AP English Literature and Composition (Period 2) Assignments
- Instructors
- Term
- 2017 - 2018 School Year
- Department
- English
- Description
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Upcoming Assignments
No upcoming assignments.
Past Assignments
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Final Exam:
We will be viewing a film based upon a classic piece of literature and then you will do a "literary" analysis in writing.
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MISSING ASSIGNMENTS
Once more, this: If you have an NA OR a ZERO in any grade slot, you may still submit the assignment for some points. And some points may make a difference. If you do take up this challenge, drop me an email and let me know to look for it.
P.S. You have until the end of May.
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Make certain to have read Daisy Miller; you will be responding to an Open prompt re this novella.
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NOTICE TO ALL/HOME-STRETCH STUDY SCHEDULE:
MAKE CERTAIN TO OBTAIN THE "AP DOWN-THE-STRETCH STUDY CALENDAR*."
*SEE LINK BELOW AND/OR OBTAIN HARD COPY
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Complete Daisy Miller by Henry James
See link to a PDF copy of the novella below.
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NOTE: Make-Up Work
1) Anyone with a 0 or N/A in Aries will have that 0 on the next Progress Report if the work is not submitted before that reporting period ends. After that final Progress Report, points will not be recoverable. Generally speaking, some points are better than none.
2) For anyone who missed the the essay on "55 Miles to the Gas Pump" done in class on 3/15, or the in-class Hamlet soliloquy essay on Wednesday, 3/21, or the Open prompt essay at the completion of Hamlet done in class on 3/29*, the prompts are in the library and the work can be done and submitted to Turnitin there.
*In this assignment, you will select a prompt from amongst several options-keep in mind that regardless of it being an "Open" prompt and calling for any novel or novella of your choice, your response is to be to the play Hamlet.
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NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE
Free-Response Open Essay re Hamlet
Be sufficiently versed on this play such that you can write an essay in response to a Free-Response Open prompt (what they call "Question 3"). That means that this is a work that you will have chosen to master in anticipation of the Open Essay, i.e., a generic prompt that could be applicable to any piece of classic literature (novel, play, lyric poem).
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Complete Hamlet, i.e., read Act V.
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Read and Annotate Hamlet/Act IV
Note: In class, you will be writing an AP Free-Response Essay in response to the following prompt:
Using Hamlet's soliloquy from Act IV, scene iv, lines 32-66 ("How all occasions do inform against me.......My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth.") as your text, explain how it encompasses the larger themes in Hamlet and the universal truths that the play explores. (In that you have not completed reading the play, your response will be in terms of what you have learned through Act IV and what you reasonably believe are themes and truths that will prevail to the end.)
Note: This essay will be submitted to Turnitin; originality will be critical to assessing the merit of your work product.
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Notice re Reading Assignment
Please take note that a reading assignment due for 4/13 has been posted, with a link to the text.
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FINAL NOTICE: IF YOU DO MAKE-UP WORK AND HOPE TO RAISE YOUR GRADE ABOVE THE 0 THAT IS IN AERIES, YOU MUST, MUST EMAIL ME LETTING ME KNOW WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU HAVE SUBMITTED LATE. I WILL NOT BE HUNTING DOWN YOUR WORK TO SEE IF YOUR 0 SHOULD BE REPLACED WITH ANOTHER GRADE.
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Read and Annotate Hamlet/Act III; Submit to Turnitin a profound (or at least very, very interesting) question re that Act that would be worthy of class discussion (which you should be prepared to lead).
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Print out and Bring to Class a hard copy of your Peer-Editing submission to Turnitin.
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NOTICE: EXCEPT FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME RE MISSING ASSIGNMENTS, ALL OTHER NAs IN AERIES HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO 0s. IF YOU INTEND TO MAKE UP THE WORK, YOU MUST SEND ME AN EMAIL LISTING EVERY ASSIGNMENT THAT IS MISSING SO THAT A MAKE-UP CAN BE ARRANGED.
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Read, Annotate and Submit Thought Piece re Hamlet through Act II (Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5, and all of Act II)
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MANDATORY MAKE-UPS:
Everyone who was not in class on Tuesday, 2/20, to do the timed essay, MUST make it up before the start of class on Thursday, 2/22. The materials for the essay will be in the library-there is a booklet to be used in order to do the essay by hand as well as the prompt. On the booklet you are to use your Student ID (NOT YOUR NAME). For the "Literary Work Being Addressed," you are to cite the name of the poem. You have 40 minutes to complete the essay. When done, submit it to the librarian.
With respect to other works listed as "NA" in Aeries, failure to complete and submit those assignments will result in a 0 for the next Progress Report.
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Read and Annotate Hamlet through Act I, Scenes 1-3
-Submit Thought Piece to Turnitin
*Remember to submit your Thought Piece to Turnitin by the start of class.
Note: The specific instructions re the Thought Pieces can be found posted on the Homework Page for the date of 2/14. THE SUBMISSION SHOULD BE AS LONG AS IS NECESSARY TO SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED. AND IT SHOULD BE IN PARAGRAPH FORMAT (NOT BULLET POINTS OR OUTLINE).
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HAMLET
READ ENTIRE POST
NO WORK IS DUE TODAY
MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU CHECK OUT A VERSION OF THE PLAY HAMLET FROM THE LIBRARY AND BRING YOUR COPY WITH YOU TO CLASS ON THIS DATE.
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE READ ANY OF IT!! (Yet.)
NOTE ABOUT SOME ASPECTS OF OUR WORK WITH THIS PLAY:
I. Re Annotating:
I need to be able to review your annotations. If you have your own copy of the play, you may, of course, make your annotations in the text. If you are using a library book, you may make annotations in the text if you use a pencil and are prepared to erase your markings when we are done working with the play. In either case, you may make your annotations on a separate word document and submit a hard copy.
It is insufficient to merely highlight (or underline in pencil if you are using a library book) dialogue or passages (although you can certainly do that if it helps you to quickly identify key moments in the play); you must make notes by any means that works for you re literary elements or techniques (as well as difficult language or plot developments) that warrant particular attention. This doesn't mean that you are required to constantly interrupt your reading to make annotations, but you do need to show that you are doing "close" reading.
You are invited to revisit the postings on the Homework Page (as well as handouts) re Annotating and Close Reading (as well as the Reader-Response Log and Guided-Discussion Worksheet) for annotation suggestions.
II. Re Thought Pieces:
"Thought Pieces" are short writings of a page or two that help to clarify thoughts prior to discussion. These efforts will be assessed based upon the degree to which they meet a standard of scholarly workmanship (really, just serious thinking). There are multiple starting points for a thought piece. You might begin by taking some theme or event in the work--or even a word or a line--and using it as a jumping off point to write about subjects or sticking points that it raises. No thesis or big conclusion is expected or even desirable. Just think through some interesting issues.
- You must write your Thought Piece on text that we have not yet discussed in class. That's the idea: You are doing the thinking before we do the discussing. (You may reference past reading/discussion, but the primary focus is on what we have not yet covered.)
- You will submit your Thought Piece to Turnitin prior to the class for which it is assigned.
- You will be the leader of the class discussion involving your Thought Piece.
So, this: While reading (and annotating), you will discover something that is worth "thinking about." You will then WRITE about it, submit that effort to Turnitin, and, ultimately, be prepared to lead a brief (but literary-wise sophisticated) class discussion.
III. Re Character Adoption:
Once we get started and have entered a bit into the play, you will be "adopting" one of the characters as your own. From that point forward, you will be responsible for speaking for the character you have chosen. As we work through the acts, if your character is involved in a scene being covered that day, you will be expected to inform the class re your character's significance in that scene. You are certainly free to use notes that you have prepared for yourself. Remember, you will be speaking about your character from that character's perspective/point of view. (It is quite likely that a different student (character) in that scene will be viewing things differently.)
NOTE: Being out of the scene, or even dead, does not let you off the hook. You may be called upon to share with the class your best guess as to where your character might be and what he/she might be thinking. (If you're dead, your exact location is, well, less important than your omniscient point of view.)
Therefore, this: Just dig in and own this play. Not a lot of heavy lifting is required so long as you get in the spirit of "...the thing*."
*Clue: The thing is more specifically identified at the very end of Act II, Scene 2.
We will discuss all of this in detail in class.
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NOTE:
MAKE-UP OPEN-ENDED PROMPTS WILL BE IN THE LIBRARY; YOU ARE TO COMPOSE YOUR ESSAYS IN THE LIBRARY.
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NOTE: MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENT
STUDENTS WHO MISSED THE TIMED-WRITING ESSAY ON 1/29 NEED TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO COMPLETE THAT ASSIGNMENT
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NOT AN ASSIGNMENT
WORKSHEET FOR POETRY ANALYSIS
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Read and Annotate* Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
VIEW ENTIRE POST
*Keep a journal of quotations or quoted text that will help you provide evidence for a response to the following question: “Is Ethan’s story a personal tragedy born of his indecision and personal failures, a social tragedy forecast by the oppressive New England setting, or both?” You will need to do a bit of research re "regionalism." It will also be necessary for you to determine a working definition for both "personal tragedy" and "social tragedy." Your journal should have 2 separate categories; to wit: Quotes/Quoted Text Supporting Personal Tragedy, Quotes/Quoted Text Supporting Social Tragedy. Note the full statements regarding each of those types of "tragedy" ("born of...," "forecast by...") in order to ensure that your selected quotes/quoted text are appropriate.
SUBMIT YOUR FINISHED PRODUCT BY THIS DATE TO TURNITIN.
NOTE: If you do not choose to purchase a copy of the novella or obtain one from a library, the full text is attached below.
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BRING TO CLASS YOUR COPY OF THE ESSAY "HOW DOES A POEM MEAN?" (This was distributed early in the year.)
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FINAL EXAM/FALL SEMESTER
The Final Exam will be a test based upon the content of the following documents (handouts):
1) AP Literature and Composition Literary Terms/Academic Language
2) Chapters 6 and 9 re Poetry Essay Writing
3) Chapters 5 and 8 re Prose Essay Writing*
4) Chapter 4: The Multiple Choice Questions*
5) AP Lit Notes/Potpourri**
*These handouts will be provided during the week of 11/27
**See link to document on Home Page
Note: There will be some review of these materials during class, but not enough to obviate the need for you to really peruse them.
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MAKE-UP WORK DUE BY START OF CLASS THIS DATE. (LOOK FOR ZEROS IN AERIES TO DETERMINE MISSING ASSIGNMENTS.)
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Read and Annotate Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street (Herman Melville)*.
READ ENTIRE POST.
*See link below for PDF version of the text.
Note: Your annotations (which are to be done on a separate document and submitted to Turnitin) need to reflect one supporting portion of the text as evidence of each of the following "prompts":
1-The intended purpose of the opening paragraph (What you learn. How the paragraph employs lawyerly language.)
2-The "character" of Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut
3-A foreshadowing of Bartleby's end
4-The first indication of Bartleby's "passive resistance" impacting the lawyer-narrator and how his "preferences" become part of the culture of the law office
5-A point at which the lawyer-narrator's responses to Bartleby (internal as well as external), and philosophy that "the easiest way of life is the best," change throughout the story
6-A point of humor in the story that work as either commentary or characterization
7-A suggestion that working in The Dead Letter Office impacted Bartleby's attitude toward life
8-The truth of who Bartleby is
Your annotations should include the numeral identifying the above-listed item that is being addressed, the full text you are offering and the page on which it is located. (Note: Make certain that your selected passages are responsive to the call of the "prompt.")
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BRING TO CLASS ALL MATERIALS LISTED AS THE SUBJECT OF THE FINAL EXAM (SEE ASSIGNMENT FOR 12/21)
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TIMED-WRITE REFLECTION/READ ENTIRE POST
By today's date, submit to Turintin your Timed-Write Reflection re the comments on your selected essay, Babylon Revisited"/"The Dead" or Frankenstein/Tragic Hero-Turnitin due date: 10/30). The template for the Reflection can be found attached to the 11/15 Assignment on the Homework Page.
SUBMIT THIS TO THE TURNITIN SLOT THAT SAYS "REFLECTION" IN THE TITLE, NOT THE ONE THAT SAYS 12/8 IN THE TITLE
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Essay/Make-Up-11/30 Absentees
READ ENTIRE POST
The essay assigned in class on 11/30 must be written and submitted to Turnitn by the time class starts on 12/6. The prompts will be in the library. You must return your prompt sheet, with pre-writing notes (which are mandatory), to the librarian. You will have 45 minutes to complete and submit your essay. There will be no other opportunities to do this assignment.
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Make-up Assignment/Absentees-11/28
For those absent on Tuesday, 11/28:
You are to retrieve the worksheet that will be made available in class on 11/30 and complete it with respect to I and II (re the poems of Tennyson and Marvell). In addition, you are to submit to Turnitin a narrative response to the following question for each of the two sections:
What is this poem about?
Superficiality will be met with disdain.
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READ ENTIRE POST.
NOTICE: ALTHOUGH YOU WERE TO HAVE READ AND ANNOTATED THE METAMORPHOSIS BY 11/17, BE AWARE THAT YOU DEFINITELY, POSITIVELY NEED TO HAVE MASTERED THE NOVELLA BY THIS DATE. Make certain that your annotations include one section of text that is relevant to each of the following "prompts"*:
1-The point, after the novella's opening ("When Gregor Samsa awoke in his bed one morning from unquiet dreams, he found himself transformed into an enormous insect") at which you found yourself realizing the serious intent of the story
2-A point at which Gregor's family treats him the same as before his metamorphosis and a point at which they treat him differently
3-A detail of Gregor's working life that could be considered contributory to his metamorphosis (think in terms of alienation and isolation)
4-A point at which 2 character's reaction to Gregor's metamorphosis help flesh out their individual character (one point for each of 2 characters)
5-A point at which you find that humor is employed by Kafka to further themes that he is developing
6-A point at which 2 characters other than Gregor undergo transformation (one point for each of 2 characters)
7-A point of noteworthy "poignancy" (the quality of evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret)
*YOUR RESPONSE TO EACH OF THESE 7 "PROMPTS" SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO TURNITIN (the remainder of your annotation work may be done on the text). Note: You may use the numeral preceding each "prompt" for the purpose of identifying it on your submission to Turnitin.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO EASILY DO THIS SPECIFIC ANNOTATING BETWEEN YOUR RETURN TO SCHOOL AND THIS DATE.
NOTE: BRING YOUR ANNOTATED TEXT TO CLASS.
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Read and Annotate The Metamorphosis*
*Copies of the text will be distributed in class on 11/3.
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Vocabulary Exam
Know, and be able to use properly, the words listed in sections III, VIII, XI, and XIV on the Vocabulary Handout you have been provided. Note: While the definitions offered on that document are valid, it will behoove you to make certain that you have a sense as to how those words are actually used. (So, if it's a close call, explore examples of usage.)
Know, and be able to use properly, the words listed in sections III, VIII, XI, and XIV on the Vocabulary Handout you have been provided. Note: While the definitions offered on that document are valid, it will behoove you to make certain that you have a sense as to how those words are actually used. (So, if it's a close call, explore examples of usage.)
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NOTE: Attached is a link to a document that will be submitted to Turnitin reflecting your take-away re comments made on designated papers. You will be notified as to which compositions this document will apply.
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NOTE RE PROGRESS REPORTS:
EVERY NA DESIGNATION IN AERIES GRADEBOOK WILL BE CONVERTED TO A 0 UNLESS YOU SUBMIT THE ASSIGNMENT OR EXPLAIN ITS ABSENCE*. YOU MUST SEND AN EMAIL INFORMING ME OF YOUR LATE SUBMISSION SO THAT I WILL KNOW TO LOOK FOR IT. IF YOU NEED TO MAKE UP AN EXAM, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME.
*FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT SUBMIT A SELECTED PAPER BETWEEN THE "BABYLON REVISITED"/"THE DEAD" AND "FRANKENSTEIN-TRAGIC HERO" COMPOSITIONS, THERE WILL BE A 0 EVEN IF YOU DID ONE OR BOTH OF THOSE PAPERS-YOU WERE TO SELECT ONE FOR GRADING AND SUBMIT IT TO TURNITIN.
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NOTE CHANGED DATE/TEST-READ ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT
Test will be on content of the handout "Literary Elements: Commentary and Examples."
NOTE: Page 240 was missing in the section addressing Point of View in the Handout; you were given copies of that page.
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Essay Selection for Grading
Select either the "Babylon Revisited"/"The Dead" or Frankenstein: Tragic Hero composition, which you may modify if you wish, for grading and submit it to the new portal on Turnitin.
Note: I will be "perusing" your initial submissions.
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READ: CLARIFICATION/FENCES PRESENTATION*
While the Guided-Discussion Worksheet served to help focus on the literary elements employed by the playwright to serve his intentions, this assignment is primarily one concerning literary analysis (including effective utilization of literary devices). When making your presentation (which should take as long as necessary to cover the subject, but not exceed 12 minutes), attend to the following:
1-Respond to every element of your assigned prompt;
2-Insure that each group member contributes to the response, (and that there is no repetition);
3-Ensure that the your discussion includes evidence from the text to support your analysis; and
4-Be prepared to take questions re both your analysis and the writing itself.
*NOTE: SEE THE ATTACHED RUBRIC. MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOUR GROUP IS PREPARED TO MAKE A SMOOTH PRESENTATION, SATISFYING THE CRITERIA.
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Read and Annotate
-"Fences" (Wilson)*
*Copies of the play will be distributed in class on 10/11.
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NOTE RE GUIDED-DISCUSSION WORKSHEET: YOU MAY LINK TO A WORKING TEMPLATE ON THE HOME PAGE. THIS IS THE DOCUMENT THAT EACH GROUP WILL SUBMIT (ONE PER GROUP). FURTHER EXPLANATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN CLASS.
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MAKE-UP WORK/ADVISORY*
NOTE: There have now been two reporting periods. Some of you have been carrying, for quite a while, designations of "N/A" in Aeries as a placeholder for work that has not been submitted. These "N/A" designations will be replaced by a "0" if they still exist at the time of the next progress report. It is unquestionably better for you to earn some points for these assignments rather than take that zero.
*It is your responsibility to review Aeries to determine whether work is missing AND to notify me via email if you have submitted make-up work.
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NOT AN ASSIGNMENT-A CLARIFICATION re A) THIRD PERSON LIMITED AND B) UNRELIABLE NARRATORS
A. THIRD PERSON LIMITED/"THE DEAD": THE NARRATOR IS TELLING THE STORY THROUGH THE EYES AND MIND OF GABRIEL. SO, YES, THERE IS A NARRATOR, AND THAT NARRATOR IS SOMEONE OTHER THAN GABRIEL, BUT THE "POINT OF VIEW" (THE PERSPECTIVE THROUGH WHICH THE STORY IS FILTERED) IS THE WORLD AS GABRIEL EXPERIENCES IT, OBSERVATIONALLY AND MENTALLY. Note: The same "point of view" mostly characterizes "Babylon Revisited" as well. Note further: There may be occasional passages in such third person "point of view" stories that present information through the eyes/mind of a character other than the "main" one utilized by the narrator. The author, at that point, has decided to provide another perspective. Oh well.
B. UNRELIABLE NARRATOR: THIS IS A NARRATOR WHOSE CREDIBILITY IS, OR MAY BE, COMPROMISED. YOU AS THE READER WILL ASSESS CLUES THAT BEAR UPON THE RELIABILITY OF THIS NARRATIVE ACCOUNT. MOST OFTEN, THIS ISSUE ARRISES IN CONNECTION WITH A FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW. IN "BABYLON REVISITED," THE "RELIABILITY" QUESTION IS ATTACHED TO CHARLIE, THE VESSEL OF THE THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW. IT IS NOT QUITE THAT THE NARRATOR IS UNRELIABLE; RATHER, IT IS THAT THE NARRATOR, REVEALING CHARLIE'S PERSPECTIVE, IS DEPENDENT ON CHARLIE'S CREDIBILITY-WHICH IS OPEN TO QUESTION.
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Read/Annotate/Reader-Response Log*
-"Babylon Revisited" (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
-"The Dead" (James Joyce)
*The Reader-Response Log should address both "Babylon Revisited" and "The Dead" and be submitted to Turnitin. (Use the first 8 categories for "Babylon Revisited" and the remaining 4 categories (plus 3) for "The Dead," thus employing 15 distinct categories between the two pieces.)
Note: Copies of the two short stories will be distributed in class on 9/27.
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ESSAY-TRAGIC HERO/FRANKENSTEIN
For those of you who were not in class today (or those of you who were in class today but did not complete your composition), your essay in response to the Tragic Hero prompt should be submitted to Turnitin by no later than 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (10/6).
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BRING YOUR COPY OF FRANKENSTEIN TO CLASS
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MAKE-UP WORK/MISSED HANDOUTS
For those who are (were) out for part or all of the week of 9/25, you will need to create a final draft of the Compare and Contrast Essay re the poems "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Old Soldier," submit it to Turnitin, bring a hard copy to class, obtain the Peer-Editing worksheet, peer-edit someone else's essay (which will be provided), and submit your editing work in class. Make arrangements re this assignment upon your return.
Also, this: Copies of two short stores, "The Dead" and "Babylon Revisited," were distributed on 9/27. Make certain to collect a copy of each.
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ATTENTION-PERIOD 2: There has been a slight mess-up with Turniitn. You only need to know this: For right now, submit your work to the category labeled SECTION 1 (which is directly below "Period 2").
And this:
If your regular login details don't allow you to submit your work, use the following:
Class ID#: 15721923.
Enrollment Key: 1234.
Yell loud if there are any problems.
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BRING HARD COPY OF FINAL DRAFT POETRY ESSAY TO CLASS
("Dulce et Decorum Est"/"Old Soldier")
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INFORMATION-NOT AN ASSIGNMENT
The purpose of the Reader-Response Log is to create a process by which you become familiar with Literary Elements by appreciating their employment in literature. Clearly, it requires work to identify and discuss these elements...the same degree of effort that is required to master any skill. And undertaking this work at the last minute makes it, no doubt, something you'd really rather not do. It's burdensomeness would be greatly ameliorated by timely and organized attendance to the assignment. Nevertheless, conscientious effort on the upcoming Reader-Response Logs (re "The Dead" and "Babylon Revisited"), such that I become convinced that you have mastered the recognition and contextual significance of the referenced Literary Elements, will result in the elimination of that particular homework component.....at least until you make a hash of things down the line.
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Read/Annotate/Reader-Response Log
-Read to conclusion of Frankenstein (Shelley)
-Submit Reader-Response Log (Chapters 9 to the conclusion) for Frankenstein to Turnitin
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NOT AN ASSIGNMENT-AN INVITATION (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND)
For those who are of a mind, I invite you to review your Frankenstein/3 Elements of Literature essay on Turniitn, note the comments* and then consider them relative to your paper. If you are interested in raising your score by up to one point, submit to Turnitin a thoughtful, brief bullet-point piece reflecting your take-away from the comments (including one example of a very short revised piece of writing). In other words, show me that you see where you could up your game by recognizing areas ripe for improvement. I know that one point doesn't seem like a lot, but, actually, it is.
And if you want to discuss your papers, of course feel free to set up a conference time.
*To view the comments, click on the blue quotation bubble at the end of the essay.
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Poetry Essay-NOTE EXTENDED DUE DATE
Submit to Turnitin the "Compare and Contrast" essay re "The Bistro Styx" (Dove) and "The Pomegranate" (Boland).
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"The Bistro Styx" and "The Pomegranate" Responses
Assignment to be submitted to Turnitin. (This is the work you started in class.)
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Read and Annotate:
1) The poem "The Pomegranate" (Boland)
2) The poem "The Bistro Styx" (Dove)
Note: Copies of the poems will be provided on 9/7.
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NOT AN ASSIGNMENT-AN INVITATION
For those who are of a mind, I invite you to review your Mayor of Casterbridge essay on Turniitn, note the comments* and then consider them relative to your paper. If you are interested in raising your score by up to one point, submit to Turnitin a thoughtful, brief bullet-point piece reflecting your take-away from the comments (including one example of a very short revised piece of writing). In other words, show me that you see where you could up your game by recognizing areas ripe for improvement. I know that one point doesn't seem like a lot, but, actually, it is.
And if you want to discuss your papers, of course feel free to set up a conference time.
*To view the comments, click on the blue quotation bubble at the end of the essay.
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Read and Annotate "Transformations" (Hardy)
Note comments below
A poem's tone, in common definition, reveals the writer's attitude toward a subject (sarcasm, irony, awe, dread, anger, etc.) For example, John Donne, in "The Canonization," manifests anger in the opening line: "For Godsake hold your tongue and let me love!" The idea of tone in a poem is already the use of metaphor-as if a poem were a person who cold voice words. But we don't get to hear the poem's "voice," so tone can be both difficult to identify and, once identified, difficult to trace through shifts. Good poetry makes tone (and shifts in tone) ascertainable (discoverable with certainty). In "Transformations," Hardy, via his speaker, presents rich tone. Note the tone(s) by walking in the shoes of the narrator and "feeling" his frame of mind as he contemplates the yew tree, thought by thought. Annotate the poem in terms of tone.
And note: Feel free to take a look at the discussion of Tone in the "Literary Elements..." handout. (A hint: the author of the example offered (part of an essay about Africa) might be said to be presenting a sardonic tone (grimly mocking or cynical)...or something else. Just trying to help.)
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DISCUSSION-NOT AN ASSIGNMENT/POINT OF VIEW
A student asked a very astute question; to wit: What is meant by the word transcend in the context of the Point of View commentary about first person contained in the "Literary Elements..." handout?*
*"There is the constant danger that narrators may be made to transcend their own sensitivity, their knowledge, or their powers of language in telling a story." (See page 240-the supplemental page that was provided.)
A hopefully helpful explanation is the following:
The word "transcend," as used in this context, is meant to suggest a crossing over or going beyond perceived limits, usually in terms of an abstract concept. For example, one might say that the debate about censorship transcends mere politics; in other words, it's bigger than just trying to win because that's your party's stated position-it goes to one's personal belief in a person's right to express themselves. In this case, the author of the novel, having chosen to present in the first person, must stay within that character's personality in expressing ideas, using language, etc. The author cannot interject a more sophisticated or nuanced interpretation than would be consistent with the narrator's nature. And, if the author does want to add a dimension of sensitivity or knowledge that would not be natural to the character speaking in the first person, then that narrator (first-person speaker) would have to transcend limitations that we have come to expect, and that change in personality would seem phony. So that is the risk of first person-you are stuck with that first-person narrator's limitations.
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1) Read and Annotate the poem "We Are Seven" (Wordsworth)*
2) Submit a short composition to Turnitin in response to the following prompt:
Identify three literary elements** present in the first 8 chapters of Frankenstein. In three well-written paragraphs, with each paragraph dedicated to an individual literary element, discuss the overall effect of that element. Make certain to illustrate your assessment with evidence from the text.
*A copy of the poem will be distributed in class on 8/25.
**Choose from amongst the 6 Literary Elements covered in the handout you have received: "Literary Elements: Commentary and Examples." NOTE: In that handout, page 240 in the section re 'Point of View' is missing. A copy of that page was provided on 8/29.
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Read/Annotate/Reader-Response Log
Read through Chapter 8 of Frankenstein (Shelley), maintaining a Reader-Response Log*. Be prepared to respond to this portion of the text.
*The Reader-Response Log should address all of the first 8 chapters of Frankenstein and be submitted to Turnitin. (See the below-posted guide to the Reader-Response Log.) TO CLARIFY: There should be 15 entries covering those 8 chapters.
Note: A full version of the novel is available online. (And we have copies in the library.)
Due:
Assignment
Read and Annotate
Read the essay "How Does a Poem Mean?" by John Ciardi*.
*The essay will be distributed in class on 8/17.
Due:
Assignment
Review Results of Multiple-Choice Exam
Dissect the correct answers and be prepared to discuss why they are correct and/or what uncertainty you have regarding any question/answer.
Due:
Assignment
RE MULTIPLE-CHOICE EXAM: EMERGENCY NOTICE/CATASTROPHIC EVENT/HAPPY RESOLUTION
It turns out that most likely ALL of you did better on the multiple-choice exam than indicated. How is that so? Well, as I was doing the exam myself, I discovered that I was unhappy with the answers given by the publisher of the test in that they suggested that I was not a literary master of all I survey. Can you imagine?! Anyway, it happens that the publisher had altered the test and, thus, the answers to questions 34-55. As the inspector says in Dial M for Murder, "My blood was up!" I have discovered the correct answers and they are as follows:
#34-B #46-E
#35-E #47-B
#36-D #48-B
#37-D #49-E
#38-D #50-A
#39-C #51-A
#40-C #52-D
#41-D #53-B
#42-A #54-E
#43-A #55-B
#44-C
#45-C
There will be a few minutes dedicated to yelling at the start of class on Friday.
Due:
Assignment
Read and Annotate
Read the essay "Memories of Holden Caulfield--and Miss Greenwood" by Carl Freedman.*
*The essay will be distributed in class on 8/17.
Note: There is an annotation guide for literature posted on the Home Page. However, for essays, simply comment in the text upon that content that strikes you as particularly noteworthy.
Due:
Assignment
Summer Reading
1-Dialectical Journals (covering A Catcher in the Rye and the optional selection) should be submitted as one submission to Turnitin by this date. See a template for the journal posted below.
2-Bring your copy of Frankenstein (Shelley) to class. Copies are available in the library. (And feel free to have started on the assignment posted for 8/29.)
Note the below Turnitin enrollment information:
Period 2
Class ID: 15721923
Enrollment Key: 1234
Period 4
Class ID: 15721945
Enrollment Key: 1234