AP Language & Composition

Summer Assignment

In order to prepare for AP Language and Composition, you will need to practice your critical reading and writing skills throughout the summer.  You will have two books to read and annotate, followed by an assignment for each. You are welcome to purchase your own copies of the two texts you will be reading or you can check out copies from me.  You may write in the book if you own it or, if you check out a book from me, Post-it notes or notes on paper/computer work fine.  If you borrow someone else’s book that has already been annotated, please clearly mark your own annotations in a different technique or color and label it in the front cover.

Assignment Specifics 

Bring your annotations to class on the first day of school.  The written assignments must be submitted to Turnitin.com before class on the first day.  I will post Turnitin enrollment info in August. The summer assignment will be a large part of your first quarter grade—do not begin the year with zeros!

• Come prepared to discuss and be tested over the books you’ve read.
• Annotate both books – good notes tend to enhance comprehension and retention of ideas.  You will turn in your annotations (either in the book or on separate paper).
• Assignments should use MLA style in both formatting (i.e. double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font) and parenthetical citations.  The Purdue OWL is an excellent resource if you don’t remember the MLA rules.
• If you decide to buy your books, I recommend Half-Price books, former AP Lang students, or Amazon used copies.  They are not expensive books (about $10-15 a piece new) but you can get them for FAR cheaper from these other venues.  Otherwise, I have plenty of copies for summer check-out.

Assignment One

Text: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman  

Tasks: 

• Closely read the book and be sure to take notes.  Keep in mind that Postman is creating an argument here.  Your job is not to agree or disagree with him.  As a critical reader, you should critique his argument.  Read closely to determine what his argument is, how he constructs it, and the strategies he uses in order to persuade his reader to believe it.
• Postman structures his argument by clearly defining his thesis in the first two chapters and supporting it with the rest of the book. After reading the first two chapters, TYPE a one-page summary of his main idea—the points he will argue for the rest of the book.
• As you read the rest of the book, choose 10 passages from a variety of chapters that strike you as important to his argument.  They can be passages that you think strengthen his argument or passages that you feel weaken it.  TYPE the quotes out with an MLA citation that shows where the quote came from.  Then write a paragraph for each quote explaining why you noticed the passage, how it connects to Postman’s argument, and what is interesting about the way he wrote it.  You will end up with a total of 10 quotes accompanied by 10 paragraphs.

If you need help getting started on your paragraphs, consider these questions: 

Why does the passage impress, intrigue, horrify, or puzzle you?

Do you find the author’s use of language appealing or powerful?

Do you find yourself in agreement/disagreement with the ideas expressed?

Does the passage remind you of a situation you have lived as well?

Does the passage make you laugh out loud? Make you angry?

Does the author raise intriguing questions or issues?

Does the passage challenge or expand your thinking?

You are not limited to the above list, nor do I expect you to answer all of the above. But your responses to the passages should clearly explain to me WHY these passages mean something to you, WHY these passages caught your attention, and HOW these passages illustrate Postman’s ideas. 

Assignment Two

Text:  Fast Food Nation:  The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser

Tasks: 

• Closely read the text and be sure to take notes. Again, keep in mind that your reading isn’t about whether you agree or disagree with Schlosser; rather, you should notice and think about the way he constructs his argument and attempts to sway his readers’ opinions.  Determine whether his strategies are successful and come up with reasons for that success or failure.
• Familiarize yourself with the three tenets of rhetoric (ethos, pathos, and logos) which are defined on the next page.
• In two pages, show how Schlosser utilizes each of the three tenets of rhetoric (ethos, pathos, and logos).  Split the pages evenly among the tenets so that you cover all three equally.  Remember, you should NOT summarize his argument—I know what his argument is.  Instead, analyze his use of ethos, pathos, and logos to advance his argument(s) in the book.  Be sure to include quotes from the text to support your argument and illustrate your ideas.  Document them using MLA style.
• Possible questions to address:  By using this tenet of rhetoric, is Schlosser’s argument made stronger or weaker?  How?  Why does he use this rhetorical tenet?  Does the argument lend itself to this particular appeal?

Other Important Information

FYI:  The textbook we’ll use is Everything’s an Argument with Readings by Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters  ISBN: 0312407246.  This is the RED THIRD EDITION.  I do not recommend you buy this textbook, though it is fine to use a copy from an older sibling if you have it.  

If you have questions over the summer about the course, your books, or the assignments, check the blog where you’ll find all kinds of resources:  http://grissomaplang.blogspot.com  Add it to your favorites now so you can easily check it later in the summer, particularly before school starts so you can access the Turnitin info.  Also feel free to email me at ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com.  

Enjoy your summer!  You’ve earned a nice break. =)  But don’t put your assignment off until August either—you’ll kick yourself when you’re spending the last two weeks of break reading books and writing papers!

Classical Rhetoric and Aristotle

Aristotle defined rhetoric as "an ability, in each [particular] case, to see the available means of persuasion.  Some means are external to the argumentation, i.e. blackmail or threats. However, others means of persuasion are internal to an argument: logos, pathos, and ethos.

Logos

The main concern in an argumentation-persuasion presentation should be with the logos, or soundness, of your argument. This includes the facts, statistics, examples, and authoritative statements you gather to support your viewpoint. This supporting evidence must be unified, specific, sufficient, accurate, and representative. Imagine, for instance, you want to convince people that a popular charity misappropriates the money it receives from the public. Your readers, inclined to believe in the good works of the charity, will probably dismiss evidence that enhances your position unless your reasoning, or Logos, is very sound.

Pathos

Sensitivity to the pathos, or the emotional power of language, is another key consideration for creators of argumentation-persuasion presentations. Pathos appeals to a viewpoint or course of action. The pathos of a piece derives partly from the communicators choice of language. Connotative language, for example, are words with strong emotional overtones and have the ability to move the audience to accept a point of view and may even spur them to act. Adolf Hitler, during World War II, was very effective with the use of propaganda filled with elements of pathos in order to convince the country and rally support for his cause.

Ethos

Finally, whenever presenting any argument or persuasion, the establishment of ethos, or credibility and reliability is very important. The audience cannot be expected to accept or act on your viewpoint unless you convince them that you know what you're talking about and that you're worth listening to. You will come across as knowledgeable and trustworthy if you present a logical, reasoned argument that takes opposing views into account. It is also important to make sure that the appeals to emotion are not excessive. Too much emotionalism tends to undercut credibility.

Overall

The delivery of any good argumentation-persuasion presentation involves an interplay of logos, pathos, and ethos. The exact balance among these factors is determined by the audience and purpose, that is, whether or not you want the audience simply to agree with your view or whether you also want them to take action. For the execution of this, the presentation should be tailored to the audience and its needs: how much the audience knows about the issue, how they feel about you and your position, what their values and attitudes are, and what motivates them should all be taken into account.

Information accessed at http://www.ou.edu/class/engl3143/group3/