Ms. Bridges' AP English

January 28, 2013 - February 1, 2013 A.P. English Literature Monday, January 28th: Pass out the multiple choice questions for THE DEAD.  This will be due on Tuesday, January 29th. Read the biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Read “Ode to the West Wind”. Break into groups of three and analyze an assigned stanza for one of the following elements: theme, structure, tone, diction and imagery.  Class discussion. Mini essay: Write two body paragraphs focusing on one of the four elements.  This will be due Wednesday, January 30th. Tuesday, January 29th: Go over vocabulary and figurative language in THE DEAD and in the multiple choice questions to prep the class on the assignment. Break the class into groups of three; assign each group a stanza from "Ode to the West Wind". Brief conference with each group regarding figurative language, etc. Wednesday, January 30th: Each group presents the assigned stanza to the class.  Discussion of Greek mythology. Thursda...

January 22, 2013 – January 25, 2013 Weekly Agenda for A.P. English Literature Tuesday, January 22 nd : Go over the multiple choice questions for FRANKENSTEIN Break into groups; pass out the two paragraph essays; analyze Pass out the released student essays on MARY BARTON; analyze Your rewritten MARY BARTON essay will be due on Wednesday, January 23 rd . Unit Two Vocabulary Homework is due today Wednesday, January 23 rd : Break into groups to peer review other groups' paragraphs on selection of detail, tone, dialogue, and point of view in the excerpt MARY BARTON and then present their analysis. Thursday, January 24th: Read the excerpt from THE PUPIL Analyze; class discussion Read the released students' essays Friday, January 25th: Go over the answers to the multiple choice questions over passage #5 in FRANKENSTEIN Go over vocabulary from the selection from FRANKENSTEIN Go over parallel structure: gerunds, infinitives Brief final discus...

Monday, January 14th: Debriefing on the timed essay on Elizabeth Gaskell's MARY BARTON.  Break into groups of four and write two paragraphs analyzing one of the elements asked for in the prompt. They are: point of view, selection of details, characterization and dialogue. Those of you who scored lower than a "B" will not have the grade entered. However, everyone will redo the essay.  Those of you who were absent on Friday will write it for the first time and turn in on Friday, January 18th. Tuesday, January 15th: Continue working on the two paragraph analysis. Wednesday, January 16th: The two paragraph essay is due today.  The Romantic Era Packet is due today.  Break into groups for SOCRATIC CIRCLE on Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN. Each person in the group writes five questions and corresponding answers on the novel.  The questions should be in-depth, and each question should relate to one of the following areas: theme, character, tone, point o...

Notes on Multiple Choice Questions on “To His Coy Mistress” Anaphora: the repetition of a word at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Example: “I had never seen a zebra crossing before, never seen a tram, never seen an unsliced loaf of bread, never seen anyone wearing a beret who expected to be taken seriously, never seen people go into different shops to buy separate courses for their dinner....” from Bill Bryson’s NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. The use of the anaphora heightens emotional impact, increases the importance, emphasizes the emotion or builds tension. It drives home the point of the writer. Sedentary: not active; spending most of one’s time sitting Confound: to destroy Synethesia: the mixing up of the senses: to see music, to hear color, etc. Used in literature to suggest an intense heightened artistic/aesthetic sensibility and/or pathology. Libidinous: sexual desire. The libido is sexual energy; libidinous is the adjective describing someone as having...

Avoid using: sad, glad, mad to describe either character or atmosphere.  Here are some (there are many, many more) words to describe a character or the atmosphere: Angry Sharp Upset Silly Boring Frightened Frightening Foreboding Dark Chilling Hollow Elusive Shifting Shifty Bitter Brittle Vexed Vexing Dreamy Restrained Reserved Proud Humbled Humble Flamboyant Colorful Colorless Cold Cool Detached Joking Jocular Poignant Nostalgic Confused Childish Mocking Arrogant Bullying Objective Vibrant Frivolous Audacious Brazen Brash Shocking Somber Sober Giddy Provocative Sentimental Fanciful Condescending Obsequious Supercilious Sympathetic Contemptuous Apologetic Sarcastic Horrific Irreverent Benevolent Malevolent Seductive Celibate Candid Occult Pitiful Didactic Pedantic Verb: To laugh What are the connotations of the following words, which are variations of the word "to laugh"? Guffaw, chuckle, titter, gigg...

Avoid using the "to be" verb forms: is, are, were, was, etc. in your analysis.  Use verbs that are strong, colorful, in active voice, and fits in tone with the excerpt you are analyzing: Verbs for ANALYSIS: Alludes to Argues Balances Clarifies Compares Contrasts Connotes Defines Delves into Demonstrates Develops Echoes Elucidates Emphasizes Exemplifies Expresses Focuses Highlights Identifies Implies Insinuates Juxtaposes Mirrors Negates Observes Organizes Provides References Reinforces Relates Reveals Shows Suggests Tantalizes Titillates

RULES FOR WRITING LITERARY ANALYSIS 1. Avoid passive voice: to be verbs (is, are, was, were). Instead use strong colorful action verbs. 2. Avoid using “the reader”, “I”, “we”, “one”; instead refer to the writer, narrator or text and what she/he/ it does. 3.   The first time one refers to the author of the piece under consideration, use the entire name – first and last. After the first reference, one may call the writer by her/his last name. NEVER CALL THE WRITER BY HER/HIS FIRST NAME! 4. Do not list examples of figurative language; for example, “The dove is an example of a simile.”   That will detract from your paper.   The reader of your essay already knows that it is a simile.   The reader wants to know HOW the dove is used by the author to achieve the desired effect: how does the dove reveal the theme; how does it contribute or add to the tone; how does it reveal a character?   Example: What qualities does the dove share with the c...

Monday, January 7th: Review: Anaphora, Enjambment, Feminine Rhyme, Internal Rhyme, Masculine Rhyme, Slant Rhyme Multiple Choice Questions on "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell A.P. Writing Strategies: Opening paragraphs Tuesday, January 8th: Continue working on A.P. writing strategies: Structure of A.P. essay Excerpt from MARY BURTON by Elizabeth Gaskell For homework: Multiple Choice questions over excerpt from Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN; due Wednesday, January 9th Wednesday, January 9th: Go over multiple choice questions over FRANKENSTEIN Continue working on A.P. writing strategies: Continue working on excerpt from MARY BURTON Thursday, January 10th: Due to so many students being absent today, the essay will be postponed to tomorrow. Those students who are here will continue analyzing the excerpt from MARY BURTON in preparation for the essay tomorrow. We will analyze the prompt, and the excerpt for point of view, characterization, dialogue, and...