AP Squaring JFK
AP2 JFK’s speech this weekend. Remember that you’re looking for Persona, Audience, Argument, and Purpose. As we said in class, he may have one overarching argument or purpose, but he likely has sub-arguments and purposes as well. The same goes for audience. Think about this one – don’t just gloss over the assignment with surface analysis.
We will be doing an activity on Monday where everyone will end up with a working thesis and at least two topic sentences that contain claims. After looking at some example theses, we will start writing. To help us get started, we have some computer lab time next week (2nd half of Tuesday and all of Wednesday). We’ll talk more specifically about the essay requirements and question on Monday.
Remember that if you are taking the opportunity to rewrite your Lord Chesterfield paper, that is due Monday as well.
Rewrite!
If you would like to take the opportunity to rewrite your Lord Chesterfield paper, then your rewritten draft is due on Monday. Do not, under any circumstances, waste either of our time by simply editing your paper and resubmitting it. That alone will not get you a better grade and it will make your instructor grumpy.
Some tips for your rewritten essays:
- Answer the prompt. General analysis that was reasonably capable, but that did not answer the prompt earned up to a C or so the first time around. The second time around, such papers will receive an F. I had more than one college professor who used the same type of policy.
- Write a clear, specific thesis that addresses the prompt. Without this, you’re likely to wander aimlessly and end up with a D or worse.
- Write topic sentences including claims that support your thesis. If your topic sentence is summary, it’s hard to write a paragraph that isn’t primarily summary.
- Keep Lord Chesterfield’s purpose in mind as you analyze the text and answer the prompt.
- Rewritten essay
- Analysis of rewritten essay
- Original essay
Your write-up on your rewritten essay should explain how you used the feedback and the information above to revise your paper. What did you consider and where did you focus your attempts to improve? What do you consider to be the strength of your paper? Based on your first grade and the revisions you made, evaluate the overall quality of your revised paper.
Happy revising!
Remember that tomorrow we have a test on Vocab 3!
Also tomorrow the University of Washington Tacoma, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Gene Juarez, and Green River Community College will all be on campus during both lunches. Check out this guide to help you know what to talk about at college fairs (even tiny ones in the school cafeteria).
JFK Rhetorical Questions
As you finish the questions we started in class, remember that the depth you answer them now will determine how useful they are to you as you write your paper. You do not need to blog the answers. Bring them in on paper and I’ll look them over while you do your timed write tomorrow.
Those of you with junior conferences tomorrow, see me to arrange a make-up time for the timed write.
You’ll also be getting your Lord Chesterfield papers back tomorrow and we’ll talk about what we can learn from them as we prepare to write our analysis papers on JFK’s inaugural address.
JFK Rhetorical Devices Database
Here are the posts of your work on the speech thus far!
- Rhetorical Questions: Jeff
- Hortative Sentences: Kyle Tall and Kaylie
- Archaic Words (with definitions!): Robert
- Formal Rhetorical Tropes: Janae and Cody
- Antithesis: Spencer and Jordan
- Anaphora and Zeugma: Hayley R.
- Imperative Sentences: Robyn and Kyle (no more beard)
- Abstract Language: Niko “Go Thundercats”
- Complex Sentences (w/subordinate clauses identified): Kristian and Shyla
- Declarative Sentences: Michiko
- Parallelism: Hayley O.
- Number and Length of Paragraphs: Maverick
Step one with JFK
Tonight you need to annotate JFK’s inaugural address. As you think about the speech, keep in mind the context in which it was given to help ground your observations and analysis.
Once you’ve finished your annotation, blog your thoughts on JFK’s speech. This could be a summary of your observations, general reaction to the speech, or an expanded discussion of one or more of your observations you made in the course of your annotation.
Don’t forget your DGP and to study Vocab 3 for Friday.
Class Notes
For those of you who were gone for FBLA, Junior Conferences, or other sundry reasons today, this post is for you!
With so many missing, we postponed the vocabulary test to Monday (to Caleb’s delight and Hayley’s consternation). Remember you are responsible for the Monday work on DGP sentence #2 as well.
Otherwise this is a nice, unencumbered weekend before we begin the JFK paper (whoo hoo!!). Enjoy. 
Mid-Winter Break…uh, 4-day weekend
Remember that your Chesterfield paper is due on Wednesday when we return. Use the FHS English Department standards as your formatting guide for this one. We didn’t end up talking about how to format your header in order to not have your page number on the first page, so if you you don’t know how to do that, don’t worry about it. If you do know how, go ahead and do it correctly. I have some notes on formatting page numbers in the post for the metacognition paper if you don’t remember how to do the page number with your name.
You can find the original post about the Lord Chesterfield paper below.
Have a great long weekend and remember the plan for success I gave you the other day:
You have a 4-day weekend coming up! You’re probably not even going to start until 8 o’clock in the morning on Saturday! Of course you’ll finish sometime on Sunday, probably meet with someone Monday to peer review and revise (maybe do this over email), and then have a day to relax on Tuesday.
See you Wednesday!
Sweetheart Friday
We have 30-minute periods tomorrow. Here’s the plan:
- DGP
- rhetorical vocabulary quiz
- return meta-cognition papers
- Fun with analyzing Super Bowl commercials
There is no homework other than to do DGP and study for the vocabulary quiz (oh yeah, and work on your Chesterfield paper!
Who am I kidding? You have a 4-day weekend coming up! You’re probably not even going to start until 8 o’clock in the morning on Saturday! Of course you’ll finish sometime on Sunday, probably meet with someone Monday to peer review and revise (maybe do this over email), and then have a day to relax on Tuesday.
Visual Texts
Read pages 49-51 in your texts on analyzing visual texts. Then, just like we did in groups the other day, analyze a print ad using the AP2 method and then write up your conclusions on the blog. We will present these as we have time, so prepare for that. We’ll try to get to some of the people who didn’t get to go last time.
Reminders:
- Don’t forget to do your DGP every day (different font as requested, Cody)
- Rhetorical vocabulary quiz on Friday
- Timed write tomorrow! Last ungraded analysis write…
Reading Response and the American Idea
A Guide to Writing Reading ResponsesA Guide to Writing Reading ResponsesExamine Just Asking by David Foster Wallace that we read earlier today. Use the guide to writing reading responses that I gave you in class (or linked on Class Info & Docs) to craft a thoughtful blog on the article.
If you are intrigued by this concept of the “American Idea”, you can read other articles The Atlantic published on that topic in their 150th anniversary issue. They are mostly small, about the same size as Just Asking and represent many different perspectives from a broad range of American voices.
