AP Lang

September 2010

R E V I S I O N  # 1 (9/12/10)

Below you will find the topics for the in-class essays the second and third classes. The phrasing may still be revised by the time you write it, but I wanted you to have an idea of what you will write about. You will have forty minutes to complete each essay.

Topic 1 (for the second class meeting):

Consider the two books you chose to read this summer. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical success (or lack thereof) of these books. You do not need to compare and contrast your books, but you may if you feel comfortable doing so. You may consider the following questions as you organize and compose your essay: What were the authors’ purposes in writing their books? How did they go about fulfilling those purposes? What prompted the authors to write their books? What are the speakers’ tones, and are they appropriate for both the subject and the speakers’ purposes? Who are the audiences for these books? How can you tell? What strategies do the authors use to appeal to those audiences? Are those strategies appropriate for those subjects?

Topic 2 (for the third class meeting):

In various ways, it has become a truism that every argument and story has at least two sides. Consider one of your summer reading books from one of its “other sides” (e.g., someone who could  refute your author’s argument, or someone who would have a different story to tell than your narrator’s). Write an essay that details how and why another point of view could criticize your author’s argument, or tell your narrator’s story. Be sure to focus on key points of difference, and be sure to identify who is on this other side in as much detail as you can provide. You may also consider the advantages or strong points of this other side.