Monday, April 2, 2007

MLA Help

Hello all,

I've added two new links that will help you with MLA works cited pages and in text citations. I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you make changes or update annotated bibliographies so that you can use those citations in your finished works cited page. These links are from Diana Hacker's A Writers Reference, a book that you will use in your mandatory freshman English classes.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Where to submit your final paper...

Hello All,

Send your papers, attached as a Microsoft Word document only, to maria1460@sbcglobal.net

*If you turn it in on the orignial due date (Wednesday @11:59pm), you get 10e.c. points.
*Otherwise: Final due date is Good Friday @ 11:59pm NO MORE EXTENSIONS; NO EXCEPTIONS. IF YOU HAVE EMAIL ISSUES, SEND IT USING SOMEONE'S ELSE'S EMAIL AND PUT YOUR NAME IN THE SUBJECT, OR GIVE IT TO ME IN CLASS WEDNESDAY!!!!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Good Job, AP English

Hello all,

This is just a quick note to say "Kudos to you". You've completed AR and many of you have finished your journals. Some of you are even finished with your lesson plans. You are charging ahead and you're doing a tremendously, fabulously outstanding job. Thank you for your hard work and effort. It is greatly appreciated. You have earned the grades. Keep up the good work! Continue to see me or comment if you have any questions.

P.S. I've seen some research and I've talked with many of you regarding paper ideas. Don't doubt yourselves. You have great ideas and great arguments to back your ideas. Nice job!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

How to Create an Annotated Bibliography

Definition
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is it this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?

Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. So it's important, if you're doing this for a class, to get specific guidelines from your instructor.

Purpose:
To learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information.
To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.
***
For help with paraphrasing (knowing how and when to use it), click here.
For help with evaluating resources (so that you will be able to quickly and efficiently determine which sources you will use for your projects), click here.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

School Appropriate--A Definition According to Ms. Brown

Dear AP Literature and Composition,


We have had discussions related to school appropriate material being posted to this site. We've also discussed posting material that is related to One Hundred Years of Solitude ONLY. If you need clarification about my definition of school appropriateness, please see the school handbook. Anything that is posted to this site that is not school appropriate and not related to this text, will automatically lower your grade by one full letter. Please ask if you require any further clarification.

Friday, March 16, 2007

ATTENTION

Hello all,

In lieu of time constraints, I have decided to extend the deadline for the STUDENT AS SCHOLAR portion of the project, ONLY. Therefore, your final paper will be due Wednesday, April 4, 2006 at the beginning of class time. EVERYTHING ELSE IS DUE ON TIME!!! NO EXTENSIONS!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, or ask me during class.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Due Dates

Reading calendar for the week of 3/12/07:


  • Monday: ch. 9
  • Tuesday: ch. 10
  • Wednesday: chapter 11
  • Thursday-Sunday (since you have a three day weekend): ch. 12-13
  • Friday: Active Reading for 7-10 is due. Reflections are due.

Reading Calendar for week of 3/19/07

  • Monday: ch. 14
  • Tuesday: ch. 15
  • Wednesday: ch. 16
  • Thursday: ch. 17
  • Friday-Sunday: Finish the book

Due Dates: week of 3/26 (all by 11:59pm on their due dates)

  • Monday: Active Reading for the rest of the book is due (3/19)
  • Tuesday: "Rough" works cited page due (you need at least 2 properly cited sources)
  • Wednesday: Last two journals are due (each one should be one double-spaced times new roman, size 12 font page) See reflective journal rubric and handout as necessary
  • Thursday: Three Lesson plans due today on your blog. You will present them through next week.
  • Friday: Annotated bibliography due. You need four-six sources (does NOT include the primary text, One Hundred Years of Solitude). For a complete example of how to complete an annotated bibliography, see me, or click the link on the side of my page.
  • Note: At this point, you should be writing your paper. The annotated bibiliographies will provide your information for what critics/scholars are saying (you need this) and your active reading should be thorough enough to incorporate into your actual paper...This means themes, quotes, etc.

YOUR FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE (PROPERLY FORMATTED AND WITH A WORKS CITED PAGE) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2007. PRINTED COPIES ONLY PLEASE