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Intro To AP Lang

This document provides an overview of the AP Language and Composition course. It discusses the three types of essays on the AP exam: synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument. For each essay type, it provides examples of prompts and instructions. It also discusses the goals of the course, which are to learn how to analyze an author's writing techniques and emulate effective writing styles. Students will read various texts and analyze them for their purpose, arguments, and effectiveness. The overall goal is to prepare students to write college-level analysis of various types of texts.

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71 views32 pages

Intro To AP Lang

This document provides an overview of the AP Language and Composition course. It discusses the three types of essays on the AP exam: synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument. For each essay type, it provides examples of prompts and instructions. It also discusses the goals of the course, which are to learn how to analyze an author's writing techniques and emulate effective writing styles. Students will read various texts and analyze them for their purpose, arguments, and effectiveness. The overall goal is to prepare students to write college-level analysis of various types of texts.

Uploaded by

Yuansheng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Intro to AP Lang!

What do we do in AP Lang?
 What is the author trying to say?
(purpose, objective)
 How does the author reach that
objective? (writing/rhetorical strategies or
techniques)
 Are those writing techniques effective?
Another objective
 You learn to write by reading. Another
goal is to emulate the writing techniques
of effective writers. Therefore, we will
read an obscene amount of excellent
writing.
AP essays
 3 different types of essays on the exam
1. Synthesis
2. Rhetorical analysis
3. Argumentative/position/open-ended
AP synthesis essay
 Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources.
 This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written
 essay. Refer to the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
 Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument.
 Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.
 Introduction
 Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960’s.
 But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made
 elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to
 pursuing image?
 Assignment
 Read the following sources (including any introductory information) carefully. Then, in
 an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a position
 that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that television has had a positive
 impact on presidential elections.
 Refer to the sources as Source A, Source B, etc.; titles are included for your convenience.
 Source A (Campbell)
 Source B (Hart and Triece)
 Source C (Menand)
 Source D (Chart)
 Source E (Ranney)
 Source F (Koppel)
AP rhetorical analysis essay

The passages below are from two different


novels. In each passage, a man is proposing
marriage. Compare the rhetorical strategies
—such as arguments, assumptions,
attitudes, diction—used by the speakers in
the two passages and comment on both the
intended and the probable effects of the
proposals on the women being addressed.
AP Argumentative/position/open-ended

The lines above are from a speech by King


Lear. Write a carefully reasoned essay in
which you briefly paraphrase Lear’s
statement and then defend, challenge, or
qualify his view of the relationship
between wealth and justice. Support your
argument with specific references to your
reading, observation, or experience.
What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)

 Self-reflective, self-aware
 Notice complexity
 Provide explanations of details, examples,
and content
 Can represent multiple viewpoints
 Sees writing as an ongoing conversation
What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)
 Approach texts with uncertainty and
embrace it
 Withhold judgment until text is read
 Consider each text with an open-mind
 Appreciate texts singly at first, then
together
What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)
 Not just content, but form and content
 Approach research as a conversation
 Do not view essay prompt as a linear task
 Healthy skepticism is important
 Prioritize text considerations (synthesis)
Writing
 The art of writing is more organized than
you might think.
 Various rhetorical modes :
1. Argumentation and persuasion
2. Cause and effect
3. Classification and division
4. Comparison and contrast
5. Definition
6. Description
7. Exemplification
8. Narrative
9. Process
Writing
 How do you know which mode to use?
 How do you know why an author chose a
particular mode in which to write?
 Depends on your purpose; ask yourself,
“what is the most effective way to present
what I want to say?”
Reading: Specific strategies
 Annotating
 Previewing
 Outlining
 Summarizing
 Paraphrasing
 Synthesizing
 Questioning to understand and remember
 Contextualizing
 Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values
 Exploring the significance of figurative language
 Looking for patterns of opposition
 Evaluating the logic
 Recognizing the logical fallacies
 Recognizing the emotional manipulation
 Judging the writer’s credibility
 Comparing and contrasting related readings
Beginning study of rhetoric

**Pgs
4,5,6 in
 Rhetoric: Everyday
using language Use
effectively and persuasively
AP Lang Journal: 8/26/10
 “Words - so innocent and powerless as
they are, as standing in a dictionary, how
potent for good and evil they become in
the hands of one who knows how to
combine them.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
 Journal prompt: For you, how can you use
words to become potent for good and
evil?
Rhetorical
context

Taken from: http://www.usna.edu/Users/english/mace/slide1.html


Audience
 What does your audience already know
about the subject?
 What prejudices will they have?
 What will they expect?
 What should they learn?
Writer or Speaker
 How will you show your credibility?
 How will you show your expertise?
 What is your goal or purpose?
 How can you make an impression?
Purpose
 Do you want to persuade?
 Explain?
 Narrate?
 Describe?
 Inform?
 Express yourself?
Ethos
 writers appeal to a reader’s sense of
ethos (notice wording)
 Sense of character
 Is the writer credible or trustworthy?
 May emphasize shared values between
audience and writer
 May involve writer’s reputation
 May make a good impression
 Expertise, knowledge, experience,
training, sincerity, or a combination
Logos
 Writers appeal to a reader’s sense of
logos (notice wording)
 Offer clear, rational ideas
 logic
 Have main ideas, specific details, facts,
data, or testimonies
 Appealing to logos also means offering
counterarguments
 Concede that there are other viewpoints
 Refute those other viewpoints
Pathos
 Writers appeal to a reader’s sense of
pathos (notice wording)
 Using emotions can be effective for your
audience
 Using correct words, understanding
implied word meaning: connotation
 Include concrete, vivid details
 Figurative language
 Use of visual images to appeal to
emotions
Analyzing Visual Texts Using
OPTIC
 Paying attention to the details is a habit that is a necessary part of effective analysis.
As you analyze visual texts, including paintings, photographs, advertisements, maps,
charts or graphs, the OPTIC strategy can help you construct meaning. OPTIC
stands for Overview, Parts, Title, Interrelationship, and Conclusion. As you
examine a visual text, respond to each element:
 O- Write a brief overview of the image: in one complete sentence, what is this
image about?
 P- Key in on all of the parts by noting any details that seem important. This can be
anything: color, figures, textures, scenery, groupings, shadings, patterns, numbers,
etc.
 T- Use the title to clarify the subject of the image. Consider both literal and
metaphoric meanings. What does the title suggest?
 I- Specify the interrelationships in the image. In other words, how the parts are
related, both to one another and the image as a whole. Consider how the parts come
together to create a mood or convey an idea or argument.
 C- Write a conclusion paragraph about the image as a whole: think about what the
artist, photographer, creator, or designer might be trying to capture and convey, and
what ideas, arguments, or implications this image presents.

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