AP Language - Personal Narrative Prompt

Write about a time when you did something really repellant, ridiculous, unintelligent, or mean-spirited. Why did you do it? What were the reactions of others? What did you learn about yourself? Looking back on the event, what can you understand about it in retrospect? This is still a narrative essay, so try to think deeply and avoid easy clichés. Often, we learn the most about ourselves by seeing how we behave when we are at our worst. What positives can you also glean from the experience? While you are expected to look critically at yourself, don’t fall victim to demonizing your former self in order to vaunt up your current self. Try to be fair and analytical, honest and even-handed. Good luck. Your first rough draft is due Tuesday, September 28^th.

AP Language - Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnold

The disparagers of culture make its motive curiosity; sometimes, indeed, they make its motive mere exclusiveness and vanity. The culture which is supposed to plume itself on a smattering of Greek and Latin is a culture which is begotten by nothing so intellectual as curiosity; it is valued either out of sheer vanity and ignorance, or else as an engine of social and class distinction, separating its holder, like a badge or title, from other people who have not got it. No serious man would call this culture, or attach any value to it, as culture, at all. To find the real ground for the very differing estimate which serious people will set upon culture, we must find some motive for culture in the terms of which [5/6] may lie a real ambiguity; and such a motive the word curiosity gives us. I have before now pointed out that in English we do not, like the foreigners, use this word in a good sense as well as in a bad sense; with us the word is always used in a somewhat disapproving sense; a liberal and intelligent eagerness about the things of the mind may be meant by a foreigner when he speaks of curiosity, but with us the word always conveys a certain notion of frivolous and unedifying activity. In the Quarterly Review, some little time ago, was an estimate of the celebrated French critic, Monsieur Sainte-Beuve, and a very inadequate estimate it, in my judgment, was. And its inadequacy consisted chiefly in this: that in our English way it left out of sight the double sense really involved in the word curiosity, thinking enough was said to stamp Monsieur Sainte-Beuve with blame if it was said that he was impelled in his operations as a critic by curiosity, and omitting either to perceive that Monsieur Sainte-Beuve himself, and many other people with him, would consider that this was praiseworthy and not blameworthy, or to point out why it ought really to be accounted worthy of blame [6/7] and not of praise. For as there is a curiosity about intellectual matters which is futile, and merely a disease, so there is certainly a curiosity, — a desire after the things of the mind simply for their own sakes and for the pleasure of seeing them as they are, — which is, in an intelligent being, natural and laudable. Nay, and the very desire to see things as they are implies a balance and regulation of mind which is not often attained without fruitful effort, and which is the very opposite of the blind and diseased impulse of mind which is what we mean to blame when we blame curiosity. Montesquieu says: — "The first motive which ought to impel us to study is the desire to augment the excellence of our nature, and to render an intelligent being yet more intelligent." This is the true ground to assign for the genuine scientific passion, however manifested, and for culture, viewed simply as a fruit of this passion; and it is a worthy ground, even though we let the term curiosity stand to describe it.

But there is of culture another view, in which not solely the scientific passion, the sheer desire to see things as they are, natural and proper in an intelligent [7/8] being, appears as the ground of it. There is a view in which all the love of our neighbour, the impulses towards action, help, and beneficence, the desire for stopping human error, clearing human confusion, and diminishing the sum of human misery, the noble aspiration to leave the world better and happier than we found it, — motives eminently such as are called social, — come in as part of the grounds of culture, and the main and pre-eminent part. Culture is then properly described not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its origin in the love of perfection; it is a study of perfection. It moves by the force, not merely or primarily of the scientific passion for pure knowledge, but also of the moral and social passion for doing good. As, in the first view of it, we took for its worthy motto Montesquieu's words: "To render an intelligent being yet more intelligent!" so, in the second view of it, there is no better motto which it can have than these words of Bishop Wilson: "To make reason and the will of God prevail!" Only, whereas the passion for doing good is apt to be overhasty in determining what reason and the will of God say, because its turn is for acting rather than thinking, and it wants to be [9] beginning to act; and whereas it is apt to take its own conceptions, which proceed from its own state of development and share in all the imperfections and immaturities of this, for a basis of action; what distinguishes culture is, that it is possessed by the scientific passion, as well as by the passion of doing good; that it has worthy notions of reason and the will of God, and does not readily suffer its own crude conceptions to substitute themselves for them; and that, knowing that no action or institution can be salutary and stable which are not based on reason and the will of God, it is not so bent on acting and instituting, even with the great aim of diminishing human error and misery ever before its thoughts, but that it can remember that acting and instituting are of little use, unless we know how and what we ought to act and to institute.

This culture is more interesting and more far-reaching than that other, which is founded solely on the scientific passion for knowing. But it needs times of faith and ardour, times when the intellectual horizon is opening and widening all round us, to flourish in. And is not the close and bounded intellectual horizon within which we have long lived [9/10] and moved now lifting up, and are not new lights finding free passage to shine in upon us? For a long time there was no passage for them to make their way in upon us, and then it was of no use to think of adapting the world's action to them. Where was the hope of making reason and the will of God prevail among people who had a routine which they had christened reason and the will of God, in which they were inextricably bound, and beyond which they had no power of looking? But now the iron force of adhesion to the old routine, — social, political, religious, — has wonderfully yielded; the iron force of exclusion of all which is new has wonderfully yielded; the danger now is, not that people should obstinately refuse to allow anything but their old routine to pass for reason and the will of God, but either that they should allow some novelty or other to pass for these too easily, or else that they should underrate the importance of them altogether, and think it enough to follow action for its own sake, without troubling themselves to make reason and the will of God prevail therein. Now, then, is the moment for culture to be of service, culture which believes in making reason and the [10/11] will of God prevail, believes in perfection, is the study and pursuit of perfection, and is no longer debarred, by a rigid invincible exclusion of whatever is new, from getting acceptance for its ideas, simply because they are new.

The moment this view of culture is seized, the moment it is regarded not solely as the endeavour to see things as they are, to draw towards a knowledge of the universal order which seems to be intended and aimed at in the world, and which it is a man's happiness to go along with or his misery to go counter to, — to learn, in short, the will of God, — the moment, I say, culture is considered not merely as the endeavour to see and learn this, but as the endeavour, also, to make it prevail, the moral, social, and beneficent character of culture becomes manifest. The mere endeavour to see and learn it for our own personal satisfaction is indeed a commencement for making it prevail, a preparing the way for this, which always serves this, and is wrongly, therefore, stamped with blame absolutely in itself, and not only in its caricature and degeneration. But perhaps it has got stamped with blame, and disparaged with the dubious title of curiosity, because [11/12] in comparison with this wider endeavour of such great and plain utility it looks selfish, petty, and unprofitable.

New Year!

Hello! My website is a very simple blog where I can post assignments and review what we did in class each day. In year's past, this website has been little used by my students. When the students don't use it, I tend not to use it either. I will try to start out updating frequently. If it seems it is doing no good, I will let it languish once again. Please post a comment or tell me if you feel like you will use this resource. I am excited for a great years of 9th and 10th Grade Honors English, AP English Language, and Film Literature. Thanks for your help and support.

The Great Gatsby Research Paper Assignment

This will be a sophisticated topic and a difficult paper. Not only that, but it will require you to do outside research on your own. If you procrastinate this until shortly before the due date, it will be very difficult to get a good grade. This paper is the culmination of a year of studying and experimenting with writing. It should involve maximum effort. I am not even going to make you write in a specific format. That is up to you. Find and search through articles and other books, absorb the novel, and wrack your brain for the best way to organize and present your information.

BOTTOM LINE: BEGIN TO ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS AND JOT DOWN NOTES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THIS WILL NOT BE AN EASY ASSIGNMENT. PREPARE FOR 100% EFFORT!

The prompt:

After researching, discuss how understanding F. Scott Fitzgerald’s real life is key to understanding The Great Gatsby. How did he use his own life experiences in plotting and writing the novel? You must look beyond the obvious similarities and try to discuss more deeply what Fitzgerald may have been saying about his life. You must also include a discussion of “The American Dream.” What is Fitzgerald saying about it in Gatsby? How does THAT relate to his own life?

The requirements:

1. Cite at least two quotes or paraphrases from The Great Gatsby.

2. Cite information or quotes from at least three other legitimate sources. You must cite least one book – use our library or a public library. If you anticipate difficulty finding a book, start NOW.

3. Address the prompt – do not leave out a discussion of his perspective on The American Dream.

4. Create an accurate “Works Cited” page.

5. Write AT LEAST 2 pages.

6. Use everything you have learned so far this year: this is a tough one.

DON’T JUST PUT THIS AWAY AND FORGET ABOUT IT UNTIL THE PAPER IS ALMOST DUE. GET YOUR BRAIN WAVES FLOWING AND KEEP IT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND AS WE FINISH READING THE GREAT GATSBY.

DUE May 10th (B) or May 11th (A)

Sample Outline and Format Examples - By Request

I. Block Format

Introduction
Begin with a sentence that will catch the reader's interest. This might be a question, a reason people find the topic interesting or important, or something the two subjects have in common. Then name the two subjects and say they are very similar, very different or have many important (or interesting) similarities and differences.

For this paragraph, you will want to introduce what your perception is of the racial “situation” (attitudes, discrimination, prejudice) TODAY based on the five articles, your experiences, and your overall perception. You can decide if you want to introduce the compare and contrast aspects this early or wait to transition to that later.

Paragraphs 2 - ?
The next paragraph(s) describe features of the first subject. Be sure to include examples proving the similarities and/or differences exist. Do not mention the second subject.

Make new paragraphs to avoid very long paragraphs.

Continue to use your articles and quotes from them as a way of discussing the race issue. I am not looking for deep, deep analysis, nor asking you to change the world. I just want you to use the articles to have a relevant discussion. It is difficult and I am asking you to tackle a hard topic, but you can do it. Read the articles and think about what you’ve seen on the news, in your own life, and in others’ conversations.

Paragraphs ? - ?
The next section must begin with a transition showing you are comparing the second subject to the first.

For each comparison, use compare/contrast cue words such as like, similar to, also, unlike, on the other hand.

Be sure to include examples proving the similarities and/or differences exist.

Make new paragraphs to avoid very long paragraphs.

This is where you especially compare and contrast. Now, using To Kill a Mockingbird as your guide, mention similarities and differences between race relations and discrimination in the past and now.

If it were me, I would use a final paragraph to talk about your own experiences with prejudice, if they are not race related. You might also choose to just have those in the conclusion.

Conclusion
In the final paragraph, give a brief, general summary of the most important similarities and differences. End with a personal statement, a prediction, or another snappy clincher.

Summarize very briefly. Add any final thoughts. Now might be a good time to bring up related experiences if you haven’t already. Your final line should give your audience something strong and intriguing to think about.

II. Feature by Feature (or Point by Point) Format

Introduction
Begin with a sentence that will catch the reader's interest. This might be a reason people find the topic interesting or important, or it might be statement about something the two subjects have in common. Review opening sentences in your English text for additional ideas.

Then name the two subjects and say that they are very similar, very different or have many important (or interesting) similarities and differences.

Paragraph 2
Transitions beginning each paragraph are made by repeating ideas, phrases or words. Without transitions, the essay will sound choppy and disjointed.

Discuss how both subjects compare on feature one.

For each comparison, use compare/contrast cue words such as like, similar to, also, unlike, on the other hand.

Be sure to include examples proving the similarities and/or differences exist.

Paragraphs 3 - ?
Transitions beginning each paragraph are made by repeating ideas, phrases or words. Without transitions, the essay will sound choppy and disjointed.

Continue the pattern set in paragraph 2 discussing a new feature in each new paragraph.

For each comparison, use compare/contrast cue words such as like, similar to, also, unlike, on the other hand.

Be sure to include examples proving the similarities and/or differences exist.

Conclusion

In this paragraph, give a brief, general summary of the most important similarities and differences.

End with a personal statement, a prediction or another snappy clincher.

SAMPLE OUTLINE

I. Introduction

A. Racial attitudes today – often discussed.

B. Lots of finger pointing

1. Article quote about dialogue

C. Thesis: It seems that we, as a world, like to pretend that we have moved past racial prejudice, when the truth is that we have become much better at ignoring it. Without confronting the problems head on and learning from our past mistakes, we will never get to the enlightened place that we want to be.

II. Discuss Article Quote #2

A. Why it’s intriguing

B. How the nation could learn from it

C. (OR: Why I can’t fully agree with this man or woman)

III. Compare and Contrast Past with Today

A. TKAM Quote and Plot Versus Article #3 Quote

1. What the book told me about prejudice in the 1930’s

2. What I know about prejudice from the 60’s

3. Article Quote

4. What we should learn

IV. My Experiences and How they Relate

V. Conclusion

A. Brief overview

B. We are doing much better than in the past, of course

1. But we can’t improve without acknowledging flaws and not ignoring issues.

2. Closing Statement: America is seen as arrogant by many other countries. It is a label that we are not comfortable with for many reasons. The problem is that it is these types of issues that we are arrogant about. We can’t ignore potential large problems like this. If we continue to put on a happy face, we will see a lot more sadness in the end.