Scarlet Letter Reading Schedule

Reading Schedule (note: it may be tweaked due to unanticipated events)

Tues Oct 1    chapters 1 &2
Wed                           3-5
Thurs                        6
Fri                           7 & 8

Mon Oct7               9 & 10              (Assessment on Part One)
Tues                       11 & 12
Wed                           13-15                (Assessment on Part Two)
Thurs                      16-19 for MONDAY

Mon Oct 14               20
Tues                        21 & 22     (Assessment on Part Three)
Wed                         23 & 24      
Thurs                                          (Assessment on Part Four)

FILL OUT THIS FORM: Definition Essay

Please complete this form tonight while you are preparing your draft for tomorrow. Link to FORM for YOUR Definition Essay


Here is the link to the handout for tomorrow's class.  FOR PEER REVIEW.Peer Review

Process Questions and Reminders for the Definition Essay

THE FOLLOWING ARE NOTES FROM THE BEDFORD READER (pages 508-512):

You are not writing a stipulated definition, but an extended definition which is more personal, with an implied bias.   (arguing FOR or AGAINST a particular meaning)

You are "mapmaker charting a territory, taking in some of what lies within the boundaries and ignoring what lies outside."

"[Extended Definition]...is perhaps less a method in itself than the application of a variety of methods to clarify a purpose.   Like DESCRIPTION, extended definition tries to show a reader its subject.  It does so by establishing boundaries, for its writer tries to differentiate a subject from anything that might be confused with it."

Although your thesis may be implied, you might want to make it explicit to "serve your readers.  It is essential that the idea govern."  (THIS MEANS YOU MUST BE CLEAR ON YOUR PURPOSE AND INTENDED MEANING.  YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF ITS EXECUTION.)

"Like any other method of expository writing...definition will only work for the writer who remembers the world of the senses and supports every generalization with concrete evidence."

"Give your reader examples, narrate an illustrative story, bring in specific description---in whatever method you use, keep coming down to earth."

THE PROCESS

 from page 509 of The Bedford Reader, 11^th edition

To discover [the] complexity [of the word you have chosen], you may find it useful to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this subject unique, or are there others of its kind?  If it resembles others, in what ways?  How is it different?

2. In what different forms does it occur, while keeping its own identity?

3. When and where do we find it?  Under what circumstances and in what situations?

4. What is it at the present moment?

5. What does it do?  What are its functions and activities?

6. How is it put together?  What parts make it up? What holds these parts together?

*Not all these questions will fit….but they should help you add depth to your writing.

Remember these questions are accompanied by examples (using the word "sexism") in the text that you can refer to in class if any cause confusion.  

Definition essay

Sample Definition Essay Analysis and Reflection

This is for class on Monday.

Link to Responses

Below is a video clip where Meg Ryan gives us a definition of love, using a graphic, grotesque example.

HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEKEND: ERNIE PYLE

Today we looked at various samples of RHETORICAL ANALYSIS, one on a paragraph from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and another from the opening of In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

Example of Style Analysis

Below is a passage from The Great Gatsby. The paragraph that follows is a student's example of how to analyze specific diction and syntax to prove a larger idea that is not a part of the plot of the story. This is ultimately what will be expected from students in AP English.
"The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out of a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light." (Fitzgerald 40).



    Fitzgerald uses the rhythm of a huge dance, paralleled with an extended metaphor and imagery of the sea to impart feelings of reckless, excited and sickening movement. He sets the scene at the beginning of the paragraph with the phrase "the earth lurches away from the sun," using "lurch" as a verb that describes drunkenness, implying that this entire world is drunk - the party is the center of the world. Additionally, as the "earth lurches away from the sun, the lights in the house "grow brighter," demonstrating the move away from what is natural to what is increasingly artificial. The lack of individual identity is clearly shown through non-descriptive diction that only names people as "groups," "opera of voices," "new arrivals," "girls," and "faces." Coupled with the sea metaphor, this only enhances the superficiality and lack of substance in both the party and the people. The image of a dance is underscored with the early mention of "music," "orchestra," and "opera;" this imagery is then suggested through words like "weave" and "slide." This is complimented by the sentence structure; long, rhythmic sentences parallel the actions of a dance. These two fluid rhythmic sentences are filled with eight dynamic and active verbs mirroring the motions of the sea: "pilled, tipped...well, dissolve, weave, glide." In particular the final sentence is swirling and hypnotic, changing directions in midcourse with the use of a semicolon, much as would a tipsy and elated partygoer. At the same time, however, there is a feeling of excessive sinfulness and lack of substance through the sickening "yellow" and "prodigality" as well as sea-related diction of "tipped-out...sea-change...constantly changing." As a result we are made to recognize not only the attractions of this society, but also its superficiality and decadence.

I don't have the Capote example online, so make sure to get this from me when I see you in class. 

For homework, please read the essay by Ernie Pyle and write a paragraph on his use of detail.  What is the effect of the detail in the piece and how does it achieve his purpose in writing?

Ernie Pyle WWII Normandy essay

The Chase: Analyzing Diction

On Thursday, we read "The Chase" by Annie Dillard in order to observe and analyze a writer's use of diction.  I assigned one paragraph of this essay to each student, and he/she had about 10 minutes to practice analyzing the EFFECT of the diction and how it contributes to the tone and purpose of the essay.

Here is the link: Annie Dillard's "The Chase"

Class notes for Writing Task #1 and Bashing the 5 paragraph essay

Here are the class notes on what students remembered from class discussion on writing from Thursday
(Thank you for writing them down, Jodi!):

1. Content should dictate your form (organization).  Your topic and thesis and supporting claims should determine how you write your piece.

2. Although the 5 paragraph essay is useful for young writers and for on-demand writing, it has its drawbacks:

•         it can limit development and keep your writing superficial. (Think "training wheels"...eventually, once you have outgrown their usefulness, they can hold you back.)
•         paragraphs can become separate islands, when they should "hook" together as you build your argument.
•         Although a closed thesis is useful, an open thesis shows more sophistication and allows you to develop meaning as you write, leading the writer to unexpected insights.

3.  AUDIENCE:  write to a HUMAN audience, using those appeals to logos, ethos and PATHOS.  When you write, try to always write with emotion and human connection (balanced with the logos part).  This can be tricky with formal writing, where the use of 1st person is supposed to somewhat limited.  That being said, stay away from using "YOU" in your writing; remember the 2nd person can alienate your audience.

4. Be creative.  Use your imagination in your revising to craft sentences that will appeal to the reader, using effective and colorful diction, figurative language, and powerful syntax.  This will get easier as we practice this in class.

5. A good thesis always answers the question "How?" or "Why?"  With this particular essay, it is too obvious to state, "Rebecca Skloot uses logos, ethos, and pathos to achieve her purpose."  You MUST (this is the part that requires you to show me YOUR thinking) say something more explicit and specific about HOW she uses those appeals.  See my models.

 Your paragraphs and conclusion should answer the question "so what?"  Go beneath the surface!

6.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is NOT a novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (also use italics when you mention the book, no underlining or quotation marks!)

7.  HOOKS:  Use a quotation from another source, or the book itself, but wait until your body paragraphs to start getting into the nitty-gritty of your argument. 

8. Remember the FUNNEL for your opening paragraph.  This is where you draw on what you came up with for SOAPS...Start with the subject, the occasion and context, along with speaker intro and audience.  This should all lead to the statement of purpose.

9. On google docs, please try to use your real name so I can easily identify you.  If you can't change your screen name, then be sure to include your name at the front of the title of your piece.  (maybe my dropbox will help with this for final drafts?)

10. 10,000 hours!  Becoming a good writer will require a lot from you, but most of all TIME.  http://rapgenius.com/Macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-ten-thousand-hours-lyrics#note-1122617