Review Analysis- Phase 1

 Let's look at tone for our phase 1 of our study of review writing.  It is important that you select the medium for your review (music, film, television, food, video games, books, etc.) so we can begin to drill down on features to improve our writing.  The preliminary step is to sharpen our eye to how writers use tone while describing their review topic.

A) Select your target.  (Film,Album,Show,Restaurant,Tech, Video Game, Books, etc)  *hint* Extremely positive/negative review elicit the best descriptions!
B) Find 4+ reviews of this "media" For example, 4 reviews of IT.
C) Paste the reviews into the attached Google doc from Classroom.
D) Now begin to read reviews.  In the doc, highlight all the tone words that help flavor the review to the desired tone.
E) Of course, observe the structure of the review.  Think about how the writer opened the review.  How were the areas of critique organized?  What were the comparisons? Use comment feature to observe this.

I have linked for you several quality professional reviewers below.  So what is your medium of choice for a review?  music, film, television, food, video games, books, theater, etc.

AV Club (all
Here are some of my favorite reviewers of Film/TV
Some  might be blocked from school- Use ProQuest or ask me for NYT Review if you go over.
A.O. Scott       Manohla Dargis       Peter Travers  (Rolling Stone)

Roger Ebert- Suntimes          AV Club                       The Ringer       Paste
TV-Andy Greenwald ( Grantland)

 Music- Rolling Stone (Brief)               Paste               Pitchfork             AV Club                              Steven Hyden 

Technology- Recode   Wired

Video Games -AV Club

Television- Paste      Rolling Stone    AV Club 

AV Club has sharp reviews as well...Movies, Music, TV, Books,
Grantland

My buddy Toussaint Egan for comics & anime

Video Games to Save the World?

So what do we know about this audience at TED?

So Professor McGonigal needs to reach this audience using a unique set of appeals.  Selling the idea that video games are the answer to pressing global issues to this audience is a challenge so be on the lookout while you watch to see how she attempts to "cross the moat" of their resistance to such an idea.
Let's find them!

HW:

Write a rhetorical analysis (RA) of two techniques Jane McGonigal uses during her TED talk to win over this audience.  You have plenty of notes and observation on the Tuesdays with TED Google Doc.  While writing your response, I want you to move away from blanket statements of rhetoric like, "McGonigal delivers plenty of logos to persuade her audience."  It is more concise to use expressions similar to the following:

• For ethos= McGonigal established her authority by repeatedly...
• For pathos= McGonigal appealed to the audience's sense of...
• For logos= such data reinforces the belief that...

Handy outline for writing RA paragraph-

A) Establish audience

B) Explain what speaker/writer must do to reach audience

C)Reveal evidence

D) Discuss the intended/likely effect of technique

Requirements:  

Minimum two paragraphs (write on attached Google Doc on Classroom)

Direct evidence- Transcript here

Must connect efficacy of evidence to intended effect on this audience. In other words, explain why this technique/ persuasion would likely persuade her audience.  

Link to class notes walks through some ideas about how to think
Here is a link to her games

Longform Essays Week 2

Week 2 Longform Pick 1

  Nobody Knows What Lies Beneath New York City (Science)

Wrong Way (Crime)

The End of Sand (Science)

After the Flame  (Sports)

You Are the Product (Technology)

The Toxic Drama of YA Twitter (Culture/Tech)

To Catch a Counterfeiter (Crime)




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AP LANG 2017-2018= Woot!

#wegoreads @ItsCaptOz pic.twitter.com/lOVaVEhaKh

— Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) July 16, 2015

For Wednesday:

• Please finish this student survey.  It really helps me get to know you early in the semester.
• Join Remind for course reminders sent via text.
• Get these Google Apps...for now...

1. Readability/Mercury Reader
2. One Tab
3. Google Keep
4. Audio Recorder

Actual metaphor found footage of us showing up to school today...

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Who you need (or who I heavily recommend) to follow on Twitter:
@wegotwits
@brainpicker- Essential enrichment resource for this course.  Read daily.

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@Longreads
 For visuals and data
@flowingdata
@nytgraphics
@BeautifulMaps
 @timepictures
@nytimesphoto


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We Out...AP LANG TTC Q1 +Q3 Final

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As you finish the book, you will need to uncover your own observation that binds a theme from our novel to several of the sources linked below.  You may use one of the two quotes here or search out a pearl on your own to use to anchor your Q3.  Next, you will thread your response with the sources below.

Man is a mystery. It needs to be unraveled, and if you spend your whole life unraveling it, don't say that you've wasted time. I am studying mystery because I want to be a human being.

                                       Fyodor Dostoevsky, in a letter to his brother, August 16, 1839. 

or

By cowardice I do not mean fear.  Cowardice...is a label we reserve for something a man does.  What passes through his own mind is his own affair.  

Lord Moran-The Anatomy of Courage

or 

A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other. One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love.
The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear. The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
 The grandfather quietly replies, the one you feed.

or
Those who in the Elysian fields would dwell.
Do but extend the boundaries of hell.


Make sure your argument is central; use the sources to illustrate and support your reasoning. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

On Classroom, I posted a note page to manage your sources. Remember we are looking for a range of issues so do not be content to park your examination at just one issue.

Source Requirements minimums- 3 citations from source A (evidence from later chapters), one visual-photo/graph/data (only 1). 2 others from the list.

Style Requirements:  As this is not a timed writing, you are now the peacock showing off your colors. Provide evidence of a writer that can wrap their mind around a deep concept while showcasing the mastery of language after a full year studying the craft of writing.

Source A- The Things They Carried
Source B-What makes a moral soldier? NPR Interview of Gen. Pace- Transcript
Source C-The Cat by Ryan Alexander (Read along in War poetry packet)
Source D-from Manchester's journal Goodbye Darkness via War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning
Source E-Photos-A-B-C-D-E
Source F- The Marlboro Marine
Source-G The War Within-
Source-H-Why veterans miss war TED Talk- Sebastian Junger (Text)
Source-I New York Times- Home Fires series
Source-J I am Sorry it has Come to This
Source-K Marked (Photo Essay- Portraits of Soldiers before, during, and after)
Source- L Virginia Woolf Quote
Source -M-Why I am a Marine
Source- N Rambo III Trailer
Source-O- Chart on current soldier mortality
Source- P 1st Squad, 3rd platoon.

Source Q- Female Veterans

Source R- Top ten charities that support veterans
Source S- Photo Essay(James Nachtwey)  and article
Source T- Nature of War

Source U- The German in the Woods

Source V- 1000 Yard Stares
Source W- Zippos
Source X- Medic from Afghanistan- from the scene
Source Y- Podcast- Radiolab on Medic team in Afghanistan
Source Z- Letters of Note- The Most Extraordinary Scene

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong Q-H-Q 2017

 

Reading / Writing Activity in Response to TTC- Sweetheart of the Song Tra-Bong

QHQ - Question - Hypothesis - Question

A QHQ will provide you an opportunity to think (on paper) more analytically and critically than you might have had the opportunity to during class. We encourage you to take this assignment seriously and to use it to foster your own intellectual growth.

 Here's how it works -

Q - The first "Q" stands for Question:

            You must pose an analytical/ provocative question to yourself.  These questions may not be 'yes or no' questions, but instead must desire a thoughtful response.  Questions as simple as "Who did _____?" or "what is the point of… ?" are inadequate and will receive no credit.  Rather, your questions might make comparisons between concepts or ideas between chapters: "Who can we trust as our speaker?" or ""Why does gender matter in this chapter?" or "How is this a perfect War Story?"

H - The "H" stands for Hypothesis:

            This is the most extensive written portion of this response.  You should write approximately three well-defined paragraphs that answer your question.  "Answer," in this case, might be misleading - in fact, if you come to a definitive solution too easily, your question was probably not very thoughtful.  This space is for you to try some analysis - it is a space for independent thinking.  Points will only be deducted if you do not make a considered effort. 

Q - The second "Q" again stands for Question:

            Obviously, this will not be the same question as the first one you asked.  Rather, this question will be a follow up.  Any good question, which is followed by a good answer should also provide several avenues for future consideration.  This second or follow up question should take your answer in a different direction. 

This writing exercise is just like having a mini conversation with yourself - except it's on paper and you're getting a grade for it.  In essence you are writing a short dialogue. 

IRP Synthesis Research 2017

The Synthesis Research-Our very own prompt!

*There are many working parts to this research so please stop/ask/clarify at any point*

Now we enter into Phase 2 of the project. Here we will simulate the research and process of creating the materials for a thoughtful synthesis essay. This will include focused research that requires critical thinking regarding the inclusion of evidence you will use for your eventual synthesis essay.  Your research will be excerpted into a Google Classroom Template. These are very easy steps meant to free you up so that you can drill down on the creative connections necessary for solid research and rich connections among your sources.

The following research tech tools will facilitate your work:

• Easy Bib-Thanks to Ms. Brady
• LRC Research data bases- content or others
• On Classroom-IRP 2017 Synthesis Sources

Step 1- Synthesis Prompt- You have just finished a work of non-fiction that raises several issues. Crafting a prompt will be almost too easy; however, the formation of your synthesis needs to be on your mind as you assemble your evidence. Which of these issues from the book appear the most interesting and rich enough for research? So start here by laying out several possible threads for debate. Remember that this is a very fluid process this early in the research. I will help you hone this question over the next few days.
Let's revisit your question and think how it might fit into any of these possible synthesis prompt templates:

...write an essay in which you...

1)...develop a position on the effect of...

2) ...develop a position on whether or not...

3) ...develop a position about what issues should be considered most important in making decisions about …

4)...argue the extent to which _____ should support ____

5) ...evaluate the most important factors that [one] should consider before….

6) ...develop a position on…

7)...evaluates_____and offers a recommendation about….

You can review past synthesis essay prompts here starting in 2007 to get a feeling as to the types of evidence and the range of views included.  

.  

Step 2- Research

Time to use those amazing LRC databases to pin down some possible leads for research. Consider the following themes to target in your sources:

• past, present, and future prospects central to your issue
• sources will reflect an understanding of the issue and its implications
• sources may "provoke, inspire, and challenge" ideas central to the issue
• sources will address both sides of the issue-may potentially be in conversation or build off each other.

Required sources-

• 1 Visual-Embedded video clip/political cartoon/ photo/art
• 2nd visual-Optional if it is a data set/graphic
• Background summary- to provide context to issue
• Pro-(1+ examples)
• Con-(1+ examples)
• Alternative idea/solution

Total Minimum Sources-8

Possible sources-Editorials, Long Form Journalism, Feature articles from reputable publications, etc.  
Only the visual can come from web.  Special consideration for sources from foundations, policy centers, think tanks, etc.

Use the available subscriptions offered through our LRC database as these are vetted journalistic sources.  The haystack has been "de-needled" via these research databases rather than Ze Google.   
As you sift through your research you will add to this Easybib project to build your work cited. 


One tool you may want to consider as you begin your research is the Chrome App Evernote Clipper.  It looks to be a fantastic research annotation tool that could help you trap your research.  

Step 3- Evidence Portfolio via Classroom

 So right about now you have:
 A) filtered through several sources that meet the aforementioned criteria 
B) shared with me and completed a work cited via Easybib 
C) access to Classroom Assignment IRP 2017 Synthesis Sources.  Great!  Let's tie it all together in a portfolio that reflects your research and bridges your ideas towards the synthesis essay.  
  The consecutive sources labeled Source A-Source H will be excerpts similar to the AP Synthesis materials (See above).  The "Meta-commentary" step will keep you honest so that you deeply reflect on the inclusion of these sources.     

Solid Source vs. Weak Source

Step 4- Meta-commentary- 

At the bottom of the page you will provide a commentary as to how and why this evidence was selected.  Make no mistake that this is the most important part of the evidence as this reflects the strategy of how this will eventually fit into your synthesis.  This is a mirror into your critical evaluation of evidence.  Selecting weak evidence will be immediately sniffed out as there can be no way to authentically defend it.  

So simply comment on the following as they fit your concept of the evidence.  

a)  Explain how the evidence might further explore/confirm the evidence of the issue.  Provoke/Inspire  

b)  Explain how the evidence complicates the issue-and how this may be leveraged into your essay.

Links for Eye Always Wins 2017

Whitehouse Web Page
Obama Whitehouse Flickr

French Election 2017

François Fillon     Benoit Hamon     Emmanuel Macron    Marine Le Pen

From the 2016 field of Candidates
D- Hillary Clinton            Bernie Sanders

R- Jeb!             Ben Carson     Chris Christie       Ted Cruz      Carly Fiorina     John Kasich

     Marco Rubio           Donald Trump 

LeBron DRABing

NBA profile

Owner is not pleased...

Lebron's net worth...

Ouch...Q rating takes a hit!  Big risk given his sponsorships like Nike

Part 2...He wins!  Time to win back hearts and minds of America!

Can you really hate this guy after this?

and even more charm offensive here...

I am Coming Home- Redemption