English+III-IV

English III/IV: This I Believe 2013-2014   Instructor: Tim Holm

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd

While this course is not AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang), the overarching topics, skills, and genres associated with AP Lang comprise its basis. As such, the focus of our English course this year is rhetoric. ‘Rhetoric’ is a misunderstood word that essentially means effective communication. In particular, rhetoric involves effectively influencing or persuading those with whom you communicate. In this class we therefore explore many forms of communication – written and spoken, verbal and visual – to study how persuasion, how influence, how rhetoric works.

Our goals are twofold: to become better influencers, primarily through the written word; and to become better decoders of the influential messages we encounter.

To this end, we read and study many different sorts of messages. We read only one novel (though fiction also involves rhetoric). We also work at many kinds of messages ourselves: the typical English analysis paper, yes, but also personal essays, speeches, and research papers. Many of these assignments allow you to begin voicing what you truly believe, to begin influencing others about those issues and topics that matter most to you. As such, they may often require you to investigate what exactly you do believe about particular issues or topics. Investigating and expressing your beliefs and views are perhaps the richest rewards of a college preparatory education, so I invite you to take this course and the assignments it offers as seriously as you take yourself.

Organization of Course

Throughout the year, we will explore rhetoric from various angles. We will study the aspects of rhetoric – rhetorical purposes, rhetorical devices, rhetorical fallacies – what they’re called, what they are, what they do, how to spot them, and how to use them yourself. Most of these are introduced in the first semester and continuously developed throughout the year.

The first semester explores purpose: identifying an author's purpose, and how an author achieves that purpose through various rhetorical strategies. A special emphasis is put on the rhetorical purpose of persuasion, and the classical appeals to reason, emotion, and credibility as a prism for analyzing persuasive techniques. We also look at the appeals through images and learn to create photographs that convey messages. The semester also includes a formal research paper incorporating book-length non-fiction and academic journal articles, following APA guidelines.

The second semester is about expressing viewpoints in rhetorically effective and valid ways. We study rhetorical fallacies, how to identify them, and how to avoid them. And we study fiction as a means of persuasion (in fables, parables, short stories, and novels). Students begin the semester by choosing a controversial topic on which they hold a strong conviction, and use this topic to explore the concepts we are learning: writing a fallacious defense of their position, writing a story that conveys their point of view, etc.

Reading

We read much less than your other English classes. We also reach much more.

In terms of assigned number of pages, you may anticipate a substantial reduction. However, this is a bit deceptive, for two reasons:

1) What we read, we read intensively. Slowly, we learn to ask questions about a text that we may never have even considered worth asking: “Why did this author place these sentences in this order?” “What message lies behind the organization of these paragraphs?” “What can we learn about the author’s intent by what she did not write about?” Such reading is difficult, but immensely rewarding (as you study them, notice how many times you see rhetorical devices and fallacies outside of school) and essential for success in college, where a professor may ask of a book, “What can we infer about the author’s biases when it comes to X?”

2) You read independently. Constantly. You are expected to be currently, actively reading a book of your choosing at all times this year. I believe the best academic compliment I could pay to a graduating student of mine is, “You are an avid reader.” As such, I devote a non-trivial amount of class time to your independent reading. In return, I expect you to devote a non-trivial amount of your free time to your independent reading. Among your reading must be at least one book from the works to appear on the AP English Literature exam, and at least one book-length work of non-fiction.

Books and Sources

//Hiroshima// by John Hersey (summer reading) //50 Essays: A Portable Anthology// edited by Samuel CohenThird Edition //Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass// by Frederick Douglass (Kindle Edition) Non-fiction book of student's choosing for research paper //The Crucible// by Arthur Miller (multiple editions)
 * Semester 1**

Articles and op-eds from //New York Times,// //The// //Wall Street Journal, Fox News,// //Huffington Post, The Economist,// and others //The Awakening// by Kate Chopin (Kindle Edition)
 * Semester 2**

Writing

As already mentioned, we write quite a bit in this course. Though we do write some analysis papers in response to books, as in all English classes, we also write other pieces. These range from pieces imitating the style and purpose of what we are reading to substantial research papers. The research paper in particular is an important part of most college curriculums. We also read many short non-fiction pieces called “essays,” study what makes an essay, and learn to write our own. Generally, what you have written in your English papers are not “essays” but “English papers.” That changes this year. Also, bring a spiral for in-class informal writings.

Different genres of writing entail different rules. Some pieces encourage, or even require, the use of “I” and informal language. Be prepared to think critically about these rhetorical decisions. What you have been taught in the past is not wrong, but we grow beyond those guidelines this year. Vocabulary

Vocabulary continues to matter. We encounter two sorts of vocabulary in this course: technical and general.

I handle technical vocabulary. These are the terms you must know to intelligently discuss and dissect rhetoric. Some of these terms you know (e.g., metaphor), but others you do not (e.g., ad hominem arguments). Once tested, it is essential you maintain a familiarity with these terms.

You handle the general vocabulary. These come from your independent reading. Every two weeks, each student posts five words with which they are unfamiliar and which they would like to study to a class vocabulary list. For these words, the student does what has always been done in my English II course: provide the word in context, the word in another real-world sentence, the word in a new sentence, and the definition of the word in context. I whittle these down to about three per student, and every two weeks we test. One other twist: part of the test covers new vocabulary, part of the test pulls words from all past lists. Review your words.

This system of student-selected vocabulary runs the risk that you will choose “easy” words to pad your grade. Instead, I trust you as Chinquapin students to seize this opportunity to grow, choosing new (or unfamiliar) words from your reading that you want to know. Maybe it is a word you have noticed frequently but don’t understand. Maybe it is a word you “know” but don’t know. Maybe it is a key word in the plot of the book you are reading. Maybe it is a word that, as you read and look up its definition, you realize is a useful word to know.

Grades

As in English II, assignments are weighted by points. Major written assignments are most important, followed by vocabulary tests, certain writing assignments, and presentations. Least “heavy” but most frequent are quizzes, in-class work, group work, and homework.

Late work loses a letter grade a day for five days. After another week, the assignment is a zero. Plagiarism always results in an automatic zero and usually a suspension. Do. Not. Plagiarize.

What about the AP test?

I understand that you may have wanted to be in AP Lang. While Dale and I felt that English III/IV was the best course for you, our judgment may not be perfect. However, this course will offer you the chance to develop as a strong writer, reader, and critical thinker. This course is college preparatory, and in many ways because we are not AP we can focus more on “AP” content.

However, if you strongly want to pursue taking the AP Lang test in May, I respect that. Here are my conditions: you must complete the fall semester with an A average, and you must maintain an A average through the spring until test registration. If you do this and want to take the test, you and I will occasionally meet outside of class to discuss the test and preparation for it. It will require much outside work on your part, but if that is your desire, I’ll meet you halfway.