AP Lit & Comp

2/23 ‘17 1. Test prep details and scores info

2. Lead the discussion #2

3. Thesis statements & outlines –

discuss strategies

4. Write body paragraph #1

Check out exam prep materials… o I’ve posted several resources on Classroom to

help you begin test prep.

o I would recommend beginning with the

Quizlet cards 101 and especially for spicy/vivid

verbs and powerful words for literary analysis.

o Commit several in each category to memory

and begin using them in your essays right

away.

o Try out a few of the M/C practice sites. The

top choice is especially helpful.

o Figure out what score you need for credit.

SCORES NEEDED…

CU /3 = 3 arts/sciences credits / 4 or 5 = 3 English credits

CSU /3 = 3 arts/sciences credits /4 = 3 credits /

4 or 5 = 6 credits (English)

UNC /3 = 3 credits / 4 or 5 = 6 credits (English)

CO Mines /3 = 3 credits

CO Mesa / 3 = 3 credits / 4 or 5 = 6 credits (English)

Arizona State /4 = 3 credits (English)

The University of Washington / 4 = 5 credits (English)

The University of Wyoming / 4 = 3 credits (English)

Here’s the site where you can search other schools.

Lead the discussion

Group #2, take it away!

Great Gatsby excerpt

The following is a passage from The Great

Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

published in 1925. Read the passage

carefully. Then write a well-organized essay

in which you analyze the narrator’s attitude

toward his neighbor (Jay Gatsby) by

discussing such techniques as figurative

language, imagery, word choice, and syntax.

The Great Gatsby excerpt

What is the narrator’s attitude toward his

neighbor?

-awe, amazement, disbelief, judgment of

Gatsby’s excess, envy, maybe even disdain

(dislike)

How do we know this? – Fitzgerald’s imagery,

repetition, syntax, figurative language, and tone

SHOW Nick’s attitude.

Open up the DOC in Classroom and look at

the feedback I gave you on your thesis.

Two devices to notice in this passage

oRepetition (which could be classified as syntax

or diction) is key in this passage to creating an

overall sense of excess and abundance, over-

the-top-ness of Jay Gatsby (especially repetition

of the word “and”)

oAlliteration is also used prominently to create

a sense of amazement (even the words

describing the opulence sound amazing due to

the alliteration) and they create a lavish,

rhythmic quality to the descriptions

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott

Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatsby as a wealthy,

creative, and mysterious character, but in

turn reveals that his neighbor, the text’s

narrator, believes him to be lost in his own

life and dedicated to a lost cause.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

Utilizing distinctive imagery and specific

tone, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the

narrator’s impression of his neighbor, Jay

Gatsby, as a man who takes advantage of his

money and popularity in order to gain

something larger as a personal benefit.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

In the novel Great Gatsby, F. Scott

Fitzgerald utilizes imagery and figurative

language to reveal the curious and observant

thoughts of Nick and his admiration of

Gatsby’s immaculate lifestyle.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

In the excerpt from the novel, The Great

Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs figurative

language, specific details, and syntax to

depict the narrator’s envious attitude toward

his neighbor’s rich and lavish lifestyle.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

In the passage from The Great Gatsby, F.

Scott Fitzgerald utilizes figurative language,

imagery, and syntax to show the narrator’s

bewildered state of amazement at what goes

on at Jay Gatsby’s house every week.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott

Fitzgerald conveys Nick’s admiration and

wonderment toward Gatsby though the use

of imagery and symbolism.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

Scott Fitzgerald conveys the narrator's

speculative and curious attitude toward the

mysterious Gatsby through a mysterious and

extravagant tone along with wildly opulent

imagery.

QUICK POINTERS

oYour thesis must address all parts of the prompt.

oThe narrator is NOT Fitzgerald (he’s the author.)

The person speaking in the passage is the narrator.

(Gatsby’s neighbor)

oThis prompt asks you to determine what the

narrator’s attitude is toward Gatsby and then

IDENTIFY, SHOW, and PROVE which devices

Fitzgerald uses to convey that attitude to the reader.

ESTRELLA’S PROMPT

oCarefully read the following excerpt from the

novel Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria

Viramontes. Then write a well-organized essay

in which you analyze the development of

Estrella’s character. In your analysis, you may

wish to consider such literary elements as

selection of detail, figurative language, and tone.

ESTRELLA’S PROMPT

o1. First I have to be able to explain/describe her

character. The best way to do this may be using

SATDO.

oHer appearance/environment (A)

oWhat are her thoughts? (T)

oDoes: (what does Estrella do?) – inward/outward

actions (D)

oWhat do OTHERS think of her? (O)

oOnce I figure out the above, I’ll be better able to

discuss her character and look for devices.

Possible thesis

oIn her novel Under the Feet of Jesus, Helena

Maria Viramontes vividly develops the insecure,

hurt, and angry character of Estrella: using

selection of detail, diction, and figurative language,

Viramontes reveals a girl hungering for knowledge,

acceptance, and confidence.

Body paragraph reminders

oT = Topic sentence

oR = Identify and explain your literary device

oE = Provide a specific example of that device (in a

quote snippet)

oX = Explain HOW the author uses that device to

convey characterization

oRepeat steps E and X one more time.

oYou can provide a concluding sentence in a body

paragraph, if you have time.

oF. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes syntax, specifically repetition, to help

the reader understand the narrator’s amazement at Gatsby’s

luxurious lifestyle. “…On Mondays eight servants toiled all day

with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears,

repairing the ravages of the night before. The writer’s deliberate

repetition of the word “and” achieves a cataloguing effect of how

excessive Gatsby’s parties actually are to require such an elaborate

clean up process. As a curious observer, Nick, the narrator, is

amazed by this process. Later in the passage, Fitzgerald, through

the narrator’s perspective, helps the reader envision a clear idea of

the frenetic, almost meaningless socialization at Gatsby’s parties:

“…the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo

and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings

between women who never knew each other’s names.” Once again,

the repetition of “and” and the purposeful omitting of commas

creates a dizzying effect of the guests’ drunken interactions.

FOR NEXT CLASS…

oRead “Bel and the Serpent” by next Weds.

oWrite first body paragraph for Under the Feet of

Jesus excerpt.

oI’m pushing PWB back a day. Discussion group

three will lead discussion on Weds.