6th Marking Overview - AP English Language
Junior Project: The paper is due May 23rd, Thursday. No late papers will be accepted. Submit the paper in hard copy directly to me. Keep a copy for your ORAL presentation. Oral presentations will be scheduled in groups of 4 to 6 between Tuesday, May 28 and Tuesday, June 4, inclusive. The Orals will be recorded and videotaped. Some days two groups may present.
Please consult the example paper The Anti-hero in the student paper section for a good form to follow. Use the bibliography formast at the MLA (Modern Language Association) page for the kind of publication you are using. Note that "in-text citation form" (formerly known as footnote form) is also given. Please use this when you cite the texts in your paper.
The objective is to reveal to the reader what you have found to be the PATTERN of change in American literature over the years from 1800 to 2000 as documented in the portrayal of THREADS of a THEME you have been pursuing in your reading. If, for instance, you have followed the THEME of "Women in Literature," the THREADS of that THEME might be 1) the treatment of women by men, 2) the social and economic status of women shown in the books read or 3) the self-assesment and self-awarenss of women. It goes without saying that these TREADS will change in time, but it is also possible that a THREAD changes little or remains static. That in itself says something about the culture and about how authors conceive of their role in the culture.
The paper can be of any length as long as the subject is covered thoroughly. Show the reader what you mean by quoting the texts you have read frequently.
The structure of the paper is up to you. You might form a five part sturcture in which you trace each thread separately (writing an introduction and concluding section as well). The three main parts, then might have six or eight sub-parts each illustrating how one of the books exemplifies the thread. OR you might adopt an eight part format in which each book is discussed separately in turn. Each part might then be subdivded into three sub-parts detailing the three threads in each book. Other sturctures are certainly possible. Please avoid an overly repetitious handling of the subject.
Please submit your bibliography by May 13th. This will include the eight books you have, or will have, read and eight articles reflecting, one each, on the books. You should, of course, read the articles. If the secondary literature (articles) are found on the web, be sure to provide the URL as well as the original citation showing first publication. A URL alone is not really enough.
Class CD Project: The CD project will be finished in early June. Distribution
should start no later than June 12th. If you have not done your part to further
its publication, written the personal essay and edited it for publication,
you must do so before May 23rd to receive credit. All design work should be
"in house" by then as well. All photo work, too, needs to have been
done. The assembly team can then do its job of bringing it all together between
June 5th and the 12th.
Reading:
We will spend the first days of May reading and discussing James Baldwin, his style and his message. Primarily, we will read outside class and discuss in smaller groups. I hope to finish a considerable body of his work.
We will read The Crucible by Arthur Miller in conjunction with a brief study of the McCarthy Era and the "witch hunt" for communists which provided Senator Eugene McCarthy, and Richard M. Nixon, a springboard to fame and, in Nixon's case, forturne in the political areana.
Our final book will be the Carson McCuller's novella The Battle of the Sad Cafe or Edward Albee's play adaptation of the novella, both of which explore the theme of lonliness and alienation McCuller's was famous for.
