david and goliath reading guide - lc language...

Summer Reading Study Guide David and Goliath

Mr. Thomas AP Language and Composition • LCHS • Fall 2015

Mr Thomas • [email protected] • LCHS 1

David and Goliath Reading Guide - AP English

Writing as Storytelling Understanding Writing’s Rhythms

PANORAMIC, SCENIC, MICROSCOPIC WRITING

Imagine you’re watching a movie.

In the movie, you’re on top of a mountain. A dove leaps to fly and a feather falls from a dove’s wing. It begins to float. It floats off the mountainside and over a valley, slowly falling toward the ground.

As the camera follows the feather, it winds down, closer and closer, to the trees. As you get closer, you see the trees have

leaves (some big, some small, some pointy, some fat), and then it floats over a river. From a distance, the river looks like a squiggly blue line, but as you get closer, you see the river is actually blue with white foam on the banks, and it has white suds burbling around the big boulders within it.

The feather continues to fall, blown by the wind, toward a distant village, where — as plenty of movies do — the door doors magically open. The feather gets closer to the ground now, swaying in and out of street life: venders and their carts, peddlers shouting in the streets, horses clopping mud all over the place.

In the distance, a little hut. The feather floats toward the open door, ever closer to the ground, fluttering toward the hut, inside the door onto a table where it finally settles right before the head of a sleeping soldier — resting on his arms, a giant turkey leg steaming on a plate beside him, and an empty cup tipped on its side.

The father settles. The soldier jolts himself awake. “Is it time,” he says out loud, grabbing his mug, seeing it’s empty and throwing it on the table.

In this passage, you see three kinds of writing that you will be expected to know:

Panoramic (the feather flying over the valley) Scenic (the trees, the river, the streets)

Microscopic (the soldier, the table, the behaviors)



THE ART OF STYLE: Knowing Your Purpose Several phrases will be useful to learn over the course of the year, but none more important than

The Rule of Three, which essentially means for every fact, you need to have details that support it,

and you need to be able to interpret those facts according to their importance. Before we do that,

though, you need to understand a couple of different styles of writing:

Panoramic Writing (Editorial):

Paints a big picture and gives an overview. Read the following passage from David and Goliath and, in the space next to it, write some of your impressions of the writing. Specifically, ask yourself, “Where does this passage start, and where does it end? What does it cover in between?”

Observations:


At the heart of ancient Palestine is the region known as the Shephelah, a series of ridges and valleys connecting the Judaean Mountains to the east with the wide, flat expanse of the Mediterranean plain. It is an area of breathtaking beauty, home to vineyards and wheat fields and forests of sycamore and terebinth. It is also of great strategic importance. Over the centuries, numerous battles have been fought for control of the region because the valleys rising from the Mediterranean plain offer those on the coast a clear path to the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem in the Judaean highlands. The most important valley is Aijalon, in the north. But the most storied is the Elah. The Elah was where Saladin faced off against the Knights of the Crusades in the twelfth century. It played a central role in the Maccabean wars with Syria more than a thousand years before that, and, most famously, during the days of the Old Testament, it was where the fledgling Kingdom of Israel squared off against the armies of the Philistines.

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (pp. 3-4). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle

Edition.


Scenic Writing (Feature):

Scenic (or Feature) Writing stops and looks around at the details. Whereas the passage above may deal with places, scenic writing will stop and give a look into those places (like that feather floating through the countryside). Read the passage below and make some observations — Ask yourself: “What does this author stop and explain?” Then, using two comparison contrast observations, tell how the writing differs from the passage above.

Observations:


The Philistines were from Crete. They were a

seafaring people who had moved to Palestine and

settled along the coast. The Israelites were clustered

in the mountains, under the leadership of King Saul.

In the second half of the eleventh century BCE, the

Philistines began moving east, winding their way

upstream along the floor of the Elah Valley. Their

goal was to capture the mountain ridge near

Bethlehem and split Saul’s kingdom in two. The

Philistines were battle-tested and dangerous, and the

sworn enemies of the Israelites. Alarmed, Saul

gathered his men and hastened down from the

mountains to confront them.

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (p. 4). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle

Edition.


Microscopic Writing (Lead Writing):

Lead Writing (or Punch Writing) is not necessarily stylish as much as it is effective. It does not spend time talking about detail; it gets right to the point and tells the reader everything they need to know (who, what, where, why, when, how). Generally happens early, but sometimes finishing a paper with this kind of style makes a lasting effect. Read the passage below. In the space provided, write your impressions of it, and answer the question: “What makes this effective?” and then write a brief comparison-contrast paragraph (4-5 sentences) explaining which style you prefer reading, and explain why.

Observations:


David and Goliath is a book about what happens

when ordinary people confront giants. By “giants,” I

mean powerful opponents of all kinds— from armies

and mighty warriors to disability, misfortune, and

oppression. Each chapter tells the story of a different

person— famous or unknown, ordinary or brilliant—

who has faced an outsize challenge and been forced

to respond. Should I play by the rules or follow my

own instincts? Shall I persevere or give up? Should I

strike back or forgive?

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (p. 5). Little, Brown and Company.

Kindle Edition.


READING FOR STYLE

AP English will give you four particular skills: reading, writing, viewing, and communicating — all of which you have done, but not to the extent AP requires. In AP we have two kinds of reading:

• Cold Read — first reading where you catch the ideas, not reading for details • Close Read — annotated reading (marking details, finding connections and insights).

You will get better at this throughout the year, as you learn what to look for, but for this exercise, let’s try and put your understanding of microscopic, scenic, and panoramic writing to the test. Read the Introductory Chapter of David and Goliath and look for the different kinds of writing. As you find them, mark what kind of writing it is, put the first sentence in the middle box, and give the details of the passage in the third box (what makes it scenic, panoramic, feature).

Type of Writing(Claim)

Sentence(Evidence)

Detail(Support)



TRY IT OUT: Tell Me Your Story

Using the techniques below, tell a story of your David and Goliath Moment. For all three, it needs to be the same event — told three different ways. When you’re finished, write a brief reflection (5-6 sentences) underneath comparing the styles - “What are the benefits and drawbacks of each, and which do you prefer as a style?”

REFLECTION:

Microscopic Scenic Panoramic


David and Goliath Reading Guide — AP English

Past, Present, Future Forensics, Demonstration, Deliberation

MAKING AN ARGUMENT

The World Around You: As much as anything else, AP wants to see whether you

possess “Global Perspective”. Being high school

students, it’s impossible to know everything about global

politics, economics, education, social welfare, and

religion (it’s impossible for adults to know everything,

though many talk like they do!). This class, then, is

designed to give you bits and pieces — information you

can use to broaden the conversation: illustrations,

stories, examples, evidence. The best writers/arguers will be the ones who make connection to

something outside themselves. That’s what this packet will do — it’s a step toward AP’s goals.

As we go through this section, we will talk about how to use these historical factors to

your benefit as an AP writer. For our purposes (in both formal and prompt writing) we will talk

a b o u t F o r e n s i c s ( t h e p a s t ) ,

Demonstration (the present), and

Deliberations (the future) to build

and shape your argument. We will do

exercises (and write in response) to

show how having an historical insight

can improve both your understanding

of a subject, enrich your reading, and

enliven your writing.


mailto:[email protected]


ANALYTICAL WRITING: A Magic Trick

Historical Background (Introduction: Forensics) Find a Theme! If you learn nothing in AP Language, learn this: THEME TIES EVERYTHING TOGETHER! AP will ask you to do a ton - find rhetorical strategies, synthesize an argument, describe impact on audience -- but, in all things, a good AP writer needs to see the connections between the material, and the connections often come from understanding the context from which the material springs. A great AP Slogan that we will use all year long: Make your concrete objects (things you can see) into abstracts (ideas that represent them), and make your abstract ideas into concrete objects. Show the reader you understand and can make connections.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about defeating and slaying giants. This week, we will watch a documentary, Champs. As we do, we are going to shaping our view of Davids and Goliaths through both reading, viewing, and communicating. During the week, you will be doing several different exercises. For the first, do the following:

1) Cold Read - Look for (and mark) words that contribute to feeling of the chart

2) Theme - In the margins, write the one word, for you, that you feel best describes the author’s point

Reading:

From Frameworks from Understanding Poverty, by Ruby Payne




Viewing: Champs

Using the space below, you will need to Close Read this documentary. Look at Gladwell’s Inverted U-Curve (Chapter 2) , Theory of Bombing Victims (Chapter 5), Brownsville Experiments (Chapter 7) and, as you watch, take notes to identify ANYTHING you see that CONFIRMS the Ruby Payne argument above. For example, if you see that one of the characters finds people to be the most important possession in life, mark that in the box (Fact) with a quick (1 sentence) explanation (Details):

Tyson

Holyfield

Hopkins




Writing: Introduction to Style

To make their cases most effective, the Rhetors had to choose the best methods for their case. These methods are called Rhetorical Devices; like anything in writing, they might be used sentence to sentence, or as entire essays themselves. There are 9 Primary Rhetorical Modes:

Rhetorical Modes

RHETORICAL EXERCISE:

Rhetoric is about balancing two voices. In this section you have seen two voices (the chart and the documentary). Now, look over your annotations and notes for your David and Goliath book, Chapters 1-3. Using two different voices you have read, write a sentence that uses these different devices (try to build on your understanding of microscopic, scenic, and panoramic)

Analogy Classification Example

Argument Comparison-Contrast Definition

Cause and Effect Description Narration

Analogy

Argument

Cause and Effect

Classification

Comp-Cont.




REFLECTION: Below, answer the following question: “If you were to write an essay right now, which of these devices would you be most comfortable using, and why?”

Description

Definition

Example

Narration

Anecdote

Metaphor




Introduction Writing (Draw Your Audience In . . .) Every argument has to start somewhere. An article has a lead, a book has a chapter, an essay has an introduction. The introduction is your opening argument; it gets your through the front door, so you do not want to waste the opportunity. The Introduction is the first part of an extended sale pitch, which goes something like this:

With Argumentative Writing, you need to approach your subject like an authority. Authorities speak directly; they create alternative ways of seeing a situation, they use rhetorical devices to their advantage, and they are always trying to get your in their camp. Consider the following structure:




Assignment: The chart above shows how to construct an argument. An Introduction is simply the first

phase of this argument. For this exercise, consider all you have read so far (Gladwell, Payne, and

the documentary). Practice writing Introductions on the theme you isolated in Part I (the word

you wrote down about the feeling of the passage).

DO NOT USE OR MENTION THE STORY — leave the concept to speak for itself !

1. Use steps 1-4 above . . .

2. Use one of the strategies Rhetorical Devices to make your listeners aware of the

themes

3. In your Thesis: Demonstrate how the book (Chapters 1-3) reflects these themes

4. Focus on a Rhetorical Strategy for each Introduction

•Ethos - Through Credibility (Show knowledge)

•Logos -- Through Reason (Show others the facts)

•Pathos - Through Emotion (Show emotion)

As a writer, you are like a magician; you know the trick, you know how the trick will end,

but you can present the trick however you like. The reader does not need to know what you

know, you just have to get them where you want them to be. So, in the Introduction, lead them

toward the themes you have discovered with a Thesis/Major Claim that captures where you are

heading.

Thesis = Controlling idea of the paper (Ex: Poverty and education are connected)

Major Claim — Presents problem and solution (Ex: Malcolm Gladwell’s Matthew Effect

shows how educators often make life more difficult for students.)




Introduction #1: Ethos (Narrate a story of someone you have encountered in your reading)

Introduction #2: Logos (Cause and Effect — show how events create your theme)




Introduction #3: Pathos (Classification — list some of the factors your reader should consider)

SELF ASSESSMENT: (Read these three again. Which of these do you like best, and why?)




Body Paragraphs (Demonstration - Laying the Argument) “Holistic Learning” means, essentially, “seeing the big picture.” In most cases, students are rewarded for

holistic thinking. For AP, however, we need to move from holistic to analysis, meaning you need to stop, linger,

and discover “anything an author uses to present their case” (called “Rhetorical Strategy”). To do this, a writer

needs to look at the facts before them, tie those facts into the theme, and set the reader up for the end of their trick.

Focus #1 — Writing Style, Tone, Purpose

For this exercise, we will turn your reading from holistic into analytical. Part of the process has to do with the reading, but, mostly, success lies in how much detail you are willing to put into your sentences.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE:

TONE:

PURPOSE:


Base - short sentences using subject, verb, object.

Ex — I love English.

Suspensive — start with phrase, then subject, verb, object

Ex — Besides math, I love English most.

Cumulative — contains multiple phrases/lists

Ex — Because of the writing, reading, and language, I love English

Periodic — point is made at beginning

Ex — I love English even though it requires more of me than I think I can give.

Loose — point is made at the end

Ex — Demanding, yes, but English is rewarding.

Formal — Precise/Eloquent (as a pastor/politician might speak)

Ex — The demands of typical educational processes can be arduous and tedious.

Didactic — Teaching/Instruction (as a teacher/professor might speak)

Ex — Beware of education; it demands all your focus and attention

Conversational — Common/Street (as kids might speak in a hallway)

Ex — Man, school is tough . . .

Inform/Educate — Describe a process

Ex — To write you need paper, pen, and a sentence.

Entertain — Connect reader to difficult concept through story, humor, or insight

Ex — You ever write something that, when you read it, sounds like ducks crying?

Persuade — Sway someone’s opinion

Ex — To write well, you have to understand tricks that will make it better.



Let’s look at two different styles. In the margins, take notes on the structure, tone, purpose:

Passage #1:

Passage #2


If you do a brain scan on a person with dyslexia, the images that are produced seem strange. In certain critical parts of the brain— those that deal with reading and processing words— dyslexics have less gray matter. They don’t have as many brain cells in those regions as they should. As the fetus develops inside the womb, neurons are supposed to travel to the appropriate areas of the brain, taking their places like pieces on a chessboard. But for some reason, the neurons of dyslexics sometimes get lost along the way. They end up in the wrong place. The brain has something called the ventricular system, which functions as the brain’s entry and exit point. Some people with reading disorders have neurons lining their ventricles, like passengers stranded in an airport.

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (p. 99). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.

Telegraph Sunday, 26 September 2010

Some of the most famous celebrities of today are dyslexic personalities. The owner of Virgin airlines Richard Branson, John Lennon, actors like Tom Cruise, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg, Even people from past times like Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison are also said to have suffered from learning problems like Dyslexia. Now Yoda, the diminutive Jedi Master has come out in support of dyslexia sufferers and admitted, "I too dyslexia have" In an effort to reduce the social stigma and increase awareness of this extremely common issue. It is thought that a lot more people suffer from it than is actually known due to the potential embarrassment felt by the dyslexic individual. "Hide it in shame, I did. Hide it well also did I" said the swamp living force user "guessed my secret, no one did. A dark secret for me it was. This way to the dark side leads" warned Yoda "Honest, I should have been sooner and well all would have been. Learn young padawan from Yoda you should" There is a growing movement to encourage honesty about the issue and to help encourage other sufferers to come forward and show that they too, despite the potential setback, can still have what it takes to make it in the world. Even some famous writers have been dyslexic, Hans Christian Anderson, W.B. Yeats and Matthatt. "Darth Vader dyslexic also was" announced the light sabre wielding keeper of the peace "Embrace his flaws he did not, and paid the price he did"



Passage #3:

Using the boxes below, write 3 paragraphs, answering the prompt according to the specifications:

OCI Paragraph: What’s the point of Article #1? (Base Sentences, Writing to Inform)

OCI Paragraph: What makes Article #2 connect with the audience? (Suspensive, Instruct)


From Overcoming Dyslexia, Sally Shaywitz

One thing we know for certain about dyslexia is that this is one small area of difficulty in a sea of strengths. Having trouble with reading does not mean that you'll have trouble with everything. In fact, most kids with dyslexia are very good at lots of other things. People with dyslexia are often very creative, and typically develop some clever skills to help them figure out words and sentences that give them trouble at first. Dyslexics often think of unexpected ways to solve a problem or tackle a challenge. We don't fully understand whether this kind of creativity comes from the extra work dyslexics have to do to succeed at reading, or whether dyslexics are just naturally creative. What we do know, though, is that many, many people with dyslexia, even some who really struggled with reading and writing in elementary school and high school, went on to college, and work in jobs they love. Did you ever read any of the Captain Underpants books? The author of these funny stories, Dav Pilkey, has dyslexia. So does Scott Adams, who draws and writes the popular comic strip Dilbert. Many famous performers (ever hear of John Lennon or Whoopie Goldberg?) have dyslexia. So do lots of famous doctors, business people, inventors, artists, and scientists. Having dyslexia can sometimes make you feel frustrated or sad. With the right help, though, you can learn to read—and even to enjoy reading—and you can be anything you want to be.



OCI Paragraph: Which article does a better job? (Loose, Persuade)

SELF-ASSESSMENT: Which of the three paragraph do I like best, and why?




Conclusion (Deliberations - Controlling the Argument) Deductions are conclusions. For AP, you need to create an argument, you need to support that argument, but if you cannot give the “So What” of an argument -- in an attempt to control the reader’s thinking -- you will not achieve the ultimate goal. Deductions are the lifeblood of argument and rhetoric. They are a combination of your considerations; as you look at purpose, form, devices, and style you extract a theme, you come to the issue of a big AP word: Exigency (meaning, “the reason for writing”). Everyone writes for a purpose. As a writer and reader, you need to figure out why and you need to enter into a discussion with the author, you do this in your conclusion paragraph, and it all starts with critical questions.

ASSIGNMENT:

Up to this point, you have read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, you have read two articles on poverty and education, and you have read two articles about teachers and success. Thinking about all you have read, look again at the Sales Pitch (pg 6), use items 5-8 and write a Conclusion, answering this question:

When it comes to writing, are you a David or Goliath? Explain the battle your are facing, then.

A good Conclusion does the following:

1. Starts with your theme

2. Come back to your Major Claim/Thesis

3. Shows both sides of the argument

4. Writes to Persuade in a Conversational Tone




Style Rhetorical Triangle: Text, Author, Audience

TROPES, RHETORICAL DISTANCE, SCHEMES OF CONSTRUCTION

The Rhetorical Triangle

RHETORICAL STANCE EXERCISE

Figuring out an author’s purpose can be easy - “Smoking kills!” -- or difficult -- “Is God great enough to build a rock that cannot be moved?” -- depending on kairos, or time and place of the writing. As readers, we need to explore context; we need to look at words (and their meanings), and we need to feel a text (pay attention to the mood and tone) as a way of exploring and dialoguing with an author.

Novels, books, and poems are a little more difficult to explore because they are a composite of information, entertainment, and persuasion. Below is a chart with different


Speaker/Writer Audience/Reader

Exigency

Text

Context

ContextContext



quotations from the books you have read. This exercise will help you to see how purpose comes about, and how authors play with Rhetorical Distance -- the methods they use to draw you in.

Read the passages below. After reading them (Ethos), locate them in the book and, in the Context/Argument Column explore the larger context (what else is going on) of the page. In the Purpose Column, give an Internal Dialogue; use the prompt provided; these are called IMPLICATIONS (issues you cannot see, but relate to the audience at large). Try create a scenario that is going on outside the page! worldview (cause and effect), and what might be on his mind as he writes this?


Passage Context/Argument Purpose (Reflection from Author’s Mind)

The summer of his sixteenth year, he went to work at his father’s scrap-metal business. It was hard, physical labor. He was treated like any other employee. “It made me no t want to l i ve in Minneapolis,” he said. “It made me never want to depend on working for my father. It was awful. It was dirty. It was hard. It was boring. It was putting scrap metal in barrels. I worked there from May fifteenth through Labor Day. I couldn’t get the dirt off me. I think, looking back, my father wanted me to work there because he knew that if I worked there, I would want to escape. I would be motivated to do something more.” - Ch 2, Section 3

If I am going to be

successful . . ..

Money makes parenting easier until a certain point— when it stops making much of a difference. What is that point? The scholars who research happiness suggest that more money stops making people happier at a family income of around seventy-five thousand dollars a year. After that, what economists call “diminishing marginal returns” sets in. If your fami ly makes seventy-f ive thousand and your neighbor makes a hundred thousand, that extra twenty-five thousand a year means that your neighbor can drive a nicer car and go out to eat slightly more often. But it doesn’t make your neighbor happier than you, or better equipped to do the thousands of small and large things that make for being a good parent.

Ch 2, Section 4

If I am a David, I need to

understand . . .




Passage Context/Argument Purpose (Reflection from Author’s Mind)

All good parents try to teach their children the art of persuasion, of course. But a normal, well-adjusted child has no need to take those lessons seriously. If you get As in school, you never need to figure out how to negotiate your way to a passing grade, or to look around the room as a nine-year-old and start strategizing about how to make it through the next hour. But when Grazer practiced negotiation, just as when Boies practiced listening, he had a gun to his head. He practiced day in, day out, year after year. When Grazer said that was “really good training,” what he meant was learning to talk his way from a position of weakness to a position of strength turned out to be the perfect preparation for the profession he ended up in. Grazer is now one of the most successful movie producers in Hollywood of the past thirty years. 4 Would Brian Grazer be where he is if he weren’t a dyslexic? . - Ch 4, Section 4

This is like . .. . ..

Dyslexics compensate for their disability by developing other skills that— at times— can prove highly advantageous. Being bombed or orphaned can be a near-miss experience and leave you devastated. Or it can be a remote miss and leave you stronger. These are David’s opportunities: the occasions in which difficulties, paradoxically, turn out to be desirable. The lesson of the trickster tales is the third desirable difficulty: the unexpected freedom that comes from having nothing to lose. The trickster gets to break the rules.

Ch 6, Section 3

If the trickster can break all

the rules . . .

I lay there feeling indescribably happy and triumphant. “I’ve been bombed!” I kept on saying to myself, over and over again— trying the phrase on, like a new dress, to see how it fitted. “I’ve been bombed!… I’ve been bombed— me!” It seems a terrible thing to say, when many people were killed and injured last night; but never in my whole life have I ever experienced such pure.

Chapter 5, Section 2

Victory comes

when . . .because



Short Response: In your David and Goliath book, look at Chapter 5, Section 2 — Direct Hits, Remote Misses . Above, you have looked at some implications of Gladwell’s Arguments; now we are going to begin the process of using other people’s voices to sharpen our own Point-of-View. Here you will use a method that is called They Say/I Say (it’s a book, and it is much more involved than the following). Academic/Argumentative Writing involves conversation between you and someone else; here is the basic pattern:

State your Major Claim (problem and solution — Concrete/Abstract) Ex: The Blitz was a terrible event, but Malcolm Gladwell argues . . .

Example of the Argument from Perspective #1 (They Say . . . Textual) Ex: MacCurdy explained how people reacted, saying . . .

Example of the Argument from Perspective #2 (They Say . . .Textual) Ex: David Boeis, though, knew victory came from other places . . .

Your Response to the Arguments (I Say . . introducing global argument) Ex: Both are correct, but . . .

Conclusion (I Say . . addressing the global perspective - Audience) Ex: As people strive toward overcoming . . .

Prompt: Create a personal Equation for Victory based on what you have read in Gladwell’s book (example: Self Reflection + Observation =Victory). Use Gladwell’s terms — they will force you to explain — and do the following with your Equation.

Straight Writing — Formal, To Inform:




Feature Writing — Didactic (Teaching), To Persuade:

Editorial Writing — Conversational, To Entertain:

SELF REFLECTION:

Of the three paragraphs, which do you like most, and why?




Visualizing a Text Closing the Rhetorical Space

MAJOR PREMISE, MINOR PREMISE

RHETORICAL DISTANCE (Space between reader and author)

Malcolm Gladwell uses people’s stories to translate difficult concepts. As writers, you

will be asked to do the same — make words into pictures and pictures into words. To do this, you

will use all the Rhetorical Modes (Narration, Definition, Comparison-Contrast, Cause and

Effect, Argumentation, Process, Exposition, and Example) and utilize all the Rhetorical

Stances/Purposes (inform, entertain, persuade). As readers, we have two major goals when

reading that help us locate the author’s purpose:

1) Determine the Major Premise - the one claim that sums up the author’s point

2)Determine the Minor Premise - a summary statement supporting author’s evidence




TRANSLATION EXERCISE: Below are two examples of men with similar opinions from the

book Outliers. If you can isolate that, then you will be able to see the differences between

different perspectives (it’s called classification, and it is a powerful AP tool).

1) Write an explication (translation) that gives you a handle on the text 2)Write the author’s major premise (the exact claim that makes his argument clear) 3)Write the author’s minor premise (summary of the proof that supports his argument)


Let us go back to the theory of the inverted-U curve that we discussed in the chapter on class size. Inverted-U

curves are all about limits. They illustrate the fact that “more” is not always better; there comes a point, in

fact, when the extra resources that the powerful think of as their greatest advantage only serve to make

things worse. The inverted-U shape clearly describes the effects of class size, and it clearly applies as well to

the connection between parenting and wealth. But a few years ago, a number of scholars began to make a

more ambitious argument, an argument that would end up pulling Mike Reynolds and his claims for Three

Strikes into the center of two decades of controversy. What if the relationship between punishment and crime

was also an inverted U? In other words, what if— past a certain point— cracking down on crime stopped

having any effect on criminals and maybe even started to make crime worse?

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (pp. 238-239). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.

1) Write an explication that gives you a handle on the text (own words)

2) Author’s major premise (exact claim that makes argument clear)

3) Author’s minor premise (summary statement supporting argument)



Reading #2


But the best answer is the one that David and Goliath has tried to make plain— that wiping out a

town or a people or a movement is never as simple as it looks. The powerful are not as powerful as

they seem— nor the weak as weak. The Huguenots of Le Chambon were descendants of France’s

original Protestant population, and the truth is that people had tried— and failed— to wipe them

out before. The Huguenots broke away from the Catholic Church during the Reformation, which

made them outlaws in the eyes of the French state. One king after another tried to make them

reunite with the Catholic Church. The Huguenot movement was banned. There were public

roundups and massacres. Thousands of Huguenot men were sent to the gallows. Women were

imprisoned for life. The reign of terror lasted more than a century. In the late seventeenth century,

two hundred thousand Huguenots fled France for other countries in Europe and North America.

Those few who remained were forced underground. They worshiped in secrecy, in remote forests.

They retreated to high mountain villages on the Vivarais Plateau. They formed a seminary in

Switzerland and smuggled clergy across the border. They learned the arts of evasion and disguise.

They stayed and learned— as the Londoners did during the Blitz— that they were not really

afraid. They were just afraid of being afraid.

Gladwell, Malcolm (2013-10-01). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (p. 269). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.

1) Write an explication that gives you a handle on the text (own words)

2) Author’s major premise (exact claim that makes argument clear)

3) Author’s minor premise (summary statement supporting argument)



Writing to the Text Synthesis, Persuasion, Analysis

ADDRESSING THE PROMPT

Make a Decisions

AP asks you to write three kinds of essays as a way for you to see a text from multiple perspectives as you Answer the given Prompt. In order to understand, here are some essential tools:

• Claim — A statement of opinion

• Support — Support for the opinion

• Counter-Claim (Qualifying Statement)— An opposing POV

• Backing — Support for the opposing POV

the expectations fully, you have to understand the concept of Support (material that builds your argument) and Qualifying Statements (information that shows you understand both sides) or Counter-Argument (material that shows the opposition to your argument). In an AP setting, you will usually encounter this point/counter-point perspective. Therefore, you will need to uncover the method in your reading, and demonstrate in your writing that you understand how to balance more than one idea at a time.




In the exercises below, you will be given a paragraph formula and a prompt. In answering the prompt you must use the formula, you must answer the prompt, and you must use both support and qualifying statements to build your arguments. Each paragraph will have a different purpose so YOU MUST READ THE PROMPT CAREFULLY! To say AP will try and trick you is not exactly true, but they will ask you to read like sophisticated readers -- ie, those who understand good writing happens in layers and it needs to be taken apart. Remember: ALWAYS BE LOOKING (AND WRITING) FOR TWO SIDES (called paradox)!

Classic Argument

The first and most basic rhetorical pattern, the Classical Argument can happen at the

paragraph level or the essay level; at best, both will happen. This argument assumes you will start

with your own opinion and then present the counter-argument, somebody else’s. Read the

passage below and answer the prompt using this particular formula:

PROMPT: Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath tells different stories of being an underdog. In the passages below, you will see two opinions about the nature of overcoming. Read both passages carefully. Then write a response that examines the speakers Major and Minor Premises, and carefully your position.

About Manet About Hollywood Executive

The Salon was a lot like an Ivy League school. It was the place where reputations were made. And what made it special was how selective it was. There were roughly three thousand painters of “national reputation” in France in the 1860s, and each submitted two or three of his best works to the Salon, which meant the jury was picking from a small mountain of canvases. Rejection was the norm. Getting in was a feat. “The Salon is the real field of battle,” Manet said. “It’s there that one must take one’s measure.” Of all the Impressionists, he was the one most convinced of the value of the Salon. The art critic Théodore Duret, another of the Guerbois circle, agreed. “You have still one step to take,” Duret wrote to Pissarro in 1874. “That is to succeed in becoming known to the public and accepted by all the dealers and art lovers.… I urge you to exhibit; you must succeed in making a noise, in defying and attracting criticism, coming face-to-face with the big public.”

After graduation, he got a job in Hollywood, which led to a bigger job, and then to an even bigger job, and side deals and prizes and a string of extraordinary successes— to the point where he now has a house in Beverly Hills the size of an airplane hangar, his own jet, a Ferrari in the garage, and a gate in front of his seemingly never-ending driveway that looks like it was shipped over from some medieval castle in Europe. He understood money. And he understood money because he felt he had been given a thorough education in its value and function back home on the streets of Minneapolis.

“I wanted to have more freedom. I wanted to aspire to have different things. Money was a tool that I could use for my aspiration and my desires and my drive,” he said. “Nobody taught me that. I learned it. It was kind of like trial and error. I liked the juice of it. I got some self-esteem from it. I felt more control over my life.”




The Classic Argument: Focus on YOUR Argument

Below, write a brief, Classic Argument (one sentence for each item above).

Write Below:

Introduction Introduce your issue and capture the attention of your audience. Try using a short Anecdote, Analogy, or Metaphor.

Narration To Classify (separate your argument) by laying out a Narrative of the situation, showing you understand the history of the situation you are discussing.

Proposition/Thesis Discuss reasons why you have taken your position.

Refutation Show why the arguments of others are not persuasive. Concede any point that has merit bus show this concession does not damage your case.

Conclusion Summarize the most important points and appeal to reader’s feelings (Pathos)




Rogerian Model

Carl Rogers was a psychologist who, among other courses of study, wrote about conflict

resolution. This particular argument style comes about as a result of holistic thinking (the idea

that we see the big picture without examining the details). This pattern asks you to enter into

another person’s argument in order to find your own. Read the passage below and answer the

prompt using this particular formula:

About: Wyatt Walker About: Jay Freireich

One famous night, the three of them— Walker, King, and Shuttlesworth— were about to preach to fifteen hundred people at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, when the church was surrounded by an angry white mob threatening to burn the building down. King, predictably enough, took the high road. “The only way we are going to save the people upstairs,” he told the others, “is we who are the leadership have to give ourselves up to the mob.” Shuttlesworth, imperturbable as always, agreed: “Yeah, well if that what we have to do, let’s do it.” Walker? He looked over at King and said to himself: “This man must be out of his goddam mind.” 5 (At the last moment, federal troops came and dispersed the crowd.) Later, Walker would embrace nonviolence. But he always gave the sense that turning the other cheek wasn’t something that came naturally.

When Freireich’s mother went to work in a

sweatshop, sewing brims on hats. She made two cents

a hat. She didn’t speak much English. “She had to work

eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, to make

enough money to have an apartment for us to rent,”

Freireich went on. “We never saw her. We had a little

apartment on the west side of Humboldt Park, bordering

the ghetto. She couldn’t leave a two-year-old and a five-

year-old all alone, so she found an immigrant Irish lady

who worked for room and board. My parent, from the

age of two, was this Irish maid. We loved her. She was

my mother. Then, when I was nine, my mother met a

Hungarian man who had lost his wife and had one son,

and she married him. It was a marriage of convenience.

He couldn’t take care of his son by himself, and she

didn’t have anybody. He was a really bitter, shriveled

guy. So they got married and my mother left the

sweatshop and appeared back on the scene, and they

couldn’t afford the maid anymore. So they fired her.

They fired my mother. I never forgave my mother for

that.”


Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a horse riding accident, said this about heroism: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Gladwell’s book Outliers tells the story of people who had to overcome trials. Read the passage below and then, in an organized response use evidence from the book that address Reeve’s statement.



Rogerian Argument: Focus on THE OPPONENT’S Point of View

Below, write a brief, Rogerian Argument (one sentence for each item above).

Write Below:

Introduction Set up the scenario for your writing: what is the Exigency (purpose for the paper); use Anecdote, Classification, Narrative to establish the issue

Concessions Reassure that you hope to persuade by showing you agree with the readers who are opposed and do not thing they are completely wrong

Thesis Now that you have earned the confidence of your audience, state your Major Claim or Proposition

Support Explain why you have taken this position and provide support for it.

Conclusions Conclude by showing how your reader and other people could benefit from accepting your position. Indicate the extent to which this position will resolve the problem you are addressing




Toulmin Model:

Toulmin is the toughest model to follow. He thinks like a statistician and explains like a

contract lawyer. Nonetheless, AP likes this method: it’s concise, but not too stylistic. Use it (and

the example of the picture given) to answer the following prompt:

If you’re going to be a David, you better have . . .

Toulmin Model: Focus on THE ISSUE

On the last page of the workbook, write a Toulmin Response that addresses, qualifies, and argues

your position.

Data The problem you are addressing

Warrant Why this problem affects the audience

Backing Evidence to the affects

Initial Claim One possible solution to the problem

Rebuttal What opponents would say about the solution

Qualifier Why their point-of-view could be correct.

Final Claim Your proposed final solution to the problem




Write Below:



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