Thank you all for sharing so many thoughtful questions, concerns and goals. I will share some of the representative questions below and provide answers. Always know you can come talk to me about issues in the class or questions.
Q: I still struggle with rhetorical analysis at times. What can I do?
A: Please know that everyone is still learning this skill. We are going to work really hard on developing and improving our annotation skills. Part of this is learning to ask better questions, identify patterns, understand literary devices, and draw those things together for analysis. We will take it slow.
Q: I am concerned that I will not be able to analyze the literature thoroughly enough for a good essay response.
A: I will give you a lot of guided practice in writing literary analysis essays before I throw a new text at you and ask you to analyze and write on your own. Writing is a skill that requires practice. It CAN be learned. We have a whole year together and I see value in using training wheels and taking them off slowly.
Q: What is the average time needed to complete homework?
A: This is really hard for me to estimate because all of you will read at different speeds and have different comfort levels with different sorts of material. I would estimate that you will spend around 45 minutes/night on some work (either reading, studying or writing).
Q: My biggest concern is time management with my other AP's.
A: I'm not going to lie to you, juggling a full load of AP classes is going to be hard. Again, these are college level classes--in college you will only take 4 such classes at a time. You have 6 classes! If they are all or mostly AP's, you may consider scaling back. I try to be understanding about workload, but this course really requires a lot of reading and writing. There isn't a way to short-cut that.
Q: Will we have small groups or large groups during projects and reading groups?
A: For projects you will be in small groups. I find this is the only way to ensure everyone contributes. For the outside reading, the groups will depend on the number of people who select a given book (there is no limit). If a lot of people choose a particular text I will split you into smaller groups for the discussion.
Q: When is outside reading assigned and due?
A: You will select your first outside reading on Friday, Sept. 25th. It will be due November 16th, at which time I will meet with the groups and listen to your academic discussion about the text. As you read, please keep careful notes, annotate, and ask questions. You will choose your second book just before Thanksgiving break and it will be due after the New Year (January 2016).
Q: What is your definition of "harsh grading?" Can we come to you before essays are due?
A: Love this questions! First of all, YES, please come to me before an essay is due. I love working with students one-on-one, brainstorming theses, and editing. When I say I grade harshly, I mean that I am very particular--I expect a high level of sophistication with your diction, syntax, and ideas. At this point in your educational careers it is no longer enough to "try hard." You have to produce a great product. This takes time, several drafts, and practice.
Q: How often will we have discussions?
A: Hopefully everyday. We will have large-class discussions and also small group discussions. I want to work in more Socratic Seminars (formal academic conversations) this year.
Q: Do we need to have read "How to Read Like a Professor?"
A: This was one of the assigned summer reading books, but if you haven't read it, please don't. Those of you who did read it get the benefit of this thoughtful book about how to read more analytically, but I will NOT be referring to this text in class.
