American Studies

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TAKS Paragraph Assignment:

Please compose an academic paragraph in response to each of the given questions. You will graded according to TAKS scoring criteria. Successful responses have the following:

1. Clear, specific thesis statement.
2. Direct supporting evidence.
3. Commentary/Explanation as needed. (How and/or why does the evidence support or prove your thesis?)

Warning: All claims or opinions must be supported with evidence and explanation. All evidence must refer to specific moments or events in the narratives. Weakness in any one area results in a score of "1," considered a "C" or "barely adequate." TAKS paragraphs asking for a comparison require evidence from BOTH selections.

Please type your responses. No more than 7-10 sentences, as the exam does not allow space for extended responses. Be direct, clear, and convincing. Answers expressing deeper thoughts or understanding earn the rare "3's."

1. How are Jay Gatsby and Charles Foster Kane similar? Support your answer with evidence from both selections.

2. What common theme do both The Great Gatsby and Citizen Kane share in common? Support your answer with evidence from both selections.

2006, Question 3:

From talk radio to television shows, from popular magazines to Web blogs, ordinary citizens, political figures, and entertainers express their opinions on a wide range of topics. Are these opinions worthwhile? Does the expression of such opinions foster democratic values?

Write an essay in which you take a position on the value of such public statements of opinion, supporting your view with appropriate evidence.

Mr. Wevodau's hint: Don't argue absolutes! Obviously, some opinions have value and others don't. And what are "democratic values"? Consider what that possibly means BEFORE you begin to write.

2004 Form B, Question 3:

Michael Ignatieff, Professor of the Practice of Human Rights Policy at Harvard University, made the following observation:

"To belong is to understand the tacit codes of the people you live with." --from Blood and Belonging

Consider how the unspoken rules help to define group identity. Then write a carefully reasoned essay that examines the relationship between unspoken rules and belonging. Use specific examples to develop your position.

AP Essay: 2008, Form B, Question 3

Write a carefully reasoned essay in which you defend, challenge, or qualify Daniel Boorstin's view in the following selection:

Dissent is the great problem of America today. It overshadows all others. It is a symptom, an expression, a consequence, and a cause of all others.

I say dissent and not disagreement. And it is the distinction between dissent and disagreement which I really want to make. Disagreement produces debate but dissent produces dissension. Dissent (which comes from Latin, dis and sentire) means originally to feel apart from others.

People who disagree have an argument, but people who dissent have a quarrel. People may disagree and both may count themselves in the majority. But a person who dissents is by definition in a minority. A liberal society thrives on disagreement but is killed by dissension. Disagreement is the life blood of democracy, dissension is its cancer.

ASSIGNMENT: Compose one body paragraph that uses a specific illustrative example to make you point. Please post the paragraph to the message boards under AP Essays.

1999 Question 3:

In the following excerpt from Antigone, by the classical Greek playwright Sophocles, the wise Teiresias observes

Think: all men make mistakes

But a good man yields when he

Knows his course is wrong,

And repairs the evil: The only

Crime is pride.

 

Take some time to think about the implications of the quotation. Then write a carefully reasoned essay that explores the validity of the assertion, using examples from your reading, observation, or experience to develop your position.

AP Argumentative Essay (due Thursday/Friday, September 11/12):

Consider our readings from Lies My Teacher Told Me. What should be the purpose of American History high school textbooks? Present a cohesive argument using specific examples or illustrations from our readings as well as other relevant sources.

Prep words for Friday's AP English Multiple Choice Benchmark

Success on the multiple choice section requires a broad and expansive vocabulary--not simply knowledge of literary terms. The following are words that will appear on Friday's diagnostic quiz. Knowing them in advance should lead to a few more correct answer choices.

unrequited

analogy

maganimity

dyspeptic

discursive

paradoxical

understatement

anecdote

prudent

ironic

pious

methodology

mock solemnity

fallacious

ornithological

conspicuous

contrived

exposition

pathos

parallel structure

alliteration

onomatopoeia

oxymoron

abstractions

emitting

nomenclature

pretext

juxtaposition

staccato

admonitions

enumerate

allusion/to allude

jeremiads

digression

parochial

2005 Question 3:

In "The Singer Solution to World Poverty," an article that appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Peter Singer, a professor in bioethics, calls attention to the urgent need for food and medicine in many parts of the world. Singer argues that prosperous people should donate to overseas aid organizations such as UNICEF or Oxfam America all money not needed for the basic requirements of life. "The formula is simple: whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away."

Write an essay in which you evaluate the pros and cons of Singer's argument. Use appropriate evidence as you examine each side, and indicate which position you find more persuasive.

ADVICE:

Always, always, always use specific examples to support your opinions. Cite historical precedents. Use personal experience. Refer to contemporary events. You CANNOT give an opinion (e.g., "people should rely on themselves and not others") without backing it up through some type of specific illustration.

Please visit the AP English Language Test Preparation pages for more specific advice as to how to respond to persuasive argument prompts.

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