APEnglish Literature 12: April 4-8, 2011

Good Morrow APEs!


And thank you to the six of you who made it to Saturday's practice session! I trust it was helpful and informative for you as it was for me. I do hope you pardon my whispered interjections "No, don't do that!" at the thought of a 5-paragraph theme (shivers). And do remember that the instructor echoed my advice to not clump your body paragraphs by device even if you choose to list them in the thesis.

I believe the most important lesson was repeated in three of the four sessions (the three essay sessions). And that lesson is this: If at all possible, write a THESIS statement early in the essay that does MORE than simply restate the prompt, but that actually hints at the meaning of the work as a whole or what the complexity in the passage is about. Don't just merely state that A, B, or C contribute to the meaning or the complexity, tell WHAT the meaning or complexities are. This way, even if you run short of time, you reader can give you credit for understanding the passage. If you wait until later in the passage to address these things, you may not get to them at all. Also, a clear directional thesis will be at the top of your essay to keep you focused and on track and help you to avoid tangential information that does not build your argument. Argument. That is an extremely important word. Have one. Take a stance on the text up front.

Ok, enough of my soapbox, and on to this week's agenda:

Tuesday:
Bring your Perinne's Literature books to class and be prepared for more poetry analysis. If you are one who checks my blog in advance, I would suggest your pre-read the following poems before class:
"The Lamb" and "The Tiger" page 833
"Birches" page 846
"Mending Wall" page 848
"The Darkling Thrush" page 856
"La Belle Dame sans Merci" page 864
"what gramma said about her grampa" page 875
"The Victims" page 875
"A Work of Artifice" page 879
"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" page 882

We may get to more poems than these, but I am more apt to think we will not manage to discuss each of these fully. They are worth reading and considering nonetheless.

Wednesday:
We will begin with a few passages from Voice Lessons while we await the arrival of our tech students.
After the tech students arrive, we will have Elizabeth Abrams as a guest lecturer. She will be sharing with you a note-taking technique that will help you connect device with meaning, an area in which many of you need more practice. When she is finished wither her lesson, we will spend the remainder of the class writing a timed essay based on The Importance of Being Earnest. This will be a "question three" type essay on the play as a whole, and not a selection from it. Take at least ten minutes to consider the prompt, break it into parts (big and little questions) and write a thesis sentence at least that answers the prompt in brief form. You can expound upon your argument in the body of the essay.

On Friday we will again discuss selections from "Voice Lessons." We will be having a visitor observer, so I do hope you will come to class prepared to discuss The Heart of Darkness. I would like each of you to come with specific passages to discuss and ideas about how those passages, in your minds, contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole. Also, come prepared to discuss what you believe the meaning of the work as a whole might be and the parts of the text that led to your understanding of it. This is a difficult text, even though it seems short, so don't be afraid to ask questions of your classmates and me. Bring your texts to direct us to the passages you wish to discuss. 
I will also give you a poem with a short set of multiple choice questions to complete in groups and compete for points.

Looking forward to a fulfilling and useful week.

See you in class!
Mrs. SO