PAPER 1 DOMINANTEFFECT THESIS STATEMENT DRIVEN COMMENTARY 11

PAPER 1 DOMINANT-EFFECT THESIS STATEMENT DRIVEN COMMENTARY 11 Days To Our Exam

WHAT’S A COMMENTARY AGAIN? ◦ Commentary=close reading and interpretation of a passage presented in essay form ◦ You will demonstrate ◦ Understanding of thought (ideas) and feeling (emotions) of the passage ◦ Support your points with detailed references to the passage (quotations) ◦ Analyze and show appreciation of how the passage achieves its effects

For Paper I, how much should I write? ◦ Flipping through finished practice exams, we can almost always predict scores based on length. ◦ When we had kids write on notebook paper, double-spaced, I would tell them 6 -8 pp = fully developed (this is when they have 2 hours); 4 pages or less = underdeveloped = will score lower

Writing an Introduction to your commentary… ◦Go straight to the literature ◦ Write 2 -3 sentences explaining what the poem or passage is about (shows understanding) ◦ Write your thesis stating a clear argument about dominant effect (intellectual and emotional). Do NOT list a bunch of techniques.

Commentary Body Paragraphs ◦Nuanced evidence analyzed insightfully ◦Well-paragraphed ◦New idea, new paragraph ◦BTSs show the clear development of your argument, linking one idea to the next

Conclusion of your commentary ◦Don’t repeat ◦Briefly sum up what you’ve said ◦DRAW A CONCLUSION – so what?

Using Titles of Prose and Poetry Selections ◦ Short story titles are related in quotes ◦ In Karen Russell’s “Swamplandia!”, she uses [some dominant literary device] to [show something significant about the world]. ◦ Poem titles are related in quotes ◦ **The Art of the Lathe is the book that the poem is published in, and you won’t need that title for your essay at all. ◦ In B H Fairchild’s poem, “The Machinist, Teaching his Daughter to Play the Piano”, the author uses [some dominant literary device] to [show something significant about the world].

B H Fairchild’s “The Machinist, Teaching his Daughter to Play the Piano” ◦ Dominant Motifs: ◦ Parenting/teaching/molding ◦ Communication ◦ Machinery [or roughness] vs Art [or delicacy] ◦ Religious imagery ◦ Music ◦ Hand Imagery ◦ Structure: ◦ Use of tercets and physical structure ◦ Italics vs plain font ◦ Varied Interpretations: ◦ Is the daughter speaking or is that piano noise?

GET YOUR WRITING FOLDER ◦MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU HAVE YOUR WRITING FOLDER IN CLASS TOMORROW AS WE WILL BE CHARTING YOUR PROGRESS

IN YOUR WRITING FOLDER, you should have… ◦ Paper 1: Sonnet one-pager rubric ◦ Paper 2: Hamlet rubric with reflection on the back ◦ Paper 1: Semester I Final Exam ◦ 4 th: “Specimen Paper” ◦ 6 th: 2007 Exam ◦ Paper 2: Woolf/Austen comparative essay ◦ Paper 1: 2016 Exam Intro & Outline

Karen Russell’s “Swamplandia!”, ◦ Dominant Motifs: ◦ Predatory tourism ◦ Gender roles/sexism/marriage discord ◦ Appearance v reality ◦ Narrative voice: youthful ◦ Maternal sacrifice ◦ Color green

Structuring your Paper 1 Essay: Linear/Chronological ◦ Moves sequentially ◦ PROS: ◦ Can work well when an extract has a clear sense of development ◦ Topic statements (first sentences of paragraphs) can focus on points of transition ◦ CONS: ◦ Danger of falling into retelling

Structuring your Paper 1 Essay: Conceptual/Thematic ◦ Organized by different aspects of content and language (Key Aspects/Ideas/Techniques) ◦ EXAMPLE: ◦ Par. 1: Character of Narrator ◦ Par. 2: Her Relationship with her parents ◦ Par. 3: Setting ◦ Par. 4: Controlling Metaphor ◦ Par. 5: Etc. . Look at language/techniques as you go to support points

Structuring your Paper 1 Essay: Conceptual ◦ PROS: ◦ More holistic ◦ Allows you to show more control over your thesis, and develop your ideas more coherently

Structuring your Paper 1 Essay: Remember… ◦ No formula guarantees success ◦ Careful thinking for yourself about the best way to structure your commentary is key

Plan for a Paper 1 Commentary ◦ What kind of “reading” have you come up with? ◦ Does it highlight a particular aspect of content or style? ◦ Does it ask from where the poem gains its main strength? ◦ Does it focus on a contrast or conflict, or a significant development? ◦ What kinds of structure might you follow? ◦ One that traces the linear development of the poem, or perhaps one that breaks the poem’s features down into concepts? ◦ Once you’ve decided, create your outline