AP Prose Passage Essay

Why is it there? The prose passage essay evaluates your ability to Read and interpret a piece of literature Understand text Analyze techniques/devices authors use to achieve a purpose Demonstrate ease and fluency with terminology Make connections between analysis and interpretation

Some examples analyze how Highway uses literary devices to dramatize Okimasis’ experience. analyze how Eliot portrays these two characters and their complex relationship as husband and wife. analyze how Clair uses literary techniques to characterize the adult narrator’s memories of her fifth-grade summer world. Analyze how Petry establishes Lutie Johnson’s relationship to the urban setting through the use of literary devices such as imagery, personification, selection of detail, and figurative language.

It’s not too easy, but it’s not too hard Don’t be thrown by difficult passage Address the prompt Use what you understand Don’t be too overconfident If question seems easy, text may be difficult Look for nuances

What’s the score? 8-9- “especially impressive,” “persuasive analysis,” “strong case for their interpretation,” “apt and specific references to text” 9 is “more sophisticated” “has greater control of language” 6-7 “reasonable analysis,” “sustained competent reading,” “less perceptive,” “present ideas with clarity and control,” “references to the text” 7 has better developed analysis and more consistent control of language 5 “plausible reading,” “superficial,” “thinly developed,” “not as well conceived, organized, or developed,” “textual support may tend towards summary” 3-4 “analysis is partial unconvincing or irrelevant” “unfocused or repetitive,” “absence of textual support” 2-1 “misread passage,” “unacceptably brief,” “marred with errors” 0 “do not make reference to the task

Timing the Essay 1-3 minutes “Working the prompt” 5 minutes reading and marking the passage. Try to identify 2 quotations that strike you. 10 minutes preparing Underlining, bracketing, circling Marginal notations Outlining/mapping 20 minutes writing 3 minutes proofreading

Working the prompt Once you know what is expected, you will read in a more directed way Once you internalize the question, you will be sensitive to details that will apply that adheres to the prompt Once you know all the facets that need to be addressed, you will be able to write a complete essay that adheres to the prompt

Do this now Underline, circle, or bracket essential terms and elements of the prompt. In the following passage from the short story "The Dead," James Joyce presents an insight into the character of Gabriel. Write a well- organized essay in which you discuss various aspects of Gabriel's character that Joyce reveals to the reader and to Gabriel himself. Refer to such techniques and devices as imagery, point of view, motif, diction, and syntax.

Did you get all that? In the following passage from the short story "The Dead," James Joyce presents an insight into the character of Gabriel. Write a well-organized essay in which you discuss various aspects of Gabriel's character that Joyce reveals to the reader and to Gabriel himself. Refer to such techniques and devices as imagery, point of view, motif, diction, and syntax.

Choose your approach Read quickly to get the gist of the passage. Reread, using the visual and marginal notes approach. or Read slowly, using highlighting and making marginal notes. Reread to confirm that you understand the full impact of the passage.

Do this now Use highlighting, arrows, circles, underlining, notes, numbers, and whatever you need to mark the passage identifying anything that strikes you as relevant or important to the prompt. Write comments/questions to yourself to help you interact with the text 8-10 minutes

What elements reveal character?  Imagery  Style  Diction  Motif

Importance of opening Establishes direction and tone Gives you a path and map to direct your writing Engages your reader

Do this now Write your opening paragraph for “The Dead” prompt. Have you included author and title? _____ Yes _____ No Have you addressed the character of Gabriel? _____ Yes _____ No Have you specifically mentioned the techniques you will refer to in your essay? _____ Yes _____ No

Sample A In "The Dead" by James Joyce, the character Gabriel is revealed through diction, point of view, and imagery as he watches his wife sleep.

Sample B Poor Gabriel! Who would have thought he knew so little about himself and his life. And yet, in "The Dead," James Joyce, through diction, point of view, and imagery, makes it clear to the reader and to Gabriel that there is much to reveal about his character.

Sample C "Yes, yes: that would happen very soon." And, yes, very soon the reader of the excerpt from Joyce's "The Dead" gets to know the character of Gabriel. Through diction, point of view, and imagery, the author provides a picture of Gabriel’s passive nature and what he thinks of himself.

Sample D "The Dead." How apt a title. James Joyce turns his reader into a fly on the wall as Gabriel is about to realize the many losses in his life. Death pervades the passage, from his sleeping wife to his dying aunt.