Now that you and your cohort have had an opportunity to read and discuss your selected short story, it is time to move to the final skill of the bootcamp: writing a literary analysis paper. Using a retired AP prompt as a guide, you will will select and analyze specific textual evidence from your story in order to support a coherent thesis.
PROMPT CHOICES:
Choose a character and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards.
Identify a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) that is important in your story, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.
The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually. Show how the significance of the title of your story is developed through the author’s use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.
An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, explain precisely how and why the ending of your story appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work.
Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in your story. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work.
Select a moment or scene in your story that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.
While you can analyze the nonfiction pieces in AP Language and Composition using the rhetorical triangle (Purpose/Audience/Speaker), literary works require a different approach. A literary work rarely has a stated or implied purpose the way an essay or editorial will; instead, a literary work will more likely explore a universal theme or idea of some kind, like coming of age, sacrifice, epiphany, etc. Your essay should focus on what the author is employing (point of view, setting, specific diction, etc.), how that tool is being used (look for patterns of words/phrases, how the story structure reveals information, where in the narrative or dialogue the technique is being employed, etc.), and why (what point about love/honor/growth or what have you is the author intending to make).
Here’s an example of the what—>how—>why relationship applied to Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”:
Vonnegut’s fantastic imagery (what) reaches its climax when Harrison and his chosen empress abandon “Not only…the laws of the land…, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well” and “leap like deer on the moon.” (how – examples from text) These improbable actions underscore the absurdity of their situation and the lengths people are willing to go to overcome it. (why)
Because your paper should be limited to two pages, choose your evidence carefully. Remember, you are not expected to comment on every aspect of your selected story. Focus on selecting multiple examples from the text that support your thesis. Avoid the “drive-by” reference (Hey, look! A symbol! On to the next paragraph…). Your goal should be to create a persuasive case for your answer to the prompt, revealed through your reading/interpretation of the story and its construction.
PAPER REQUIREMENTS:
Your cohort is encouraged to mark your story text and comment using a Google Doc through Collaborations in Canvas.
Cohort members should assist each other in the writing process by providing feedback, answering questions, and suggesting evidence to support an individual writer’s chosen prompt.
Final papers must follow standard rules for formal paper submission. The first page of the document should list your name, name of course and instructor, and the date. Your last name and page number go in the document header. The whole paper should be in 12 pt., left-justified, and double-spaced. You don’t have to use TNR, but you do need to choose a professional-looking, readable typeface–this is a paper, not a party invitation. If you do not know how to format documents properly, ASK. A title is not required, but an appropriate and thoughtful one is welcome. Name your file Bootcamp QuestionNumber LastName: Bootcamp Q3 Smith, for example.
Papers will be scored using the AP 6-point scale.
Papers are due Wednesday, September 16 to Canvas by 11:59 pm. At midnight, your grade turns into a pumpkin.
As always, if you have questions, see me. Happy writing!
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We’re in the home stretch of our short story boot camp, and now it’s time for you to put your knowledge to work. You will work with a cohort to discuss and analyze a story from an assigned group. The ultimate objective is to write a paper about the story which uses specific examples from the selected text to answer an AP-style prompt.
Your cohort will complete the following tasks:
Read and discuss your story – you may mark your electronic copy either with notes/highlighting in Google Docs or through a PDF markup tool like Acrobat or Kami
Select an AP prompt from a provided list
Collaborate to plan and write a formal paper – all members of the cohort should assist each other in gathering evidence and refining the paper draft
You and your cohort should confer to select ONE story from your assigned group. You may access/download a copy of your story from the following links:
In your cohort, you will first discuss and expand your knowledge and understanding of your selected story. Use the Literary Elements diagram to guide your analysis and discussion. Consider which of the tools are being employed in a way that reveals the author’s overall meaning in the story. For example, John Updike’s “A&P” is successful because of his choice of the first person point of view, which helps to create the indelible character of Sammy the checkout clerk. You can discuss strong characterization, the success of the use of dialogue, diction and syntax choices that reveal tone, how symbols in the story convey meaning—your choices are open. You could also refer to the Exploring and Identifying Theme handout to begin crafting a MOWAW for your story. Remember, a statement of meaning cannot be a single word; it must be expressed in a phrase.
Your discussion and analysis will be used to select a prompt for your final 500-word paper, which will be due next week. Prompts will be made available tomorrow.
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Hurston’s novel embodies the philosophy of visual thinking as the narrator says: “There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought.”
As old Nanny sits rocking Janie in the second chapter, “Mind pictures brought feelings, and feelings dragged out dramas from the hollows of her heart.” Using construction paper, printed images, colored pencils, or whatever other art supplies you choose, you will visually organize the plot, the literary techniques, and the character changes Janie undergoes. By developing this foldable, we can trace the changes in Janie through the four phases of her life.
METHOD:
Begin with a sheet of 11×17 paper. Fold the paper in half, then fold each edge into the center. Crease along the center to form a booklet. While the paper is still folded into a booklet, print the title, and author’s name, and your name on the outside to make a cover. You may decorate this how you choose.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a frame story, with the beginning and end chapters consisting of Janie’s return to Eatonville and her conversation with Pheoby which frame the flashback segments making up the middle part of the book. Opening the booklet will reveal the opening and closing parts of the frame.
LEFT FLAP: Write about the opening chapter where Janie walks down the street, ignoring the porch sitters as she returns to Eatonville and begins to tell her story to Pheoby. What is your initial impression of Janie? Use illustrations or quotations to explain your perception.
RIGHT FLAP: On the right flap, write about the closing chapter. Janie finishes her conversation with Pheoby, who is amazed by Janie’s transformation. Using illustrations and quotations from Chapter 20, show us how Janie—and your perception of her—has changed.
CENTER SECTIONS: Folding back the flaps will reveal the center, which is creased into four sections. In this novel, Janie journeys through four stages of life in her quest for respect, independence, and wholeness. Each of the four sections of the foldable represents one of those stages. Her life is controlled by others in the first three stages, first her grandmother (Nanny), then Logan Killicks, and Joe (Jody) Starks. After Jody’s death, she is able to make her own decisions leading to her relationship to Tea Cake, and she begins to celebrate her own worth and independence. You will illustrate and explain the stages of her journey, helping you draw conclusions about her character development.
FOR EACH SECTION:
Give each section a title that expresses what that section is about.
In each section sketch one visual image (a symbol or icon that you think most expresses an important part of that section; it can be an object, a visual image of an event or place essential to this part of the story) that stands out to you, and use colors that remind you of the mood, setting, or characters. Explain the importance of that symbol or image. EXAMPLE: an axe could symbolize that Logan at first chops wood for Janie, but later they fight over his demands that she chop wood and work in the fields.
Write about the events in that section, especially the ones that lead to a change in Janie, using quotes from the text. Information in each panel can include where Janie lived, the person who most influenced her life, events of that part of the story, and how Janie changed to meet the challenges of these events and influences. DON’T JUST SUMMARIZE THE STORY. You must use quotes in each section that show stages of Janie’s journey and character development and explain their meaning.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is rich in symbols, imagery, metaphor, and other literary devices. I strongly suggest you complete each section of the project as you finish reading the appropriate chapters. That way, you won’t have to go back and hunt for specifics as you complete each section.
Your project will be graded on its completeness, attention to detail, evidence of thoughtful interpretation, and presentation. This isn’t an art class, so the quality of your art (i.e. hand-drawn vs. pasted images) isn’t the issue, but everyone is expected to submit a neat and professional-looking project.
Untitled painting of Eatonville life, painted c. 1930-40 by Jules Andre Smith, founder of the Research Studio, now known as the Maitland Art Center.
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As part of our continuing study of poetry, you will be keeping a journal of annotated poems and your commentary. Completing the journal tasks will help you with your facility and understanding of poetry as a genre and should aid in your reading and writing about poetry in preparation for both class assignments and the AP exam.
Each chapter of Sound and Sense is structured in the same way. The opening part of the chapter contains an explanation of the aspect of poetry being studied, with a small number of poems to illustrate the aspect (usually 2-4). A number of poems are included after the explanation for additional study. These are delineated in the table of contents by a line separating the parts of the chapter.
You will be preparing three journal entries for each chapter. Each entry should be assembled in the journal the same way. On a right-hand page, tape or glue a copy of the poem. I suggest you search for the poem and print a copy rather than hand-copying, especially if the poem is lengthy. Be sure to leave some space around the poem for annotation.
Annotation methods vary from student to student, but the goal of any method should be increased depth of thinking about the poem. The TPCASTT and Color Marking methods you have pasted into the inside front cover of the journal can guide your thinking. Instructions on both may also be found here.
On the corresponding left-hand page, you will be completing a task. This task will differ depending on which section of the chapter you are working with.
Please complete your entries in the following order:
ENTRY 1: Practice Poem
Read the entire explanatory section of the chapter, including all of the poems used in the explanation. Select one poem of at least ten lines in the section for your journal entry. Complete your annotation. On the left-hand page, answer the questions provided in the chapter for your selected poem.
ENTRY 2: Analysis Poem
Select one poem of at least ten lines from the section for additional study. Annotate the poem carefully. On the left-hand side, complete the Gimme Three Steps method pasted into the inside back cover of your journal. List any appropriate notes you need, drawing conclusions about overall patterns rather than listing all details, and create a two-step thesis as directed.
ENTRY 3: Reaction Poem
Select a second poem of at least ten lines from the section for additional study. Annotate the poem carefully. On the left-hand side, write a thoughtful reaction to the poem. What do you notice about it? What makes it interesting? Pleasing? Challenging? What overall impression do you have about what this poem is trying to communicate? Refer to specific quotations in the poem where appropriate.
Your careful journal work will help you with poetry analysis and writing questions in both the multiple choice and free response sections of the AP exam. Try to vary the types and styles of poems you select; think about period, form, style, etc. as you choose. We will be focusing on a chapter in Sound and Sense about every two weeks. Please label all pages of your journal entry with the chapter number for reference. You should bring your copy of Sound and Sense and your prepared journal to class that day for checkoff.
Are we actually reading all these books? Do we read the whole book of each selection? How many books do we read this year? Do you do in class group readings? You should complete an “elite eight” of titles by the end of the course. Some we’ll read in class together, and the others you’ll read on your own. I’ll assign the bulk of the works, but you’ll have a few opportunities for input into what we’ll be reading. If you’re talking about reading aloud for the class, no.
Will we be reading more modern or older books? The works I’ve selected are a blend of both. We’ll be spanning the gamut from ancient Greek drama to 20th-century masterpieces. And no, they won’t all be Shakespeare.
Are there other readings other than listed? We will read a few short works at the very beginning of the course to warm up your literary engines. We will also study poetry throughout the course alongside the major plays and novels.
Is the reading going to be very hard to understand? Some works will be more challenging than others. If you work diligently and ask questions, you should be fine. Students who complain that books are impossible are usually the ones who either 1) Haven’t read them at all and are trying to justify using the SparkNotes instead (not recommended) or 2) Procrastinated until they couldn’t complete the assigned reading, even if they intended to, and are therefore lost because they have no idea what everyone else is talking about. But if you ever do hit a snag, ask me. Helping you is my job!
What is the workload like? Will we have a lot of homework? Plan to do some reading nearly every night when you have an assigned novel in hand. Other assignments, like out of class essays, will have due dates for both the initial draft and the final copy to be submitted for grading posted well in advance so you can plan for them. Class will be a mixture of individual and group work, while homework is usually reading, completing tasks associated with the reading, poetry journals, and occasional out of class writing assignments or projects. Socratic seminars will be conducted at the end of each major work; you will be expected to prepare for these by completing a Six Pack Sheet as you read. More details later.
Will I be expected to read at my own pace, or are we given a schedule for when certain books should be read? I don’t usually specify a certain number of pages per night, since all of you differ in the kind and amount of homework you have. I will post on the class calendar how far you need to progress at certain points, like everyone being at the end of Chapter 10 on a particular date. Those days are usually posted on the whiteboard in the front of the class as well.
How often will we write? How many essay types will we work on? Writing practice happens frequently. Expect either an in-class timed writing or an out-of-class prepared essay for each major work. Out-of-class essays and the occasional revision of an in-class writing will be submitted electronically. You’ll also be practicing the prose and poetry questions of the AP exam. AP Lit essays, since they explore themes within works, are nearly always a kind of analysis. There is no synthesis-style question on the AP Lit exam. Figure on about an essay a week, on average. Alas, there’s very little time available for creative writing (short stories/poetry), but if you’re inclined to write that, I’d love to hear about it!
Is this class harder than AP Lang? That’s tough to answer. Both Lang and Lit are asking you to analyze writing at some of the highest levels. They’re designed to stretch you. They look at two different things, though. Lang focuses on claim and support for argumentation and primarily focuses on nonfiction works (essays, letters, speeches, etc.), while Lit asks you to provide textual evidence for interpretation of meaning. The claim and evidence structure is the same, but the type of claim and the evidence differ. If you tend to love novels and plays more than nonfiction, you might find Lit “easier,” although that’s really not the best word for it.
How many tests but we have per month? Is there a curve on tests? You’ll be writing far more often than you’ll be taking a test. An occasional reading quiz (quote and short answer format, primarily) might pop up, but old-school, end-of-chapter tests with a bajillion multiple choice questions? Not in here. Most of the multiple choice questions you’ll see will be AP practice items, and they aren’t graded like regular tests. I rarely curve because I rarely need to.
What materials do we need? Didn’t you read the syllabus? Notebook paper, a writing utensil (preferably pen), and a composition book. NO SPIRALS. Why? Because spiral notebook paper likes to have inappropriate relations with other spiral notebook paper, littering my desk with wee spiral shrapnel and generally making a nuisance of itself. Spiral paper is no bueno. If you can tear pages out of a spiral neatly and without that evil shredded wheat on the side, okay—but you’re pushing it!
What is life like when you take AP Lit? Pretty much like life without it, but with more books. Seriously, though, that depends on what kind of reader you are. If you enjoy reading and writing or are really good at planning your study time, you should be able to fit things in just fine. If you put it off or take shortcuts, it will start to dog your life and make you say naughty things. If your procrastination level equals the completion date of the Majesty Building, then ask me for tips on how to become a ninja in completion rather than avoidance.
THE EXAM
How is the exam going to be set up? The AP Literature exam has two parts. Part I, the Multiple Choice section, comprises 45% of the overall score. The section has 55 questions which will test your close reading of both prose and poetry. Selections will be drawn from pre-20th century and post-20th century works. This section takes one hour. Part II, the Free Response, comprises 55% of the overall score. You will write three essays. One asks you to respond to a poem, one asks you to respond to a prose passage, and the third asks you to select a work of literature to illustrate/explore a given theme. This section takes two hours. There is no reading period on the AP Literature exam.
Will I be surprised by the AP exam? The only thing that will be a surprise on this exam will be the content of the questions themselves. You will practice every type of question several times so that you can be relaxed and ready to rock on test day.
What happens if I don’t pass the AP exam? Technically, there is no “passing” an AP exam, since the 1-5 composite score expresses the College Board’s recommendation for conferring college credit for the coursework. Typically, most colleges award credit for a score of 3 or higher, which means less money coming out of your pocket for tuition. The course is designed to train you to produce college-level work. Regardless of your score on the exam, if you do your work diligently for me and listen to me when I try to help you improve, you should be just fine in college. Your high school credits and graduation status are not affected by your AP score.
COLLEGE AND WHATNOT
Do you write recommendation letters? How about help with college essays? Scholarships? Yes, and yes. For letters, you might want to consider waiting until second semester, when I know you better, and ask me for scholarship recommendations or assistance. I’m happy to review essays as long as you give me some lead time. Last minute requests for either make me cranky; if I’m feeling benevolent, I might help you out—but you’ll have to grovel first. And I’ll put that picture on Instagram (you can bow your head in shame to hide your face, though).
Can you help with finding scholarships? What scholarships are available to seniors? How to obtain as much scholarship money as I can? Attaining scholarships can feel like a real burden, but they don’t have to be. The main thing is to stay organized and apply, apply, apply. The best scholarships, and the ones you’re more likely to earn, usually require effort: a full application, an essay, etc. Make sure you qualify for the scholarship you’re applying for so you make the best use of your time. And keep checking the Dr. Phillips Student Services page—it lists scholarships all the time, usually organized by deadline.
Where did you go to college? I earned my bachelor’s at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. I double-majored in English and Fine Arts (drama/speech concentration) and minored in history. I earned a master’s at UCF in secondary English education. College was awesome. I highly recommend it.
What’s the best tip for doing well in senior year? Plan. Schedule your commitments, including homework, community service, jobs, etc., and stick to it. Remember that even though it feels like you’re done with high school, it ain’t over ’til it’s over, and it ain’t over until May. Keep on pushing!
What are some good anti-procrastination techniques? If I knew a great answer to that, I’d be a gazillionaire. Since I’m not, I’ll refer you to some great time management apps you should install on your phone or extensions to add to Chrome. Check out links to some of them in the “Simplify Your Life” menu to the right.
THE OTHER STUFF
Can we eat in class? I’ve had seniors who swore to me that they would be neat but who actually turned out to be Visigoths. Don’t be like them. I’m fine with drinks in containers with caps. Finger snacks like Goldfish crackers or carrots are okay, but save anything you have to eat with utensils for later. And pick up your trash!
Can we listen to 70s/80s music all year? Can we listen to music in class? What’s your favorite band? What’s your favorite rapper/rap group? I actually have pretty wide musical taste, so you’ll hear a little of everything except things I can’t concentrate to (sorry, screamo and hardcore rap). I won’t play music every day, but it makes regular appearances. As far as bands go, I have a bunch of music from R.E.M., Rush, Sting, The Police, U2, Jimmy Buffett, Foo Fighters, big band orchestras, Miles Davis, Liz Phair, and 80s music. I’m always open to new artists as long as they’re melodic, which is how my kids got me into Alt-J and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. And although rap is a genre I don’t listen to often, I like artists who have something intelligent to say in an interesting way, so bring on the Public Enemy, De La Soul, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and Missy Elliott.
How long have you been teaching? What is your favorite thing about teaching? Since last century. It’s never the same day twice, and being around young people keeps me young.
What’s your favorite children’s book/book? Children’s books: Go, Dog. Go!, Charlotte’s Web, the Little House, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Nicholas Flamel series, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and The Phantom Tollbooth.
Grown people books: Pride and Prejudice, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Winter’s Tale.
Other favorites (color, animal, country, TV show, movie, thing ever)? • Blue, green, or purple (depends on the day)
• Horses for beauty and dogs for loyalty and companionship
• Scotland, because it’s the home of one of my hidden talents—traditional Scottish Highland dance. My other “hidden” talent is that I’m a published author. • British murder mysteries, especially those with history like Foyle’s War and Grantchester, The Big Bang Theory, classic Star Trek. I also enjoy hate-watching House Hunters. • The Princess Bride, Better Off Dead, Raising Arizona, Young Frankenstein, Galaxy Quest, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And Star Wars. All of it. Even The Phantom Menace, because you should always be kind to the awkward people.
What was your hair color before it was grey? Medium to dark brown. It’s still in there, but the white is taking over. Look closely and you’ll see.
What’s something you’ve never said aloud? What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? If I’ve never said it aloud, why would I write it down? And probably agreeing to an AMA with high school seniors, LOL.
What is your favorite subreddit? Do you use Reddit a lot? Actually, I don’t use Reddit at all, but if I did, you’d find me with the writers and geeks and general know-it-alls. I’m all over Twitter, however.
Could Ned Stark have found a way out of that “situation”? Not really. His loyalty was to Robert Baratheon, so it’s not like he could refuse the request to become the Hand of the King. And he was basically too honorable to think that Cersei Lannister was plotting to get him and King Robert out of the way, but he figured it out. Too bad it was too late when he did. I’m sure Arya will set things straight, though. She’s on a roll.
Is this class going to be lit? If you’re being literal, then of course, because it’s already LITerature. If you mean the colloquial phrase closely related to “turnt,” then clearly you haven’t received proper intel, or you’d know the answer to this question already.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
Congratulations, seniors! Welcome to your last year of high school and your first step into life beyond Dr. Phillips. This year will go much faster than you expect and cost much more than you think it will, so save your pennies!
To prepare you for the college environment, your course is designed to emulate those expectations. The course syllabus may be accessed by clicking the appropriate link to the right. Assignments and papers will be submitted to Canvas, where they will also be marked and returned to you. The course calendar will be housed in Canvas as well. Additional resources, forms, and detailed explanations about assignments will be posted on this website.
AP Literature is designed to help you accomplish the following:
• see complexity
• find patterns
• recognize shifts in a passage
• make inferences based on the evidence available
• determine how form suits function
• connect seemingly small details to the meaning as a whole
• follow the relationship of diction’s influence on tone, and tone’s influence on mood
• appreciate point of view
English 4 Honors is designed to help you accomplish the following:
• read for information and enjoyment
• analyze and discuss essays, short stories, poetry, plays, and novels
• write for a variety of audiences
• select the proper form of writing to suit your function
• determine the veracity and suitability of evidence
• learn how to cite evidence using MLA format
To get the most out of this year, be prepared, be curious, ask questions, and enjoy. I’ll do my best to send you off in style—it’s your job to do the work to get there. Here’s to an excellent year!
Skills list courtesy of Brian Sztabnik (@TalksWTeachers), Miller Place High School
Happy AP exam, everyone! If you missed my annual Ten Commandments talk and ritual embarrassing song/dance break, or even if you didn’t, here’s a wee bit more inspiration for you.
Thank you for being my fabulous students this year. Knock ’em dead!
AP Lit is a different beast from most AP classes, since there isn’t a study guide of names, dates, events, or what have you that you should review. However, there are some things you can do to help you face the exam with confidence. First, gather your materials. Have your class portfolio, poetry journal, and copy of Sound and Sense handy.
Multiple Choice
Review your sets of practice questions, paying attention to the types of questions being asked. Many of the questions ask you to relate selected words or phrases with others in the passage or poem, so this is where you unpack your syntactical skills from AP Lang class. Pay attention to punctuation—it will often reveal relationships among the words, phrases, and sections.
Quick Tips:
Scan the question stems and bracket any specified lines stated in the questions before reading the poem or passage.
Don’t overthink things, smart people. You’re pressed for time, so go with your first, best instinct.
If you can eliminate at least two of the possible choices for a question, it’s better to go ahead and guess on the answer. If you’re truly stuck, skip it and move on.
If you skip questions, pay close attention to where you are on the answer sheet. Getting off by one can really screw things up.
Watch your time. Remember the one-minute rule for passages: each passage and question set should take the same number of minutes as the number of questions, plus one minute; i.e. allow thirteen minutes for a twelve-question set.
If you get down to the last minute or so and still have unanswered questions, then it’s okay to begin singing. (“O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, I think I’ll mark this answer ‘E.'” Or B. Or what have you.) There is no penalty for an incorrect answer, but you will accumulate points for those last minute lucky guesses.
Free Response
Remember that the ultimate goal for all of the writing prompts is to reveal your understanding and analysis of the work, passage, or poem in question. Summary is not required! Really. The AP readers assigned to the poem and prose prompts basically have them memorized by the end of the second day of the reading, and the ones on Q3 are most likely teachers or college professors who really don’t need to have the plot of The Great Gatsby or Romeo and Juliet explained to them. Especially that one professor from the Ivy League school who wrote her dissertation on Fitzgerald, or the gentleman who’s taught R&J to his freshmen classes every year for the past decade. Yes, those kinds of people read AP exams.
To avoid this, my friend and AP colleague Skip Nicholson suggests that when you write, try pulling examples from different parts of the work, but don’t present them in order. As he says, “If students begin at the start of the work, you can be sure the next detail will be whatever follows in the text, and the Great Tide of Retelling is on the way to carrying them into the Brown Swamp of Plot Summary for novels or the Murky Pools of Paraphrase for poetry. There be dragons there.”
Q 1 – Poetry
Review the poems you selected for your journal, keeping in mind the focus of the selected chapter in Sound and Sense. Each poetry prompt asks you to relate the poet’s techniques with the overall meaning or theme of the poem itself. Reread some of the poems you annotated and see how those annotations help build to a theme. Practice on some of the additional poems for study to sharpen your skills.
Quick Tips:
Titles of poems go in quotation marks: “Song of Myself” “Dulce et Decorum Est”
The voice presented in a poem belongs to the speaker, not the narrator.
Tone is a vital part of any discussion of poetry! Make sure you address tone in your commentary.
Pay attention to shifts—in tone, in style, in rhyme. They often accompany shifts in meaning.
Don’t arrange your essay by device! Instead, talk about how the poem presents meaning as you work from beginning to end, discussing important devices like word choice, imagery, etc. as you go.
Q 2 – Prose
The prose passages ask you to focus on evidence for a particular theme, stance, or point of view. Often they will ask about how a character is being presented and ask you to select the specific evidence from the passage to support your reading of the piece. Review your previous attempts at Q2 and see how you’re doing with using specific textual evidence as support.
Quick Tips:
Read the prompt carefully! Be sure you are addressing all parts of the prompt.
Remember that any list of techniques presented is usually a suggested list; you may choose to discuss some, all, or none of those techniques, depending on the wording of the prompt.
Relate any specific technique you select back to the meaning or thrust of the passage as a whole. Don’t be a tour guide shouting “Hey, look! A metaphor!” without explaining why that metaphor is important or how it connects to a larger idea.
Again, don’t organize your essay by device. Consider what the prompt is asking about characterization or what have you and show how that builds from beginning to end, weaving in appropriate devices as you go.
Q 3 – Open
Here’s where all those Six Pack Sheets will come in handy! Question 3 is truly an open question. As we discussed in class, Q3 will list suggested works, but you are not required to select one of those works as your response. You may select any work that you believe you can use confidently and that will help you craft as detailed and thoughtful a response as possible. My advice is that you select six works to review so that you will have names and specific details handy. From your class folder or laptop, find all of your Six Pack Data Sheets. Pull the foldables we made for Light in August and Their Eyes Were Watching God. You will also need your Window Notes pages from the Literature Circles (play and novel). These should represent all of the works we studied during this year together in AP Literature. From all of the works, select your top six. These do not have to be the six you like the best! Consider a range of time periods; include some historical works in addition to modern ones. Think about the various points of view, style, and settings represented by the works as you select your six pack. Once you have chosen your six pack, review the information in the appropriate Six Pack Sheet, foldable, or set of Window Notes. Check this website for posts about the works—use the search feature or the tags to go directly to posts about the works in your six pack. Review the Canvas discussion boards for each work. Skim SparkNotes (yes, this is what they were made for!) to remind yourself about character names and plot details. Think carefully about theme/MOWAW you have recorded on your Six Pack Sheets and decide what details within the texts support your ideas.
Quick Tips:
Titles of these works should be underlined since you can’t create italics with handwriting. No quotation marks. Ever.
Resist the urge to retell the story. The person reading your essay is probably familiar with the work and doesn’t need you to retell the plot. Refer to incidents as if you’re having a conversation with someone who read it along with you.
Avoid the phrase “meaning of the work as a whole” by substituting what you think that meaning/theme is. You’ll sound instantly smarter—and the essay will be more powerful as a result.
Whether you believe it or not, you’re ready. You’ve done the readings, we’ve discussed, you’ve written. You know what you need to do in order to succeed. Now go in there and make it happen!
Good luck on the exam. I’m proud of all you’ve accomplished.
Alas, Prof. Sparky Sweets has not yet created a Thug Notes for Their Eyes Were Watching God. This summary by the fine folks at Shmoop will have to do for now.
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P.S. They forgot one. In Act V, Scene 2 of Othello, Gratiano says about Desdemona, “I am glad thy father’s dead/Thy match was mortal to him, and pure grief/Shore his old thread in twain,” which suggests that, like Lady Montague, Brabantio died of a broken heart. This brings the death toll of Othello to five.
Concept by Cam Magee, design by Caitlin S. Griffin (who might possibly be this Caitlin Griffin, who is Education Programs Assistant for the Folger Shakespeare Library).
Now that you and your cohort have had an opportunity to read and discuss your selected short story, it is time to move to the final skill of the bootcamp: writing a literary analysis paper. Using a retired AP prompt as a guide, you will will select and analyze specific textual evidence from your story in order to support a coherent thesis.
Short Story Bootcamp: Writing Prep
Your cohort will complete the following tasks:
You and your cohort should confer to select ONE story from your assigned group. You may access/download a copy of your story from the following links:
GROUP A
Gina Berriault, “The Stone Boy”
Ha Jin, “Saboteur”
Tillie Olson, “I Stand Here Ironing”
Alice Walker, “Everyday Use”
GROUP B
Sherman Alexie, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
Frank O’Connor, “First Confession”
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, “The Medicine Bag”
GROUP C
Arthur C. Clarke, “The Nine Billion Names of God”
Nadine Gordimer, “Once Upon a Time”
Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
Gabriel García Márquez, “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”
In your cohort, you will first discuss and expand your knowledge and understanding of your selected story. Use the Literary Elements diagram to guide your analysis and discussion. Consider which of the tools are being employed in a way that reveals the author’s overall meaning in the story. For example, John Updike’s “A&P” is successful because of his choice of the first person point of view, which helps to create the indelible character of Sammy the checkout clerk. You can discuss strong characterization, the success of the use of dialogue, diction and syntax choices that reveal tone, how symbols in the story convey meaning—your choices are open. You could also refer to the Exploring and Identifying Theme handout to begin crafting a MOWAW for your story. Remember, a statement of meaning cannot be a single word; it must be expressed in a phrase.
Your discussion and analysis will be used to select a prompt for your final 500-word paper, which will be due next week. Prompts will be made available tomorrow.
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Tagged as analysis, AP, bootcamp, collaboration, commentary, writing