Comment Codes

When looking at your papers, the following numbers represent the following remarks:

Comment Codes

When looking at your papers, the following numbers represent the following remarks:
1. need to work on your spelling
2. need to work on your punctuation
3. need to work on your subject/verb agreement
4. need to work on your verb tense
5. need to work on your comma placement
6. need to work on some general grammar such as ____________
7. need to work on vague thesis
8. need to work on narrow thesis
9. no thesis present
10. need to work on paragraph structure
11. no logic in order of your paragraphs
12. need to work on logic of your argument
13. no argument present
14. unclear audience
15. unclear speaker
16. inconsistent person
17. no answer to the question presented
18. partial answer to the question presented
19. no details present
20. work on your descriptive details
21. need to vary the adjectives used
22. need to vary sentence structure
23. need to work on your introduction
24. no introduction present
25. need to work on your conclusion
26. no conclusion present
27. no direction for this paper
28. font not times new roman
29. strong use of adjectives
30. strong use of detail/description
31. strong conclusion
32. strong introduction
33. strong body paragraphs
34. good use of logic
35. good audience appeal
36. great sense of credibility for your speaker

Agenda for the week of 9/29/08

Here's what we're doing this week (I do apologize for not posting the homework for the weekend...)

• Monday: PLATO Lab
• Tuesday: 1)Vocab Quiz (make sure you know definitions, synonyms, and antonyms. I told you this...hope you remember) 2)"Desiree's Baby" reading quiz 3) Homework: Scarlet Letter chapters 10-13 and your dialectic journal.
• Wednesday: Thomas Jefferson Timed Writing...This is an AP Style Prompt. Use your time in class wisely. You cannot take the essay home. :-) 2) Homework: SL chapters 14-15 and the d.j.
• Thursday: Structure of Sentences/Parts of Speech Review 2) Homework: "Jabberocky" activity and the structure of sentences handout.
• Friday: Romanticism mini-lecture...Narrative Essay assignment: Imitate the writing style of Nathaniel Hawthorn. 2) Homework: Draft 1 of essay and chapter 16 of SL

Homework 9-23-08

Here is your homework assignment for tonight. It will be due in class on Thursday, 9-25-08

• Please read and create a dialectical journal (20 entries) for "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin. Simply do a Google search for the e-text. Please post the link to the e-text on your blog by Thursday, at 8:20am.
• Read chapters 4-6 of The Scarlet Letter. Create a dialectical journal (20 entries) for this text. You DO NOT have to write a response essay
• As you do the journals, consider notions of what it means to be a True Woman, blackness, "the other" and Social Darwinism, as it applies to these texts. Consider how religion might play a role in perpetuating notions of Social Darwinism and a patriarchal society. Deep, I know (but we talked about these things).
• YOU HAVE A VOCAB QUIZ ON THE 25 WORDS FROM THE SCARLET LETTER ON FRIDAY!!!!! STUDY STUDY STUDY. ALSO, BE PREPARED FOR A READING CHECK QUIZ THAT INCLUDES QUESTIONS ON THE RHETORIC OF THE SCARLET LETTER
• Bring 50 Essays to class on Thursday. We will do paired reading of "The Declaration of Independence".

CLASS THIS WEEK

PLEASE BRING 50 ESSAYS BOOKS TO CLASS ALL THIS WEEK.

Tomorrow we will cover:

• Ann Bradstreet: "To My Dear and Loving Husband"--a quick discussion
• Rhetorical Review (11th period)
• Hawthorn/1800s lecture
• Thomas Jefferson and "The Declaration of Independence" (50 Essays)
• H.W: The Scarlet Letter: chapters to be announced in class tomorrow

Homework 9-18-08

Here is your homework for 9-18-08:

1. Finish reading "The Custom House"
2. Keep a dialectical journal for everything you read. You should have at minimum 20 entries; after, "The Custom House" is 44pgs long. I will check these during class.
3. Answer the three study guide questions I gave you. These responses should be mini-essays; that is, they should be thorough, directly address the question and provide an aswer the illustrates your knowledge of the text.

*Study guide sites are helpful, if you need them. HOWEVER, they will not help you analyze elements of rhetorical. They serve only as a tool for summarizing. :-)

*STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN MONDAY AT 8:20am

Dialectical Journal (Double Entry Journal)

Here is the Link for instructions and examples on the Dialectical Journal (DEJ). Use this wisely. This is how we will 'annotate' The Scarlet Letter
http://bla.stisd.net/MH_dialectical_journal.pdf

online text

Hello all,

For wonderful writing 'workouts', please visit the link below. Copiers are down and, for the moment, I am not able to make copies for you. These are extremely useful for developing your own writing, as well as for understanding the rhetorical modes you will encounter throughout this course and on the AP exam...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/0071411100/ref=si3_rdr_docs_sum

This information comes from 5 Steps to a 5: AP English Language

Today's (9-15-08) class

Hi all,

It turns out that I have a sinus and chest infection, so I won't be there today. I WILL be at work tomorrow, coughs and all :-). Here's the in class assignment for today. This is what your sub received:

• Have students take a Scarlet Letter book. They are located in a crate on the overhead cart (sitting in front of the room. There are two sets of books there: The Sun Also Rises (those are yellow) and The Scarlet Letter.
• Working in pairs (only) Tell them they have the class period to read and annotate (on paper) the first 10 pages(approximately 5 minutes per page) of the "Custom House" introduction of the Scarlet letter. They must be able to identify speaker, audience, and purpose. They must also establish the author's use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
• They must turn in what they've finished. No exceptions. They must be ready for a reading check quiz tomorrow.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT "THE CUSTOM HOUSE" PORTION IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE TEXT TO READ. IT IS THE ONLY REASON WHY I'VE ALLOWED YOU TO WORK IN PAIRS ON THIS (ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I'M NOT THERE). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. YOU CAN'T TAKE THE BOOKS HOME (TODAY) AND SPARKNOTES WON'T SAVE YOU FROM MY READING CHECK QUIZZES. :-)

One quick announcement

Hello all,

• We are now entering the more challenging phase of our class. I now know what outstanding, capable writers you are; therefore, beginning with your Ann Bradstreet posts, I will grade you on both completion (on time, two full pages) and content. In other words, how well are you creating an argument (thesis/theme)? Keep in mind that everything you read will present more than one argument, more than one point or purpose for writing. Your job is to discover what that is, in the same way you would a short story (for example) and prove it. Don't just give me block quotes and explain them. That's a fantastic start, but not enough. Go back to the quote again, think about the diction and the details (for example), or how the writer achieves his/her/its purpose. Don't worry, we will incorporate more exercises into our bell ringers for practice.
• You will also do several things independently. You will receive your first multi-draft paper assignment this week (will focus on the narrative essay...think fiction writing with a rhetorical twist). Keep in mind that you will not receive the 'big' grade until your final draft. You will also begin reading The Scarlet Letter independently. Be ready for unannounced reading check quizzes along with your nightly response entries. Also be ready to officially engage with your fellow classmates.
• In class, we will cover parts of The Scarlet Letter, peer editing of your narrative essays, non-fiction readings that will move us for the age of Puritanism (which we are in) to the 1800s: Romanticism and Transcendentalism. The Scarlet Letter will help guide our journey through these periods, as it was written in 1850, but takes place in the late 17th century. We will also visit the PLATO lab, which will help guide our AP/PSAE prep.

I know this sounds overwhelming. However, please keep in mind that I am giving you an overview of the next six weeks. We have time and we have each other for support and help. Please continue to ask questions here, in class, and during CP. :-)

Homework 9-12-08

Hello All,

Here is tonight's homework assignment (by the way, I apologize for my lack of communication last night):

1. Read and annotate Anne Bradstreet's poems (you'll receive the handout in class. Otherwise, visit the links below).
2. Write your 2 page literature response. Yes, the poems are short; however, the are full of rhetorical wonders that are dying to be uncovered!
3. Locate a biography of Anne Bradstreet. Summarize what you found and create a link to that page. Please use proper MLA citations!!! Be ready to discuss your ideas in class and activate all the knowledge that you have from "Sinners" and those AP History classes! :-)
4. If you have not done so already (and this is the official time to do it...no, I didn't forget:-)) Please post a visual representation of Cabeza de Vaca's experience. Do this in the same manner as the Christopher Columbus.

All work must be posted to your blog by MONDAY, 9/15/08 AT 8:20am. NO EXCEPTIONS

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradhyp.htm

http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/208.html

Welcome to AP Language and Composition

Hello all! Welcome to your AP Language and Composition blog site. This is where you will be able to interact with all of TW's AP Language and Composition students, get missing homework assignments and handouts, find help on writing assignments, elements of the rhetorical triangle, and grammar, and recieve feedback on all writing assignments. Never hesistate to ask questions of me, or ask and discuss with your fellow t-birds!

I'm excited about this open forum, technological endeavor! Enjoy :-)