Morgan Burton                                                                                 October 20, 2013

 Why are so many of the words abstract?  How do words like freedom, poverty, devotion, loyalty, and sacrifice set the tone of the speech?

These words help set the tone of the speech because it draws the audience in and makes them want to continue to listen to the presenter. The words listed above all  were major problems society were facing at the time. As President John F. Kennedy mentioned these words throughout his speech, it gave the audience a chance of hope. President John F.Kennedy wanted to let citizens know that eventually in time a change will occur and justice will prevail. 

 Find examples of formal rhetorical tropes such as metaphor and personification 

Metaphor- "and let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house."
Metaphor- "To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off  the chains of poverty."
Personification- "this hemisphere intends to remain the mast of his home"

 Does Kennedy use any figures of speech that might be considered clichés ? 

President John F. Kennedy used mutilple  cliches phrases throughout his speech. During the duration of his speech he talked about a change happening in a America, freedom for the men, and uniting together to create a new world and law. These were considered clichés because these examples provided were commonly typical for a president to say to attract the audiences attention. These pointers were incidents that America were having difficulties facing, and the fact that President Kennedy mentioned it in his speak made the audience want to continue to listen and support the matter.

  Do any of the words in the speech seem archaic, or old-fashioned?  If so, what are they?  What is their effect?

An archaic President Kennedy utilized in his speech that were somewhat old fashioned was the phrase " Now the trumpet summon us again not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. This is considered a archaic because many people no longer speak this way. This effected the speech because it made President Kennedy sound more educated, and sophisticated. The meaning and tone of the speech had a larger impact on society back then, because during that time period they were facing a tremendous about of hardships, and needed a sign of hope that a change was going to come.


5. The speech is a succession of twenty-eight short paragraphs.  Twelve paragraphs have only one sentence, eight have two, and six have three sentences.  Why do you think Kennedy used these short paragraphs?

I think President Kennedy used such short paragraphs because he had several points to make. He repetitively mentioned the same key point over again, but each time he provided different examples.

 The speech contains two extremes of sentence length, ranging from eighty words (¶4) to six words 

A high proportion of the sentences used in the speech are on the short side, because President Kennedy was very blunt and straight forward , with the topic he was referring to. He didn't have to provide a lot of details, on the topic. He was more descriptive with other topic, that needed a more descriptive tone.

 More than twenty sentences are complex sentences -- that is, sentences that contain a subordinate clause.  How do complex sentences suggest hidden energy?

Complex sentences hides energy by incorporating more facts about a certain topic or situation. The more you speak on a situation with facts and examples the less your personal feelings are displayed. 

Why is the dominance of declarative sentences, which make statements, appropriate in an inaugural address?

Declarative sentences are appropriate in an inaugural address because, it shows confidence in the speaker, or presenter and the topic in which they are discussing.  The speaker immediately grabs the audience's attention with its demanding tone and statements. Declarative sentences gives the speech, a more developed meaning, and message

Find examples of rhetorical schemes such as anaphora and zeugma

Anaphora- John F.Kennedy used this rhetorical device in paragraph 14, and other sentences when he repeated  the phrase "let us." He later uses the phrases "let us both" in paragraphs 15,16, and 17. Anaphora was lastly used towards the end of the speech when he uses the phrase "nor"


 

Homework For The Holiday

Morgan Burton September 07,2013

AP English Language 1B

Homework for the Holiday :

Vocabulary Diagnostic: On separate sheet of paper .

Blog Post :

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1947290506862677567#editor/target=post;postID=4077693405734048700;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

Strongest Essay :

In my opinion the strongest essay from the timed essay prompt on Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality was student 76. They started their essay off with an introduction that was powerful and immediately stated three devices the author portrayed throughout his paper. during this student’s paper they constantly referred back to the text to support their argument , used descriptive details and kept there paragraphs organized.

Weakest Essay :

The weakest essay by far was student 7. Their essay was remarkably unorganized and didn’t follow the criteria asked of them in the directions. They had many grammatical errors that were difficult to comprehend. The prompt asked to convey different devices used in the introduction of The Hidden Reality but instead the student focused on the meaning of “the universe”

Strongest Introduction :

The strongest introduction was student 15. Their introduction was tastefully done, they started the essay off with a general question we all as individuals have thought of over time. Eventually he made a reference to Brian Greene’s book The Hidden Reality and how it covers all the questions we have and discusses these arguments by using the devices such as specific questioning, personification, and senses of imagery.

Best quote integration :

The best quote integration was student 18. Every idea the student mentioned in their essay he referred by to Brian Greene’s essay.

Essay with the best thorough analysis :

After reading all 76 of these students written essay, you start to repeatedly reread the same introductory paragraph , same exact quote and literary device examples. But not many essays sounded like they thoroughly understood what they read and the meaning of The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene, except for student 21. This essay was well written and organized. This student was able to read this text and interpret back into a descriptive and comprehensible essay. This student quoted the text, but summarize the meaning of the context in a descriptive manner that an individual that who hasn't read the text could get a clear understanding of what the text is about.

Three essays that misunderstood the prompt (personal influence)

The three essays that misunderstood the prompt was student 9,11, and 67. These essays didn’t completely follow all of the criteria asked of them in the prompt. In their essays they incorporated their own personal opinions and feelings about the topic into the essay. Essay 67 and 9 were fairly written paper but they made the mistake of including their opinion of the meaning of the universe into it.

Most academic vocabulary :

The essay with the most academic vocabulary was student 48. Throughout their essay they used many elaborate and descriptive words. There choice of words made their paper seem more organized and mature. Using such intellectual vocabulary word let the reader, know the author was a confident writer and could express him or herself properly.

Strongest clearest grammar :

The essay with the clearest grammar was student 76. In my opinion this  essay was also the strongest essay. This paper was accessible to read, comprehensible and systematized. There was choice of punctuation, and use of vocabulary played a key role in making their essay so successful.

Chronological order :

Student 26 had the best essay that portrayed chronological order. They mention every time the author introduced a new term , definition , or topic in the essay.

Analysis :

    In the essay The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer, he introduces two hypothetical situations to the reader. The first dilemma started with Dora. She was in which a hard working woman who worked everyday to make ends meet by sitting at a the station writing letters for illiterate people. She was giving the opportunity of a lifetime to quickly make 1,000 dollars. Dora’s task was fairly simple. She had to convince a nine year old homeless boy to follow her to an address given to her. Dora succeeded with the plan , she received her reward and went to purchase a television. Time had passed and Dora was informed that the young boy she sold off to buy her new television set would mostly be killed and his organs sold for transplantation. The purpose of incorporating this example is so we can prevent such horrifying events from happening by simply sacrificing our material comfort, because it isn't merely valuable or important as the life of a child.

    The second hypothetical situation Peter Singer mentioned involved Bob. He invested his life savings into buying a Bugatti, which he hasn’t be able to insure. He always had the mentality that if the market continues to rise , he would to be able to sell the car and live a stable life after retirement. One day Bob takes his car out for a drive and parks the car on the side of the train tracks. In the distant Bob sees a young child playing on the railroad tracks in a path of a runaway train. Bob had the chance of saving the child's life and using a nearby switch to divert the train onto the sliding. But instead Bob chooses to let the child die and not sacrifice his precious car to get damaged. In the eyes of Peter Singer he believed Bob was at complete fault for the death of the young child. He could have prevented the child’s death by sacrificing his Bugatti. By choosing his car, over avoiding the death of someone else, you can conclude that materialistic things means everything to Bob. The message Singer is trying to portray by utilizing Bob not sacrificing his Bugatti for the life of a child is that we all have the opportunity of saving children s life. By donating approximately 200 dollars a month to organizations such as Unicef we could assist a young child dying from starvation.

    The audience could connect to this essay written by Peter Singer, because no individual likes to see a young innocent child suffer from situations they didn’t necessarily make happen or wish upon themselves ,which is extremely unfortunate. The author used the literary device of pathos in this passage to create a emotional response with the audience. The emotional sensitivity occurred with the starving children and both the children used in the examples died. The author wanted the reader to feel a sense of guilt for the death of the children and reevaluate our decisions of buying luxurious items instead of trying to make a change in a person’s life less fortunate. Logos was also applied into this essay. Singer used this device by influencing readers to act upon his argument. He uses logos to convince the audience that we use our income to pay for our necessities and splurge on luxury items and entertainment rather than choosing to help a needy child overseas. Singer mentions that there are hundreds of million of people that can financially afford to donate 200 dollars to aid overseas organizations, but are frankly not doing it. The last device Singer uses in his essay The Singer Solution to World Poverty is ethos. Ethos was the appeal to make a difference and end world poverty. He used statistics to demonstrate how simple it would be for each class to donate a certain amount of money.

Francine

Morgan Burton September 20,2013

Title : I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read

Speaker: Francine Prose, a well known author and visiting professor

Occasion: A critique

Audience: The audience for Francine Prose”s article “I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read: How american high school students Learn to loathe literature,  is directed for both high school students and parents.

Purpose: The general purpose for writing this article was to inform readers that in current times high school students are not asked to read challenging and critical literature. Majority of the text giving due to the english curriculum is fairly simple and doesn’t have much value to it. High School students today are handed a piece of literature that no longer expands their capabilities , and vocabularies,  comprehension skills or deepens they feel or think, but instead are simple books they easily understand. Rather than constantly disturbing the same piece of literature that is not quite so simple, high schools need challenging ones.

Subject: The general topic of Francine Prose work is that high school teachers are simply placing pieces of literature into their curriculum that the students will find easy to read. They are more focused on the author's name rather than the content of the writing.

Tone: The tone of the essay is a informative.   

Title: Can Wikipedia Ever Make The Grade?

Speaker: Brock Read a journalist and editor for The Chronicle for Higher Education in Washington, DC.

Occasion: Journal entry

Audience:The audience is pertained to the general public. Anyone who has utilized Wikipedia to obtain research on a particular topic or subject.

Purpose: The purpose of the article was to inform people that Wikipedia is not exactly a credible or reliable source for research.  School wise Wikipedia is never an acceptable source to use for classes. Anyone is capable of editing the articles on Wikipedia and place misinformation. Though the false information can still be removed, it’s credibility remains questioned.

Subject: The general topic of Brock Read work is to question the validity of the popular website Wikipedia. Is the information they provide on their website accurate if, users are capable of adding information that is not necessarily true.

Tone: The tone of this journal entry is also imformative,

Speech

Morgan Burton September 28,2013

APLang

    Life is but a journey and we learn from the trials and tribulations endured in life. Originally born in St.Louis missouri, with five siblings, a single mother,a survivor of breast cancer. I was given the opportunity of a new beginning, and a start of a new life. Growing up with many hardships, not a lot of money, and visits in and out of the hospital nearly changed my viewpoint on life.But today I can stand here, and say experiencing  those difficulties,suffering , and making that transition halfway across, the country made me a stronger, and wiser individual. Throughout life when situations got tough I depended on my  family; my supporters for love and encouragement. They were my personal cheerleaders, and almost never let me down. My mother, my biggest fan pushed me the hardest, held extremely high expectations for me, and not once ever took no for an answer. To be raised with such structure and discipline, I am beyond grateful. Transitioning from school each and everyday I surround myself with a great group of friends.I rely on my friends to keep my spirit positive, and a great laugh.   Academics were excessively important in my household. Having the opportunity of going to school and exceeding with advanced performance, I am beyond grateful.  To be born with multiple talents, that entertain people, and make happy, I am beyond grateful.  I live life not knowing what tomorrow may bring. Whether it might be another rigorous obstacle, that might take time and patience to overcome. I know the good, in life will always outweigh the bad. I have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for.