as well.  In the meantime, why not start something here? I may be updating what is said here later.  This is just a beginning.

Enter a contest at the New York Times . The task?  Write an editorial about something that really matters to you.  See this link for more information: Student Contest . 

Apart from those other links that have been mention in class, the following should help you understand the text through someone else's analysis of the text.  This analysis is well worth reading, and may even change your mind about Thoreau and this text.  Read " Henry David Thoreau's Walden : A Radical Philosophical Charge for Individuality ."  Other related links that may help in your analysis of both his argument and strategies may be added in the near future, so stay tuned!

In order to prevent anything happening like this past week in your introduction to Walden, a new reading schedule has been devised for the first chapter next week.  On Tuesday, you'll be expected to read through 10, then reading pp. 10-17 for homework; on Wednesday, read pp. 17-29, again stopping at the break; on Thursday, read pp. 29-42, stopping at the break; on Friday, read pp. 42-53.  Time will be taken at the beginning of each period to discuss particular elements of the reading, looking closely at parts, discussing said parts.  At times, you'll be writing responses.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Here is another copy of the essay we're analyzing at the beginning of the semester.  Note the visual that accompanies it and its effectiveness.   This essay will be the focus for your first entry on your blogs again. (Remember it was mentioned today.)  We'll talk about it in class tomorrow.

Terry Tempest Williams reads parts from a new book she has published, focusing on a woman's voice, its importance, its meaning, its connections.  On this page you will find not only a video of her reading from her book, about 39 minutes in length, but also you can explore articles about her most recent book, When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice , one I will soon be reading. If you'd like to watch and listen, visit this page at her website, Coyote Clan: Terry Tempest Williams .  Perhaps you may want to read this book as well.