I recently talked with a few people about their AP Lang reading notebook posts, and decided I might be able to help. One guy said, "I basically summarize it." Summarizing is what AP Lang and Sum students do, not AP Lang and Comp. In each entry, you are supposed to analyze the writing. For some, that means summarize it in one page.
That used to be me, but then we read a bunch of colored packets...
Here are some questions that might be able to help you. If you are completely stuck on your entry, just blatantly answer one of these questions. Hope it helps!
1. What is the author's background? Where is he from, when is he from, what religion does he believe in, how did he become a writer, what language is the essay in, etc..
2. What is the author's diction? ... Diction? Are you kidding me? I only know 10.5/18 of diction.
Haha I'm funny. Talk about his words (Eg, Do you know them? Kinda know them? Or think they are another language? (colloquial, popular, learned, (dis)respectively)).
Talk about his tone. Is he joking around? Does he talk about himself a lot? Tell us.
3. Does the author use imagery? Basically point out a few metaphors, smilies, and descriptive words (ex "Red," "Big," "Hairy").
3. What is the author's formatting? Does he put in tons of annoying quotes (no offense, you first ever essayist...)? Why does he paragraph when he does? Why should we care about that?
Alright. Those are the basics. Now for the "Best" check mark.
4. Who is the author's audience? How can you tell? What does the author do to reach that audience specifically? (ex: allusions that a certain type of person would get, jargon, etc)
5. What is the author's purpose? This is huge. What does the author want to tell you? Does he want to make you do something? Is he just dissing on something? Is he just bragging? Tell us. Tell us how you know his purpose.
Big idea: What is the author's purpose and audience, and how does he use language reach readers and "purpose" them.
7. Any other mechanics about the essay? Point out some parallel structure or allusion that helped prove his point. Were there any analogies? Why did he use it? (ex: is it suited for his audience?).
8. Why does the author number his paragraphs wrong? Did he do it on purpose? Was he trying to trick his audience? (This is probably the most important)
9. What mood does the author set? Does he seem favorable to a certain topic/subject. How do you know? (ex: Phrases like "I like religion" would indicate that the author has a positive view towards religion)
10. What do you think? Do you agree with the author? Do you think he lives in a dumpster? Do you think he was raised by bears? Tell us. Do you think he is awesome? Do you and him disagree on the usefulness of newspapers? Tell us. This section should be limited, because you are analyzing his work, not criticizing.
Anyway, if you answer all of those questions, you should have at least a page.
A Few More Hints:
- DON'T just summarize. At the least, summarize his literary devices.
- Feel free to use quotes from the text. They take up plenty of room on the page :)
- READ the essay. Just do it. Don't fall behind on entries, it will save you lots of trouble in the end.
- Make sure your handwriting is legible. I am not a hypocrite.
- Lighten it up. Make a joke or two. If you were an awesome teacher, would you want to read a bunch of boring entries? No.
Just do what you can.
Wow. I might have to link to this.
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