THURSDAY: Research deadlines have shifted

Research check points

5 complete notecards made by each one of you:  due Monday.

Your thesis and outline are due on a shared doc by next Thursday.

Tips for writing a strong thesis http://goo.gl/eCbNk9

Template for sharing your thesis/outline: http://goo.gl/Qy3DtH

Rhetorical Analysis Feedback goes here.

ANALYZE from beginning to end--your understanding of the effect of organization is fundamental and can be a really helpful way to organize your writing, and will ensure that you are thorough in your analysis. 

Remember beginnning with the THEY SAY I SAY is a very popular strategy in argument---don't confuse the two.

"He uses syntax and diction to achieve his purpose/message"--STATE IT EXPLICITLY/PRECISELY!!!!!!

2007 RA sample papers: http://goo.gl/T3TLsP

Tuesday: A Debrief

Class Agenda

1. Vocabulary Test on Lesson 13

2. What were the most difficult counterarguments you had to address yesterday?

                    Why the word matters: http://goo.gl/rCyQ0P

                        Franz Kafka has part of the rebuttal: http://goo.gl/x4L3yf

3. RESEARCH PAPER:  Checking in.  Are you ready to form a thesis?  What categories do you see emerging?  Where do you need to do more research?

Tomorrow, you should be ready to submit your first draft of your thesis, with a rough outline, highlighting the main sections of your paper and who will be responsible for what.

Monday: Socratic Seminar Groups on Huck Finn

Learning Target:  to use a civilized and academic discussion to gain insight on a text/controversial issue.

1. Submit this form in the first 5 minutes: http://goo.gl/v5tDB7

2. Get into groups based on your numbers.

3. You have 20 minutes to share your thoughts on this topic.  Please use your notes and the materials and the novel to present your point of view to your group members.  Give everyone equal time, but be sure to keep the conversation dynamic and focused.  (Once you start a lively discussion, you shouldn't need to worry about time, but try to bring any members into the discussion that don't seem to be talking.)

4. (10-15 minutes) Then, staying where you are, fill out this form individually: http://goo.gl/bJcuOv  Make sure you MAKE A COPY and PUT IT IN YOUR ENGLISH FOLDER--as long as the folder is shared with me!  (otherwise, you will need to share it with me directly.)

5. (last 10 minutes) Share strong persuasive arguments from today's class.

Thursday & Friday: Synthesis and Multiple Choice

Synthesis:  Advertising (15 min)

AP feedback on this question: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap07_eng_lang_q_a.pdf

My feedback en masse:

• Qualify, don't equivocate!  Your point of view needs insight and most of all, conviction!  Be brave and take a stand.
• Don't take absolute positions--concede thoughtfully.
• Don't let the sources take over--use them and connect them to your prior knowledge so you are in a kind of conversation with them.  Be an "agent of your own mind and world views."
• Watch your use of transitions, so that you logically move from counterargument to rebuttal, concession to rebuttal, etc.
• Synthesize!  Pull the sources together that belong together--you don't have to isolate one source per paragraph.  Embed that information into your own argument/sentences.
• Don't be afraid to question a source for credibility and logic!

Here is the link to the sample set of papers: http://goo.gl/gVPcLs

Here is the link to the Odell chart I would like you to use for the Twain Socratic Seminar on Monday: http://goo.gl/QpUuFf  The top claim should be your POV with the most compelling evidence in support of it and the bottom is the opposition with the most compelling and also potentially flawed evidence.

After reviewing your synthesis essay and the samples, make a copy of this google doc and reflect: http://goo.gl/rktUkU 

We will use the remaining time to practice multiple choice. 

Making Notecards for your Cause and Effect essay

Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to your research project.  When you log on at the start of class, you should have three tabs open on your computer:

1. The http://www.vhslibrary.com/ site----go to the Napa County Library site and click on databases. (Infotrac Newstand and Opposing Viewpoints)

2. Noodletools.com---log on  (have you entered your Research question yet on your dashboard?)

3. Your email so you can access the sources you send to yourself.


KEEP IN MIND, you cannot conduct a search on these databases the way you search on google!  Remember to use AND/OR/NOT like the librarian showed us and then narrow your search, using the column on the left hand side.

WHEN YOU HAVE FOUND A SOURCE:

1. email it to yourself and your partners
2. make a CITATION (that's the bibliography button on noodle tools)
3. make a NOTECARD (or two or three, depending on your source) linked to that citation
4. HIT "SAVE" when you have finished the notecard!

By Monday, I would like to see that each of you ( INDIVIDUALLY at this point) have collected at least 5 notecards in your noodle tools account.  Don't worry too much yet about a specific category of research, just find out as much as you can about your topic---next week you can meet and discuss what you have learned with your group and then splinter off more specifically.

Synthesis prompt for Huck Finn: PREP FOR NEXT MONDAY the 28th!!!

Here is the prompt for the Socratic Seminar a week from today on Huckleberry Finn: http://goo.gl/WA46zq

This week:  after you have finished reading the novel, read the prompt and the attached articles carefully (you might want to print it out for easy annotation--let me know if you will need a copy).

On Monday, we will expect you to come to class with

a. a position on the topic, written out ahead of time
b. arguments/evidence from the strongest sources, clearly cited so you can reference them easily in discussion
c. arguments from sources that you plan to QUESTION or REFUTE during the discussion

We will talk more about this on Thursday or Friday, depending on the test schedule day I see you.

Monday's class: a brief return to Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis

Today I will pass back your Great Gatsby essays and you will have time to review my feedback and ask me questions about it.

Next, we will practice reading a RA prompt from 1996, Lady Montagu's letter to her daughter, a notoriously difficult prompt.

The main point here is that "the magic" needs to happen early on in that 40 minutes that you have to write this essay.  You need to be able to use your critical reading skills to clearly understand the writer's position and purpose and 2-3 devices used most effectively to accomplish that purpose.  If you misread or miss something vital at this point, it will be very difficult to do well on this task.

ANNOTATIONS are ESSENTIAL.  Read with your pen/pencil in hand and mark critically!

TODAY you have ten minutes to:

Read the introduction to the letter.  What information does it give us about the speaker and occasion/exigence that might be important?

In one sentence, try to rewrite the writer's position in your own words at the bottom of the page and make a list of 3 devices you marked in the piece that you might use to talk about this passage.