LAST DAY: June 10

Wednesday June 10 will be the last day for the L.A.C.E.S Writing Center.

TUTORING training will take place period 3.

Periods 1, 4, 5, & 7 are available – please stop by if you need to workshop anything before finals.

LAST WEEK FOR LWC

This is the last week for the LACES Writing Center this year, under the direction of Mrs. O’Brien Rusin.

We’ll be open:

Wednesday June 3 [B week: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7]
Thursday June 4 [B week: 1, 3, 5, 7]

FILM SCHOOL 101 END OF THE YEAR SCREENING

LACES Film School 101 will host its last screening of the year at Laemmle’s Grande 4-plex downtown on Sunday June 7 from 10:30AM – 1PM. 

Tickets are being sold for $10 to help fundraise for the club. Please see a Film School 101 member or Bryian Montgomery for tickets.

Invite your friends! For those not in the LACES community, tickets will be sold at the door. 

Laemmle’s Grande 4-plex   [DOWNTOWN]

345 S. Figueroa St. Downtown LA, 90071     TEL: 213-617-0268

Directions :	110 North, exit 9th St. Make a right from the off ramp, left onto Figueroa. The Theatre is on the Left hand side in the lower level of the Marriot Hotel.
Parking Info. :	Parking is available across the street at The World Trade Center. Enter the lot from Figueroa St. between 3rd and 4th street.Shows starting AFTER 5pm: Mon-Fri: $2.50 flat rate Show starting BEFORE 5pm: Mon-Fri: $6.50 flat rate  SAT-SUN: All shows: $2.50 flat rate  YOU MUST HAVE YOUR TICKET VALIDATED to get these rates.

LWC THIS WEEK:

Thursday May 28 [A week: 2, 4, 6, 7]

Friday May 29 [A week: 1, 3, 5, 6]

LWC HOURS THIS WEEK: THURS/FRI

CONFIRMED THIS WEEK:

Thursday May 21 [B week: 1, 3, 5, 7]

Friday May 22 [B week: 2, 4, 5, 6]

WRITING CENTER WEEK 5/11

Sign ups are in the Main Office

 

Monday May 11 [A week: 1, 2, 3, 5] 

Tuesday May 12 [A week: 2, 4, 6, 7]

* NO AP ESSAY BOOT CAMP AFTER SCHOOL *

VIRTUAL STUDY BUDDY 8: AP LIT – Extracting Meaning, Part II

Here are some strategies that students in the Writing Center have found helpful for AP English Literature: 

AP ENGLISH LITERATURE 

Make a chart with three columns:

1] Literary Devices 

2] Tone / Literal Meaning  / Given Purpose

3] Purpose or Big-Picture Meaning 

 

Let’s start with the task of the essay: the prompt will almost always ask you to discuss or analyze how the author uses devices [in general, or specific ones which will be listed] to convey the author’s … [outlook, literal meaning of text, given purpose]. YOUR TASK is going to be to figure out the “so what” of it all … 

For instance, if the prompt asks you to discuss how the formal elements of a villanelle, a form having strict rules of rhyme, meter and repetition, contribute to the poem’s overall meaning… 

You’re going to have to discuss:

1] how the literary devices of rhyme, meter and repetition in the villanelle 

2] convey some sort of given meaning 

3] and why the poet therefore used the villanelle to convey meaning 

OR, if you’re tasked with discussing how the author’s use of language generates a vivid impression of Quoyle as a character, you’re going to have to explain:

1] how the author uses language [what devices are used?] 

2] how does this generate a vivid impression of the character  AND WHAT IS THAT IMPRESSION?

3] WHY does the author use language in this way in order to generate that specific, vivid impression? what’s so special and particular to the use of language, and why does the author want us to get this specific impression of this character? WHAT IS THE AUTHOR TRYING TO TELL US ABOUT LIFE, OR HUMANITY? 

So, to prepare yourself for the exam — brainstorm your go-to list of favorite literary devices in Column 1]. Then, decide how those devices can convey tone or literal purpose in Column 2]. Finally, in Column 3] assign thematic meanings to those devices. 

For example:

Rhyme will almost always indicate a specific tone. Rhyme + meter, if consistent, could indicate a playful tone. If the author uses this tone throughout, maybe the literal meaning tells a story about a playful experience, or an experience that is seemingly playful but really, is not playful at all. 

You can figure out this complexity by looking at other devices, such as diction, syntax, and imagery. If a poem uses playful rhyme and meter, but the diction, syntax and imagery are dark, choppy and graphically violent — what does this contrast reveal about the author’s purpose in writing the poem, and what he/she wants you to think about? 

Maybe the author is actually criticizing the way we are desensitized to violence because of our over-exposure to it in the media. Maybe the author is revealing the tragedy of child soldiers trapped in a war-torn world. 

Discussing the shifts in tone, or how the poem arcs — maybe it starts off innocuous and playful and gradually evolves into something more depressing [like the 1999 prompt, Blackberry-Picking] — can be a great way to structure your essay.

If you can determine the “beginning”, “middle” and “end” of the text, and what causes those shifts — you can structure your essay accordingly. 

Your first body paragraph can discuss the first part of the text, and all the devices used to convey the literal meaning and greater purpose.  For instance, in Blackberry Picking, the diction and syntax convey an almost playful tone, imagery of ripening, and all the vibrance of youth. 

Then, you can discuss how those same [or different] devices are used similarly or differently to convey added literal meaning and contribute more complexity/texture to the greater purpose. Although the rhyme scheme continues, the diction shifts to convey different colors, darker and more mature colors, images of being picked from the vine which conjures feelings of “your time is up” – you spend days longing to grow up and once you’re grown up time went by too fast and you wish you were younger again. The playful rhyme starts to really contrast with what’s literally being conveyed in the poem, which underscores a certain poignancy to the tone because we miss the playful meaning that went with the playful rhyme just like we miss our youth. 

Finally, you can discuss how those devices still remain the same or become more different, how they are used similarly or differently, and what that reveals. The same devices are used to convey new images of decay, colorlessness, the shriveled berries are at the ends of their lives. 

 

VIRTUAL STUDY BUDDY 7: AP LANG – Extracting Meaning, Part II

Here are some other strategies that have been useful to students in the Writing Center for AP English Language

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

Make a three columned chart and label the columns in order: 

1] Stylistic Devices 

2] Rhetorical Strategies

3] Purpose or Meaning

Start in the middle, with 2] Rhetorical Strategies. Forget the sophisticated name and recognize that rhetorical strategies are simply the approaches we take to make a convincing argument. For the most part, the authors of the texts you will be analyzing are going to approach their argument first, with logic. Once the logic is established, the author will play you emotionally. Once the emotional reasons for the argument are established, the author will use his/her credibility as an expert of some sort to provoke a moral response to the subject matter. This layered approach– a logical appeal, emotional appeal, and ethical appeal — can also be referred to as using the rhetorical strategies of logos, pathos and ethos. 

The way that you can tell that multiple appeals are being used is to look for two things: 

• 1 – Shift in TONE: or, how does the author seem to be speaking to you? how does it make you feel?  The tone usually shifts from logical to emotional with a transition in the use of the language — from more fact-based to the more emotion-heavy using words that trigger emotions, describe emotions, or may even resort to name-calling [IE pet names... my dear so-and-so which could be positive/sweet or condescending/demeaning like that John Downe prompt I think most of you did in class.] 
• 2 – Shift in any of the other sets of devices discussed below [IE a shift from discussing the facts to conveying feelings to waxing philosophic about ideas could indicate a shift from logos to pathos to ethos].  

Now, what informs those appeals, or those strategies? Let’s brainstorm stylistic devices in Column 1].  There are certain stylistic devices that are used in each strategy. Once you’ve brainstormed various stylistic devices, match them to the strategy you think they most often inform in column 2] “Rhetorical Strategies”.

For example, a logical approach, or rhetorical strategy of logos, usually relies on the stylistic devices of listing facts or statistics and using concrete details to explain the WHAT, WHERE and WHEN of a given situation. What kind of jargon, diction, syntax, and language are used in a logical appeal? 

An emotional approach, or rhetorical strategy of pathos, usually relies on the stylistic devices of personal anecdote, imagery and sensory detail/description [which informs the imagery]. It will expand on the WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN of a given situation by relating the author’s emotional connection to the experience, and/or trying to provoke your emotional connection to the experience through the use of emotional diction, language, and specific syntax [IE short, choppy vs. fluid, run-on convey different moods or feelings]. Pathos will expand on the HOW of a situation: how it happened, how it could, theoretically, or will happen in the future, how it made the author feel, how it makes you feel…  what’s the tone of this part of the text? 

Finally, an ethical or moral approach, or rhetorical strategy of ethos, will rely on the credibility of the author to assert a final opinion or message to convince you to act/feel/think a certain way about the subject matter. You should always be sure to see if the prompt tells you the background of the speaker because this can help connect to the meaning. For instance, a biologist or activist writing about damage to the environment will likely be asserting his/her scientific or moral authority to convince the reader to preserve and protect the planet. A poet might assert his/her authority by using apt descriptions, connecting to your emotions, and issuing provocative, philosophical questions. 

Usually, ethos relies on rhetorical questions, language that expresses an ideology, philosophy, religion, or other intangibles to connect to the moral compass of the situation [the speaker's, and/or the audience's]. The diction might be bombastic, or filled with loaded words/terms/phrases. The ethical approach will ask or force you to ask WHY [about the specific situation/subject]. 

So, you should have two columns filled out now. 

Column 1] Stylistic Devices should be a brainstorm of all the various devices with which you are familiar. 

Column 2] Rhetorical Strategies should match or label those various devices with the types of appeal/approach/strategy they inform [Logos, Pathos, Ethos... Logical Appeal, Emotional Appeal, Ethical Appeal]. 

Column 3] MEANING 

This is the last column and here’s where you need to use the specific text to correlate why the author’s using the various strategies to convince of you of something, and what that something is. Who is the speaker – what are they saying – how are they saying it – why are they saying it? What ‘action’ do they want you, the audience, to take? How can we figure out this meaning from the clues in the diction, or the order of the appeals, or the appeals used? 

Conversely, if you are someone who tends to see the big picture first — ask yourself: What is the author trying to get me to do? What are they trying to convince me of? 

Then, work your way back from there. How do I know this? Well, I know it from the various rhetorical strategies used. How do I know what strategies they’re using? Well, I know that these devices are being used in this way to convince me of … whatever.

By the way, this is a pretty solid way to organize your essay. Break down the text by shifts in approach and/or tone, then discuss how and why the author changes appeals and/or devices in crafting those appeals to make his/her point. 

For instance, you could first discuss all the devices the author uses to assert the logical approach, or logos. Then, you could discuss how, perhaps feeling that the logical argument was insufficient, the author shifts to a more emotional appeal, or pathos. Maybe he/she uses the same devices – like diction, imagery, details, language and syntax [DIDLS] – but uses different types of diction and details, in different syntax, with different language, to create different images. What’s the reason for this difference?  Finally, you could discuss how [perhaps feeling that the emotional + logical approach is not yet strong enough, the author uses an ethical approach, or ethos, to convince you, the audience, once and for all of her point.

Writing Center This Week 5/4

The Writing Center will be open Tuesday May 5 and Wednesday May 6 from 7:30AM – 3PM, and Mrs. O’Brien Rusin will be available after school from 3-5PM to hold AP Essay Boot Camp.

This is your last chance to review and practice strategies for the AP Essays before the AP Lit Exam on Thursday May 7 and the AP English Language Exam on Wednesday May 13.

THIS WEEK:

TUESDAY MAY 5  [B week: 1, 3, 5, 7] 

*AP Essay Boot Camp after school, meet in Room 134

WEDNESDAY MAY 6 [B week: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7] 

*AP Essay Boot Camp after school, meet in Room 134

Week 4/27 – WRITING CENTER HOURS

This week, in preparation for AP Exams, the Writing Center will be open both Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30AM before school – 5PM after school.

Stop by the Writing Center to confirm a time to study with Mrs. O’BR. Study sessions will be individualized or in small-groups, depending on who requests time and who stops by after school. We will take practice tests together, or go over whatever needs requested by the students/majority in attendance.

Wednesday April 29  [A week: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7] 

*check in with Mrs. O’BR in the LWC to request after-school AP Essay practice/ prep

Thursday April 30    [A week: 2, 4, 6, 7] 

* check in with Mrs. O’BR in the LWC to request after-school AP Essay practice/prep

 

MORE DETAILS ON AP ESSAY BOOT CAMP THIS WEEK:

This week I will plan to hold “AP Essay Boot Camp” from 3-5PM after school both on Wednesday and Thursday to take practice AP Essays with students.  There will not be a sign-up for this.  Students should drop by the Writing Center the day they wish to take a practice exam BEFORE LUNCH to let me know that they plan to stay after school so that I can have a test copy for them. 

I will have a set of sample essays for each subject [Lang, Lit, US, World] and depending on group size and number of subjects being practiced, I will either take these tests alongside the students, or I will work with them in groups to help them pre-write, start, and revise their essays. 

If there are years/specific tests you do/do not want me to use, please advise before tomorrow [Tuesday] evening so that I can print out a test that would be most helpful to your students. Otherwise, I will just go with the oldest test available and the Form B version of that year.

We will start promptly at 3:10PM. Please advise students to arrive at Room 134 no later than 3:10PM, because we will meet there and relocate somewhere else in the building depending on space available and size of the group.