Unit 1 - Intro to AP Lang!

What do we do in AP Lang?

 What is the author trying to say?

(purpose, objective)
 How does the author reach that
objective? (writing/rhetorical strategies or
techniques)
 Are those writing techniques effective?
 Another objective

 You learn to write by reading. Another

goal is to emulate the writing techniques
of effective writers. Therefore, we will
read an obscene amount of excellent
writing.
 AP essays

 3 different types of essays on the exam

1. Synthesis
2. Rhetorical analysis
3. Argumentative/position/open-ended
 What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)

 Self-reflective, self-aware
 Notice complexity
 Provide explanations of details, examples,
and content
 Can represent multiple viewpoints
 Sees writing as an ongoing conversation
 What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)

 Approach texts with uncertainty and

embrace it
 Withhold judgment until text is read
 Consider each text with an open-mind
 Appreciate texts singly at first, then
together
 What are AP readers looking for?
(taken from real AP readers)

 Not just content, but form and content

 Approach research as a conversation
 Do not view essay prompt as a linear task
 Healthy skepticism is important
 Prioritize text considerations (synthesis)
 Writing
 The art of writing is more organized than
you might think.
 Various rhetorical modes :
1. Argumentation and persuasion
2. Cause and effect
3. Classification and division
4. Comparison and contrast
5. Definition
6. Description
7. Exemplification
8. Narrative
9. Process
 Writing

 How do you know which mode to use?

 How do you know why an author chose a
particular mode in which to write?
 Depends on your purpose; ask yourself,
“what is the most effective way to present
what I want to say?”
 Reading: Specific strategies
 Annotating
 Previewing
 Outlining
 Summarizing
 Paraphrasing
 Synthesizing
 Questioning to understand and remember
 Contextualizing
 Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values
 Exploring the significance of figurative language
 Looking for patterns of opposition
 Evaluating the logic
 Recognizing the logical fallacies
 Recognizing the emotional manipulation
 Judging the writer’s credibility
 Comparing and contrasting related readings
 Intro to Critical Reading
(especially for nonfiction texts)

5 Step Process of Critical Reading:

1) Pre-reading
2) Annotating
3) Questioning
4) Reviewing
5) Forming / Making own views/opinions
 AP Lang Deep Thought
8/29/19
 “Words - so innocent and powerless as
they are, as standing in a dictionary, how
potent for good and evil they become in
the hands of one who knows how to
combine them.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
 Let’s think… For you, how can you use
words and argument to become potent for
good and evil?
 Beginning study of rhetoric

 Rhetoric: using language

effectively and persuasively
 What is “argument”?

 “Making a point” or “making a statement”

about a subject or issue.
 “Reasoned inquiry (questioning)” about a
subject or issue.
 History of Argument

 Civilization necessitated argument

 Argument in Western Civilization
developed from Greeks
 Socrates
 Plato
 ARISTOTLE
Video: Crash Course Philosophy
 Why We Make Arguments

 To convince and/or inform

 To persuade
 To make decisions
 To understand / To explore
 Occasions For Argument

 Arguments about the past

 (forensic arguments)
 Arguments about the future
 (deliberative arguments)
 Arguments about the present
 (epideictic or ceremonial arguments)
 Kinds of Arguments
 Stasis (status) Arguments:
1. Arguments of FACT
 Did something happen?
2. Arguments of DEFINITION
 What is the nature of the thing?
3. Arguments of EVALUATION
 What is the quality of the thing?
 What is the cause of the thing

4. PROPOSAL Arguments
 What action should be taken?
Rhetorical
context

Taken from: http://www.usna.edu/Users/english/mace/slide1.html

 Appealing to Audience

 Intended / Ideal Readers (Audience)

 Invoked Readers (Audience)
 Real / Actual Readers (Audience)
 Aristotle – The Art of Rhetoric
 PATHOS – Emotional
 ETHOS – Ethical / Credible
 LOGOS - Logical
 Audience

 What does your audience already know

about the subject?
 What prejudices will they have?
 What will they expect?
 What should they learn?
 Writer or Speaker

 How will you show your credibility?

 How will you show your expertise?
 What is your goal or purpose?
 How can you make an impression?
 Purpose

 Do you want to persuade?

 Explain?
 Narrate?
 Describe?
 Inform?
 Express yourself?
 Kairos

 From a son of Zeus

 Defined as the “most suitable time and
place for making an argument and the
most opportune ways of expressing it.”
 Analyzing Visual Texts Using
OPTIC
 Paying attention to the details is a habit that is a necessary part of effective analysis.
As you analyze visual texts, including paintings, photographs, advertisements, maps,
charts or graphs, the OPTIC strategy can help you construct meaning. OPTIC
stands for Overview, Parts, Title, Interrelationship, and Conclusion. As you
examine a visual text, respond to each element:
 O- Write a brief overview of the image: in one complete sentence, what is this
image about?
 P- Key in on all of the parts by noting any details that seem important. This can be
anything: color, figures, textures, scenery, groupings, shadings, patterns, numbers,
etc.
 T- Use the title to clarify the subject of the image. Consider both literal and
metaphoric meanings. What does the title suggest?
 I- Specify the interrelationships in the image. In other words, how the parts are
related, both to one another and the image as a whole. Consider how the parts come
together to create a mood or convey an idea or argument.
 C- Write a conclusion paragraph about the image as a whole: think about what the
artist, photographer, creator, or designer might be trying to capture and convey, and
what ideas, arguments, or implications this image presents.