Tuesday, January 5, 2016

AP English: Defining the Elements of Style Project

AP Students, this project is has a series of due dates.

Essay 1: Friday, January 15, 2016
Essay 2: Friday, January 22, 2016
Essay 3: Friday, January 29, 2016
Essay 4: Friday, February 5, 2016

Each student will write four (4) essays on elements of style found in The Heart of Darkness.
  • allusion
  • atmosphere
  • connotation
  • details (concrete or abstract)
  • diction
  • figurative language
  • figures of speech
  • imagery
  • irony
  • metaphor
  • mood
  • narrative devices
  • point of view
  • stylistic devices
  • symbols/symbolism
  • syntax
  • theme
  • tone
  • voice
You will need to make sure that you clearly distinguish and define the elements that you choose.

Each essay must be a minimum of one typewritten, double-spaced, no-larger-than-12-font-sized, page long. Begin your essay with the definition of the element; then apply this definition in a general sense to the novel. The rest of the essay consists of specific details, quotations, plot and character references from the novella to prove your point about the particular element of style. Document internally citing chapter and page number. This essay is NOT to be written in a standard introduction-body-conclusion format. You are essentially writing several EXCELLENT paragraphs of commentary on the element. (This is good preparation for the Big Exam in May because you will need to focus on body paragraphs more intently than on flowery introductory and concluding paragraphs.) You will need to make brief introductory and concluding statements within each paragraph.

You will need to have a title page and a table of contents for your elements which will be due with the final essay. Full credit is achieved in two areas: completion and content. Completion is based on having all four elements covered, each page written clearly and without errors in syntax, spelling, or grammar. The second grade is based on being able to defend clearly the assertions about the elements. For example, if you do not clearly define an element, or your thesis is not proven by your paper, you lose points. Incomplete projects will not be graded.

Fair warning:
  • Do not use Cliff's Notes or Sparknotes.
  • Do not leave this until the night before.
  • Do not use first person or other forbidden elements (consult an MLA guide as necessary).
An example:
      Diction is the author's distinct word choice used to establish an idea within the work. Conrad uses diction in Heart of Darkness to portray the nature of death and mystery in the Congo. In the jungles of Africa, one can find "...death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush..."(Signet 69). "Skulking" denotes death merely lying in hiding; however, its connotation depicts a more active role, waiting to seize its victims. By nature, death "lurks" in dark corners to conceal its "hidden evil" (Signet 105). It creeps up on its victims without being seen or anticipated. This "concealed" image of death depicted by Conrad's diction serves to intensify the fear of death and establish death's role in the novel. In the sunshine, "pure, uncomplicated savagery was a positive relief" (Signet 139). In the daylight, evil is "uncomplicated;" this connotes a simple danger known to all. It is a "relief" to know that the potential hazards are visible and are not going to be a surprise. Conrad also uses mysterious diction throughout the novel: "It had ceased to be... a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness." The "white" connotes a blank space for the imagination to run. However...


Get the picture?

AP English: HoD Final Essay Exam ***Update***

***Date Change***

The final exam for our Heart of Darkness unit is scheduled for Thursday, February 18, 2016. Students will prepare to respond to one of the four essay prompts below. On the day of the exam, students will be allowed to use their book and one handwritten sheet of notebook paper's worth of notes. Students are advised to prepare one notebook page for each essay and to bring them all on test day where they will draw one of the essay topics randomly.

These are the questions:
  1. In many pieces of literature, the setting plays an important symbolic role in the thematic development. Explain the roles the settings play in developing one of the themes in Heart of Darkness.
  2. Authors often grapple with the essential questions of what leads people to commit evil and whether evil is inherent in all people. Explain Conrad's implications about the nature of evil in Heart of Darkness.
  3. When we come to the end of a novel or play, a consistent mood should have altered or intensified our consciousness of certain aspects of life. Discuss the mood of Heart of Darkness and point out ways in which it has intensified or altered your consciousness of history and/or certain aspects of modern reality.
  4. One definition of madness is "mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it." But Emily Dickenson writes, "Much madness is divinest Sense--/ To a discerning Eye--." Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with "a discerning Eye." Consider how a character's apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role in Heart of Darkness. Then write a well-organized essay in which you argue the extent to which this behavior is delusional or eccentric and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the "madness" to the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

AP English: HoD Mandala Project 2016

This mandala project is due Tuesday, February 16, 2016.

 Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning center and circle. It conveys the notion that any center is tied to its circumference and any circumference is always determined by its center. Together they represent wholeness. The character mandala project represents the student's analysis of the whole character in The Heart of Darkness.

After choosing your character, consider what traits that character displays and what happens to him/her in the story. Using the color symbolism chart, color the mandala according to the characteristics you have determined about your character. Whichever traits/characteristics are the most important or most evident should be represented by the corresponding colors from the chart and be dominant on the mandala. Any character you choose should have at least three characteristics and/or traits, and those colors should be evident on your mandala. Under the mandala, write the name of your character. On a separate page, type one paragraph about your character by first introducing him/her, followed by an explanation of what each color represents, the significance of their placement, and textual evidence and personal commentary for support of each characteristic you displayed. Conclude your paragraph with a theme statement of the selection. Be prepared to present your finished product to the class. Yes, you will have to read your paragraph.

The completed project should meet these criteria:
  1. a choice of characteristics appropriate to the character showing careful, close reading,
  2. a pattern of colors that are pleasing to the eye (or meaningfully harsh) and represent the characteristics the colors symbolize,
  3. effective paragraph organization, sentence fluency, word choice, and attention to conventions,
  4. and appropriate evidence correctly notated.

AP English: Final HoD Graphic Project

The summative project for the Heart of Darkness unit is a graphic project.

The student will select one quote from the novella which encapsulates one of the themes. Then the student will find an image (from the Internet or a book, et cetera) that he or she feels illustrates the quote from the novella; center the image and caption it with the selected quote from the novella. On the back of the page, the student will properly cite the source of the image  as well as the quote from the novella (MLA format).

Students will present their graphic projects to the class on Friday, February 19, 2016.

An example is below:

 
"We live as we dream... alone."