TOOLS FOR SUCCESS ON THE AP LANG AND

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS ON THE AP LANG AND COMP EXAM

State of mind: 3 D’s • Desire (You must have the desire to be successful. ) • Determination (You must have the determination to work hard. ) • Diligence (You must have the diligence to persevere, even when it gets hard. ) • “Diligence is the mother of good luck. ” –Benjamin Franklin • You must study. I cannot give you all you need in this class period. You must work; and you must study; and you must practice, on your own.

Strong Suggestions • Form a study team • You may hold it in my room. I will be here to answer questions. The only days I can’t is Thursdays. But it needs to be student lead. It does not have to be students only from this class. • Quiz each other on the terms, share your essays with each other and make suggestions, discuss articles.

If you get frustrated… • Figure out why you are frustrated…What can you do to move beyond the frustrated feelings. • Take a deep breath. Maybe move on to another passage, question, or essay and come back to it once you have finished the others. • Ask for help. • Vent with your study group.

More tips • Penmanship counts. • Practice writing neatly. • Also, practice building up stamina with writing. Your hand will hurt. Exercise it so it won’t hurt so much. • This exam is about scholarship. Think of yourself as a scholar. Put on the mask of a scholar. • Your attitude is everything. A positive attitude will give you energy and confidence. A negative or defeatist attitude will lead to frustration and fatigue, keep you from having an open mind, and limit your ability to read carefully. • YOU MUST STUDY HARD AND TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. However, this is just a test. All I can ask is that you do your very best.

These terms have appeared more prominently on the released AP Lang and Comp exams: Word Meaning Purpose for usage Allusion To allude to… reference to some thing famous. To expand the depth of the text if the reader can make the connection and to lend ETHOS to the author. Analogy Compares two things that are similar in several respects. To prove a point or clarify an idea. Anecdote A short narrative of an amusing, unusual, revealing or interesting event. Clarifies abstract points or creates a memorable image. Antithesis The opposite of and idea used to emphasize the point. (Hope is the antithesis of despair. The opposite of war isn’t peace; it’s creation. ) To emphasize a point by showing a contrast. Apostrophe Not the punctuation. Speaker addresses something that can’t answer back. To call to attention to the importance of the thing he or she is talking to and to provide a metaphorical look at something

Appeal to authority The writer refers to expert opinion. To provide ETHOS. Circumlocution Writing around the issue, evasive writing, to say nothing. To be ambiguous and provide for multiple interpretations. Digress(ion) To veer off of the point onto a tangent To add to the interest of the piece and often Euphemism A kinder, gentler, less crude or harsh word or phrase to replace one that is less acceptable (assessment vs test, casualties vs deaths) To make something seem less harsh than it is. Imagery Language that describes something to evoke the senses. To appeal to the senses so one can imagine what they are discussing. metaphor A comparison of two unalike things To show one more clearly or in a new way. oxymoron Two contradictory elements combined for effect (deafening silence, random order) To provide a contradiction in meaning and feeling.

Paradox The juxtaposition of incongruous or conflicting ideas. To reveal a truth or insight. Parallel structure/ syntax Use of parallel structure of sentences or elements. To provide a balance and to enhance the flow of a work. Understatement Saying less than is needed by the situation. To emphasize reality. Other good ones to know: Colloquial Common or regional language referring to a local custom or saying To endear the reader to the writer by making the writing more conversational. Juxtapose (juxtaposition) Place two things side by side to show similarities or differences. To reveal irony or a comparison Satire Kernel of truth, witty, and makes a statement To reveal folly in a humorous, exaggerated, or ironic way.

Create a great word morgue • Collect them. Look up better words for words you frequently use! • Pay attention to words that may have multiple meanings.

Verbs of Rhetoric • Analyze • Characterize • Claim • Clarify • Discuss • Emphasize • Establish • Indicate • Observe • To break apart so you can understand an aspect of the whole. • To depict something in a way that shows who or what they are. • To make statement of fact, something you intend to prove. • To lesson confusion and make something more clear. • To consider several different views on a topic. Show both sides. • To give added importance or weight to something. • To base a claim on an observation. • To state or express. • To take notice of something and draw conclusions from it.

Verbs of Rhetoric • Paraphrase • Propose • Rebuff • Suggest • Support • To put into more common, simpler language. • To suggest a plan or solution to the problem. • To reject. • To offer a perspective, solution, or way of thinking. • To give reasons and examples for a claim.

Diction Overall style Denotation: the real meaning of a word. • Pay attention to the tone of the piece. Tone is established through word choice Be sure you are looking at the context. and style. In archaic pieces, look for footnotes and • Also, pay attention to tonal shifts. use word parts to help you figure things • Typical style descriptions: out. Also, don’t let not knowing a word • authoritative – commanding stump you up. Move on. • Emotive – evoking emotion Connotation: The emotional meaning of • Didactic – preachy the word. • Scholarly – learned, authoritative, erudite If you notice multiple words that have a • Use of imagery: Helps to establish tone, connected connotative meaning, circle creates realistic setting, creates empathy them because you are noticing how and allows the reader to put themselves diction is working in the piece. into the authors place. • Uses figurative language. Effect of the word choice • •

Tone words • • • • Ambivalent Callous Civil Conciliatory Condescending Contemplative Cynical Defensive Detached Dismissive Harsh Irate Judicious Mocking • • • Nostalgic Optimistic Reassuring Reckless Remorseful Sarcastic Serious Solemn Superficial Suspicious Sympathetic • • • • Style words Abstract Accusatory Apathetic Bitter Candid Colloquial Complex Critical Descriptive Disdainful Eloquent Gloomy Haughty Informal • • • • Malicious Objective Patronizing Pedantic Pessimistic Pretentious Quizzical Reflective Sarcastic Sardonic Smug Symbolic Vulgar

Syntax • The order of words in a sentence. • The rhythm of sentence variety. • Repetition and use of punctuation and grammar for emphasis. • Why use syntactical elements? • Impact the pace of the passage, making it read fast or slow, which impacts the idea/theme. • Certain types of sentences are better at emphasizing ideas so that key points stand out through repetition or parallel structure. • There are questions that ask you to identify types of sentences.

Typed of repetition • Anaphora (same at the beginning) • The new paradigm was threatening, the new paradigm was bold… • Epistrophe (same at the end) • …he needed her no longer, he wanted her no longer, he loved her no longer. • Asyndeton (conjunctions are omitted in a list, just commas) • …to be temporarily subservient, to feign obedience, to mitigate the circumstances… • Chiasmus (Two pairs in an ABBA pattern) • The queen reveled in the villagers’ adulation, but the villagers’ adulation was false… • Polysyndeton (using a conjunction between each in a list) • The rewards would be great and the thrill exhilarating and the press conference flattering and he gained momentum.

Grammatical Sentence Types • • Simple Compound Complex Compound-Complex Grammatical Sentence Purposes • • Declarative (. ) Imperative (command) Interrogative (? ) Exclamatory (!)

Three P’s of Syntax • Prominence – importance of the idea in the sentence. Achieved by placement, repetition and isolation. • Position – Where is the key idea located? Why? • Pace – What is the pace that the sentences are supposed to be read in? How does the author create this pace.

Woman Work I've got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry I got company to feed The garden to weed I've got shirts to press The tots to dress The can to be cut I gotta clean up this hut Then see about the sick And the cotton to pick. Shine on me, sunshine Rain on me, rain Fall softly, dewdrops And cool my brow again. Storm, blow me from here With your fiercest wind Let me float across the sky 'Til I can rest again. Fall gently, snowflakes Cover me with white Cold icy kisses and Let me rest tonight. Sun, rain, curving sky Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone Star shine, moon glow You're all that I can call my own. Maya Angelou

antecedents • A clause, phrase, or noun that a pronoun or other part of speech refers to. • Jim suddenly realized his work was not finished, which made him late to the meeting to discuss it. • What does it refer to?

Try this one from Michel de Montaigne’s essay “Of Books”: • I have often observed that those of our times, who take upon them to write comedies (in imitation of the Italians, who are happy enough in that way of writing), take three or four plots of those of Plautus or Terence to make one of their own, and, crowd five or six of Boccaccio’s novels into one single comedy. That which makes them so load themselves with matter is the diffidence they have of being able to support themselves with their own strength. They must find out something to lean to; and not having of their own stuff wherewith to entertain us, they bring in the story to supply the defect of language. • What is the antecedent of the pronoun in bold?

Answer • “Those of our time” AKA Writers.

About antecedents • To find an antecedent, ask: Who? What? When? Where? Why? • Look beyond the immediate sentence for your answer. • They must agree with their pronouns in • Person (first, second, or third person) • Number (singular or plural) • Gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter)

Types of phrases • Appositive – gives more info on a noun • Randi Lundgren, my AP teacher, is very tired. • Infinitive – uses to plus a verb • Mrs. Morris wanted to go to work today. • Prepositional phrase – begins with a preposition followed by a noun. • Common preps – at, on, in, above, beyond, over, under, into, among, after, before, up, down , beneath, of, for, to • To the store, beneath the floor boards, before breakfast

Common errors you need to avoid: • Accept/except = I accept the award; no one except Ryan may talk. • Affect/effect = RAVEN (effect = result; affect = a change) • A lot, not allot = a lot means many, allot means to disperse or allow. • Bring/take = Bring me my slippers and take the trash out. Bring = come towards you; take = go away from you. • Could have, not could of = should have and would have, not should of or would of. • It’s and its = its is a possessive pronoun. It’s is a contraction for it is. • Knew and new = I knew you would ruin your new shoes. • Lead and led = lead is present tense, led is past tense. Lead on, Kyle, or do you prefer being led?

More Common Errors • Loose and lose = loose is not tight and lose is to have something disappear. • Past and passed = past is the time before now and passed is past tense of to pass. • Than and then = than makes a comparison and then is a time transition or adverb. • Their, they’re, there = They’re going to play over there with their toys. • Threw and through = threw is past tense of throw and through is a preposition. • Waist and waste = waist is the middle of your body and waste is trash or something you throw away.

More Common Errors • Weather and whether = weather is meteorological stuff and whether is a choice. • Who’s and whose = whose is a pronoun and who’s is a contraction for who is. • Your and You’re = Your is possessive, you’re is you are

MC – You will have 60 minutes to read 5 -6 texts and answer approx. 55 questions. • If you do any of the following, you need to practice active reading so that you can improve your basic reading habits. You find yourself thinking about other things every other sentence. You have to reread a paragraph several times. You have to look up every other word. You are bored by the passage and just skim it, but then have no idea what it is about. • You sometimes characterize a text as stupid, dumb, or pointless. • • • You aren’t going to like all of the passages, but your attitude can become a barrier to your understanding.

Strategies for becoming better readers. • Read faster… one reason other things creep in is that you are reading too slowly. • Read with the pen in your hand. Make notes, mark text, annotate. • Eliminate distractions • Practice reading complex texts. (Project Gutenberg is a good place to find articles. http: //www. gutenberg. org) • Get the gist! It’s ok to skip words if they are not important. • Daily affirmations – You CAN do this!

Build your vocabulary • Get your old essays and pick 20 words you can find better words for and write them down the sentence you used them in. • Look up better words for them and write the definitions. • Re-write your sentences using the better words. • This is an assignment – it is worth 60 points and is due tomorrow. You will have class time to work on it now and tomorrow.

Do not write a qualified claim. Write an authoritative claim. Which is stronger? : Qualified Claim Authoritative Claim In my opinion, Jefferson should have heeded Adams’ advice and left the anti-slavery language in the Declaration of Independence. I feel it would have catapulted our country’s sense of human rights ahead by a hundred years. Jefferson should have heeded Adams’ advice and left the anti -slavery language in the Declaration of Independence. It would have catapulted our country’s sense of human rights ahead by a hundred years.

Irony and Satire • Not direct. That’s why it gives us so much trouble. • Types of Irony: • • Verbal – Sarcasm Dramatic – Reader knows something character does not Situational – Outcome of a situation is different than what was expected Socratic – “devil’s advocate” pretending to no know anything to drive the discussion on. • Necessary for Satire: Witty, kernel of truth, making a criticism • Ask yourself who or what is the target, what is the purpose, and what techniques are they using? Irony, exaggeration, innuendo, understatement, etc… • Watch shows like the Colbert Report, the Daily Show with John Stewart, and Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and read The Onion, Dave Barry, and David Sedaris and analyze their use of Satire.

10 years of Free-Response Prompts • The prompt asks you to carefully read a specific text, quotation or question. • It gives you a specific task to accomplish. • It directly tells you to write a well-organized essay. • It instructs you to defend your claim with specific evidence. • Do what it asks you do and all of it, or you won’t get a passing score.

Synthesis • It will present you with an issue. • There will be 5 -7 sources, at least one of which is a graphic or illustration. • You will have to develop your own claim and support it with evidence from at least 3 sources.

Rhetorical Analysis Question • You are given a passage to read analyze. You will be asked to explain how the author uses rhetorical strategies to achieve his or her purpose. You have to find these on your own. • You may be given a text and asked to defend, challenge or qualify the authors position. • You may be given paired texts that share elements (topic, style, purpose, etc…, and asked to compare and contrast them while also analyzing the writers purpose and strategies.

Open-Ended Question • You may be given a short quote or a very brief passage that presents a debatable issue. You will be asked to develop your own position and support it. Support comes from your own knowledge, reading, and experience. • You may be given a premise and you will chose your own relevant issue to argue.

Defend, Challenge, or Qualify • Defend (Support) – I agree. • Challenge (Refute) – I disagree. • Qualify – Agree with some parts, but disagree with other parts.

Analysis of Themes and Topics – Most used on exams • Value of technology in education • Slavery • Function of humor and humorists in society • Daylight saving time • Midwestern values • Effects of consumer culture • Individual and conformity • Free speech • Effect of television on society • Environment • Effect of adversity on one’s character • Value of penny coin • Scientific research method • Corporate advertising/sponsorship in schools • National school curriculum

More topics • • • Anti-intellectualism Effect of dissent in America Effect of advertising on society Emigration Ethics of rewarding charitable acts in schools What museum artifacts represent Value of muckrakers/whistle-blowers Race How fads reflect American values Effects of money in society Value/effect of personal opinion/commentary in society • Compulsory voting • Effect of reading on independent thought • Consumerism and advertising • Poverty • Race • The Mississippi River • Value of trial and error thinking • Cultural differences • Common sense and personal values • Protecting the environment • Morality

More • Cultural norms • Effects of entertainment on society • Admiration of birds in flight • Race • Emigration • Individual and society • Plagiarism in schools • Effects of Civil War from Lincoln’s point of view • Childhood memories • Abuse of power • Appreciation for nature and beauty • Man versus machine/technology • Self-awareness • Limitations of viewing the world through photographic images • WHAT DO YOU NOTICE REPEATING?

The most important thing in the essays is to show you understand the task they are asking of you. • Don’t waste time! • Plan in your 15 minutes! • Make a claim! • Support it with CONCRETE evidence! • Explain how this evidence proves your points!

Typical problems • • • No claim in intro No analysis (just summarizing or paraphrasing) Failure to move from what to how and why. Failure to support your claims with evidence Poorly developed ideas or repetitive claims Inability to embed quotations (see Example in Dalton’s Essay) Wordy introductions which are mostly a restatement of the prompt Boring conclusions the just restate the claim or prompt Loosely constructed paragraphs that are not unified Reliance upon five paragraph essay but without real analysis Imprecise use of language; never use big words to impress. Use the right words for the job.

Characteristics of a good essay: • It is far better to write a relatively short essay with a defensible thesis and a few insightful claims supported with textual evidence than to have a longer essay about nothing. If you don’t understand the prompt or text, your essay will be about nothing. • An essay is not a list of separate ideas clumped together, but an argument that you control and make flow in an organized way. • A good essay is well organized even as a draft. The intro, body and conclusion should be discernible. • The best have a claim that responds accurately to the given task in the prompt. • According to the College Board, “The best papers come from writers who have though deeply and insightfully about the questions; understood that they were writing to an educated, sophisticated audience; made their thinking and reasoning lucid and transparent; and developed their claims with evidence, reasoning, and details drawn from their reading, observation and experience.

Elements of a good introduction • You must acknowledge the task given in the prompt. • You must give the writer’s name and title of the work (spell them correctly) • Avoid long exposition or windy attention-getters. You don’t have time for this. Be concise. There should be some sort of attentiongetter, but it shouldn’t be much more than a sentence or two. • Include a claim that reveal your understanding of the key ideas in the text and of the task in the prompt. • Claim should be at the end of the intro and be supportable.

Developing the body • Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence/point you are making in the paragraph/sentence that reveal one reason for your claim statement. • Support/evidence: paraphrasing, examples, quotes • Explain: This is your commentary that shows why or how the evidence supports your claim. • If you can still ask the following questions about your essay, you have not fully explained what you mean: • Why? • What is important or significant about this idea? • What does this have to do with the claim?

Conclusions • Avoid generic summary. • Conclusions should go beyond the analysis and relate to your personal insight. It shouldn’t be personal, but it should use your personal voice to show deep your understanding is. • Never • Introduce a new claim • Cite text in the conclusion • Use phrases like in conclusion or to sum up… • Always • Make the essay feel finished • Remind (Not restate) readers of the most important concepts

Conclusion strategies • Make suggestions: possible solutions, a new way of thinking about the topic, create a plan of action… • Explain how the topic affects or will affect people. • Use a rhetorical device: anecdote, metaphor, ironic statement, reference to a historical event. • But what if I run out of time? • Try to get at least a sentence or two, but if you can’t, don’t fret too terribly much because the intro and body are the most important part.

If you make an error in the essays: • They are a draft. • Cross outs are expected and ok. • Just make them neat so they can follow your thought process. • Once you have finished all three essays, you may want to go back to the one you think was your weakest and make some minor changes.

Quotes • Use only the part of the quote that helps you prove your point. • Quote sparingly. Just use phrases that prove your points. • Don’t do ellipses in the middle of the quote. Use paraphrasing. • Paraphrasing is not just changing a word or two. It is putting it all into your own words and usually shortening it making it more concise. • Why are you using the quote? If you don’t know, don’t use it. • When quoting, set it up. Don’t just plunk it in and then explain it. You have not provided context. • Don’t start a sentence with a quote. Do a lead in.

Use strong words • Especially verbs. Use action verbs as much as possible. ong • Weak: The images are interesting. • Strong: The images in the first paragraph evoke pity for the narrator. • Weak: The simile is effective. • Strong: The simile conjures images of wickedness. • Avoid words like: very, really, completely, interesting, talks about. • Don’t complement the writer. Praising is not analyzing. • Avoid clichés and trite expressions: a close call, now a days, in this day and age, what goes around comes around, last but not least, etc.

Six tips for better essays • Master the prompt • Create a mini-outline to plan each • Check back often to the plan • Revise or rewrite if there is time • Intros are important • Master conventions (advanced vocab, sentence variety and use of syntax, control of tone and diction)

Synthesis common errors • Not taking a clear position or wavering between positions. • Substituting an expository essay (explaining the topic) for an argumentative essay (staking a claim and supporting the claim). • Being reluctant to engage in verbal combat because, “Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, ” so there is nothing to argue about. • Slipping out of focus, digressing into a tangent. • Misreading sources. • Alluding to sources, but not specifically citing them. • Providing a weak link between the argument and the sources. • Being vague. • Summarizing sources instead of using them.

Strategies for success in a synthesis: • Carefully read and understand the prompt and stay focused. • Make your claim contains a point of view (your side of the argument). It has to be able to be supported with the sources. • Create a mini-outline in the margin of the prompt page and come up with at least three main points to support. List your evidence that you will use. Maybe code text with a 1, 2, 3 next to the evidence you will use in each of those paragraphs. • Use (Source A) or According to Source A, or … as demonstrated in Source A to document the sources. You can also use the sources author’s name or title to document.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay • PASTA • Purpose • Audience • Subject • Tone • Authorial Voice (Rhetorical Strategies Used) • Incorporate all of these in a claim statement. • Go on to prove how those strategies are used and most importantly, why they are used. What effect do they have?

Open-Ended Question Essay: • Write a claim that is provable. • Provide evidence from History, Experiences of others, Literature, and Personal experiences. • Use your own rhetorical triangle. Use Ethos and Logos, and maybe a bit of pathos, but the stronger arguments use logos over pathos. Logos establishes your ethos. • Personal experience carries more weight if it is universal. • Qualify any statistics. Don’t say one in three students, say approximately one in three. • Make your thinking transparent. Explain. Make it clear.

Avoid • Repetition and redundancy • Overly short paragraphs – explore it fully • Do not use generalizations. Be specific and support your claim. • Don’t talk around the subject, be direct. • Don’t repeat the prompt or even paraphrase it. Refer to your claim. • Don’t summarize in your conclusion.

Strive for: • Varied and effective sentence structure. • Rich, but standardized vocabulary. • Avoid specialized jargon. • Use more than a few examples or other details in support. • Explain evidence. • Present a coherent and compelling argument.

Mastering the MC section • Mark the text as your read. • Read the questions carefully. • Cross out answers you know are wrong. • Eliminating two answers will give you at least a 50/50 guess. There are not points deducted for wrong answers. Making an educated guess is a good strategy. • If it’s only sort of right, it is not right. • Don’t over think it. Most who over think get it wrong. • For except questions look for the one thing that doesn’t match the others. • Many questions require rereading of lines. Do the rereading.

Basic Question Types: • Prevalence Rate: • * = 1 -5 instances • ** = 6 -10 instances • *** = 11 -15 instances • **** = 16 + instances

Basics • Double answers (***) Answers are given in pairs. “Civil but angry” or “genial yet self-interested”. Wrong pairs contain one element that cannot be correct. If one is incorrect, the answer is incorrect. • All of the following EXCEPT (***) Be sure to recognize this type and consider the answer that is not like the others. • Of the following, which is LEAST (*) • I only; I and II; I, II, and III; etc. (*) These can be tricky and time consuming. Might want to save it until you have answered all others. Remember the score is on how many you get right, so the goal is to get as many as you can completed and correct.

Rhetorical and literary elements • Identify a rhetorical strategy/device (***) • Determine the characterization of a speaker (*) • Determine the function/effect of diction (*) • Identify a symbol (*) • Identify tone/atmosphere (*) • Identify a shift in tone (*) • Determine ironic effect (*) • Identify antithesis (*) • Identify elements of extended metaphor (*) • Determine the effect of an analogy (*) • Identify style or elements of style (*) • Identify imagery (*) • Interpret or infer meaning (****) • Determine the effect/function of a passage, paragraph, sentence, or phrase (****) • Analyze the author’s argument or process (***)

More Determine the author’s/speaker’s purpose in a passage or statement. (***) Determine the rhetorical function or purpose of a word or phrase in a passage (*) Determine the author’s/speaker’s rhetorical strategy (*) Determine the effect of a word or phrase in the meaning of a passage (*) Determine the effect of a specific detail (*) Identify a shift in rhetorical purpose (*) Identify a word/phrase reference. The question is often worded “the word ‘----’ refers to…” (**) • In context of the passage as a whole, determine meaning of a sentence or phrase. (**) • Identify the unifying elements (*) • In context of a passage as a whole, determine the function of a sentence or phrase. (*) • •

More • Identify the relationship of one element of the passage to another (*) • Identify a logical order or sequence (such as a list from large to small, grand to ordinary) (*) • Identify similar elements (*) • Identify contrasting elements (*) • Determine the effect/purpose of typography (italics, bold, etc. ) in the passage (*) • Identify the speaker or author’s attitude, belief or point of view (***) • Identify the author’s/speaker’s voice or tone (**) • Identify a shift in point of view (*) • Determine the intended audience (*)

More • Identify the subject of a sentence (*) • Identify the antecedent or a pronoun (*) • Determine the grammatical function of a word or phrase (*) • Determine the purpose of a footnote (*) • Identify the elements of a footnote (*) • Determine the accuracy of a source citation (*) • Determine the effect of a citation (*) • Identify parallel structure/elements (**) • Identify syntactical elements (types of sentences, syntax patterns) (*) • Identify sentence construction (*) • Determine the function/effect of syntax (*)

More • Determine the meaning or purpose of a word or phrase in context (***) • Identify the connotation of a word or phrase (*) • Determine the value/purpose of a word/phrase throughout the passage (*) • Identify the genre/rhetorical mode (*) • Identify the pattern of exposition (*) • Determine the genre from which the passage is likely excerpted (*)

Citations • “ “ = article • Italics = Book • Let’s look at some questions about a citation.