BACKWARDS!

*** Due to the fact that posts must be ordered by the time they were submitted, please scroll to the bottom of this blog/ the oldest post then proceed to the top for the chronological order of my blog:)

Second Quarter Reflection

*Many times in AP Lang, you will be required to reflect on the work you have done or the concepts you have learned. The following is my personal Second Quarter Reflection on the American Experience.

"The American Experience is an occurrence like no other." This statement was my belief earlier this year on the topic of the American Experience. Through investigation of this phrase and the meanings behind it, I have been able to build on my first quarter beliefs. By reading texts in the Bedford Reader (a.k.a your best friend) I was better able to actually define in my own words, the American Experience. So, as of right think second, my thoughts still remain the same on the subject but I have narrowed it down. The American Experience is an Experience of protests.






*An editorial on my view of the American Experience is soon to follow:)

Open Thesis Statements

An open thesis is a statement that will introduce the reader to what you paper is going to be about. However, the writer does not directly state what they will discuss in their paper. An open thesis statement creates a stronger introduction because it makes the reader want to continue reading you paper because they are interested about what you are going to say in the rest of your paper.

Example:

• Vanilla Ice Cream is the best.

*Notice that I didn't say why vanilla ice cream is the best, instead I left the reader wanting more hopefully making them read the whole paper.

Closed Thesis Statements

A closed thesis statement is a sentence or sentences that directly state what the topics in you paper are going to be. This type of this statement is helpful for students who aren't quite comfortable with thesis statements yet and even those who are!

Example:

• Vanilla Ice Cream is the best kind of ice cream because it's you can add as many toppings as you want, it is a classic, and it tastes good.

* The underlined, grouped word show exactly what my paper with discuss. My first body paragraph  will be about adding toppings, my second bid paragraph will be about why/ how it is a classic, and my third bod paragraph will be about how it tastes good.

Thesis Statements

Being familiar with thesis statements is important because they work as a road map for the reader by describing what your paper will be about.

The following explanation is from Owl at Purdue and gives their take on thesis statements:

•  "Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper (But not always)."

"Cheats" for Timed Assignments

• Stay clam, take a deep breath
• Before the timer starts think about how you are going to use your time
• Section the exam of into time frames
• Wear a watch. This helps because it eliminate the need for you to look up from your assignment and possibly preventing you from getting distracted by something around the room.
• Skim passages when it isn't necessary to read the entire piece
• Eliminate answer choices you just know are wrong/silly

****Remember practice makes perfect, nobody is perfect at everything.

Taking Timed Assessments

For many students, timed assignments send them into a frenzy because they are more focused on the time than the actual assignment. Like most thing in life getting better at taking this types of exams requires practice, practice and more practice. But, the more you work at getting better, the more successful you will be.

Places that offer help with MLA formatting

Although many AP Lang hopeful students should be accustomed to the style of citation not all are familiar or comfortable with the concept. No worries, below are a list of sources that offer help on MLA formatting.

MLA Help Resources

• OWL at Purdue
• Oakton's Writing Center
• Tutors are trained on the format
• Books and Handouts are provided to students there
• Oakton's Library
• Your Teacher
• Noodletools (A website that helps you create a bibliography)
• High School Easy Writer

MLA Formatting Worksheet

This document was a resource that can be found at the Writing Center at Oakton High School. The worksheet is a guide to help students properly format their papers along with serving as an example of what is correct.

MLA Formatting

Students not only in AP Lang, but almost all courses are required to write using MLA formatting. Without using the proper format, can result in being accused of plagiarism or even further actions. MLA formatting is a was for writers to cite the sources they use while still giving credit to the original authors.OWL at Purdue, a website dedicated to educating students on the proper use of MLA for matting describes MLA as the following; "MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities  MLA style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.
Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material by other writers."

An Example of Poor Organization

This student's agenda is a poor example of the organization needed to do well in AP Lang. For instance the student wrote very few things during the week and didn't write down when any assessments were.

An Example of Good Organization

For me, an agenda is a great way to keep all the assignments I get throughout the week organized by the day they are do or assigned. While the school agenda book is very helpful to me, everyone has their own preferences on which assignment book they use.

Tips and Tricks for staying organized

use your agenda book all the time!

check blackboard if not everyday, than every other day

talk to your peers about due dates

use a monthly calender to view all upcoming assignments at one time

keep your binder together (this really makes a difference sometimes)

Organization

In order to be a good AP Lang student, a key element is to stay organized. This especially becomes important when writing down your assignments and making sure you know the correct due date for each. For example, since Oakton has block scheduling, most students only have their class every other day. However, I have AP Lang everyday because I am in the 7th period block. Because of this, assignments are assigned almost everyday and vary on when they are due. In order to ensure that I keep everything organized and have everything done on the correct day, I use my agenda book provided by the school.

Example of POOR Annotations

Example of GOOD Annotations

To annotate means "to supply with critical or explanatory notes; comment upon in notes."
-Dictionary.com

Annotations

Having an overall understand of what annotations are is an important skill for you, a hopeful AP Lang student, to know. By fully grasping the concept, you will be able to better prepare yourself for Socratic seminars and open book assessments in the class due to your previously taken notes.
When taking in the class, you should mainly annotate for:

DIDLS

• D- Diction
• I- Imagery
• D- Devices
• L- (Figurative) Language
• S- Syntax

What do students need to know in order to succeed in AP Lang?

The top 5 things (in no particular order) AP Lang students should know (or be able to do) by the end of the second quarter.

1. Annotating
2. Organization
3. MLA Format
4. Be able to take times assessments
5. Thesis statements

The AP Lang Experience

What is AP Lang?
AP Lang is an 11th grade course formally know as AP Language and Composition. My AP Lang teacher, Mrs. Blankenship, described the course as the following," In AP Language and Composition students will analyze the use of language in a variety of rhetorical modes and develop the ability to use language effectively in their own compositions. In this college-level course the primary focus is the analysis of rhetorical through close readings of persuasive texts, nonfiction essays and works of American literature. Analysis of these various texts will teach students to appreciate the construction of rhetoric and the complexity of language and meaning; this appreciation will enable students to writing clearly and coherently while polishing their own writing."