WELCOME TO MS. CARVER’S AP LANG. AND COMPOSITION

CLASS 2015-2016

For all you “regular AP” folks: You will have to take the AP test at the end

of the year to receive college credit for my course. You can earn up to six hours just like the dual credit peeps.

We will spend lots of time getting you ready for this test. I’ll give a full-length practice test on March 10 to simulate the real setting of the test. We will also focus on the three major essay types on the test as well as the multiple choice portion.

Dual Credit Peeps-- You’ll be doing the same exact work at

the same time as everyone else. But there are some housekeeping things you may need to know…

Registration Cont’d If you need to drop a class, you will

need to fill out TWU’s ADD/DROP Form and have your high school teacher sign it and turn it into the Registrar’s office on/or before the deadlines.

If you are interested in information regarding payment plans, please visit the Bursar’s Website.

Registration Woes Pay for your class on time so you don’t get

dropped!

Pay attention to drop dates:

September 9 is the last day to drop and receive a refund.

October 1 is the last day to drop without academic penalty and no refund.

THINK AHEAD Registration opens for Spring

2015 on November 24. Don’t forget to enroll for the second half of my class or you’ll only get credit for one semester!!!

TWU ID Make sure you go to the second floor of

Jones Hall and get a TWU Student ID. While this is not mandatory for my class, it’s a good idea to take advantage of your tuition. You may use their fitness centers, swimming pools, Write Site, and library. The library will also allow you to check out a laptop if you have your ID on you. Download the TWU app on your Smartphone.

Evaluations As part of your course, you’ll need to

complete an online evaluation of the class each semester (not me, but the course itself). This will be sent to your TWU e-mail, so please check it regularly.

Class Work Some of what I’m having you do this

year will be sent to TWU and examined. Please keep in mind that other people will be seeing your work, so always do it to the best of your ability. Also, there are deadlines for when TWU wants this work, so due dates are not always flexible.

The future awaits… Please remember that the grade you

receive for my class will follow you through the rest of your academic career. Your college transcript will reflect the grade you receive from me. Make it count!

AP Test Format - Multiple Choice (45%)- 60 minutes to

answer 55 questions -10 minute break between Section 1 and

2 - Three Essays (55%)- 55 minutes for

synthesis essay, 40 minutes for analysis essay, and 40 minutes for a essay

The 3 Prompts will Be: Synthesis Essay Analysis Essay Argument Essay The description of each comes from Kevin McDonald

Synthesis Prompts These prompts place students in the role of rhetorician,

providing them with a controversy to discuss; however, students are expected to manage resources provided through the exam.

They clearly combine both analysis and argument as students are presented with an assertion and several texts (both print and non-print) that they must read and analyze in an attempt to evaluate assertions. Students will have to provide evidence for their evaluation based on the information they find in the sources, as well as information they may already possess. Students will have to reference some, but not all, of the sources for support within their writing.

Analysis Prompts These prompts place students in the

role of analyst, asking students to take a position on “why” an author wrote a text (his/her purpose– BIG question) and “how” do they know this (the rhetorical strategies used—LITTLE question). As analyst, students need to make the text “obvious” to a reader who does not understand it.

Analysis Types Direct address– Speech, letter, sermon, etc. Anything with a stated,

specific audience (though there may be additional audiences students should consider). The texts normally ask the reader/listener to “do” something.

Indirect address– This style of writing is often introspective and reflective. The piece is not lacking a target audience, but students will need to imagine the audience that is implied through the text. These texts normally ask the reader to “understand” the author’s perspective on a subject, or ask the reader to “believe” something.

Compare and Contrast– These prompts take the above concepts and then juxtapose pieces that either similar in style or content. These prompts may move into “evaluation” if the purpose of the texts is revealed in the prompt (for example, if students are told that the passages are marriage proposals, their purpose becomes rather evident; therefore, students may be asked to analyze how each proposal was made ANDwhich might be more effective).

Argument Prompts These prompts place students in the

role of rhetorician as well, asking students to take a position on an ethical or moral dilemma, expecting students to provide appropriate evidence to support his/her purpose.

Argument Prompts Create Your Own Argument– There are

different variations on this prompt, but essentially students are provided with a prompt that they re asked to use as a basis for creating their own argument. Close reading skills and strong comprehension are necessary, but rhetorical analysis of the excerpt in the essay is not. Instead, these function as a “springboard” into the student’s own thoughts on a given topic, which they must present in a persuasive fashion.

Argument Prompts Agree, disagree, qualify– Students will be presented with

a controversial position (sometimes a single-sentence quote, sometimes a short passage) with which students are asked to “agree, disagree, or qualify.” After students establish a position, they must provide tangible, concrete evidence to support their position. Through this, the students must show readers why they believe what they believe in relationship to the presented position.

Develop a position- Synthesis-like in nature, these prompts will give students the opinions of typically famous thinkers/philosophers on some debatable topic, then ask students to develop their own position on the topic.

IF IT’S A PIECE OF SATIRE, DON’T

TAKE IT SERIOUSLYLook for the underlying points

Ex. The OnionA Modest Proposal

Reading the background information given to you in the directions will always help you identify satire

Avoid immaturity in your writing, like:

-“shows” – go deeper -“positive” or “negative” -Writing, “In conclusion…” in your

conclusion -Restating the thesis exactly in both your

intro and conclusion

Use Effective Verbs –WRITE THESE DOWN(present tense focusing on what the author is doing)

Conveys, reveals, connotes, delineates, emphasizes, accomplishes, advocates, represents, presents, implements, enhances, contrasts, demonstrates, reflects, asserts, contributes, creates, permeates, flows, illustrates, alludes, displays, paints

Timed Writing Introduction: Get to the point immediately! Don’t worry about lead-ins. Answer

the question (or prompt) directly. (Instead of saying, “In this poem the speaker clearly shows his attitude toward love…” say, “The speaker shows a very cynical attitude toward love…”)

Material: Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your general answer. Do not quote long passages, but do make specific references to the text and include short quotations.

Organization: Although ideally you’d like to set up perfectly logical paragraphs and coherent analysis, time restraints may make this impossible. Try to plan your general structure ahead of time, but feel free to stray from the plan if it’s necessary to cover the material. Your reader will understand your time constraints. Essentially, the first paragraph will directly answer the question or prompt, the middle paragraphs will provide specific details to support that position, and the final paragraph will tie ideas together. {Tell me…show me…tie it together!}

Timed Writing Cont’d Transitions: Try to provide logical flow between paragraphs,

but do not be afraid to break the flow if you discover important ideas that need to be added. Here you can use conversational transitions to bring in addition material: “Let me back up for a minute to clarify a point made earlier…”

Tone: Tone tends to be more conversational, though you want to be as formal as reasonably possible. You are trying to show that you understand the question or prompt.

Title: Not needed. Don’t waste the time.

Timed Writing Cont’d Drafts: One draft is all you have time to do. Make your

writing as legible as is reasonable to expect in the limited time allotted. Do not use valuable time trying to recopy the essay. Be sure to use blue or black ink. Whiteout takes time and breaks the flow of ideas. Neatly cross out errors and keep writing. Readers will tolerate a few spelling or punctuation errors because of the time restraints. However, if errors are too frequent they will hurt the flow of the reader and give the impression that you have poor language skills. Be careful but not obsessive.

Source: J. McGinley/DeForest High School (Thanks to Gregory Galica’s The Blue Book.)

 

Remember… Your essays will be graded holistically 5 is considered passing. To receive an 8 or a 9, you must

demonstrate either control of language or a brilliant perspective/argument

General Rubric 9-8 Superior papers specific in their references, cogent in their

definitions, and free of plot summary that is not relevant to the question. These essays need not be without flaws, but they demonstrate the writer's ability to discuss a literary work with insight and understanding and to control a wide range of the elements of effective composition. At all times they stay focused on the prompt.

7-6 These papers are less thorough, less perceptive or less specific than 9-8 papers. These essays are well-written but with less maturity and control than the top papers. They demonstrate the writer's ability to analyze a literary work, but they reveal a more limited understanding than do the papers in the 9-8 range. Generally, 6 essays present a less sophisticated analysis and less consistent command of the elements of effective writing than essays scored 7.

Rubric Cont’d 5 Safe and “plastic,” superficiality characterizes these essays.

Discussion of meaning may be pedestrian, mechanical, or inadequately related to the chosen details. Typically, these essays reveal simplistic thinking and/or immature writing. They usually demonstrate inconsistent control over the elements of composition and are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as the upper-half papers. On the other hand, the writing is sufficient to convey the writer's ideas and stays focused on the prompt.

4-3 Discussion is likely to be unpersuasive, perfunctory, underdeveloped or misguided. The meaning they deduce may be inaccurate or insubstantial and not clearly related to the question. Part of the question may be omitted altogether. The writing may convey the writer's ideas, but it reveals weak control over such elements as diction, organization, syntax or grammar. Typically, these essays contain significant misinterpretations of the question or the work they discuss; they may also contain little, if any, supporting evidence, and practice paraphrase and plot summary at the expense of analysis.

Rubric Cont’d 2-1 These essays compound the

weakness of essays in the 4-3 range and are frequently unacceptably brief. They are poorly written on several counts, including many distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. Although the writer may have made some effort to answer the question, the views presented have little clarity or coherence.

Stamina Eat and sleep right the TWO days

before the test (including the day of the test, which is May 11)

You don’t want to burn out by the last section of the multiple choice or by the last essayThis could make a difference between a 3

and a 4 or a 2/3

What to bring Be in the gym by 7:30 AM on Friday the

11 of May You must bring : a blue or black pen, a

couple of sharpened #2 pencils, and a highlighter is optional.

DO NOT BRING CELL PHONES. Dictionaries and thesauri are not

allowed either.

QUESTIONS?Ask me in class, ask me during tutorial, or e-mail me:

kcarver@dentonisd.org