CONGRATULATIONS! You made it to the last blog of the year!!!

Give next year's AP Language and Composition class some practical advice for next year!!! Use rhetorical devices and appeal to logos, pathos and ethos.

Satire is on the Menu at ECCHS!

Write a piece of satire, the subject is.......your high school!  Remember, (or look up) the elements of satire when you are writing!  Have fun.

The Third Way

Watch this 35 minute video
The Third Way
After watching the video, I want you to respond to it.  What is your reaction to the film? Is there anything with which you disagree? What did you learn that you did not know?  What is the church's position on people with same sex attraction?  How is this argument structured and from where did the title come (you might have to research a bit.  It is an allusion to something).

It's the Real Thing!

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/07/its-real-thing.html

The following letters constitute the complete correspondence between an executive of the Coca-Cola company and a representative of Grove Press. Read the letters carefully. Then in your blog analyze the rhetorical strategies each writer uses to achieve his purpose and explain which letter offers the more persuasive case.

Creativity Anyone?

Authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman published “The Creativity Crisis” in Newsweek.com in July 2010. They reported that the Torrance Test, a test of creativity that has been administered to millions of people worldwide in 50 languages, indicates that the public’s “creativity quotient” has steadily crept downward since 1990. In their article, Bronson and Merryman cite the claim of Professor Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William and Mary: “It’s very clear, and the decrease is very significant.” Kim reports that it is the scores of younger children in America—from kindergarten through sixth grade—for whom the decline is “most serious.” Bronson and Merryman state that “[t]he potential consequences are sweeping. The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 ‘leadership competency’ of the future. Yet it’s not just about sustaining our nation’s economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.” One possible approach to this reputed decline in creativity is to explicitly teach creative thinking in school. Write to your school board explaining what you mean by creativity and arguing for or against the creation of a class in creativity.

Read the following essay, "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie.
"Superman and Me"

It is both an eye-opening account of what life was like for an intelligent child on an Indian reservation and a skillful rendering of the moments surrounding language acquisition, the spark for reading and writing, and the influence on a child of a well-loved parent.  Use any or all of these avenues for discussion of the essay.

 Also comment on what rhetorical devices Alexie uses in the essay.  For example, by using the analogy of a paragraph to a fence, Alexie is providing a visual connection that all readers can understand in order to express his moment of epiphany that opened him to the world of reading: an understanding that words "worked together for a common purpose".  The use of this visual analogy between a paragraph and a fence lends meaning to the extension of his analogy in the remainder of paragraph 3.  As Alexie explains his understanding of the reservation as a paragraph within the country, his home and neighborhood as paragraphs on the reservation, and each member of his family as a separate paragraph yet part of a larger "essay of seven paragraphs," the reader grasps Alexie's inherent desire to write and his identity as a writer.  This is just one example.  You should find and cite at least two. Do your best not to repeat the devices used by other students.

Come Holy Spirit!

YIPPEEEE! It is confirmation weekend!  You officially have a vacation from the blog so that you can really celebrate this important sacrament.  All I ask is that you listen to this presentation some time before you get confirmed on Sunday.  When you have finished, just log on and type, DONE.
Congratulations to all of you!  I love it!
Mrs. Messineo
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/810680/LH27_9_Dr.%20Pitre_Confirmation-The%20Sacrament%20of%20Evangelization%20and%20Martyrdom.mp3

It is around 40 minutes.

Spy Day

Click on this link and listen to it.  It is approximately 50 minutes long.  After listening to it, explain how the presentation is structured as an argument.  In some arguments, the author's goal is to get someone to do something.  What is he trying to get his audience to do?  After completing that portion of the blog, list 3 things that you consider talents given to you from God.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/810680/lh17-6_gangland_to_promised_land.mp3

Pick An Argument, Any Argument.

Your job, argue a point.  Use at least 10 of our vocabulary words from this year.

Saint Powers, Activate!

In the spirit of our gender unit, I want each of you to discover a new saint.  There are hundreds of wonderful women who have been sainted, choose one about whom you know very little.  Discover the truth and beauty of the saint and explain how her life is still important, and relevant in our current world.

Just Walk on By

Read Just Walk on By written by Ben Staples.  It addresses the issue of racial and gender profiling which have become particularly significant in the United States over the past several months.  What rhetorical devices does the author use and how do they make the piece more effective?  And AP Language students must be good citizens.  How do you think this piece is relevant today?

How Convincing Are You?

Diction Analysis

We continue to work on our vocabulary from the last two weeks.  This is a lesson in "diction" and how analysis of diction can be used as a way to  deepen your capacity for thinking and writing about words and the power they hold.

 All words have a story.  Diction analysis at its best cracks opens that story and allows the reader to determine the impact of that story on a text’s meaning. Words are our most powerful tool for shaping our destiny and even our world.  It is oftentimes words that begin wars while bombs end them.  

In what ways do accomplished writers select their words to shape meaning and communicate with intended audiences?

List in one column words from the serious version and in another column words from the satiric version.  Share your lists and draw a conclusion about the differences between the diction of the satiric and serious texts.  What forms of diction do the words on your list fall under?  Use some or all of the terms from this diction ladder in your discussion.

Diction Ladder

Frozen (Ceremonial)-- Language that does not change:  Ex.  Religious Ceremonies, Pledge of Allegiance

Formal--Complete sentences and specific word usage:  Ex. Academic Papers, Essays, Editorials

Consultative--Formal register used in conversation:  Ex. Language used in business or classroom discussions

Casual--  Word choice is general, and conversation is dependent upon non-verbal assists: Language used in conversation with friends

Colloquial – Language particular to a geographic location:  “Y’all” is associated with the south; “Pop,” “Soft Drink,”  or “Soda”  all denote  a carbonated beverage in different geographical regions.

Intimate--Language between lovers.  This is also the language of sexual harassment

Jargon – Language associated with a trade or profession

Slang – Language only understood among a select group of people often defined by age, sex, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ZcZ2h4Ths

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/22316-is-gluttony-destroying-the-world

Nothing Like a Little Controversy

Controversy  Read this article. There is a list of 10 ways that science is proving that the church is right and culture is wrong.  Discuss the impact that at least three of the following elements has on this piece of writing.
Diction
Imagery
Tone
Figurative Language
Shift
Detail
Syntax
Connotation
Point of View
Pacing

 Also, choose one of the 10 points and explain why it might be a good topic choice for an argumentative paper.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Whether you have started dating or not, this is an important talk about dating in our current culture.   Listen to this presentation and take notes.  When you are finished, analyze the presentation by discussing the type of diction used and how that establishes the tone of the piece.  Does Jason Evert use imagery or figurative language?  Give examples of each.  Also identify any rhetorical shifts in the presentation and explain how they enhance his message.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/810680/LH_Y_27-How_To_Date_Your_Soulmate.mp3

Being Civil Is Overrated!

Think of a contemporary issue that some people in our society regard as justification for civil disobedience.  Then write an editorial for a newspaper or online news organization in which you explain your position of the use of civil disobedience to protest that issue.  Use appropriate evidence from your reading, experience or observations to support your argument.

I love blogs so much I think I will do this assignment twice!

Welcome to this week's blog topic.  Watch this video on how to write satire.  You will then write a 200 word blog based on the instructions given in the video.  Good luck.
Satire Video
Do not forget to comment on the entries of your classmates.
And no satires of President Obama please.

Now What?

Read the following excerpt from  Evangelium Vitae, an encyclical written by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1995.   http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html  Open the link and scoll down to the quote, "What have you done?",  or NUMBER 10.  Once there, read what the Saint has to say about life.  What about this reading grabs you?  Then, in your blog, provide us with a link to an organization that responds to an issue brought up in the encyclical.  Explain how the organization that you choose helps to battle the current woes of our current society.

Stop the Ride...I want to get on!!!!!!!

Greetings.  I am so happy to be joining you in your learning process.  What do you find are your strengths as an AP Language student?  What have been your favorite assignments?  What have been your favorite readings?  What skills do you look towards improving during the second half of the year?