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Mrs. Pallanti's English Class



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AP English

 Advanced Placement English Language and Composition/
UCONN Early College Experience (English 1010 Seminar in Academic Writing)
Syllabus  2009-2010



I.  Course Description

This college-level course is the culminating experience for students in the 
honors program in English.  Students enrolled in this full year course 
engage in an intensive study of both writing and literature.  Students must 
possess ability consistent with advanced study in composition, research, and 
literature and be committed to an intensive study of literature and 
writing.   The curriculum follows the requirements of the College Entrance 
Examination Board as stated in the AP English Course Description handbook AP 
English is a nationally recognized program that prepares students to take 
the Advanced Placement examination and to receive college credit and/or 
advanced standing in college.    Students taking the course will be prepared 
to take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and 
Composition.  In addition, the course follows the curricular requirements of 
the University of Connecticut Early College Experience program.  Students 
who meet the criteria set by UCONN and who receive a final grade of at least 
a B in the course will also earn four credits in English from the University 
of Connecticut. The four credits will be for the successful completion of 
English 110:  Seminar in Academic Writing.  
	The course description for UCONN English 1010 states that students 
receive  “instruction in academic writing [integrated with] 
interdisciplinary readings.  Assignments emphasize interpretation, 
argumentation, and reflection [as well as] revision of formal assignments 
and instruction on grammar, mechanics, and style.”  At the end of English 
1010, students should be able to compose an expository essay that reflects 
their own point of view and that demonstrates a thoughtful engagement with 
complex readings of some length.  
	The course is devoted to intensive instruction in academic writing 
with an emphasis on critical thinking, interpretation, reflection, and 
argumentation.  Through an extensive study of various forms of nonfiction 
and fiction texts, students discover ways to interact with texts and produce 
thoughtful, reflective, and critical essays.   The goal is to make students 
proficient in the kinds of expository and analytical writing they will be 
asked to produce in their high school courses this year and in their college 
courses next year.  The classroom is the center for discussion of 
appropriate writing models, all kinds of writing activity (including 
drafting, revising, editing, and giving feedback).   Both formal writing 
(essays, AP practice prompts, and timed analytical essays) and informal 
writing (reflective journals, free write journals, and focused question 
journals) are important requirements of this year’s work.  In addition, 
writing groups are an essential component of the classroom structure. 
Students revise their writing based on teacher-student conferences and peer 
revising groups.  Revision is an essential element of the course.  Through 
revision, students discover their writing voices, gain a clear understanding 
of their ideas, and become thoughtful writers.   Through discussions with 
their peers and the teacher during writing conferences, students sharpen 
their thinking about the texts they have read, refine their thinking in 
their own writing, and engage in a lively exchange of ideas with their 
classmates.  Writing conferences determine the nature and amount of revision 
required for each essay.
	Students write essays in several forms about a variety of subjects.  
They write essays using the following rhetorical modes:  description, 
narration, comparison and contrast, definition, cause and effect, and 
persuasive/argumentative.  They also write literary analysis.   Students 
also engage in creative writing as a way to extend the ideas of the fiction 
and nonfiction texts they read for class.  In addition, students study all 
aspects of the research process to produce argumentative/persuasive essays 
which show their ability to engage in critical thinking and discussions 
about texts, to take a critical stand on important issues, and to compose 
informed arguments.  This type of writing is in keeping with the 
expectations of the College Board’s course description:  “In addition, the 
informed use of research materials and the ability to synthesize varied 
sources (to evaluate, cite, and utilize source material) are integral parts 
of the AP English Language and Composition course” (9).
	During this course, students work on several essential writing 
skills.  The course offers students review with standard English grammar.  
Students are also expected to use a wide-ranging vocabulary appropriately 
and effectively.  The course also seeks to develop their writing style by 
offering students numerous opportunities to study the essential components 
of style:  the variety of sentence structures and sentence length; the use 
of appropriate diction (including general and specific word choices; formal 
and informal word choices), the effective use of rhetoric, effective syntax, 
ways of creating voice and establishing tone, and techniques to enhance 
coherence and emphasis. Students complete several exercises imitating the 
writing style of published writers both to identify writers’ unique styles 
and to develop their own writing style. When necessary, students complete 
mini-lessons (exercises from St. Martin’s Handbook) to review elements of 
style, effective vocabulary, grammar, and usage.
	Discussion and classroom participation are important elements of 
this course.  Class participation includes:  a willingness to share ideas 
with the rest of the class; a willingness to listen to and respect other 
classmates' ideas;  an openness to new ideas; a high quality of expressed 
ideas; and the successful completion of class and homework assignments.  
	Attendance is another important factor in the course.  Daily 
attendance is essential.  This means not only coming to class every day but 
also coming to class prepared:  assignments read and homework completed.  If 
on a day when a writing draft is due, a student comes without an adequate 
draft, he/she will receive a zero for that day's work. If a student misses 
class on the day of peer revising, it will not be possible to make up the 
assignment.   If a student misses a class, he/she is responsible for all 
assignments.  Contact a classmate or the teacher immediately upon returning 
to the class.

 Textbooks:
   A complete listing of texts for the course can be found at the end of 
this document under the section titled “Textbooks.”

 Assessments:
  Response journals, quizzes, tests, essays, AP practice prompts, projects, 
research paper, class discussions and participation, group activities, 
homework and class work, web-based lessons, and oral presentations will 
comprise the various assessments for this course.

 Grading:   Marking period grades will be determined by 
the following criteria (percentages may vary depending upon the marking 
period's work):
       class participation, class work, homework, and attendance  10%
       essays and tests   		                          70%
       quizzes      		                                  10%
       journal writing     		                          10%
		**subject to minor revisions, if necessary

  Please note--From UCONN/ECE Policy and Procedures Guide:  "It is 
possible for the high school grade and UCONN grade to differ . . . The high 
school grading system may reflect different criteria for 
assessment."

	Grades on individual essays will be determined using several 
rubrics.  Essays will be graded using an Advanced Placement Essay Writing 
Rubric.  AP Practice prompts will be graded using an AP Essay Prompt 
rubric.  



	All students are expected to take a mid-term exam in January which 
counts 10% of their final average for the course.  The exam follows the 
structure of the College Board AP Language exam and serves as preparation 
for that exam which all students will take in May.  There is no June final 
exam for this course.
	
	Late papers will be penalized ten points for each day late.   If not 
in class on the day a paper is assigned, I expect you to e-mail the paper to 
me at dpallanti@milforded.org.   On the day of return, bring a hard copy 
along with drafts.  
	Successful completion of this course will enable students to qualify 
for 4 credits from the University of Connecticut.  It will also prepare them 
for the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition.  
Participating colleges will grant credit and appropriate placement of 
students who score successfully on the examination.
	Academic Honesty:  In this course students are expected to perform 
to the best of their  ability, and in an honest and sincere manner. 
Cheating, plagiarism, the use of unauthorized materials or any other form of 
academic dishonesty will result in a severe penalty. Ordinarily, cheating or 
plagiarism will result in a "0" (zero) for the assignment.  Other 
appropriate forms of punishment may also result.  
	Do not hesitate to ask me for help and guidance during the year.  I 
am available most afternoons for writing conferences or extra help.  I look 
forward to working with you this year!
	
 
II.  Unit Information


The course is organized around rhetorical modes, thematic units and 
essential questions.  Each thematic unit focuses on the study of a specific 
rhetorical mode and includes essential questions specific for the unit.  
Texts, writing assignments, and activities are based on these thematic units 
and essential questions.  Texts cover a range of literary, expository, and 
visual texts from a variety of cultures and historical time periods.  

First weeks of school:  
	Introduction to the course description, assessment tools, grading 
criteria, and required readings and writing assignments for the course.
	Summer Reading is due the first week of school; required reading--2 
nonfiction texts; 2 fiction texts.  
Summer reading assignment:  Several AP practice prompts using the summer 
reading and a creative writing assignment.

Thematic Unit One:  The Reading Life/The Writing Life

 
Essential questions:   

Why do we read?  Why do we write?
How does literature enrich our lives?
How do writers use descriptive language to vividly create a dominant 
impression?
How do we write and speak effectively?
What stylistic devices do authors use to achieve their purpose?
How can I develop my writing style?
How can I develop my writing style?
How do language devices support and shape meaning?

Rhetorical Mode:  Description and Examples

	In this unit, students will explore their first encounters with 
reading and writing.  They will read several essays in which writers discuss 
their encounters with the written word.  These writers explore the 
importance of reading and writing in their lives.  Through class discussions 
and focused journal writing, students will compare their own personal 
experiences and literacy development to the experiences of these writers.  
They will learn how to use the descriptive details and examples to develop 
their ideas.

Assigned texts: 

Texts which focus on:  Why Do We Read?
The Bedford Reader, Introduction-- “Why Read?  Why Write?  Why Not Phone?” 
		   	Chapter 1:  Reading Critically
			Chapter 2:  Writing Effectively		 

Sven Birkets, “What, Me Read?”
Anna Quindlen, “How Reading Changed My Life”
John Stone, “Listening to the Patient”
Virginia Woolf, “How Should One Read a Book?”
Lawrence Beyer, “The Highlighter Crisis”	
Katha Pollitt, “Why Do We Read?”  

Texts which focus on:  Why Do We Write?
The Bedford Reader, George Orwell, “On Writing”  pp. 653-654
			   
Erich Fromm, Symbolic Language”
Joan Didion, “Why I Write”
George Orwell, “Why I Write”
excerpt from Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings
Anna Quindlen “How Reading Changed My Life”
Amy Tan, “Why I Write”
Stephen King, excerpt from On Writing 
Roger Rosenbaltt, “I Am Writing Blindly” from Time magazine 

Texts which are models for using descriptive details and examples:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 5:  Description
			         E. B. White, “Once More to the Lake”  p. 686

Virginia Woolf, “The Death of the Moth”  p. 695
Annie Dillard, “Death of a Moth”
David Wagoner, “Moth Flight”
	
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 6:  Examples

Major assigned text for the unit:  Virginia Woolf,   A Room of One’s Own

Companion essays for A Room of One’s Own:
Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens”
Adrienne Rich, “When We Dead Awaken:  Writing as Re-Vision”

Reading skills:  (ongoing throughout all units)
Describe, interpret, and analyze a literary and expository text

Make critical evaluations and draw inferences from a literary and expository 
text

Make personal connections to the text

Understand the essential elements of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction

Identify and use literary, stylistic, and rhetorical techniques

Understand and appreciate selected literary and expository masterpieces from 
a variety of cultures, both past and present, in order to understand the 
human experiences that they convey

Analyze how graphics and visual images relate to written texts and serve as 
alternative forms of texts themselves

Writing skills:
The Writing Process:  Review of the writing process, including exploring a 
topic, gathering and organizing information, generalization and detail in 
writing --The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 1:   The Writing Process, pp. 
4-135

Sentence variety; sentence structure; subordination and coordination; 
achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure -- The 
New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 4:  Marking stylistic choices and varying 
sentence structures—using balanced, periodic, loose, cumulative, inverted, 
and rhetorical sentences; using sentences with dashes, parentheses, colons 
and semi-colons.  pp.  247-284.

Using descriptive details and examples to develop ideas—The Bedford Reader, 
Chapters 5 and 6

Use appropriate and effective diction (ongoing in all writing lessons 
throughout the year)--- The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 5:  Selecting 
Effective Words—vocabulary, diction, and language variety. pp. 285-348.
Logical organization with techniques to increase coherence, (repetition, 
transitions, and emphasis)—The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part I, Section 
6:  Constructing Paragraphs.  pp.  102-134.

Writing assignments:  (Writing assignments in this syllabus are subject to 
change.)
1. Focused journal questions.    
2.  AP practice prompts.   
3.  In class essay.
4.  Major Writing Assignment #1:  Using Description and Examples--Writing a 
Literacy Autobiography
	
Thematic Unit Two:  The Personal Life - Memoirs

        
Essential questions: 

What are the conventions of narrative essays?
How shall I write my personal story?
How have personal events shaped who I am?

Rhetorical Mode:  Narration

	In this unit, students will explore how writers use a personal story 
to express universal ideas.  They will explore how to shape the events of 
their personal lives into a story which engages the reader as well as 
expresses important ideas about the human spirit.  They will also explore 
the narrative techniques that writers use to tell their stories:  developing 
a strong voice, using descriptive details, using chronological sequence and 
flashbacks, using transitions to link events in the narrative, creating 
effective dialogue, and using literary techniques such as irony, 
foreshadowing, and symbols. 

Assigned texts:

 The Bedford Reader, Chapter 4:  Narration
			     
 James Thurber, “University Days”
Christopher Scanlan, “The Young Who Died Delivered Us”
	
Major assigned text for the unit:   Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird 
Sings

Companion essays for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings:
Alice Walker, “Beauty:  When the Other Dancer is the Self”

Poetic texts which use narrative techniques:	
Margaret Atwood, “This is a Photograph of Me”
Emily Dickinson, “I’m Nobody!  Who Are You?”
Emily Dickinson, “Remorse is Memory Awake”
Steve Smith, “Not Waving But Drowning”
   	
Writing skills:
Effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and  
maintaining voice The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part I, Section 2:   
Considering Rhetorical Situations.  pp.  18-31. 

Achieving sentence variety through sentence imitations 

Creating suspense through periodic paragraphs 
Using transitions effectively in writing--St. Martin’s Handbook, Part I, 
Section 6d.  pp.  108-116.

Using chronological order—St. Martin’s Handbook, Part I, Section 3d. pp. 39-
43. 

Using narrative techniques -- The New St. Martin’s Handbook Part 1 Section 
6: Constructing paragraphs; Part I, Section 6e:  narrating. pp.  	122.

Using narrative techniques—The Bedford Reader, Chapter 4		
	 
Writing effective introductions --The New St. Martin’s Handbook Part 1, 
Section 6f:  Special purpose paragraphs--opening paragraphs.  pp.  126-128.

Writing Assignments:
1. Focused journal questions.   
2.  AP practice prompts.   
3. Creative writing assignment.   
4.  Major Writing Assignment #2:  Writing a Narrative Essay


Thematic Unit Three:  The Rich Life/The Poor Life


Essential Questions: 

Is the American Dream still possible in America?
How do writers use classifying methods to develop their ideas?

Rhetorical Mode:   Classification

	In this unit, students will explore how classification helps them 
create order in the world around them by giving them a structure to use to 
group ideas, people, or objects.  Students will learn that classification is 
the orderly arrangement of items into specific categories--things of similar 
kinds are placed together. Students will discover ways to arrange items in a 
large group by using a principle of selection.   Students will  learn how to 
use this organizing structure to develop their essays.  
		
Assigned texts:

Texts which are models for classification structure and techniques:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 10:  Classification

Kenneth H. Cooper, “How Fit Are You?”
Jan Morris, “A Passion for Cities”

Texts which explore the concept of the American Dream:			
	
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 6, Examples
			   Barbara Ascher, “On Compassion”
			   Anna Quindlen, “Homeless”
Stephanie Coontz, “A Nation of Welfare Families”
Ralph Whitehead, Jr., “Class Acts:  America’s Changing Middle Class”
Robert Reich, “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor Poorer”

Major assigned texts for the unit:  Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman  
Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
excerpts from Inventing the Truth, ed. by William Zinsser--Frank 
McCourt, “Learning to Chill Out”

Selected readings on the American Dream—including contemporary newspaper 
articles from New York Times, Hartford Courant and New Haven Register as 
well as contemporary magazine articles from Time magazine; visual texts, 
including photographs of the immigrant experience; graphs and tables which 
show economic indicators of income, wealth distribution, and homelessness

Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream” 
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I A Woman?”  

Selected poems on the American Dream
Gwendolyn Brooks, “The Lovers of the Poor”
Gwendolyn Brooks, “The Bean Eaters”
Maya Angelou, “Alone”
Langston Hughes, “A Dream Deferred”
Langston Hughes, “Dreams”
Langston Hughes, “I, Too, Sing America”
Langston Hughes, “Life Is Fine”
Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again 
Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Richard Cory”
Walt Whitman, “I Hear America Singing”
William Carlos Williams, “The Poor”
e. e. cummings, “net to of course god America I”

Writing skills:
Writing creative titles

Writing effective conclusions --The New St. Martin’s Handbook,   Part 1, 
Section 6f:  Special purpose paragraphs--concluding paragraphs.  pp.  128-
130.

Using classifying techniques -- The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 1, 
Section 6e:  Developing	paragraphs fully: dividing and classifying; 
comparing and contrasting.  pp.  119-121.

Using classifying techniques and structure —The Bedford Reader, Chapter 10

Using MLA form in documenting sources—The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 8, 
Section 44.  pp. 516-563. 

Bedford Reader, Chapter 3,  Using and Documenting Sources
				
Writing assignments:  
1.  Focused journal questions.   
2.  AP Practice prompts.   
3.  Major Writing Assignment #3:  Writing an Essay Using Classification and 
Definition Techniques   (Synthesis essay)
	

Thematic Unit Four:  The Intelligent Life


Essential questions:

How do writers use definition methods to develop their ideas?
What definition methods can I use to define who I am?
What makes me an intelligent person?

Rhetorical Mode:  Definition

	In this unit, students will learn that definition is the process of 
explaining unfamiliar terms to their readers.  They will learn that with 
logical definitions, they can communicate their ideas to others precisely 
and clearly.  They will also learn that words can have different meanings 
for different people.  They will study types of words:  cultural, technical, 
regional, colloquial, and slang.  They will also explore the various methods 
that writers use to define words. Students also will learn about word 
etymologies and explore the process used to compile the Oxford English 
Dictionary.  They use this knowledge to write an essay in which they explore 
the significance of a single word.  

Assigned Texts:

Texts which are models for definition structure and techniques:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 12:  Definition

Nancy Mairs,  “Disability”  p. 13
			    
NCTE “Guidelines for Gender-Fair Use of Language”
	
Selected readings on intelligence—including contemporary newspaper and 
magazine articles, websites, and intelligence inventories from online sources

Isaac Asimov, “What Is Intelligence, Anyway?”
Lev Grossman, “The Trouble With Genius” in Time, March 15, 2004

Major assigned text for the unit:  Simon Winchester, The Professor and the 
Madman

Jennifer Huget, “Defining Moments” Connecticut magazine, November 2000 (an 
article about Jesse Sheidlower, the first U. S. based editor of American 
English  the Oxford English Dictionary
Soukhanov, “Word Sleuth” in Victoria, July 2001

Gleick, “Cyber-Neologoliferation” New York Times, November 5, 2006
			
Writing Skills:
Methods of defining words

Distinguishing denotative and connotative meaning of words

Using effective diction and using definition techniques--The New St. 
Martin’s Handbook,   Part 5:  Selecting Effective Words, Sections 25-29; 
Part 1, Section 6e:  Developing paragraphs fully:  defining.  pp.  285-401;  
118-119..

Using definition techniques—The Bedford Reader, Chapter 12
			         The Bedford Reader, Chapter 9, Fifth Edition
				Bruno Bettelheim, “The Holocaust”
				Joseph Epstein, “What Is Vulgar”
				Jamaica Kincaid, “The Tourist”		
			

Writing Assignments:
1.  Focused journal questions.   
2.  AP Practice prompts.   
3.  Major Writing Assignment #4:  Writing an Essay Using Definition 
Techniques  (Synthesis Essay)
	 





Thematic Unit Five:  People:  The Way We Are

				
Essential Questions: 

How do writers use comparing and contrasting methods to develop their ideas?
How are people similar?  How are people different?

Rhetorical Mode:  Comparison and Contrast

	In this unit, students will explore how comparison-contrast allows 
them to sort out the similarities and differences between people, objects, 
and ideas.  With this structure, students can explore the superiority of one 
idea (object or person) over another or explain the unfamiliar by comparing 
it to the familiar. Students will learn how to use this structure to develop 
ideas in their essays. 
Texts which are models for comparison and contrast structure and techniques:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 7:  Comparison and Contrast
		   
Eric, Sevareid, “The Landscape of Our Lives”
Paul Goldberger, “Quick!  Before It Crumbles!”
William Zinsser, “The Transaction”

John Updike, 	“A & P”
T.  Coraghessan Boyle “Greasy Lake”
Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”
Ernest Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” 
Ernest Hemingway, “A Clean Well Lighted Place”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
Emily Dickinson, “Much Madness is Divinest Sense”
Robert Browning, “Porphria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess”

Major text assigned for the unit:  Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named 
Desire

Reading skills:
Analysis of literary elements:  point of view, symbolism, setting, dialogue, 
character
	
Writing Skills:
Using comparison-contrast techniques and structures—The New St. Martin’s 
Handbook, Part I, Section 6e:  Comparing and Contrasting. pp.  120-121.

Using comparison-contrast techniques and structures—The Bedford Reader, 
Chapter 7
Using block and alternate block structure to compare and contrast

Writing effective introductions and conclusions--revisited

Logical organization with techniques to increase coherence, (repetition, 
transitions, and emphasis) (revisited)—The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 
I, Section 6:  Constructing Paragraphs.  pp.  102-116.

Writing assignments:
1.  Focused journal questions
2.  AP practice prompts.   
3.  Major Writing Assignment #5:  Writing an Essay Using Comparison and 
Contrast Techniques

Thematic Unit Six:  The Heroic Life

Essential Question: 

Who are our heroes in society and how do they reflect the values of their 
society?
What makes people act on their values to perform heroic deeds?
How do writers use different literary genres to illustrate the actions of 
heroes?
What values are important in my life?
How do writers use causal analysis to develop their ideas?

Rhetorical Mode:  Cause and Effect

	In this unit, students will explore the various ways that writers 
investigate subjects  to discover the reasons why something happened  
(causes) or the results of an occurrence (effects).  They will learn the 
importance of answering the questions—Why? and What followed as a result?  
They will  learn how to use causal analysis to develop their own ideas.

Texts which are models for causal analysis:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 11:  Cause and Effect
Texts which explore the concept of heroism:
Fiction:
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Arthur Miller,   Death of a Salesman--revisited 
Albert Camus, The Stranger
Harold Pinter, The Dumb Waiter
Gabriel Garcia Marques, Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Poetry:
T. S. Eliot, “Hollow Men”, 
T. S. Eliot, “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 
A. E. Housman, “To an Athlete Dying Young”
John Updike, “Ex Basketball Player”
David Evans, “I Met an Old Acquaintance”

Ernest Hemingway, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” -- revisited
Ernest Hemingway, “A Day’s Wait”

Nonfiction:
excerpt from Aristotle, Poetics
excerpt from A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy
Arthur Miller, “Tragedy and the Common Man”
Christina Kelly, “Why Do We Need Celebrities?”
Matthew Goodman, “Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?”
Roger Rosenblatt, “The Man in the Water”
Charles Krauthammer, “The End of Heroism”  

Writing Skills:
Analyzing literary elements:  symbolism, characterization, stream of 
consciousness, point of view

Analyzing poetic elements:  symbolism, imagery, and metaphor

Causal analysis of character motivation and behavior

Using causal analysis—The Bedford Reader, Chapter 11

Using causal analysis --  The New St. Martin’s Handbook,  Part 1, Section 
6e:  Developing Paragraphs Fully:  Exploring Causes and  Effects.  pp.  121-
122.

Distinguishing between immediate and long-range causes

Distinguishing between immediate and long-range effects

Writing assignments:
1.  Focused journal questions
2.  AP practice prompts.   
3.  Creative writing assignment:  parody.  
4.  Major Writing Assignment #6:  Using Causal Analysis in Analyzing a 
Literary Work--Causal Analysis of Character Motivation and Behavior

Thematic Unit Seven:  The Argumentative Life


Essential questions:  

How do authors use expository methods to construct an argument?
How do authors use persuasive techniques to construct an argument?
What arguments can I use to persuade someone to agree with my position on a 
controversial issue?
What argumentative structure and rhetorical devices are the best to use in 
developing an argument?
How do I synthesize varied research materials to formulate an informed 
argument?
How do I analyze graphics and visual images as text?
How do I incorporate and properly cite reference documents into research 
papers?

Rhetorical Mode:  Argument and Persuasion

	In this unit, students will explore the ways that expository writing 
differs from argumentative/persuasive writing.  They will learn how writers 
use persuasive strategies to convince readers of the validity of their 
positions on controversial issues. They will use their critical reading 
skills –their ability to analyze, make inferences, and synthesize--to 
evaluate persuasive essays.  As they develop their own essays, they will 
learn how to give evidence (facts, statistics examples, and expert opinions) 
to support their positions.  They will also study persuasive techniques as 
well as inductive and deductive reasoning as ways to develop their ideas.  

Assigned Texts:

Texts which are models for argumentative structure and persuasive techniques:
The Bedford Reader, Chapter 13:  Argument and Persuasion

Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”
Thomas Jefferson, “The Declaration of Independence”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “The Declaration of Sentiments
George Bush, Speech delivered before a Joint Session of Congress and the 
American People, Sept. 20, 2001

Visual  texts:  graphs and tables collected from online sources, newspapers, 
and magazines 


Writing skills:
Completing the steps of the research process—The New St. Martin’s Handbook, 
Part 8, Section 40:  Doing Research and Using Sources—Becoming a 
Researcher.  pp.  430-443.

Writing a research essay—The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 8, Section 43.  
pp.  499-515.

Using research skills, including the ability to evaluate, use, and 
synthesize sources; using online databases and the Internet-- The New St. 
Martin’s Handbook, Part 8, Sections 41 and 42:  Doing Research and Using 
Sources—Conducting Research and Using Sources.  pp.  444-498.

Using MLA form in citing primary and secondary sources and writing 
parenthetical citations The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 8, Section 44:  
Doing Research and Using Sources—Documenting Sources:  MLA. pp.  516-563.

Using and Documenting Sources, Bedford Reader, Chapter 3.

Using inductive/deductive patterns of reasoning--The New St. Martin’s 
Handbook, Part 1, Section 5:  Thinking Critically:  Constructing and 
Analyzing Arguments, pp.  70-101; The Bedford Reader, Chapter 10. 

Using argumentative-persuasive techniques and argument structures—The 
Bedford Reader, Chapter 13.

Recognizing fallacies—The Bedford Reader, Chapter 10; The New St. Martin’s 
Handbook, Part 1, Section 5:  Thinking Critically:  Constructing and 
Analyzing Arguments. pp.  79, 85-86.

Understanding inductive and deductive reasoning and logic patterns in 
syllogisms---- The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Part 1, Section 5:  Thinking 
Critically:  Constructing and Analyzing Arguments. pp.  83-85.

Using argumentative/persuasive techniques and argument structures—The New 
St. Martin’s Handbook, Part I, Section 5:  Thinking Critically:  
Constructing and Analyzing Arguments.  pp.  86-90.

Using personal, emotional, and logical appeals—The New St. Martin’s 
Handbook, Part 1, Section 5:  Thinking Critically:  Constructing and 
Analyzing Arguments.  Pp.  80-82; 86-87.

Writing Assignments:
1.  Focused journal questions.	
2.  AP practice prompts :  Synthesis essays .  
3.  Major Writing Assignment #7:  Writing an Essay Using 
Argumentative/Persuasive Techniques  (Synthesis Essay Using Research)
4. Letter assignment.   

III.  Textbooks


Kennedy, X. J.  An Introduction to Fiction.  Fifth Edition.  New York:  
Harper 
	Collins, 1991.

Kennedy, X. J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron.  The Bedford Reader.  
	Ninth Edition.  Boston:  Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press,  2006.

Lunsford, Andrea, and Robert Connors.  The New St. Martin’s Handbook.  New 
	York:  Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 

Murphy, Barbara and Estelle Rankin.  5 Steps to a 5:  AP English Language.  
New 
	York:  McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Perrine, Laurence.  Sound and Sense:  An Introduction to Poetry.  Seventh 
Edition.  
	New York:  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.

	
Other Course Materials  

Angelou, Maya.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  New York:  Bantam Books, 
1969.
Camus, Albert.  The Stranger.  New York:  Vintage Books, 1946.
Marques, Gabriel Garcia. Chronicle of a Death Foretold.  Trans. Gregory 
Rabassa.  New 
	York; Ballantine Books, 1982.

McCourt, Frank.   Angela’s Ashes:  A Memoir.  New York:  Touchstone, 1996.
Miller, Arthur.  Death of a Salesman.  New York:  Viking Press, 1949.
Pinter, Harold.  The DumbWaiter.  New York:  Grove Press, Inc., 1988.
Shakespeare, William.  Hamlet.  New York:  Signet Classics, 1963.
Williams, Tennessee.  A Streetcar Named Desire.  New York:  Signet Classics, 
1974.  
Woolf, Virginia.  A Room of One’s Own.  New York:  Harcourt, Brace and 
World, Inc.  
	1929.

Winchester, Simon.  The Professor and the Madman:  A Tale of Murder, 
Insanity, and 
	the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.  New York:  Harper 
Perennial, 1998.

Newspaper and magazine articles from the following sources:  The Hartford 
Courant, The New York Times, The New Haven Register,  Time, The New Yorker, 
and Atlantic Monthly..

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