Life on the internet

Between Instagram and Facebook, I think Facebook has the most trolls.  I think Facebook has the most homes because of how popular it is between young adults and even older people.  As you guys my know, I believe everyone knows about the show Catfish. The show Catfish reminds of trolling in a way. A Catfish is person who did pretends to be someone else because maybe self-esteem issues or even to get back at people.  Is catfish trolling? Is someone being fake about their identity a way of trolling someone. I think is because I feel as if it causes more issues and it causes people not to trust one another. They  control peoples emotions and control peoples lives which is not good for people.

The Music From "La La Land" (percussion ensemble)

AP Review Slides

These are the slides for our AP Review this year.

Modest Proposal Notebook Assignment

Please write good, AP sentences in your notebooks that answer these questions. Use your satire handout for help with vocabulary.  :)

1. Discuss diction.  Discuss tone.  Discuss attitude.  Can you articulate the difference between these three elements of rhetoric?
2. What is Swift’s attitude toward the social ills of his day?  Make the distinction between Swift and his persona.  Locate places in the essay where Swift’s voice comes through.
3. Jot down examples of quantification and dehumanization, paragraphs 1-7.
4. What rhetorical purpose is achieved by starting with anticipated results of his proposal before he gets to specifics?
5. Paragraph 9:  why doesn’t Swift end his sentence with the word “food”?
6. Identify classic appeals of ethos, pathos, logos.
7. Identify appeals to thrift, economy, and patriotism.
8. What is the additional proposal in paragraph 17?  What is the rhetorical strategy at work here?
9. List the assumptions behind Swift’s claims in paragraphs 21-26.

Check this box if you're a good person

I mean, how else are they going to find out?
Dear Almost-Seniors:
Read the article here.

Island Civilizaiton

This is the link to the slide show>>Island Civilization

This is the writing prompt. Ms. Avila will give you a hard copy on Thursday.

Assignment:  Letter to the Author

The purpose of this assignment is for you to interact -- through writing -- with the author of this presentation, acknowledging that he is a real person from a university right up the road from here -- a university that some of you may end up attending in the fall of 2018.

In your letter, you must mind your tone.  You must be respectful, and acknowledge that whether you agree with him or not, Roderick Nash is an expert in his field.  He states early in his presentation -- (in paragraph 2) -- that his purpose for writing is “to put forward for discussion a strategy for occupation of this planet that will work in the very long run and for all the natural world...If you disagree with some or all of my vision, create your own.  Particularly, if you think staying the present course is the way to go, put forward your evidence and reasoning.”

So in your letter, you should summarize and acknowledge Nash’s major points.  Then you should respond to him, taking one of these stands: support his view, challenge his ideas, or present your own thoughts on the topic.  

The audience for these letters will be your teacher, your classmates, and (an imaginary) Roderick Nash.  Your purpose as a writer is to write persuasively enough to convince Nash that you have thoughtfully engaged with his ideas and that you have the ability to present your own opinions on this topic.

As you consider the assignment described above, jot down answers to these questions.  They will help you consider how to craft your letter.

• To whom will you be directing your writing?
• Do you agree with Nash, or do you want to challenge him?
• What is your thesis or main point?
• What is your rhetorical aim? Do you intend to be combative (not recommended), logical, persuasive, or affirming?
• What kind of evidence do you need to gather? For example, will you be quoting directly? If so, you should choose quotes and be able to explain why you are choosing them.  If you are summarizing and paraphrasing, you should be clear on what passages you need to work with.
• How will your annotated text help you with this letter?  

This is an assignment designed for the end of the junior year.  It’s tough, but doable.  You should be readable, logical, concise, and persuasive; you have lots of time to finish it.  Good luck!

Turn it in

Does anyone know how to upload the questions onto turn it in from a phone if it's on google docs

Quick Citation Question

Hey guys, does anyone know if we have to source the pictures we use in the MVA?

Help with Endnotes?

Does anyone know how to format the end notes section? I have a few questions about them. Do we need footnotes in the pieces themselves with a corresponding end note? And where do we put them?As in do we do each end note after the genre it is explaining, or do they all go together in an "End Notes" section of the paper? And if they all go together, are they before or after the works cited page? I don't know the proper way to do these, and the instructions I have concerning end notes seem kind of vague, or they only describe what they are and not how to format them.

AF: TURNITIN.COM

Hi, Kids!

It's important that we create your accounts for Turnitin.com so you can submit your Rationale later this week.

This is our class ID:  13563972.

Get yourself signed up, will you please??

AF: Link to Works Cited Example

Here is my Works Cited page on dirt.

AF: MVA Evaluation -- last year's

I'm revising this for you, but mostly I'm reworking the format.  The content is good; you can rely on these bullet points.

Framing the MVA

• The writer includes a “Dear Reader” Letter to describe and introduce the work to a reader who has never read an MVA before
• The writer includes End Notes to explain how the pieces were written, and to direct readers to the appropriate citation for the creative pieces
• The writer includes a Works Cited page to fully document sources
• The Rationale, turned in separately, is fully developed and satisfying

Audience Awareness, Development of Thesis and Use of Supporting Evidence

• The writer significantly answers his/her problematical question through the use of genre(s)
• The writer narrows, defines, and clarifies the central purpose/question for this project
• The writer’s main point/thesis aims at the intended audience and is clear after reading the entire project, although it may not be explicitly stated
• The writer constructs an effective argument with credible appeals to logos, ethos and pathos
• By the end of the paper the reader sees that the writer has presented an argument

Research

• The project reflects serious, in-depth research

• The writer appropriately uses 6-8 sources
• The writer avoids plagiarism and appropriately documents and explains sources used

Genre-writing

• The writer has written competently and thoroughly in the chosen genres and voices
• The genres are appropriate for the audience and purpose of the project
• The  writer has included at least six genres

Organization/Unity

• The project is clearly and effectively organized and forms a unified whole
• The writer effectively utilizes a repetend to unify and connect the paper
• The sequence of genres makes sense and meets the needs of the reader

Surface Errors

• The paper has few editing or proofreading errors
• The writer’s usage, grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are clear and correct or appropriate when a specific genre calls for non-standard usage

AF: The MVA Rationale

The Rationale is turned in separately from your actual MVA, but it IS a part of your overall word count.  Do a good job with this assignment!

The Rationale for the Multivoiced Argument Project

Please answer the following questions and submit it to Turnitin.com by midnight on March 30, 2017.   This part of the assignment is worth 30 points, or 15% of the entire project; I am looking for thoughtful, complete answers.  Please type your paper, number your answers, and answer as fully as possible.

1.    What is your research and persuasive goal?

2.    Who is your audience for this project?  Describe in detail.

3.    What do you most want readers to see in your project?  How did you get this “thesis” across?

4.    How did you choose your genres and why are they appropriate for your audience and persuasive goal?

5.    How do the genres work together to form a unified whole? How did you determine what types of transitions to use between sections of your paper and what types of strategies did you use to achieve unity and clarity?

6.    How did you use your researched sources in your pieces?  How does a reader know how you used your research?

7.    Where did you take the most risks?

8.    What do you like best about your paper?

9.    What would you improve if you would have had more time?

10. Offer advice to new readers of multivoiced texts.  How might they best make sense of your project?  Offer advice on how to enter the text, how to move through the text, and how to come out on the other side with understanding.  (This is the main content of your Dear Reader Letter.)

11. Compare this paper in style and approach to other research projects you have tackled in the past.  Did multigenre style shape how you see yourself as an arguer?

12. What am I not seeing in this paper?  What did you not include?  What is behind the scenes?  Did you enjoy writing this paper?  Did you struggle with procrastination?  Did you write something that you were not able to use?

13. What advice can you offer next year’s writers of this assignment?

14. What advice can you offer me as a teacher of multivoice argument?  May I keep your paper?

MVA Help

As I was struggling to do the MVA, I googled for some help and I found this presentation that gives different types of genres that are very helpful. It also gives other advice for the paper in general.
Hope it helps!
http://photos.state.gov/libraries/india/13974/libpdfs/TheMultigenreResearchpaper.pdf

AF: Alfred Green, and vocab due date

OK, this is what I said and what I want:

I want the essay typed, and double spaced.
You should have an introduction that we wrote in class.  Feel free to revise.
Please write out two more paragraphs of analysis in your notebook.  Write carefully.  Look closely.
Then type it all up, and finish:  another paragraph of analysis, and a conclusion.

All told, introduction, 3 paragraphs of analysis, and a conclusion -- 5 paragraphs.

Features:
Please include one sentence that has 2 or more independent clauses, correctly joined with a semi-colon.
Please include one very short sentence -- 3 to 4 words max.  Use this sentence for emphasis.

To repeat:  a typed, double-spaced 5-paragraph essay, featuring an introduction that sets up the context, 3 paragraphs analyzing Green's persuasive moves, and a conclusion.  One compound sentence featuring the correct use of the semi-colon, and one short sentence of 3 to 4 words for emphasis.

We're working on this in class tomorrow, so bring your highlighters.

Also, vocab quiz and vocab notebook check on MARCH 23, one week from Thursday.

AF: Question Analysis -- due Tuesday

from Reading Rhetorically

DUE TUESDAY, March 7 Copy/Paste these questions into a Google Doc, and answer. Please print so that I may keep your thinking handy in my MVA 2017 Folder.

Prompts for Question Analysis

1. What question do you hope to investigate -- and answer -- in this paper?
2. What makes this question worth pursuing -- to you and others?
3. What kind of expert would be able to provide good answers or the current best thinking about possible answers?
4. Where do you expect to find particularly good information about the matter?
5. How recent must materials be to be relevant? What factors might make information outdated?
6. What individuals or interest groups have a major stake in answering your question in a particular way?
7. What kind of bias do you need to be especially alert for on this particular question?
8. What words or phrases might be useful for some initial searching?  

(Bean, Chappell, and Gillam 2011, 108)

AF: Today's Assignment -- the annotated bibliography

As you zoom in on your research question, please begin an annotated bibliography.

If you are one of the 6 students (out of 72) who have started a document and shared it with me, you can just use that same document to start your annotated bibliography...the remaining 66 of you have to begin a new document and share it with me.

Please name your document as follows:  MVA/Lastname

An annotated bibliography looks like this:

MLA citation
brief paragraph summarizing the content of the source material


Here's an example.

Alcindor, Vamiche. "Rough First Week Gives Betsy DeVos a Glimpse of the Fight Ahead."New York Times 19 Feb. 2017: Print.

Betsy Devos, the Trump administration's controversial pick to head the US Department of Education, is off to a rocky start in her new cabinet role as Secretary of Education.  On her first day, she was blocked by demonstrators from visiting a local Washington DC school; later in the same week, Devos offended teachers whose classrooms she visited.  Saying that she would be satisfied to "work herself out of a job," she is among those in the administration who seek to dismantle the US Department of Education, thereby transferring decisions surrounding curriculum to states and local districts.  A vocal proponent of school choice programs, DeVos is widely considered to be unqualified for her job, having never worked in any capacity in the public schools, and faces stiff opposition from teachers and unions across the nation.

Let's see how many of these you can finish in the time you have allotted.  I am thinking you could probably pull 5 sources today.

Some of you are still looking at multiple topics.  This is fine.  I don't care at this point whether your sources are in one subject area or not.

However, by next week, you will want to have made your decision, and have your research question formulated.  Keep working on it.  See you on Monday.

AF: The Letter from Birmingham Jail

Kids, read this article published at the 50-year anniversary!

AF: Happy New Year

It makes me a little sad to see that this blog has gone to seed.  But the great thing about seeds is...they contain entire worlds of new growth within!  So let's see what we can get going out here.

I was just poking around on the internet and found this wonderful collection of essays about journalism and technology -- an essay competition that is a part of South by Southwest.  I  always thought SXSW was only a music festival, but now I see that it is a blossoming of all kinds of creative and intellectual work.

Take a look at one or two (or five) of these as part of your "Getting Smarter Every Day" program for 2017.    What is one way to prepare for the AP Exam in  May?  By constantly reading good thinkers and good writers -- by seeking them out, and sharing them here.  Read today, and come back tomorrow.  There may be more interesting stuff tomorrow.

Your fan,
Alexandra Fletcher