March 21 http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/dreamjobs/dreamjobs6.html
Scott C. Reynolds, "So You Wanted to be a Professional Snowboarder..."
Scott Reynolds has written a series of "Dream Jobs" that children often wish they could have, but then he manages to show the negative sides of all of them. In this particular essay, he writes about the reader, in second person, as a snowboarder with what seems to be a great future who has an unfortunate accident and ends up working in a ski shop. Eventually, overcome with jealousy for those who can still snowboard, the reader turns into an evil worker who manages to booby trap everything sold.
There is not one specific tone to this essay as it is written like a biography, but it is a slightly sarcastic piece. When he writes that you are setting snowboarders up for disaster and, "on a good day, injury..." this tone is displayed especially well.
The diction is used to help create this tone. It is very upfront and honest, and does not hide anything. It shows everything from the dreams of an eight-year old with a "spirit" to succeed to an older student who is "hooked" upon the sport, all the way to an almost professional athelete with an "epic" face plant and an "abrupt end" to the career.
There is very little punctuation used in this article other than periods - no question marks or exclamation points, the whole essay is very upfront and laid out very simply. This makes the whole piece seem to be very realistic and almost like it has happened.
Reynolds also uses imagery as one of his main techniques. He describes the hills and the injury very harshly. He talks about the feeling of the "ligaments" shredding and the "ungroomed side of the mountain" that the subject (the reader) goes to and cries about the terrible end to his/her career.
Overall, this is a very well written article. I did not find very much that could be improved, but it would definately not make an appropriate AP essay. As the tone is sarcastic and the diction is not very mature or of a very high level, it would probably not get a high grade. The main reason that this essay would not work for an AP essay, though, is because it is written in second person. This makes the article interesting, but it is not appropriate for AP.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Outside Reading: Editorial
March 21 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/opinion/l20abuse.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
"Abuse of the Disabled in Group Homes"
This editorial was written in a very unique style - rather than being written from one author, it included letters from five diffferent people. This made it difficult to find one specific tone or writing style, but I believe that it was much more interesting than it would have been otherwise. As most of the writers had a direct connection to someone who is in a group home, I found myself being angered by the issues they were writing about.
The diction used in these letters are very pursuasive and cause the reader to feel personally upset by the issue of abuse towards the disabled. The writers use words such as "devastating," "terrifying," and "dismay" to portray their feelings towards this problem. These kinds of words bring emotions to the readers, allowing them to temporarily feel the same way that they do.
Imagery is also used to display the authors' feelings. The last letter especially shows with precise imagery what she has experienced with homes for the disabled. Most of the imagery is pleasant, but it also shows the negative side of the abuse that she is hearing about.
Some of the details that make these letters very believable are when the authors state their connection to someone who is disabled, be it a friend or relative. Readers are much more likely to take an article seriously when they are given reason to believe that it is written by a person who really does believe in what they are saying, and who really does feel the way that they say that they feel.
Although this was a very strong article, if there had been one specific author who used quotes from these letters, it might have been stronger. There was no one person to provide connections between the letters, which made it slightly difficult to follow.
This editorial definately would not work as an AP essay. There is more than one author, and all of the letters are written in first person. The diction is very mature, though, and it is a very convincing editorial. Even though it would not be an appropriate AP essay, it is still very well written and it is a very interesting article to read.
"Abuse of the Disabled in Group Homes"
This editorial was written in a very unique style - rather than being written from one author, it included letters from five diffferent people. This made it difficult to find one specific tone or writing style, but I believe that it was much more interesting than it would have been otherwise. As most of the writers had a direct connection to someone who is in a group home, I found myself being angered by the issues they were writing about.
The diction used in these letters are very pursuasive and cause the reader to feel personally upset by the issue of abuse towards the disabled. The writers use words such as "devastating," "terrifying," and "dismay" to portray their feelings towards this problem. These kinds of words bring emotions to the readers, allowing them to temporarily feel the same way that they do.
Imagery is also used to display the authors' feelings. The last letter especially shows with precise imagery what she has experienced with homes for the disabled. Most of the imagery is pleasant, but it also shows the negative side of the abuse that she is hearing about.
Some of the details that make these letters very believable are when the authors state their connection to someone who is disabled, be it a friend or relative. Readers are much more likely to take an article seriously when they are given reason to believe that it is written by a person who really does believe in what they are saying, and who really does feel the way that they say that they feel.
Although this was a very strong article, if there had been one specific author who used quotes from these letters, it might have been stronger. There was no one person to provide connections between the letters, which made it slightly difficult to follow.
This editorial definately would not work as an AP essay. There is more than one author, and all of the letters are written in first person. The diction is very mature, though, and it is a very convincing editorial. Even though it would not be an appropriate AP essay, it is still very well written and it is a very interesting article to read.
Outside Reading: Book Review
March 21, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/books/review/book-review-the-most-human-human-by-brian-christian.html?_r=1&ref=books
David Leavitt, "I Took The Turing Test"
The Most Human Human by Brian Christian
David Leavitt uses many techniques to create a well written book review with one small flaw. It is difficult to understand what the book is about, because Leavitt assumes that the reader knows much about technology. As I do not understand technology well, I had problems knowing what he was saying. The general idea was that in the book, a computer had been created that was more human than actual humans.
The diction used in this review gives a mature and sophisticated feel to the article. He describes an article as a "landmark," and he discusses a "radical premise." Another technique used to add to the high level of the writing is the multiple direct quotes used. Throughout the article, Leavitt takes direct quotes from many different sources, which make the review seem very well researched and prepared.
I believe that this article could have been improved upon by actually taking out some of the quotes, and replacing them with opinions. Taking this review one step further, by adding imagery, would have definately increased the interest of it. There was very little imagery in this essay, so readers find little to take interest in and quickly lose their focus.
The syntax used in this article includes very long, run on sentences. This does not add much to the essay - it actually detracts from it. Longer sentences are more difficult to pay attention to, and I found myself losing focus and becoming bored as I read. The few short sentences had much more impact than the longer sentences, but they were so widely spaced that it was difficult to stay interested between them. In this way, the review reminded me of some parts of Heart of Darkness.
Leavitt uses very mature diction and many quotes, but I believe that the negatives outweight the positives. Perhaps to somebody who is interested in technology, this essay would be interesting, but I found it to be boring and difficult to get through. If Leavitt made some of his long sentences into shorter sentences and added more details that would allow the reader to use his or her imagination, the review would have been much better.
Based upon the mature and formal tone of this review, I believe that it would make a decent AP essay. The AP graders are not necessarily looking to be interested, but they are looking for many quotes and a sophisticated feel, therefore I believe that this would be an appropriate AP essay.
David Leavitt, "I Took The Turing Test"
The Most Human Human by Brian Christian
David Leavitt uses many techniques to create a well written book review with one small flaw. It is difficult to understand what the book is about, because Leavitt assumes that the reader knows much about technology. As I do not understand technology well, I had problems knowing what he was saying. The general idea was that in the book, a computer had been created that was more human than actual humans.
The diction used in this review gives a mature and sophisticated feel to the article. He describes an article as a "landmark," and he discusses a "radical premise." Another technique used to add to the high level of the writing is the multiple direct quotes used. Throughout the article, Leavitt takes direct quotes from many different sources, which make the review seem very well researched and prepared.
I believe that this article could have been improved upon by actually taking out some of the quotes, and replacing them with opinions. Taking this review one step further, by adding imagery, would have definately increased the interest of it. There was very little imagery in this essay, so readers find little to take interest in and quickly lose their focus.
The syntax used in this article includes very long, run on sentences. This does not add much to the essay - it actually detracts from it. Longer sentences are more difficult to pay attention to, and I found myself losing focus and becoming bored as I read. The few short sentences had much more impact than the longer sentences, but they were so widely spaced that it was difficult to stay interested between them. In this way, the review reminded me of some parts of Heart of Darkness.
Leavitt uses very mature diction and many quotes, but I believe that the negatives outweight the positives. Perhaps to somebody who is interested in technology, this essay would be interesting, but I found it to be boring and difficult to get through. If Leavitt made some of his long sentences into shorter sentences and added more details that would allow the reader to use his or her imagination, the review would have been much better.
Based upon the mature and formal tone of this review, I believe that it would make a decent AP essay. The AP graders are not necessarily looking to be interested, but they are looking for many quotes and a sophisticated feel, therefore I believe that this would be an appropriate AP essay.
Notes: March 7 - March 18
Modernism: (WWI-WWII)
The phrase "lost generation" was coined by Stein. Many new narrative techniques developed in this time.
The battle cry was to "make it new" - in an attempt to break with the past, modernists attempted to completely redo the art.
Some of the narrative forms developed were multiple narrators, minor characters as 1st person, and unreliable narrators. Think Huck Finn - how would this be different with if Tom Sawyer, for example, narrated?
Post-Modernism: (started WWII)
Television brought upon the realization that truth is local.
Post modernism = modernism - universal truth + irony.
^legit mathmatical equation
This time blends high and low culture.
Surrealism:
Juxtaposition subconsciously stimulates the readers, and activates their minds beyond logic.Freud and Jung influenced this.
^Something about this picture makes it slightly creepy...but you can't really put your finger on what. That is commonly seen in surrealist paintings.
Many worksheets were given out - rather than type them all out, read them.
- Especially read over the packet on types of comedy and techniques of comedy.
The phrase "lost generation" was coined by Stein. Many new narrative techniques developed in this time.
The battle cry was to "make it new" - in an attempt to break with the past, modernists attempted to completely redo the art.
Some of the narrative forms developed were multiple narrators, minor characters as 1st person, and unreliable narrators. Think Huck Finn - how would this be different with if Tom Sawyer, for example, narrated?
Post-Modernism: (started WWII)
Television brought upon the realization that truth is local.
Post modernism = modernism - universal truth + irony.
^legit mathmatical equation
This time blends high and low culture.
Surrealism:
Juxtaposition subconsciously stimulates the readers, and activates their minds beyond logic.Freud and Jung influenced this.
^Something about this picture makes it slightly creepy...but you can't really put your finger on what. That is commonly seen in surrealist paintings.
Many worksheets were given out - rather than type them all out, read them.
- Especially read over the packet on types of comedy and techniques of comedy.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Notes: Feb 21 - March 4
From the Theories of Humor and Comedy packet:
Comedies are not always funny!
Six requirements for something to be funny:
1. It needs to appeal to the intellect rather than emotions - an intellectual view of a joke. A ginger joke might be funny to somebody, but not to a redhead. That doesn't really apply, though, because I find ginger jokes funny and I am a ginger...
2. It has to be mechanical - when a chair is pulled out from under someone, it is funny that they mechanically continue to sit.
3. It needs to be human - when my dog sees me sitting on the couch, he comes up and sits on the seat right next to me, because he thinks he is human.
4. It must follow societal norms - some things might be funny to Americans, but not to Europeans.
5. The situation needs to be inconsistant with the forementioned societal norms - if something is normal to an American but it is intentionally not being followed, it has the potential of being funny.
6. It must be perceived by the observer as harmless or painless - watching America's Funniest Home Videos is funny until somebody in the video looks like they actually got hurt.
From the Types of Comedy packet:
Low Comedy: A slapstick comedy is a low comedy because it does not require much intellect to be funny.
High Comedy: Many satires are high comedy because they require intellect to be funny, as you have to be aware of what the satire is insulting.
Burlesque: This requires much exaggeration. Often serious subjects are treated lightly, or vice versa.
Farce: Slapstick elements are used in this, as well as a very improbable plot (this is a low comedy)
Lampoon: Lampoons are satires that ridicule a person or a specific group (high comedy)
Parody: These imitate another, usually well known, piece of work. The Scary Movies are parodies of horror movies.
Satire: These ridicule people of a specific time (lampoons are in this catagory). Often these are high comedy.
Slapstick: The Three Stooges. No other explanation is needed.
Travesty: This displaces a serious subject as a joke, often about religion.
The Comedic Ladder:
Comedy of Ideas: argue about ideas
Comedy of Manners: Discusses the mannerisms of specific groups (generally the upper class)
Farce: The plot has coincidences and mistimings. I think of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the mistakes in timing and people.
Low Comedy: These contain dirty jokes and gestures, exaggeration and understatement. The Three Stooges.
Review the Techniques of Comedy.
Comedies are not always funny!
Six requirements for something to be funny:
1. It needs to appeal to the intellect rather than emotions - an intellectual view of a joke. A ginger joke might be funny to somebody, but not to a redhead. That doesn't really apply, though, because I find ginger jokes funny and I am a ginger...
2. It has to be mechanical - when a chair is pulled out from under someone, it is funny that they mechanically continue to sit.
3. It needs to be human - when my dog sees me sitting on the couch, he comes up and sits on the seat right next to me, because he thinks he is human.
4. It must follow societal norms - some things might be funny to Americans, but not to Europeans.
5. The situation needs to be inconsistant with the forementioned societal norms - if something is normal to an American but it is intentionally not being followed, it has the potential of being funny.
6. It must be perceived by the observer as harmless or painless - watching America's Funniest Home Videos is funny until somebody in the video looks like they actually got hurt.
From the Types of Comedy packet:
Low Comedy: A slapstick comedy is a low comedy because it does not require much intellect to be funny.
High Comedy: Many satires are high comedy because they require intellect to be funny, as you have to be aware of what the satire is insulting.
Burlesque: This requires much exaggeration. Often serious subjects are treated lightly, or vice versa.
Farce: Slapstick elements are used in this, as well as a very improbable plot (this is a low comedy)
Lampoon: Lampoons are satires that ridicule a person or a specific group (high comedy)
Parody: These imitate another, usually well known, piece of work. The Scary Movies are parodies of horror movies.
Satire: These ridicule people of a specific time (lampoons are in this catagory). Often these are high comedy.
Slapstick: The Three Stooges. No other explanation is needed.
Travesty: This displaces a serious subject as a joke, often about religion.
The Comedic Ladder:
Comedy of Ideas: argue about ideas
Comedy of Manners: Discusses the mannerisms of specific groups (generally the upper class)
Farce: The plot has coincidences and mistimings. I think of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the mistakes in timing and people.
Low Comedy: These contain dirty jokes and gestures, exaggeration and understatement. The Three Stooges.
Review the Techniques of Comedy.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sarah Kells Reflective Essay Feb 19
Barbie is a Product of Her Environment by Jan Edwards
I picked this essay to read because the title reminded me of the poem we read at the beginning of the year called "Barbie Doll." The essay was very similar to this poem in a lot of ways, as they both are about the negative conotations of having to be the perfect person, but while "Barbie Doll" ends with death, this essay ends with the pattern established throughout merely continuing.
This essay was about Barbie and her life - a life of doing absolutely nothing with any purpose, hooking up with guys and drinking. The point was to show that the idea of the Barbie doll, which morphs into the idea of the "ideal girl," is not really as great as it seems at first.
The tone in this essay is very sarcastic. At first it seems to be just explaining what is happening in this girl's life, but it clearly is negative. Some of the diction used implies that the author is ridiculing Barbie's way of thinking - "she is a good California girl," and the many swear words used throughout are just a couple of examples of this.
Edwards does not use very much imagery in this essay. She doesn't go into very much detail, but she certainly does not shy away from saying exactly what she means. A lot of the thoughts, however, are implied. From the previously quoted statement, "she is a good California girl," the reader can imply that Barbie thinks that she is better than her little sister who is perhaps not such a "good California girl."
The tone used in this essay would not work for an AP essay. The diction is not very advanced, and it is seperated into small sections which are each about three sentences long. The sarcastic tone and the occasionally crude language would not go over well in an AP essay, either.
I picked this essay to read because the title reminded me of the poem we read at the beginning of the year called "Barbie Doll." The essay was very similar to this poem in a lot of ways, as they both are about the negative conotations of having to be the perfect person, but while "Barbie Doll" ends with death, this essay ends with the pattern established throughout merely continuing.
This essay was about Barbie and her life - a life of doing absolutely nothing with any purpose, hooking up with guys and drinking. The point was to show that the idea of the Barbie doll, which morphs into the idea of the "ideal girl," is not really as great as it seems at first.
The tone in this essay is very sarcastic. At first it seems to be just explaining what is happening in this girl's life, but it clearly is negative. Some of the diction used implies that the author is ridiculing Barbie's way of thinking - "she is a good California girl," and the many swear words used throughout are just a couple of examples of this.
Edwards does not use very much imagery in this essay. She doesn't go into very much detail, but she certainly does not shy away from saying exactly what she means. A lot of the thoughts, however, are implied. From the previously quoted statement, "she is a good California girl," the reader can imply that Barbie thinks that she is better than her little sister who is perhaps not such a "good California girl."
The tone used in this essay would not work for an AP essay. The diction is not very advanced, and it is seperated into small sections which are each about three sentences long. The sarcastic tone and the occasionally crude language would not go over well in an AP essay, either.
Sarah Kells Editorial Feb 19
Why We Need Women in War Zone by Kim Barker
This editorial was written in first person, which caused it to have a very strong and persuasive tone. If it had been written in third person, it would be less personal and would have seemed to me like it were not nearly as trustworthy. About halfway through the paper, though, it changed into being written about someone else, Lara Logan. This did not make the editorial any less persuasive, though. The first part was to prove that the author knew first hand what she was writing about, and the second part proved that she was not the only one.
Barker's voice in this column is made my not only her use of first and third person, but also by how she phrased questions and statements that the readers might be thinking such as "Why take the risk?" and "because she’s pretty; because she decided to go into the crowd; because she’s a war junkie." Her diction also helps her voice, because it is very confident, but not terribly fancy or confusing. It is everday diction ("predictably," "dismissed," and "important") but this kind of diction makes the column seem to be something for anybody to read, not just people with a large vocabulary or people who are big readers.
Barker also uses syntax to emphasize her point. She says "The men kept grabbing. I kept punching." using short sentences to make her point clear and to make the reader feel like this is a repeated process. These kind of techniques were very helpful in her voice and in making the reader sympathize with the point she is trying to make.
This article would not make an appropriate AP essay because the beginning of it is written in first person. If it were edited to be in third person, however, I believe that it would make a very strong essay.
This editorial was written in first person, which caused it to have a very strong and persuasive tone. If it had been written in third person, it would be less personal and would have seemed to me like it were not nearly as trustworthy. About halfway through the paper, though, it changed into being written about someone else, Lara Logan. This did not make the editorial any less persuasive, though. The first part was to prove that the author knew first hand what she was writing about, and the second part proved that she was not the only one.
Barker's voice in this column is made my not only her use of first and third person, but also by how she phrased questions and statements that the readers might be thinking such as "Why take the risk?" and "because she’s pretty; because she decided to go into the crowd; because she’s a war junkie." Her diction also helps her voice, because it is very confident, but not terribly fancy or confusing. It is everday diction ("predictably," "dismissed," and "important") but this kind of diction makes the column seem to be something for anybody to read, not just people with a large vocabulary or people who are big readers.
Barker also uses syntax to emphasize her point. She says "The men kept grabbing. I kept punching." using short sentences to make her point clear and to make the reader feel like this is a repeated process. These kind of techniques were very helpful in her voice and in making the reader sympathize with the point she is trying to make.
This article would not make an appropriate AP essay because the beginning of it is written in first person. If it were edited to be in third person, however, I believe that it would make a very strong essay.
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